Graffiti (Albuquerque, Las Cruces: home, to live in, price)

[TigerLily24]

Originally Posted by mike0421

You were going from Bergen County to NYC, however. Big difference. You were entering into the biggest city in the US. However, I'd be highly surprised if you found graffiti in a town such as Allendale or Wyckoff. That's the principal difference between the northeast and the desert southwest: we are not immune from this disgusting activity here, even in the middle and upper middle class neighborhoods. It's everywhere you look here. You can't hide from it. However, in the northeast USA, once you leave the cities, you're not going to find it. You are almost crime-free, in fact.

Well, I don't think anyplace is immune, certainly not even Allendale or Wyckoff, judging by some of the 'decor' alongside Rt 17 and Rt 4.

And those areas are certainly not 'crime-free'. On any given Friday or Saturday night there are high numbers of DWIs, brawls at drunken pool parties, kids OD'ing on their parents RXs, untold numbers of date-rapes, auto theft and so on. Any idea how many kids go to school drunk or high?
Any idea how many of them are dealing? The main difference between here and there is that people there don't look beyond the nice manicured lawns to see what's really going on inside.

Honestly, one of the things that drew me here is that lack of pretension.
Crime exists everywhere. Some areas just cover it up better than others.

[mike0421]

Originally Posted by TigerLily24

Well, I don't think anyplace is immune, certainly not even Allendale or Wyckoff, judging by some of the 'decor' alongside Rt 17 and Rt 4.

And those areas are certainly not 'crime-free'. On any given Friday or Saturday night there are high numbers of DWIs, brawls at drunken pool parties, kids OD'ing on their parents RXs, untold numbers of date-rapes, auto theft and so on. Any idea how many kids go to school drunk or high?
Any idea how many of them are dealing? The main difference between here and there is that people there don't look beyond the nice manicured lawns to see what's really going on inside.

Honestly, one of the things that drew me here is that lack of pretension.
Crime exists everywhere. Some areas just cover it up better than others.

Tigerlily,

The main differences between here and there are numbers. Specifically, crime info, both property and personal. Per moving.com:

Crime Details


Las Cruces Allendale New Mexico New Jersey
88011 07401
Total Crime Risk 111 19 113 75

Personal Crime Risk 94 20 134 80

Property Crime Risk View 134 19 110 73

Where 100 is the U.S. average rate. That means a suburb of NJ, in this case, Allendale, you are 1/6 or 1/7th depending on the category, to be victimized by a crime. These are factual crime figures, they don't lie. We've both lived in both states, and the differences, in this case, are palpable.

There are lots of things I prefer about the Land of Enchantment over the Garden State, however, this is not one, and it's probably the single greatest deterrent to living here. There is an underlying counter-culture here that is largely absent in NJ (cities excluded).

[TigerLily24]

Originally Posted by mike0421

Tigerlily,

The main differences between here and there are numbers. Specifically, crime info, both property and personal. Per moving.com:

Crime Details


Las Cruces Allendale New Mexico New Jersey
88011 07401
Total Crime Risk 111 19 113 75

Personal Crime Risk 94 20 134 80

Property Crime Risk View 134 19 110 73

Where 100 is the U.S. average rate. That means a suburb of NJ, in this case, Allendale, you are 1/6 or 1/7th depending on the category, to be victimized by a crime. These are factual crime figures, they don't lie. We've both lived in both states, and the differences, in this case, are palpable.

There are lots of things I prefer about the Land of Enchantment over the Garden State, however, this is not one, and it's probably the single greatest deterrent to living here. There is an underlying counter-culture here that is largely absent in NJ (cities excluded).

Mike, I agree that the differences are palpable, we just have very different perceptions and have had very different experiences since relocating.

And, I'm sorry, but, crime figures can lie - every state has it's own way of reporting crime so it really is an apples to oranges comparison.

The reality is that even though there are some beautiful and expensive areas in Las Cruces, you and I both know that there isn't anywhere here that can even closely approximate the insular suburban communities of NJ. They are all self-contained, have their own PDs, etc. and there is a very high price of admission.
There are towns I can think of that would more closely resemble LC in demographics, etc. - Teaneck or Hackensack, which both have some exquisitely expensive neighborhoods that clearly show definite signs of 'inner city' encroachment from time to time. Since those are the areas that I am most familiar with, I guess, my frame of reference is just very different from yours.

But, this, I don't think is a fair comparison.

Allendale, NJ Las Cruces
Population: 6754 ~90,000
Median income $105,704 $30,375




Oh, just a funny aside: it looks like graffiti has been 'institutionalized' in Bergen County

Graffiti Scroll Record - Bergen County Technical Schools

[mike0421]

Originally Posted by TigerLily24

Mike, I agree that the differences are palpable, we just have very different perceptions and have had very different experiences since relocating.

And, I'm sorry, but, crime figures can lie - every state has it's own way of reporting crime so it really is an apples to oranges comparison.

The reality is that even though there are some beautiful and expensive areas in Las Cruces, you and I both know that there isn't anywhere here that can even closely approximate the insular suburban communities of NJ. They are all self-contained, have their own PDs, etc. and there is a very high price of admission.
There are towns I can think of that would more closely resemble LC in demographics, etc. - Teaneck or Hackensack, which both have some exquisitely expensive neighborhoods that clearly show definite signs of 'inner city' encroachment from time to time. Since those are the areas that I am most familiar with, I guess, my frame of reference is just very different from yours.

But, this, I don't think is a fair comparison.

Allendale, NJ Las Cruces
Population: 6754 ~90,000
Median income $105,704 $30,375




Oh, just a funny aside: it looks like graffiti has been 'institutionalized' in Bergen County

Graffiti Scroll Record - Bergen County Technical Schools

This is a very fair, and very true post, and I can't disagree with any of it, especially the price of admission aspect.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by mike0421

especially the price of admission aspect.

That was what I was going to chime in with Mike, to if anything, help brighten your spirits (although I surely understand your frustrations). I guess from 1500 miles away, I would do anything to trade places with you (and I live in one of those nearly-COMPLETELY crime free small suburbs up here in the Milwaukee area where my wife could walk at all hours of the night and be fine and we virtually don't have to lock our doors).

I would HATE to be robbed even once, and graffiti would really p*** me off, however, yeah, to me the tradeoff is worth it (although I am BOGGLED by how frequently you are getting hit in such a short time and would be burning up the LCPD's phone lines daily).

But yeah, bottom line: LC is a pretty darn affordable place to live. Suburbs in the NE (or even in the Midwest) can be really, really, really expensive. If you are paying $600K for a house and through the wazoo on taxes, etc., you'd d--- well be getting stellar insulation from crime!

If I were living in LC right now, my property tax bills would be thousands - yes THOUSANDS - cheaper than they are right now. I hate - despise - paying the property tax bills I am paying. Most of it is a complete waste, although one thing that is not is at least the police force is stellar (and only needs to concern itself with a 14,000 person sized community).

Hang in there though...and let's hope that the LCPD can do some much better monitoring of the area for now!!

[funkymonkey]

Originally Posted by mike0421

Our neighborhood was hit big time last night. Probably the same people who have committed the burgularies.

I am really tiring of this situation. As someone from the East Coast (suburban NJ) I am not used to any of this. It's disgusting.

Well if suburban NJ is so awesome why don't you move back.

[mike0421]

Originally Posted by funkymonkey

Well if suburban NJ is so awesome why don't you move back.

You think this is an acceptable condition? Personal property getting vandalized, burgularies, etc? You don't think I have a rightful premise to complain?

I think, just as people in NJ are conditioned to accept high taxes, people in NM are conditioned to think that this type of behavior has a level of expectation to it. (Perhaps it's a cultural difference) I don't agree. I think if you own property, especially if you belong to an association, with covenants, that one has the right to live in a neighborhood with higher standards. Of course you can never make a community crime free. However, this is an entirely different level.

[funkymonkey]

Originally Posted by mike0421

You think this is an acceptable condition? Personal property getting vandalized, burgularies, etc? You don't think I have a rightful premise to complain?

I think, just as people in NJ are conditioned to accept high taxes, people in NM are conditioned to think that this type of behavior has a level of expectation to it. (Perhaps it's a cultural difference) I don't agree. I think if you own property, especially if you belong to an association, with covenants, that one has the right to live in a neighborhood with higher standards. Of course you can never make a community crime free. However, this is an entirely different level.

Well it seems to me you keep on bringing up how awesome NJ is and how you'd never have anything remotely bad happen to you there. You brought it up, not me. As for your burglaries, it seems to me that after the first occurence you didn't do anything to try to prevent it from happening again, such as parking in the garage, getting a car alarm, installing a motion light, etc. Is your lack of action a particular cultural behavior common in NJ?

[malamute]

It does seem like there is a cultural acceptance of certain crimes in the SW. If you walk out in the morning to see someone has sprayed black paint all over the side of your home with gang symbols and messages, here you're expected to just shrug and accept it's part of living here. Or if your car is missing from your driveway or workplace, it's okay, we don't see that as any real kind of crime.

Even placing iron bars over every window and door, spending all that money to make your house look like a prison, is considered normal in the SW. In other areas, people want "picture windows" to have a view of the outdoors, but the SW has more a tendency to have fortress type homes, high fences.

[funkymonkey]

Originally Posted by malamute

It does seem like there is a cultural acceptance of certain crimes in the SW. If you walk out in the morning to see someone has sprayed black paint all over the side of your home with gang symbols and messages, here you're expected to just shrug and accept it's part of living here. Or if your car is missing from your driveway or workplace, it's okay, we don't see that as any real kind of crime.

I don't get that impression at all, and I've lived in NM my entire life.

Even placing iron bars over every window and door, spending all that money to make your house look like a prison, is considered normal in the SW. In other areas, people want "picture windows" to have a view of the outdoors, but the SW has more a tendency to have fortress type homes, high fences.

I don't have iron bars over any windows. Most houses don't. Some do, mostly those in the ghetto.