Lancaster/Palmdale safe neighborhoods?

[kttam186290]

That Albuquerque has more crime than Lancaster/Palmdale is not very surprising to me, actually.

Albuquerque is at the junction of two major interstates (I-40 and I-25) and it is very isolated. The closest metro areas are Denver, CO six hours north, El Paso TX seven hours south, Phoenix AZ seven hours to the west and Oklahoma City ten hours to the east.

Albuquerque is geographically isolated from other population centers in the southwest and is "the city" pretty much to anyone in New Mexico, eastern Arizona, the Texas panhandle and the Oklahoma panhandle. Also, thanks to the Breaking Bad TV series, Albuquerque is now well-known to the nation as a methamphetamine capitol and it didn't earn that reputation overnight. A case of art imitating life, perhaps?

I've been to Albuquerque several times in my life and have stayed there for two week periods each time. The city is very unique and the desert and mountain ranges around the city are beautiful, but it is almost what I would call a "haunting beauty" that seems to be hiding something.

Lancaster and Palmdale are fringe suburbs of Los Angeles in Los Angeles County, so they get to share resources with Los Angeles. For the most part, the LA Sheriffs Department, which patrols both cities, is very proactive in keeping crime low and it has the support of both city governments. In addition, there is a large contingent of law enforcement officers and staff who live in the west sides of both cities, so that is probably of great benefit in keeping crime in check too.

Another element that contributes to the lower crime rate of Lancaster and Palmdale is that they, being part of Southern California, give their residents access to what Southern California has to offer in terms of entertainment, shopping, nightlife, amusement parks, cultural events, museums, beaches, etc. So, if you have a population that is occupied and engaged in a wide range of activities, they are less prone to take part in criminal activity. As subtle as this influence might seem, it makes a huge difference!

Albuquerque, for all of its rich landscape, does not offer much in terms of entertainment. Santa Fe is expensive and elitist and out of range for your average Joe New Mexican. Idle hands (and minds) make for the devil's work.

[kttam186290]

Originally Posted by bentlyslc

I did some more research on the crimes. Attached the comparison with the same criterion/scale. Not sure if they report/record crimes differently in two different places, but ABQ seems to have 10X more crime compare to Lancaster/Palmdale. Maybe ABQ has 10X more population. Only those who have lived in both places can paint a better picture.

Also, notice most of the crime in Lancaster/Palmdale is concentrated east of the Antelope Valley freeway, which is why I always suggest the zip codes on the west side (93536 and 93551). As for size, I'd say Lancaster and Palmdale combined are about the same size as Albuqurque. There's about half a million people living in the Antelope Valley (Lancaster & Palmdale) and the outer rural areas.