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I'm an east coast (Mid-Atlantic states) mid forties female. I've been offered a job in ABQ and I'm not sure if Albuquerque or Santa Fe are the best places to live. I will be coming out in Jan alone for about six months and then my husband and daughter will follow when she finishes school in June. I'm looking at renting casitas or something from a private renter over living in an apartment complex...partly for cost (we will still have a mortgage until we can sell or rent our house here on the east coast) and partly because I don't want my quality of life dependent on my neighbors. It's been a long time since I lived in an apartment, but one thing I do remember is the walls are usually paper thin.
Any info folks can share will be greatly appreciated. I am of course looking for safe areas and ones with the best schools.
Safe areas? Albuquerque beats Santa Fe.
Best schools? Albuquerque beats Santa Fe.
Short commute to Albuquerque? Albuquerque beats Santa Fe.
Low cost? Albuquerque beats Santa Fe.
Low rent? Albuquerque beats Santa Fe.
Better traffic? Albuquerque beats Santa Fe (hard to believe given the difference in population but it's true).
Albuquerque isn't perfect; just looks that way compared to Santa Fe.
Santa Fe is too long of a commute. The only people I know of that commute to SF have a spouse that works in Albuquerque. In the winter it can be even worse of a commute with shut downs due to snow and accidents. You can find safe areas and good schools in Albuquerque. Just plan and research and you will be good.
I would never, ever ever want to make that commute every day. As everyone else said, find a place in or near ALBQ. Then visit Santa Fe, which by the way is a fantastic place, on the weekends.
The Albuquerque experts on here can give you ideas for areas. My friends raised their children in Rio Rancho/Paradise Hills areas & spoke highly of the schools.
Thank you all for your comments. From my research, it looks like the NE and NW areas are the best places to live. I was told when I was out there touring with my potential employers that the public schools are not very good and I should plan on enrolling my daughter in private school. That's why I started considering the move to Santa Fe. My husband and I have 1 hr commutes now (and pretty much have always had long drives) to work..so that isn't much of a big deal to us. Of course if the road gets shut down a lot that is definitely problematic.
My biggest concerns are being safe while I am alone and then finding the best (affordable) school for our daughter. My understanding is the better private schools are 20K a year.....
Does anyone have an opinion on renting from a private owner over in a complex?
Thank you all for your comments. From my research, it looks like the NE and NW areas are the best places to live. I was told when I was out there touring with my potential employers that the public schools are not very good
Does anyone have an opinion on renting from a private owner over in a complex?
There are good and bad ones.... I was a renter, then landlord/owner in a single family home in ABQ. I am now just a silent part owner. Renting, You might read through these threads:
Thank you all for your comments. From my research, it looks like the NE and NW areas are the best places to live. I was told when I was out there touring with my potential employers that the public schools are not very good and I should plan on enrolling my daughter in private school. That's why I started considering the move to Santa Fe. My husband and I have 1 hr commutes now (and pretty much have always had long drives) to work..so that isn't much of a big deal to us. Of course if the road gets shut down a lot that is definitely problematic.
My biggest concerns are being safe while I am alone and then finding the best (affordable) school for our daughter. My understanding is the better private schools are 20K a year.....
Does anyone have an opinion on renting from a private owner over in a complex?
Just as with anything in life it is all up to you. You can find good public schools in Albuquerque. You can find good safe areas in Albuquerque. It is all relative and depends on what you feel is comfortable for you. If you are so concerned of your child's education why spend 2+ hours a day on the road when you could spend that time educating, mentoring and guiding them in their young lives. As with any metro area there is good and bad. There is all sorts of scenarios. There are good schools in bad neighborhoods as an example. Every school is different and your involvement is key IMHO.
There are very safe gated neighborhoods. There is walkable urban areas. There are rural areas. etc ... etc... The metro area has 800k+ people. So, any type of living arrangement you are looking for you can find. I live in Old Town. The heart of the city. An Urban area. I feel safe there. Is there times that stuff happens? Sure? Preparation is key. Will you feel safe in Downtown/OldTown? Depends on you.
As for private schools? Again it is what you make of it. The $20k plus schools can have high dollar drug problems but they do have very good educational opportunities. That is why they charge that. Myself, I send my son to a local private Catholic School. $5k per year for K-8th grade. $10k for the High School were 94% of its students attend 4 year colleges. My choice on that school was more than just because I felt the local public schools were crap. There are several public schools that offer the same level of education but there are lot of other reasons I choose private.
As for the local private owners. There is a myriad of choices. Me and my wife own a couple of rental properties and believe we are good landlords. When I first moved here I rented from private owners and never had any issues.
Better private schools? Albuquerque beats Santa Fe.
As a product of public schools (even through the 18th grade) in Albuquerque in particular, I'd shy away from the private schools here unless all of the following characteristics are applicable to your family:
* You have chosen to live in a part of town with a bad selection of in-district schools (greatschools.org is usually not too far off).
* You have chosen to live closer to the private school than the public alternative.
* You have more money than you can spend. (Seriously, I'd take two more vacations a year before I'd pay to send my kids to something that has a free alternative.)
* You have picked a private school that actually has good ratings (some are actually quite bad despite being private, and I'm hard pressed to find any good private schools that are districted next to bad public ones)
* You want your kids to grow up with a more developed sense of power, entitlement and detachment. (Some kids need that, and some kids end up with too much of that despite a thoroughly public school education; it's just a mild bias I've noticed as my peers have aged along with me).
I'm not trying to turn this thread into a public v. private school debate; my reasoning is as follows:
*Private schools have a reputation for being superior to public alternatives, and that reputation is well-earned in most places, but it isn't the case in Albuquerque.
*I would, if I lived in a different part of Albuquerque, send my children to private school under certain circumstances.
*The most positive effect you can have on your child's education by school choice is keeping commute time to a minimum and family time to a maximum. Childhoods should be spent outside playing, not commuting.
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