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We live in Colorado and are thinking of moving to New Mexico. We are considering Tijeras (out of the city, to the south) or Edgewood. Next in line are Pecos, Sandia Park, Cedar Crest, or Jemez Springs. I have found houses for sale online in these areas that look like they would work for us, and that we could afford.
We want a place with at least an acre of land (more is better), preferably with a lot of pine trees, but tall juniper or cedar would be OK too. We would also like to eventually have some animals: dogs, maybe a few sheep or goats, chickens and roosters, etc.
We’ve studied the weather in all these towns, and it appears to be at least as good as the climate in Colorado. We’re hoping for a little bit warmer winters, and summers that are not too much warmer than here. We deal with temperatures below -20 and an average of 50” of snow annually, so we’re pretty flexible. We don't have children, so schools are not a consideration.
My questions are:
Is there air traffic noise in any of these places? Other noise, like trains, etc?
Are there strict regulations for domestic animals?
What is the good/bad about each town? Crime levels?
I know this is not an accurate question to ask, but what is your stereotype of each town?
Are there mandatory homeowners associations in any?
Are there any other similar towns that we may be overlooking?
Any other comments or things we should know?
Please reply even if you only have information for one or two of these locations. It will help a lot - Thank you!
Last edited by WhiteEagle; 01-11-2015 at 05:25 PM..
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I'm somewhat familiar with the East Mountain area (east of ABQ) because we've looked there. I like it. Plenty of trees, 2+ acre lots generally, nice climate. That would be a great choice if you want easy access to Albuquerque. Else you may prefer being farther out. You might be able to afford much more land.
You would need to look at the specific development for covenants, if there is none then the town, if you aren't in town then the county. The City Data pages would be a good source of statistics.
Traffic noise of course varies hugely. These are all fairly sparsely populated areas, so the noise will depend a lot on how close you are to the highway or freeway, if there are hills in the way, and whether you are below or above it. If there is an operating rail line near, then of course you will hear that. If your neighbors have barking dogs or roosters , that will be another source of racket.
Do you work at home?
Budget?
What sort of entertainment, recreation, and shopping opportunities do you want?
Wish to be near a big town or city, or is an hour (or more?) from a Walmart good enough?
Would you be ok with solar electric and satellite internet, or do you want to be on the grid?
Interested in buying land and having a house built, or want one that is already there?
Thank you for your thoughts. There are three of us. I'm retired, one would probably commute to Albuquerque (or Santa Fe, Las Vegas, etc.), and one would be self-employed locally.
The main source of noise that concerns us is air traffic. Freeways and railroads are shown on Google maps, so they wouldn't be a surprise. Dogs and roosters would not be a problem. But I noticed that Tijeras is comparatively close to Kirtland AFB, so I was wondering if it is in its flight path. Of course we would visit any town and property before purchasing, but air traffic may not be immediately noticeable.
We're expecting to pay up to $235,000 for a house and property. We don't have the cash or experience to buy vacant property and build, but we could make intermediate-level repairs (but not severe mold, foundation problems, etc.). We would expect to live in the house during the repairs.
We're not really into entertainment - movies, festivals, big crowds, etc. We love camping, walking and driving around in the mountains. I think we could manage with a Walmart within an hour or so. Even though our current shopping is close and convenient, sometimes we drive several miles for particular stores. That's something we would need to look at in detail when we visit to check everything out.
We would prefer to be on the grid, particularly with Internet, though satellite might work for us. Solar would be OK, and wood or pellet stoves, but preferably as backup resources. City water and sewer would be nice, but we would be OK with a well (or other water source) and a septic tank.
We're not planning to move immediately - probably within the next year or two, so we'll have plenty of time to make all our decisions.
Edgewood is nice and should meet many of your requirements. I think Edgewood is a great community, but it is growth minded. WalMart is already there and it's only a matter of time before more chain restaurants, some hotels, and retailers pop-up out there along 344 near I-40. Case and point, Denny's and O'Reilly auto parts are both opening in a month or two.
To me personally, growth in Edgewood is not a bad thing, but it's not something everyone will apprecitate.
Of your choices Jemez Springs is going to be the most 'desolated'. It's a beautiful area to be sure but the closest you would be to even the most basic of food staples would be at the intersection of 4 and 550. My impression from countless trips to and through is that it's possibly a great example of a place you would love to live until you do. Another note in todays cellular world, coverage is very spotty there even with Verizon.
mdmagana - Edgewood does look good as far as housing, trees, etc. We don't really have a problem with growth, as long as it's not totally uncontrolled. We plan to be outside of the main town anyway. And since we're well-accustomed to convenient shopping in the Denver metro area, it would beat driving an hour for a quick trip to Walmart.
threecats407 - Thank you for the information on Jemez Springs. The lack of good cellular service and distance of basic services (including medical care??) might dampen our appreciation of the place. The pictures I've seen are beautiful, but since I'm retired, we may regret the extreme isolation.
Of your choices Jemez Springs is going to be the most 'desolated'. It's a beautiful area to be sure but the closest you would be to even the most basic of food staples would be at the intersection of 4 and 550.
All I ever see as I pass that intersection (4 and 550) is the "Feed Store". Have never stopped.
The distance from Jemez Springs to the town of Bernalillo, is 41 miles plus whatever side roads you travel on to get to highway 4.
Make sure that you read the thread on the Albuquerque forum on "Your thoughts on Tijeras Area as a "commuter town."" One of the posters (who actually lives in Sandia Park) really likes living there but warns that internet and cable may not be available in some areas. My stereotype is that Tijeras is charming and hip with trees while Edgewood is very "working class" and not that attractive. But you could probably get more house and land for your money in Edgewood. If you believe one website, the crime rates are about the same with each town being divided into three sectors with crime being lowest in the north sector and highest in the south sector. But the north sector of Tijeras is Cedar Crest which can be expensive. Also Edgewood is in the plains so I would worry about the wind.
Last edited by ABQ2015; 01-15-2015 at 04:26 PM..
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, that will be another source of racket. 
Moving...
