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In the interest of balance, I should say that my Colombian friend loves New Mexico (despite what happened to her boyfriend.) She has been there for years and years and always talks maravillas about it. The first several years she was living in Los Lunas, then moved to Albq where she's been for several years. She recently bought a house there (maybe in Rio Rancho, I don't remember).
Because of my work I've met lots of foreign nationals in Albuquerque, from several European countries, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Many settle here and bring family with them, and love it here. ABQ has a large foreign population. Not to mention refugee resettlements in New Mexico are almost 100% in ABQ since we have the most services for them. I recently moved to a neighborhood where I was surprised to find a large and affluent Chinese population. There is nothing special about your Colombian friend.
NM has, interestingly, always had a fairly large presence of certain types of immigrants that you might not expect to end up in NM: Mediterranean (Greek, Turkish), Vietnamese, and a couple other groups like that. Not that there's a *large* immigrant population, and most other places in the world are not represented at all in Albq, but there were enough of those particular groups to be noticeable. Best Greek food I've ever had still remains the Gyros place in back of Frontier. That's been there ever since I can remember 40+years.
Just an observation, here... Looking at forum comments may net more negative comments than good ones because when everything is all right, people have less to say and they do not need to vent. Looking at the graphs and tables for a given city is probably going to be more helpful.
City-data has detailed stats on median age of the population, population change over several years' time, poverty, and detailed stats on crime. Many people do not like statistics, and that is understandable. The main thing to remember is that while statistical measures may describe overall tendencies in a group or population, they cannot predict what any individual is going to do.
There are trade-offs to be made in all decisions as to where to live. We value quiet, low traffic congestion, and relatively low cost of living. That is why we located in a rural NM town. We do not have a hundred stores to choose from when doing the shopping, and cultural opportunities are limited as well, but we find the town as a rule has everything we need. The bigger cities have more shopping and cultural opportunities but the cost of living is higher and due to population density, some unfavorable statistics, such as crime, would be increased.
Just an observation, here... Looking at forum comments may net more negative comments than good ones because when everything is all right, people have less to say and they do not need to vent. Looking at the graphs and tables for a given city is probably going to be more helpful.
City-data has detailed stats on median age of the population, population change over several years' time, poverty, and detailed stats on crime. Many people do not like statistics, and that is understandable. The main thing to remember is that while statistical measures may describe overall tendencies in a group or population, they cannot predict what any individual is going to do.
There are trade-offs to be made in all decisions as to where to live. We value quiet, low traffic congestion, and relatively low cost of living. That is why we located in a rural NM town. We do not have a hundred stores to choose from when doing the shopping, and cultural opportunities are limited as well, but we find the town as a rule has everything we need. The bigger cities have more shopping and cultural opportunities but the cost of living is higher and due to population density, some unfavorable statistics, such as crime, would be increased.
Well stated! Thank you!
We moved around to various cities and states over the years... It is imperative that you visit the area you want to move to and attempt to decide if you will like it. Even now living in one location which we like, I sometimes still feel like moving...
It seems like City-Data must be biased, because I've been on Reddit and people actually told me bad things about NM. But it seems like most of those comments got downvoted. I've been told that every young person who lives in NM is a junkie and will commit crime. I heard that tire slashing and property damage happens in NM all the time. Inhumane crimes like that are almost non-existent in the NJ suburbia. Even in NJ's most dangerous cities like Newark or Camden, stuff like that barely happens. I heard that I would need a dog to live in NM. I heard that the whole state of NM is effed up in that way and not just ABQ. So if I want to get away from the usual danger NM offers, am I better off living in a town full of retirees where people won't commit crimes, or should I just go back to obsessing over AZ? I wonder if I can handle the Tuscon, AZ summers. I wouldn't mind Tuscon reaching 100 degrees, I just don't want to deal with Phoenix being over 110 degrees. Flagstaff, AZ winter temperatures seem too cold.
Well in parts of NM I agree, where I live for the last 14 years the crime rate is low by normal and I have never had any problem in any way! Most of the crime here is DWI related and people do not show up for court! In all of NM it is a good thing to have protection so if you have a hatred for Firearms (Guns) do not come here!
You may want to make some recommendations to the OP (potanta) as to which small town(s) specifically you can recommend as places to live. If you don't want to mention the name of your particular small town, you can give the general region, or a list of other similar towns.
You may want to make some recommendations to the OP (potanta) as to which small town(s) specifically you can recommend as places to live. If you don't want to mention the name of your particular small town, you can give the general region, or a list of other similar towns.
With that said, the OP says he has an IT background, and this would almost certainly translate into a large metro instead of a small rural town, unless it is close to Albuquerque.
Well in parts of NM I agree, where I live for the last 14 years the crime rate is low by normal and I have never had any problem in any way! Most of the crime here is DWI related and people do not show up for court! In all of NM it is a good thing to have protection so if you have a hatred for Firearms (Guns) do not come here!
I wouldn't even need a gun to live on deer meat in Ruidoso....
Actually I was thinking I could club them over the head, but there is plenty of roadkill if someone doesn't beat me to it.
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New Mexico is Okay
