Living in Los Lunas, NM (Albuquerque, Rio Rancho: crime rate, home builder, neighborhoods)

[waterbaby]

I would like to know the best and worst things about living in Los Lunas. We bought property in Valencia county.

[_yb]

Ranked #1 in the state in violent crime according to a journal poll.

There is a story in the 12-17-2006 sunday albuquerque journal about valencia county crime.

[BlueRose]

This is true, but I believe that this crime is predominately in the rural Meadowlake area.

[bigglynals]

Pros: It's very affordable. You can find a 5 bd/3bth, around 2000 sqtft for about $180k, brand new. That's the only pro.
Cons: Crime, crime, crime. Albuquerque's new transit system, The Rail Runner; just opened up in Los Lunas. Already there has been break-ins in the parking lot. The schools are really bad. Not enough $ for good education. Los Lunas is an extreemely poor town. My mom teaches in Belen, so I hear it all. She hates it out there. If you're looking for a small town, not in ABQ. You may want to go east. There's Cedar Crest (up in the Sandias, beautiful!), Edgewood, Moriarty. Rio Rancho (to the west) is getting WAY TOO CROWDED!!! North, you have Bernalillio, which has the same problems Los Lunas & Belen has; crime. Plus it has a giant casino there & that brings a lot of drunk drivers to that area; something that NM is really known for.
If I were to put my 2 cents in, I would never move to Los Lunas. Sorry for the bad info, but hope it helps.

[GypsyHeart]

I second the idea of moving to the Cedar Crest/Tijeras area...absolutely beautiful there. I own property up there and it is just quiet and peaceful, for the most part. Stay out of Chilili, though....

[new mexico lady]

I have lived in the Los Lunas area for 35 years now and have never been broken into or been the victim of any crime. But I go out of my way not to look down my nose at others. Most of the violent crime one hears about here is the "lying down with dogs and getting up with fleas" kind, so be friendly but cautious with people who would befriend you, or you them. Take your time in establishing friendships. Regarding thievery, it is true that if it ain't nailed down, it is considered free for the taking.

Regarding the racial harmony or disharmony of New Mexico in general, the Hispanic population dates back hundreds of years and they are not about to change their ways for your or me. It is just a different culture than you or I grew up knowing. Extend to the Hispanics the respect they desire for their culture, and they will do the same for you. My family and I travel all over Valencia County without fear, which is more than I can say for Albuquerque(my birthplace and where I lived the first 25 years of my life), where there are neighborhoods where even the police do not venture unless they have backup with them!

[phxgal]

I have only lived in Los Lunas for 3 months now but I have nothing but good things to say.. From what I can tell stay out of the bad neighborhoods and such and you will be fine.. I live in a nice older neighborhood in Los Chavez portion of Los Lunas.. I don't know why there is such bad publicity about Los Lunas- Everyone I have met is kind and nice- Haven't been to Meadowlake and such but that seems to be where all the crime is.. Hopefully it won't effect me but I feel safe so far ! I also have 3 barking dogs and a alarm just in case.. But I feel safe- Good Luck, I love it here !

[lacey]

I have lived in Valencia County for 17 years and have never had any problem whatsoever. No break-ins or victim of a crime, my kids graduated from Los Lunas High School, I coached Little League, participate in community activities and really enjoy it. I moved from the North Valley after living there for all my life. My husband grew up in the Canyon, says the wind blows all the time. We moved here so the kids could ride their bikes and we could have horses. I would not trade it for anything. Meadowlake and El Cerro Mission are where most of the criminal activity happens.Besides that, we have water (water table and city water), access to irrigation and don't have to drill through all that rock or truck it in!

[heartwings]

We've lived in Los Lunas for 2 years now absolutely love it!
We've lived in 4 states now there has been crime in the
nicest of neighborhoods we've lived in. We've always had at
least 2 large dogs knock on wood haven't been robbed or
broken into. Know your neighbors & watch out for one
another, that goes for no matter where you live!

[DDay]

I moved here from Washington State about a year ago and lived in Albuquerque when I first arrived. I recently moved to Los Lunas and actually live in El Cerro Mission. I have been reading the previous posts and every time someone mentions this area as high crime, I cringe. This neighborhood has been on an upward move. A lot of people are now taking great pride in their property and no one I have spoken to has ever had a problem with crime. Though the occasional horse breaks loose and wonders down the road eating grass out of the yards but I do not believe that is criminal. I hope that as time goes on, El Cerro Mission will take on a new reputation. D R Horton (custom home builder) is betting on it with their new developement on Van Camp "Tome Vista". There are a lot of hard working people in this area. From everything I've heard, the crime rate has dropped a lot with vacant property being the largest target in the area. I hope people will start thinking differently about this area of town. I love it there and you can't beat the mountian views. It is still affordable unlike Albuquerque. And the sunrises and sunsets are the best.