Choosing a city to relocate to??? (Albuquerque, Las Cruces: apartment complex, rent, condo)

[Towanda]

Originally Posted by imsue_m

So, what are the shortcomings of Las Cruces?

Well, you didn't ask me, but my answer is:

ONE THING: The weather.

I am going to settle in northern NM to avoid the oppressive heat.

Others might like it, though.

[domino]

Shortcomings of Las Cruces:

For me, too many of my relatives there.
For me, it's not big enough, for others it's too big.
For me, not enough growth and opportunity, for others too much growth.
For me, it's too cold in the winter, for others it's too hot in the summer.
I think everyone will agree that for a couple weeks in the Spring it's way too windy.
It all depends on what you want, what I see as shortcomings, you may see as attractions. Too each their own.

[tito]

Originally Posted by domino

Shortcomings of Las Cruces:

For me, too many of my relatives there.
For me, it's not big enough, for others it's too big.
For me, not enough growth and opportunity, for others too much growth.
For me, it's too cold in the winter, for others it's too hot in the summer.
I think everyone will agree that for a couple weeks in the Spring it's way too windy.
It all depends on what you want, what I see as shortcomings, you may see as attractions. Too each their own.

Too many relatives in one city can be an asset for some people. I don't have relatives there, so that was not an issue. Let me tell you why I chose Las Cruces:

POSITIVE THINGS:
1- Medium size city, moderate traffic, moderate pollution
2- realtively clean and safe
3- has wonderful winters in comparison with Illinois (little or no snow)
4- slow work pace
5- there is a university that promotes cultural activities
6- it's close to diverse and interesting towns
7- it's dessert but there is some green land by the river.
8- it's flat in some places and hilly in others, not a boring place
9- friendly and casual people
10-culturaly diverse
11-sunny for most part of the year, you can see the stars at night
12 not far from a major airport (El Paso)
13-SPACE PORT will be built not far from it
14-less humid than Illinois (good for my arthritis)
15-impossible to get lost because the Organ Mountains will guide you
16-can eat authentic Mexican food without getting "Moctezuma Revenge"


NEGATIVE THINGS:
1- hot summers
2- windy on certain months (more so than in Chicago)
3- does not have Chicago style hot dogs and no Italian beef sandwiches
4- far from a big body of water (Lake Michigan or the Ocean)
5- scarce fresh sea food
6- no professional sports
7- no big museums
8- no White Christmas

You can see that the positives things outnumber the negatives ones by 50%, that's all you can expect, because no place on Earth is perfect.

[phoebe10]

I'm going to thoroughly confuse you and defend Albuquerque now I grew up here and love it. I know on paper it doesn't look good, and people say you can "get killed here," but I have never experienced even the smallest crime here, and no one I know has either. I guess I'm just lucky. I went to a private school, and if you have the money, (or even the means of getting financial aid), there are many options when it comes to private schools, and many of them aren't even religion-affiliated..if that matters to you. Some to check out are Albuquerque Academy, Sandia Prep and Bosque Prep. They might even be worth applying to since you're both teachers. If you work there, youre kids could go for free.

If private schools aren't your thing, there definitely are some good safe public schools, along with bad ones. Some of the better districts are La Cueva, Sandia, El Dorado and Rio Rancho.

My parents and my sister and her husband are all house hunting in Albuquerque and there sooo many affordable houses in good areas for sale right now.

As far as the weather, people are talking about the snow storm we had this winter and it was crazy but I don't think it's anything you can't handle. And keep in m ind it hasn't snowed like that in Albuquerque for 50 years. Other than that are occasion, weather here is awesome and I couldn't ask for a better climate.

I think Albuquerque is you best bet, but it's because I love it and I'm biased. I think you'll love it too. Santa Fe is nice, but the cost of living is outrageuos. If you live in ABQ, Santa Fe is only a 45 minute drive and you can take the family up there on a Saturday to enjoy the beautiful things it has to offer. You can live in the city, but still enjoy the mountains.

I hope you find what you're looking for!

[4wainwrights]

Originally Posted by imsue_m

I need some help please!!!!

My family and I have lived in Kenosha, WI (it's between Chicago and Milwaukee) all of our lives. We want a change...a better quality of life...a work environment that does not cause fear (I'm a teacher in a neighboring town) for my own well-being. We visited NM twice last year, (Farmington) and decided it did not offer all that we wanted.

That being said, we still have our hearts set on moving to New Mexico, even though all of family is here. We are planning another trip the begining of April and will be staying for a week to check out Las Cruces, Albuquerque, and any place else we can fit in.

So I also need some help...I have been researching these areas, but I would really like to hear from people who live there and can give me all the juicy details. I guess from all my readings, I am more confused now than when I started.

Here is a basic run down of our life and what we are looking for...
~I am a Teacher (Language Arts - grades 7-12), and I already have my NM teaching cetificate.
~My husband will be starting his teaching carreer (Science 7-12), switching carreers from the CDL trucking industry.
~We have three children, our oldest will be a Senior for the 07-08 school year. The other two will be in 6th and 7th grade for the 07-08 school year.
~ Our goal is to down size our life so we can have a better quality of life, while our children will still travel and be seen with us
~We have three dogs-one large, two small.
~We are looking for a safe, friendly community, with good schools, views of mountains, and warm weather.
~I personally, would like to teach in a school where the students want to be there, want to learn, and want to discover for themselves. I know these students exist, because I saw them as I toured through most of the schools in the Farmington area.

Thank you in

i am a native new mexican who has also lived in ny, pa, and new zealand. i feel that i am intimately familiar with much of nm. i'll help as much as i can....

here is a stream of consciousness post...

nm. is made up of a couple of big or biggish cities. santa fe, las cruces, rio rancho, abq., farmington.
the schools in abq. (of which i am a product) are totally dependent upon district. as a teacher looking for interested students... i hear rio rancho is a world apart from abq. and much better. abq. only send your kids to northeast heights schools -- la cueva, sandia, el dorado, highland. i wouldn't send my kids to any other aps school if you paid me. even these schools are iffy because of a culture of binge drinking, casual sex, and drugs. the big private schools (academy and st. pius) are the same -- don't be fulled by glossy literature.
i don't have personal knowledge of rio rancho schools, but hear they're much better. rio rancho is filled with transplants from teh east coast --so that might explain it.

i would live in rio rancho. it has a good view of the sandia mountains. it has some nice parks for the kids.

i love the nobhill/unm/lawschool areas of abq. however, housing prices have skyrocketed.

lots of transplants in santa fe. i'm part of the santa fe mom's club and find the people to be nice. i don't know much about sf. it is expensive. i get a little clausterphobic (sp?) there with the little wiinding roads and very congested traffic.

i don't like las cruces at all. it is HOT, windy, flat. i don't know much about it beyond that. nm. state university is a party school. that's about all of my experience there--vistigin friends for parties during college. it's too close to el paso -- crime ridden and violent.

small towns in nm.
there is only one small town in nm. that i'd live in and that woudl silver city nm. the rest of the small towns are too parched or too unfriendly to "outsiders" for me. too far from civilization. if you'd like to know about silver city, let me know. or any other questions about nm.

kiddos are awake now.

good luck in your move.
my overall advice for someone relocating from afar would be rio rancho -- unless you want a small town removed from the ggod and bad of a city = silver city.

good luck!
amy

ps. i know yhou have your nm cert. however, have you consdiered durango, co.? that would meet your crit. of an education siystem w/ interested parents and children. it's beautiful. mountain views. not too too cold or too too hot. extremely dog oriented. seems to be a good place to raise high schoolers. expensive housing, but nice. quaint. anyway...

[Towanda]

Phoebe10 and 4wainwrights:

Great posts! Lots of good info!

Thanks for taking the time for all the details!

[Greenchili]

I think the guy above was a wee bit harsh on Las Cruces...
We lived in Alamo and made trips there every so often, it seemed nice
enough to me. Of course, some areas are probably worse than others.
But, it seemed like a decent small city to us. The organ mtns. are
picturesque. (sp?) Of course wanting so badly to move back to NM,
you will find me hard pressed to criticize any place there.

Greenchili

[tito]

I agree with "greenchili" that the put down for Las Cruces was undeserved. Any South region of the U.S.A is going to be hot in the summer; about being flat, Albuquerque is very flat too; about being windy, many regions in New Mexico are windy. That the university is a "party school", all universities are party schools because they cater to young people who are naturally party people. Too close to El Paso? ABQ has more crime than Las Cruces and is not close to El Paso. Anything positive or negative about a city or town, needs to be more specific and less personal to be credible.

[4wainwrights]

i live equidistant from taos, los alamos, and santa fe. los alamos is VERY expensive. i think housing is more there than in santa fe. it also gets pretty c-o-l-d. i agree with another contributor that alamagordo is "bare"--sparse, flat, hot, and bland. silver city is nice, as i wrote before. with your concerns about gangs, i would say, of your proposed cities, that silver city is the best. i've lived there. my biggest complaint about s.c. is that it's pretty remote from anywhere else. the schools are small town mentality--which i don't rank as good. good luck in your move.

[Six Foot Three]

Originally Posted by tito

I agree with "greenchili" that the put down for Las Cruces was undeserved. Any South region of the U.S.A is going to be hot in the summer; about being flat, Albuquerque is very flat too; about being windy, many regions in New Mexico are windy. That the university is a "party school", all universities are party schools because they cater to young people who are naturally party people. Too close to El Paso? ABQ has more crime than Las Cruces and is not close to El Paso. Anything positive or negative about a city or town, needs to be more specific and less personal to be credible.

I'm glad someone else defends southern NM besides myself. Way to go Tito.....