commute from ABQ to Santa Fe (Albuquerque, Bernalillo: for rent, insurance, home)

[cosmos83]

I am planning on moving to New Mexico in a little less than a year for Grad school. I currently live in Omaha, NE. I am planning to attend Southwestern College in Santa Fe and have a few questions. Since the cost of living is higher in Santa Fe would I be better off commuting from Albuquerque? Also, how is the unemployment situation in New Mexico right now? Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated!

[rybert]

Don't do it. You'll go CRAZY!

[mortimer]

cosmos83 wonders:

> Since the cost of living is higher in Santa Fe
> would I be better off commuting from Albuquerque?

No.

> ... planning to attend Southwestern College in Santa Fe ...

You can ride the Railrunner from Albuquerque and then take the
#1 Agua Fria bus to the college from there:
Santa Fe Bus Routes #1 - Agua Fria

As a student, the two hours of time that it will take you each way
won't be completely wasted since students never really have free
time. They are just putting off studying that they need to do.

The cost of living is higher in Santa Fe, but out there in "Airport Land"
it's not likely to be significantly more expensive than in Albuquerque.

I would place a value/cost of a commute between Albuquerque and
Santa Fe at $50 each day - not counting the value of my time.

Your life will be much more tolerable if you could walk or ride your
bike to the college so that you can go home between classes and such.
The commute via Railrunner is only tolerable if you live near a station
in Albuquerque and work near a station in Santa Fe. Addition the
additional logistic problem of a bus, makes it intolerable.

Driving an automobile is even more nuts. It's less nuts than driving
deep into Santa Fe, however, since taking the 599 well before the
Cerillos Rd exit is pretty convenient.

For those that don't know, Southwestern College is located at
3960 San Felipe Rd Santa Fe, NM 87507 which is way out on
the Southwestern side of town - near the airport.

Rybert is right. Vinegaroon is not.

[Vinegaroon]

You would be better off financially, and you can also commute daily now by train. Instead of Albuquerque, consider Bernalillo which is closer.

[domino]

Time is valuable. Spend some more money and live in Santa Fe. To me, time is more precious than money.

And what's the point of studying in Santa Fe if you are going to miss half the experience by living in Albuquerque?

[cynanthus]

My husband did the ABQ to Santa Fe commute for two years. It's draining. The only reason he stuck it out is that his employer paid for his commute. If you're going to be a student, I'd highly recommend living near where you're going to study. Like some of the other people have said, the cost of living out on the SW side of Santa Fe isn't that much higher than Albuquerque. And when you figure in the commuting costs, you may end up spending less if you live in SF. Good luck!

[mortimer]

cynanthus reported:

> My husband did the ABQ to Santa Fe commute for two years. ...
> only reason he stuck it out is that his employer paid for his commute.

I bet not.

They might have paid him for the miles, but did they allow him to work a six hour day? THAT would have truly been paying for the commute. My morning and evening free time is low enough as it is. Burning an extra one hour at each end would require a pretty kick-butt job in Santa Fe.

(Even then, I wouldn't do it for longer than it took to find a place to live there.)

[Fischer_girl]

[quote=mortimer;8430228]



As a student, the two hours of time that it will take you each way
won't be completely wasted since students never really have free
time. They are just putting off studying that they need to do.



I would place a value/cost of a commute between Albuquerque and
Santa Fe at $50 each day - not counting the value of my time.

The commute via Railrunner is only tolerable if you live near a station
in Albuquerque and work near a station in Santa Fe.



For those that don't know, Southwestern College is located at
3960 San Felipe Rd Santa Fe, NM 87507 which is way out on
the Southwestern side of town - near the airport.
quote]

Alright.. with this "two hour commute one way each day"...just where are you suggesting this student is going to be living? Way out on the north side of SF and the south side of ABQ?! The commute does NOT take two hours unless one lives way out in "BFE"! My husband does the commute every day and it takes him 45. And $50 a day?!?! More like $20/week for his car in gas!!! Unless, of course, the drives start right at rush hour each day...that might cause more of a headache with drive times.
We never have done the railrunner..but if you pay for one year of commuting daily..thats $1000, and what you stated about the ease of it..I agree..its only going to be easy if you live right next to the station rather than taking a bus or cab to/from the station.
599 in SF is SWEET! My husband and I commute on it daily..and I laugh to myself about the poor saps who have to go through the heart of town... especially Cerrillos going towards the plaza... I'd rather WALK!
I would say... for living in SF... if a person is looking for a one bedroom apt you're looking at $700+ for rent. ABQ seems to be about $550+ on the very low end. So yes, you would be saving money in rent. But than there is ~$80+ in gas/month. And an increased number of oil changes, etc. I have also heard that in the winter months it is not uncommon that I25 is closed due to the weather. Would that be worth missing classes or potential exams? Personally, I think it would be far better to just pay the extra cash and live where you do your schooling. We don't have a choice in the matter as far as commuting to work, but have found that it is very difficult to make friends and meet people when you spend a large majority of your time in a city 45 minutes away.

[Fischer_girl]

PS: If you decide to live in ABQ you might post a commute ad on craigs list and such. I have a friend who works here at the capitol and she said that a vast majority of people in her area of work commute from ABQ to SF for work. You might be able to find a car pool buddy.

[mortimer]

Fischer_girl railed:

> Alright.. with this "two hour commute one way each day" ... just
> where are you suggesting this student is going to be living?

I don't care where they live.

> The commute does NOT take two hours unless one lives way out in "BFE"!
> My husband does the commute every day and it takes him 45.

Your husband drives a car for his commute.

Had you not gotten so excited about responding, you would have read, in my
post, that I was describing the two-hour commute using the Railrunner and
the Agua Fria bus. That will easily take you two hours - possibly longer.

> And $50 a day?!?! More like $20/week for his car in gas!!!

You need to check your numbers again. 100 miles a day @ 25 mpg would
require 4 gallons of gasoline each day. You can drive to Santa Fe on $20
worth of gasoline EACH DAY if your car gets 50 miles-per-gallon. To do it
on $20/week would require a vehicle getting 250 mpg.

It costs roughly 50 cents a mile to run an automobile if you are keeping
track of all the associated costs of maintenance, insurance and gasoline.