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We are doing fine living in the northeast heights (tramway area) and am thoroughly enjoying it! Having just left Miami suburbs... and also previously DC area, we are happy with our ABQ relocation and NOT living in fear (and rarely think about crime, until I read this forum!)
Granted I am not living nor frequenting other parts of ABQ as much as am staying mostly in the far ne heights. But that being said, we are not living in fear of any of the stats you mention.
However, no matter where you live, you do need to be vigilant and careful....
This abq crime thing is really annoying. I swear people love to over hype crime in the city. It is much safer than los angeles... I had lived in los angeles for over 30 years. Just be smart don't do dumb stuff... and you should be fine
I'm living in Los Angeles and have been thinking about moving to Albuquerque. ... Having a Public Safety background and knowing ...
Being an expert in crime due to your background and subsequently
being alarmed by the high crime rate in Albuquerque, why would
you be thinking about moving here? < boggle >
As an expert with all the facts and statistics, what good would
hearing the average citizen's opinion on crime really do? The
average person will only be able to give anecdotal experiences
which have absolutely nothing to do with the statistics.
Additionally, why would you care if the poster is a new transplant
or a long-time resident? A new transplant from a high-crime area is
going to give you a completely different view than someone from a
safe, small town. Both views, again, completely useless.
I guess I can sort of see the OP's point... in Boston, some folks who had lived there their whole lives and were saddled with jobs or kids in school and couldn't/didn't want to move, had trouble coming to terms with problems in the city. At least from my vantage point, there was very much an attitude of "Well, this is the way it's always been, and if you don't like it, you can take it or leave it". It was that way about prices, construction/buildings, traffic, crime (organized or not), the disaster that was the Big Dig, major red tape surrounding health care... it's hard to defend such problems if you have to look them in the face everyday. So soliciting the opinions of those who made a conscious, independent decision to move a new place, warts and all, may provide a slightly different point of view. I grew up in a place where no one in their right mind that I know would voluntarily move to. But because of my childhood experiences, it was wonderful, and I would give it a glowing recommendation. Does that make any sense? But I agree - it's very difficult to come up with any kind of consensus based on a mish-mash of different people's views. I, however, enjoyed hearing a variety of people's views on different topics when I was considering moving here. It did help tremendously in helping me get to know the city on some level. I think for any concrete crime information, best to just contact the local law enforcement and hope that they have the time to give you the detailed, honest information you are looking for.
And just for clarification, I wouldn't say I "live in fear" on a regular basis here. Slightly skittish, perhaps, but not living in fear. I'd maybe liken it to someone who, say, lives in New England and hates the thought of driving on icy roads and losing control - or - someone who lives in a very sunny climate and doesn't want to get skin cancer so wears long-sleeved protective clothing year-round - or - someone who has a fear of terrorism but works in a big government or tourism-related building in a major metropolitan city. The nervousness might be there and be a part of who you are, but it may necessarily not be enough to deter a person from doing what they're doing and living where they're living.
At the risk of backpeddling everything I just said and asking a dumb question: here's another one about "crime" in Albuquerque. Do home break-ins tend to happen during the day while people are away at work, or during the night? Of break-ins that you have heard of, has anyone actually been surprised in their home or at night while sleeping? While away on vacation? Just curious.
At the risk of backpeddling everything I just said and asking a dumb question: here's another one about "crime" in Albuquerque. Do home break-ins tend to happen during the day while people are away at work, or during the night? Of break-ins that you have heard of, has anyone actually been surprised in their home or at night while sleeping? While away on vacation? Just curious.
It might be hard for a newcomer to answer this question (and I would count myself as a "newcomer" who decided to stay for a long time because the positives have outweighed the negatives for me), but overwhelmingly break-ins happen when people are not home, during the day. Of course there are glaring exceptions, I think usually when people are assumed not to be home but are, and surprise the burglar.
And here I'll offer some useless anecdotal experiences (my weakness): on my street (SE Albuquerque), the two houses I've known that have been broken into are ones where the owners park on the street or in the driveway, not in their garage. It's easy to see right away that they're gone because the car's not there. On a positive note, twice we've left the house overnight forgetting to close the garage door. When we came home the following day nothing had been touched, bicycles, tools, everything still there. Didn't know whether to feel lucky about it, or insulted that nobody wanted our stuff. We have also gone to bed leaving doors wide open more than once, each tacitly assuming the other had closed and locked them. Have gone to bed with the keys in the door, on the outside. Nobody came in any of these times... but it's an uneasy feeling to wake up in the morning and discover these oversights.
I have to say I never once thought about what crime would be like before I moved here. I think it is more of a preoccupation now that I'm older. Is this something people worry about more now than they used to?
Final gratuitous anecdote for today (I promise): I met a former Washington, DC resident who moved to Edgewood, off of Frost Road (or is that Cedar Crest?). He said he removed the locks from his doors when he moved in. He was tired of living in fear the way he had in DC and decided he wouldn't live that way anymore.
I do not want more argument, but this is my feeling reading this thread...
Mortimer, I was thinking about moving to ABQ long before I started researching the crime stats there. That is the problem. I have friends in NM, like the landscape, climate, etc... but the crime is the stumbling block.
I am wanting the experiences of new transplants because I have actually found that instead of your notion that because of the short time in the area they don't "get it" about the ABQ, they actually tend to be more objective about the reality of crime in ABQ and willing to discuss. From my experience, the long-time residents are so defensive and angry regarding any realistic talk of ABQ crime that it's impossible to gauge the reality on the ground. That worries me too.
The attitudes on this subject are starting to worry me almost as much as the stats. I thought LA people were supposed to have bad attitudes. Seems ABQ have them too... just about different things. I really can't believe I'm being called "bogus" and "not the kind of person who should move here" for just wanting a realistic discussion on crime. If this angry, bullying attitude is what's prevalent in ABQ, forget it.
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We have also gone to bed leaving doors wide open more than once, each tacitly assuming the other had closed and locked them. Have gone to bed with the keys in the door, on the outside. Nobody came in any of these times... but it's an uneasy feeling to wake up in the morning and discover these oversights.
