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The problem is not Rio Rancho per se, it's the bridges....specifically the fact that there's not enough of them. The traffic issue would't BE an issue if there were enough lanes across the Rio Grande. Imagine if the Phoenix metro area was divided into it's constituent cities by moats, with at best a half-dozen bridges over those moats. They'd never put up with it. Here in ABQ a miniscule number of well-off NIMBYS have held up any progress on bridge construction since...well...forever. With all the money going into those mansions along the Bosque, I don't imagine its going to get any easier to build any new ones.
Other than the river it's pretty much one contiguous metro area nowadays, its not like there's a big patch of empty desert between them like it was years ago. In the old days there was a distinctly different makeup of the population in RR, and it had a distinctly NY flavor and accent to it which was not always welcome or appreciated by the other "locals". That was the result of the huge numbers of "ranchettes" on the West Side sold largely sight-unseen by unscrupulous NY based land speculators. Even today from the air you can see the overgrown "roads" bulldozed by those same speculators back in the 50's, literally just dirt paths in the middle of nowhere. Today you'd be hard pressed to identify any difference between the two, population-wise. In a way, the fact that it's a separate city at all is sort of an artificial distinction.
To a lot of us longtime Albuquerque residents, Rio Rancho represents most of the bad aspects of growth....... Many of us feel like newcomers moving to Rio Rancho to get a feel of the southwest is like going camping and blasting your radio.
Today, Rio Rancho is less like an unwanted baby and more like a tolerated little brother to Albuquerque.
AGREE! Also agree that people are separate from the place, so no harm meant to any RR residents.
I work occaisonally in RR, and honestly I dread driving there, being there. To me it feels like many new suburbs--kind of lifeless and without character, or trees. The housing developments, strip malls and shopping centers all kind of blur together. Having said that, I recognize that RR does offer young families more space for the dollar, less crime, etc., and I do understand that. Choosing the whole RR package however, for the sake of a larger house for the money, is just not something I'll ever be able to relate to.
I do recall having conversations about how I wish we could get more businesses in Rio Rancho so we do not have to drive into "the city" and spend all our money there. We would like to be able put our money back into our community.
I do like enjoying our exclusion from Albuquerque's crime stastics!
Not trying to get down on you, but these kind of statements are probably why many ABQ folks dislike RR, would you agree?
Is Rio Rancho really tree-less? Lifeless? Without character? I hope not, I am moving there in a month.
I'm sure there are parts that aren't--but this is my general opinion, as someone who's lived in seven states and a variety of small cities (on both coasts, and in the SW). Remember that RR is relatively new, and we are already in a relatively treeless desert, so yeah, there aren't a lot of trees, particularly mature ones.
My only real concern with Rio Rancho is how they taut it as being the end all and be all of the best school district in the area and my husband and I noticed right away about the mobile units attached to a brand new elementary school. A friend of ours said that all school districts around the country have those and guess what, not all school districts do have them. Only areas with explosive growth and that is why we decided to choose a less busy area.
On the news tonight they reported on the explosive numbers of students enrolling in the Rio Rancho district and the different ways of dealing with the "situation." Some of the ideas were mobile classrooms and varying hours. We are glad we bought in the "boonies." We know the teacher-child ratio will not be crazy and our son will get the individual attention he needs. This is just our perspective and experience coming from Illinois and a community nearby called, Lake in the Hills, that is VERY much like Rio Rancho. I love the people here, but there are some things that are greatly lacking. The realtors will not tell you about the overcrowding schools because they don't have to yet. Their scores acadamically speaking are doing very good, but time will tell. I hear a lot about the sports programs and although sports are very important and necessary I care more about how the teachers aren't over stressed and able to provide the individual attention needed.
Is Rio Rancho really tree-less? Lifeless? Without character? I hope not, I am moving there in a month.
mmckenna......Treeless in that much of it is so new that the trees planted in the yards of houses will take some years to grow but there are the ''older'' areas around the Intel area where it looks like any other city as trees go.
My only real concern with Rio Rancho is how they taut it as being the end all and be all of the best school district in the area and my husband and I noticed right away about the mobile units attached to a brand new elementary school.
Homewardbound....from what i see when i go out there is that there are alot of portables in the schools but that is bacause it is growing fast out there as so many young families want to be out there.
They are building new schools as the new high school (cleveland) is under construction on Paseo Volcan and i believe a new Middle school and 2 or 3 Elemetary schools are or will be shortly under construction.
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