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My wife and I are planning on moving to the SW from the Chicago area fairly soon (12-18 months, depending on how quickly our house sells...). We're middle-aged (tail end of the Boomers), and not quite ready for retirement (I still have to work, but we're at the point where we shouldn't need to carry a mortgage; we just need enough to cover living expenses). We had considered Sierra Vista, AZ (thanks in part to info from this site), but found it to be too remote for our tastes - job opportunities aren't great, and commuting to Tucson would be a pain. My wife has spent almost her entire life near Chicago, and wants to be near a fairly large city; SV is just too remote for her.
I've lived in Tucson and Phoenix (14 yrs there); neither of us want that kind of summer heat. Albuquerque seems to have the best combination of location, size, climate, and real estate prices (San Diego would be better, but only if we win the lottery...).
Questions:
1. What are the "areas to avoid" as far as crime rates are concerned? We are looking at this as our final move (I still need to work, but we plan on retiring here), and would prefer not to be surrounded by gang-bangers. I realize that neighborhoods change with time (ours has - and not for the better in many ways), but any current info helps.
2. We don't really like "cookie cutter" houses, but our house budget is fairly limited ($200-$250K - we're trying to avoid carrying a mortgage). Seems that most new home builders in the area are going with the standard "Mediterranean/SouthWest ranch", which is kind of boring. Is anyone in the area building reasonably-priced Pueblo or Territorial-style homes? Outlying areas are not an issue; I'm used to a 45-90 minute commute one-way, and ABQ traffic doesn't sound anywhere near as bad as the Chicago-land area's...
3. How's the job market for Food & Beverage? I'm a bartender/bar manager/restaurant mgr by trade, and would prefer to get into one of the larger hotel chains (Marriott/Hyatt/Hilton/Sheraton) if possible - good benefits.
I've gotten a ton of good info from this site. We had originally planned on moving to the Tampa, FL area; I found out about the Florida homeowners insurance disaster here - this site saved us from a potentially huge headache. Sincere thanks to all...
Hello, and good luck on your move. I think you'll find that the neighborhoods here are quite a bit less homogenous than in many places; you'll find sketchy neighborhoods with little "pockets" of nice homes, and nice neighborhoods with pockets of crappy rentals. To be honest, the recent runup in house values has removed quite a few of the marginal rental properties, a lot of them got sold. One thing to avoid if you can is living near multi-family (apartments) that cater to the "section-8" rental assistance crowd. It seems to come in cycles, the owners of the bigger apts. have figured out how to milk the system to take advantage of govt. incentives that subsidise their remodels and updates when they go "section-8". It seems to be the govts way of spreading around the "ghetto" so that everyone in the middle income bracket has to share the pain. On a happier note there are some neighborhoods that have essentially no apartments to speak of (Four Hills for example) but they tend to be expensive to buy in.
It's hard to generally characterise any one neighborhood as all bad since the higher home prices kicked in, there are several formerly dodgy areas that are in the midst of gentrification. The best thing is to contact a realtor that has been doing business for a while here, and use their knowledge. Come and see it yourself, there's nothing like laying eyes on a neighborhood in person to get the skinny.
One tactic we used to do is to find an area that we were interested in, and then walk our dogs around there in the evenings. It gives you an excuse to stroll around being nosy without looking too out of place. If you find that you're not comfortable taking the pooch for a spin, you probably don't want to live there either. It used to be simpler, you could just see how many houses had a forest of burgler bars on the windows and avoid the densest areas. They're passe now, but still found on some places where old folks live or the occupant's been robbed a bunch.
Most people have a pretty well evolved "radar" for high-crime areas. Once you're "tuned in" for whats normal in a new city, the questionable areas stand out fairly clearly. And take heart, NM has a "shall-issue" concealed-carry law, so after you jump through the hoops you can legally protect yourself.
Thanks much. Same thing happening here re "pockets". We've got Section 8 apartments 3 blocks south, and local police had to set up a substation 5 blocks north in another Section 8 area due to the high crime rate. Our area (thank God) is relatively quiet.
From digging around on this site, it sounds like the best place for us to start a search is the Northeast & Northwest; RR may be an option. We're not fans of cookie-cutter, but if that's the only way...
We'll probably head out sometime this fall to snoop around; looking forward to the trip. We've had enough false-starts and disillusionment in this search for Nirvana - I hope ABQ is what we're looking for.
1. What are the "areas to avoid" as far as crime rates are concerned? We are looking at this as our final move (I still need to work, but we plan on retiring here), and would prefer not to be surrounded by gang-bangers. I realize that neighborhoods change with time (ours has - and not for the better in many ways), but any current info helps.
The South Valley, The War Zone (area by fairgrounds), South Broadway. You will actually find the more north you go in the city, the more new and nice the houses will typically be. Talk to a Realtor, that would be great help.
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2. We don't really like "cookie cutter" houses, but our house budget is fairly limited ($200-$250K - we're trying to avoid carrying a mortgage). Seems that most new home builders in the area are going with the standard "Mediterranean/SouthWest ranch", which is kind of boring. Is anyone in the area building reasonably-priced Pueblo or Territorial-style homes? Outlying areas are not an issue; I'm used to a 45-90 minute commute one-way, and ABQ traffic doesn't sound anywhere near as bad as the Chicago-land area's...
I would look in the north valley and the west side. They still seem to have some reasonable houses.
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3. How's the job market for Food & Beverage? I'm a bartender/bar manager/restaurant mgr by trade, and would prefer to get into one of the larger hotel chains (Marriott/Hyatt/Hilton/Sheraton) if possible - good benefits.
Couldn't tell you but I would guess that the Marriott Pyramid and Hyatt Downtown have fairly good Bar Activity.
I hope you find what you like. The minute you land in Albuquerque and see our airport you are going to know exactly what kind of city we have. I say this because are airport is Pueblo style. Its official name is the Albuquerque International Sunport!
1. What are the "areas to avoid" as far as crime rates are concerned? We are looking at this as our final move (I still need to work, but we plan on retiring here), and would prefer not to be surrounded by gang-bangers. I realize that neighborhoods change with time (ours has - and not for the better in many ways), but any current info helps.
2. We don't really like "cookie cutter" houses, but our house budget is fairly limited ($200-$250K - we're trying to avoid carrying a mortgage). Seems that most new home builders in the area are going with the standard "Mediterranean/SouthWest ranch", which is kind of boring. Is anyone in the area building reasonably-priced Pueblo or Territorial-style homes? Outlying areas are not an issue; I'm used to a 45-90 minute commute one-way, and ABQ traffic doesn't sound anywhere near as bad as the Chicago-land area's...
3. How's the job market for Food & Beverage? I'm a bartender/bar manager/restaurant mgr by trade, and would prefer to get into one of the larger hotel chains (Marriott/Hyatt/Hilton/Sheraton) if possible - good benefits.
I've gotten a ton of good info from this site. We had originally planned on moving to the Tampa, FL area; I found out about the Florida homeowners insurance disaster here - this site saved us from a potentially huge headache. Sincere thanks to all...
You can get pueblo and territorial style in that price range especially in existing homes since the market is really soft right now. There are almost 6000 homes in inventory and usually there are around 2-3000. You can get new homes too -- the builders are giving all kinds of incentives right now.
I think there are a lot of hospitality jobs and your best bet for better pay and benefits is probably at some of the casinos or with the few big name hotel chains as you mentioned. Although if you lived in RR you could work in Santa Fe (about 35 miles up the freeway) and the wages are better there in your industry I believe.
Now, my only caution would be what you mentioned about your wife wanting to be near a city of considerable size and amenities etc. Albuquerque is NOTHING like Chicago in terms of size and amenities. And it will be a big adjustment. It's a secondary airport so you have to make lots of connections and it always costs lots more to travel. And the shopping is not like Chicago. This isn't a big metro area like Chicago or the DC area etc. So just be prepared. A lot less choice.
LLD: My wife's biggest concern is basic amenities and health care ('cause we've got more years behind than ahead, as it were... ). We did a week in Tucson and Sierra Vista late last year; my wife would have been reasonably happy if Tucson had SV's climate (Tucson gets too hot). SV is suffering the same problems any rapidly-growing town goes thru - services trail population increases. Home Depot/Lowes? Drive to Tucson (although they were building a Lowes in SV when we visited). Petsmart/Petco? Drive to Tucson. Hospital? Drive to Tucson.
The Mesquite Tree restaurant in SV had excellent food, but ambiance puts it firmly in the "Hole in The Wall" catagory. Yeah - the food is what counts, but having a "nice" restaurant for anniversaries/birthdays/Valentine's Day/houseguests is kind of important, also. Granted - Tucson's only about 1:20 away, but that means an almost 3 hr round trip just for a dinner out.
My wife doesn't shop at Needless Markups...nor does she want to
From what we've been able to find on line, ABQ seems to have what we need as far as services and amenities goes.
JoeC - As long as you don't need a Nordstroms or Neiman Marcus, you'll be fine here in ABQ. We have everything you'll need, and because of the recent growth in our city, many other prominent retailers are coming. Part of what makes ABQ special though, is the many mom and pop retail operations in Nob Hill and Old Town. We have more than adequate healthcare facilities, probably somewhat better than Tucson. Our weather can't be beat, all four seasons, no extremes (except the occasional wind storm in the spring which is known for kicking up some dust). LLD did bring up a good point about air service in an out of ABQ. However we are better and have more flights than Tucson. But with Tucson's proximity to Phoenix travel by air may be somewhat cheaper there. ABQ is definitely more affordable and we have been more successful in recruiting jobs. We have a higher median income than Tucson, and a lower cost of living. The reason Tucson appears to be more upscale is because of the retirees that call that area home. Either way, both cities are GREAT, and I think you two would be happy in either.
If you are planning on making this your final move, my advice would be to rent for a year or so in the NE heights and then explore the city to find out what kind of neighborhood you want to buy in.
Most of the big hotel chains are on the east side near the I-25 corridor which is convenient both to the valley and the heights.
ABQConvict - Is your name due to your conviction that ALB is a great place, or are you a convict
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). We're middle-aged (tail end of the Boomers), and not quite ready for retirement (I still have to work, but we're at the point where we shouldn't need to carry a mortgage; we just need enough to cover living expenses). We had considered Sierra Vista, AZ (thanks in part to info from this site), but found it to be too remote for our tastes - job opportunities aren't great, and commuting to Tucson would be a pain. My wife has spent almost her entire life near Chicago, and wants to be near a fairly large city; SV is just too remote for her. 
).
pockets
