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Isn't Pill Hill North of Central, East of I-40, West of University and South of Lomas? I could be wrong though.
My understanding is the same as yours. The area referred to as "Pill Hill" when I was growing up consisted of the Encino and Medical Arts complexes and parts of the Spruce Park and Sycamore neighborhoods. The general (expanded) boundaries as I understood them are as you give them (with I-25 in place of I-40).
My mom used to work at the St. Francis Gardens nursing home and childcare center along the freeway there when I was growing up. And my grandfather and various other family members used to see doctors and use the pharmacy up in those medical office complexes back in the day. Those generations older than me are the ones who used to refer to any "Pill Hill" in Albuquerque and it was in that location.
Royene is in what I'd call the Altura Park area. I have never heard the Altura Park area referred to as "Pill Hill" in all the time I've lived in Albuquerque.
My understanding is the same as yours. The area referred to as "Pill Hill" when I was growing up consisted of the Encino and Medical Arts complexes and parts of the Spruce Park and Sycamore neighborhoods. The general (expanded) boundaries as I understood them are as you give them (with I-25 in place of I-40).
My mom used to work at the St. Francis Gardens nursing home and childcare center along the freeway there when I was growing up. And my grandfather and various other family members used to see doctors and use the pharmacy up in those medical office complexes back in the day. Those generations older than me are the ones who used to refer to any "Pill Hill" in Albuquerque and it was in that location.
Royene is in what I'd call the Altura Park area. I have never heard the Altura Park area referred to as "Pill Hill" in all the time I've lived in Albuquerque.
I just asked my dad who was born and raised in the 5 points/Barelas area. He said Pill Hill as he knows it is the Spruce Park area.
I just asked my dad who was born and raised in the 5 points/Barelas area. He said Pill Hill as he knows it is the Spruce Park area.
Yes. But I think over time "Pill Hill" as a name has become somewhat obscure to use. Perhaps that's why the understanding of the area it refers to may have been lost. My thinking is that it was all the rage to call it that when those two complexes of medical offices and such were first developed, and subsequently fell out of use with each successive generation. To me "Pill Hill" just sounds so old-timey. LOL.
So is it unrealistic or irresponsible to think that these older lots can be maintained?
Depends on which lots you are talking about. Some are very small and depending on the trees and lawns water consumption can be minimal. There is at least one neighborhood which actually requires lawns...
I agree with Aries63, I'm never sure why people feel they need to take the green grass of their former regions with them to the desert. I've seen plenty of examples of xeriscaping that is far more attractive, interesting, and green than the typical grass lawn. Also, many people here are actively working to xeriscape and get rid of the lawns from the bygone era that aries63 mentions. It takes alot of water to keep a lawn green here, and we are in the midst of possibly the driest year on record (~2 inches of rain for the year in ABQ). It just doesn't make much sense, especially when natural landscaping is so much more attractive anyway.
It does make more sense in the backyard, where kids might enjoy grass to play...
As for the neighborhoods, both are nice options I'd say, but the "Pill Hill" option is less walkable, as has been noted.
Daveydoe: I thought the desert environment was one of the reasons you were attracted to New Mexico?
I'm not saying it's "irresponsible" to maintain lawns -- I also live in an older area with a lawn in front (xeriscaping in back), but we are gradually letting the front go with the idea of eventually xeriscaping it. This doesn't mean completely eliminating grass either, we will just reduce the area of coverage and put in some nice plants. We have a water harvester that collects rainwater from the roof and use the harvested water to supplement our outdoor watering. There are many creative ways to xeriscape, the options are endless.
The city has a rebate program for converting high water use landscaping to xeriscaping.
In the link I provided to the city xeriscaping website in my earlier post, there are some pictures and an explanation of how "xeriscaping" is very different from "zeroscaping". Unfortunately there are too many examples of "zeroscaping", yards that consist almost entirely of gravel. Some people can't be bothered (or simply aren't able) to do yard maintenance so go for this option. You should also consider the overall look of your street and talk to the neighbors about any kind of landscaping project you're considering. There used to be a lot of resistance to xeriscaping in older neighborhoods but the practice now is more accepted, especially if it is done in an attractive design.
For more pictures you can do a Google search on "xeriscape yard" and click on "images".
Santa Fe is very strict about watering because their water supply is even more limited than Albuquerque's. Front yard watering is severely restricted and I think grass isn't even allowed. At least a friend told me her elderly mother was fined when she was caught using grey water from inside the house to hand-water some plants in her front yard. That was a no-no. Maybe it was just the wrong day of the week, I'm not sure. Albuquerque may get there too, I don't know, but we do have watering regulations about the time of day you can use sprinklers, and you can be fined if your sprinkler water runs into the street.
(assuming you meant E of I-25 as I-40 is basically an E-W freeway).
Have never heard that neighborhood referred to as anything besides Spruce Park, or perhaps Frat Row.
Pill Hill is where the doctors live, as the saying goes, and it's pretty much everything within a half-mile radius of the stopsign at Washington & Constitution NE. Some very expensive homes in that area, inconsistent with the surrounding neighborhoods.
No, Pill Hill is not where the doctors live, it's where the doctors work. There are many doctor's offices in the area. It sits above (east of) I-25,West of UNM and just south of Lomas.
You might also want to check out the Ridgecrest area which is nearby where you are looking. This area and the surrounding areas that you are looking at do have crime, but the neighborhoods are quiet.
In our search for a home, someone gave us the website for Greater Albuquerque Real Estate (?) Available. I seemed to have deleted it some time ago. If someone can give you that website, you can take a look at homes in the various neighborhoods. There are homes to be had with green backyards. Not many but they are there. I saw a number in Rio Rancho (if memory serves) but you have to look for them; they won't be common. If you're leaning toward needing greenery.... you can always check out the properties available in the East Mountains that are about 20 minutes away from Albuquerque. There is a Remax and a Coldwell Banker out there.
Also I highly recommend the east mountains if you want a little more green (little more mind you, still deserty up here). We are renting a home in Sandia Park, and we love it so far. Takes my husband 25 minutes to drive in to work (UNM- Med Center) when he isn't biking the 26 miles to work (yes he is crazy)
Last edited by Poncho_NM; 11-19-2011 at 09:28 AM..
Reason: Real Estate site
Please, Realtor.com, Zillow.com and I guess Craiglist.com are the only real estate sites we allow here because they are general in nature. All others will be edited out or deleted.
Rich
Last edited by Poncho_NM; 11-19-2011 at 09:30 AM..
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Neighborhoods ...
