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I was totally looking at Los lunas, but I thought I read on here a couple of times that that area has a lot of drug abuse, crackhead types.....
IDK, on paper it looks great.
It's what I'm looking for, about 20 30 mins out of a major city.
It totally depends on where in Los Lunas you choose to look. The east part including areas east of 47 which is at least a few miles from I 25. I have a lot of friends who live closer to I 25, the area is safe, nice homes, middle and upper middle class atmosphere and less expensive than ABQ because it is about 20 to 30 min away, depending on the time of day. The area you are thinking of, which is called El Cerro and it is really bad, but you get the same thing throughout many parts of Albuquerque.
The thing I like about Los Lunas is you get that small town feeling and yet are close the big city. Another great place, but might be a little pricey is Corrales. It is northwest.
I know you didn't mean it that way, but I would put it like :
Most of the people in the South Valley ( that's what it is, not the SW )
are great people. I've met a lot of people from the South Valley and none of them were scuzzy. There is also a lot of pride there.
The "scuzzy" element could be 2x that of the rest of Albuquerque ( proportionally ),
but if it's 1% in ALL of Albuquerque, that still makes it insignificant in the South Valley.
People should consider moving to the South Valley or Southwest Mesa
if their daily doings keep them in that area - such as jobs, activities, etc.
If I had a job in that area, I wouldn't think twice about moving.
It's probably an easier commute to the East side jobs than from Rio Rancho, BTW.
Not my situation as I'm childless and in my 40's. We're just looking to escape the rat race of So Cal. I've heard plenty about Rio Rancho, but looking to avoid the "typical" destination people go to. I've been hearing about Rio Rancho for a few yrs now.
I imagine its probably getting pretty crowded too.
That's sorta why I was looking at the S/W part of the city. I drive all over for my job, so I'm used to crappy commutes.
You want to avoid the "rat race" but you'll be duplicating your crappy commute. Why bother moving?
I didn't know Rio Rancho was a "typical destination". Says who?
Have you ever visited Albuquerque except on Google street view? It may not seem much like a "major city" coming from SoCal. So I don't know why you feel a need to live up to a half hour outside it. There's still plenty of room inside.
My preference has been for the older neighborhoods in Albuquerque. I was just thinking this morning how I've been in my house now for 12 years, and am still one of the "newcomers" on the block. Most of my neighbors have been here longer. I like that kind of stability. It seems like the newer developments attract a more transient population. That is also probably reflected in the prices.
You want to avoid the "rat race" but you'll be duplicating your crappy commute. Why bother moving?
I didn't know Rio Rancho was a "typical destination". Says who?
Have you ever visited Albuquerque except on Google street view? It may not seem much like a "major city" coming from SoCal. So I don't know why you feel a need to live up to a half hour outside it. There's still plenty of room inside.
My preference has been for the older neighborhoods in Albuquerque. I was just thinking this morning how I've been in my house now for 12 years, and am still one of the "newcomers" on the block. Most of my neighbors have been here longer. I like that kind of stability. It seems like the newer developments attract a more transient population. That is also probably reflected in the prices.
I used the term rat race fairly loosely, I meant just the crowds and the hustle bustle of living in the LA area. My understanding is that the greater metro Abq area only has about 1 to 1.2 million or so. That is a fraction of what it is here.
I just figured that 20 to 30 mins away from a major downtown would be a good idea, without actually going and looking at the area... I just figured it would be a good starting point. I pretty much want the convenience of a larger city such as Abq nearby, but be a little more quieter and rural at home.
I would of course check out a potential area, I would just like to weed out the known bad areas right off the bat.
I
I just figured that 20 to 30 mins away from a major downtown would be a good idea, without actually going and looking at the area... I just figured it would be a good starting point. I pretty much want the convenience of a larger city such as Abq nearby, but be a little more quieter and rural at home.
A factor people seldom take into account is how long it takes to get X miles here versus California.
Even on a California interstate, you're probably only looking at 35-50 mph during busy periods, and often single digits, with major arterials performing similarly.
It's unusual when in Albuquerque any stretch of freeway performs worse than 65mph (or more if you don't mind speeding), rush hour (and it's still an hour or less) excepted. The streets are laid out more intelligently on average so there are probably half as many red lights for a given distance.
So that means that if you're looking 20-30 minutes away by California standards, you should be looking 10-15 minutes away by NM standards, because it covers the same area (which is still a majority of Albuquerque metro).
I don't know, the traffic here is pretty bad during rush hour. Only yesterday afternoon, around 4PM, I sat in heavy traffic for a whole three minutes while I was trying to get from the I-40/I-25 interchange to the Montgomery exit. I was very frustrated to say the least!
It totally depends on where in Los Lunas you choose to look. The east part including areas east of 47 which is at least a few miles from I 25. I have a lot of friends who live closer to I 25, the area is safe, nice homes, middle and upper middle class atmosphere and less expensive than ABQ because it is about 20 to 30 min away, depending on the time of day. The area you are thinking of, which is called El Cerro and it is really bad, but you get the same thing throughout many parts of Albuquerque.
Nita
El Cerro Loop is fine. Largely semi agricultural and quiet with some beautiful homes & horse ranches.
The bad areas are all on the east mesa, up out of the lush green valley that locals know as El Cerro Loop.
Meadow Lake and the El Cerro-Monteray Park area east of El Cerro Rd would not be good places to live.
I used the term rat race fairly loosely, I meant just the crowds and the hustle bustle of living in the LA area. My understanding is that the greater metro Abq area only has about 1 to 1.2 million or so. That is a fraction of what it is here.
I just figured that 20 to 30 mins away from a major downtown would be a good idea, without actually going and looking at the area... I just figured it would be a good starting point. I pretty much want the convenience of a larger city such as Abq nearby, but be a little more quieter and rural at home.
I would of course check out a potential area, I would just like to weed out the known bad areas right off the bat.
In my experience a lot of the newer developments at the periphery can be more congested than some central parts of Albuquerque. Having lived here over 20 years I have been alarmed at the rate of growth on the west side, how close together the houses are (in many areas), and how much traffic there is. Then I go back to my peaceful little part of the Southeast Heights area where I don't need a car to do most of what I need to do. For my commute I get on my bike and arrive at work 15-20 minutes later. It doesn't feel rural, but there are tree-lined streets for shade and I find it more relaxed and convenient than if I lived way out somewhere in a crowded subdivision and had to drive everywhere. But I have an eastern mentality and don't come from as much of a car culture as most people here.
A factor people seldom take into account is how long it takes to get X miles here versus California.
Even on a California interstate, you're probably only looking at 35-50 mph during busy periods, and often single digits, with major arterials performing similarly.
It's unusual when in Albuquerque any stretch of freeway performs worse than 65mph (or more if you don't mind speeding), rush hour (and it's still an hour or less) excepted. The streets are laid out more intelligently on average so there are probably half as many red lights for a given distance.
So that means that if you're looking 20-30 minutes away by California standards, you should be looking 10-15 minutes away by NM standards, because it covers the same area (which is still a majority of Albuquerque metro).
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