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After having been in ABQ for a few years, we have got to get out. I strongly advise you, especially if you have (or plan to have) kids, to look for better opportunities elsewhere. It's the crappiest, poorest, dirtiest state for many reasons:
- Lazy as heck.
- Schools are TERRIBLE. Where does all the money go?
- Local university is lame.
- Very few skilled professional jobs
- Tattoos and drugs are as common as sunshine and dry air
- Lame pool of physicians. All the good physicians aren't taking new patients, or have left for Phoenix or Denver.
- Very limited pool of talent. People here just don't give a crud. Young talent is fleeing for better cities, leaving behind the tattooed, drugged up menaces.
- So much poverty.
- High taxes, getting higher.
- State hates economic growth.
- The Land of Entrapment now makes sense. Get a degree at Univ of NM and it's a joke. Nobody wants to hire you. It's a fast food economy, and that's exactly where your kids will end up.
We are out of here at the first opportunity.
Sounds like the perfect place for someone with a vision who's willing to work at building something.
Adios, Mr. Dawg. Maybe your next stop will suit you better. Maybe not. Expectations sometimes bite you in the ass. But -- There are only two points that you mention that I halfway tend to agree with. One is direct and the second is implied.
ABQ public schools need help and it will take some time, money, and effort to make improvements. The recent election results for school improvements failed. There are a dozen or more private academies which, in a city this size, says something about public schools. That is an important issue for families that needs to be addressed.
That brings me to the second point. As a newer arrival, It seems to me that there is a certain level of apathy and passivity in the local ABQ population in terms of civic participation. If the schools are bad, you should try to fix them. If the police force is bad, you try to fix it. There seems to be a notion that "welp, that's just the way it is" or else it's somebody elses responsibility. People should take ownership of the city. If residents don't actively express their desires and opinions then the decisions are made by a few folks that might have other interests in mind.
Albuquerque is a great place but it could be better.
(off of soapbox)
Government jobs and pension? Maybe Air Force? If you have friends and family at the Labs, that is a good option. But that is also representative of the disparity in NM. Labs=great jobs; most everyone else is working at fast food and retail chains to support the lab employees. Pull the lab funding and ABQ is in immediate peril and becomes an economic wasteland. I for one feel that is a real possibility after 2020.
Albuquerque has 404,000 jobs. Only 44,000 of those jobs are in leisure & hospitality, which is the classification where fast food and retail jobs are to be found. 11 percent of the total number of jobs cannot possibly support your claim of most everybody else working fast food and retail to support the people working at the labs. The labs employ nearly 13,000 people in Albuquerque. The information, financial activities, professional and business services, education and health services sectors are all well-paying and education intensive jobs that together number a little over 156,000 jobs in the metro. Those jobs obviously dwarf the number of people working at the labs.
Your fantasies and lies are not reality or the truth.
Clearly the OP is disgruntled about the Democrats taking over the Governor's office and Albuquerque after almost a decade of Republican so-called leadership, so is lambasting the city and state over things that Republicans failed to fix.
Since he complains about the "poverty" and "growth hatred" in New Mexico I recommend he move to a wealthy state, like California, New York, or Massachusetts.
Part of it being a free country means anyone can leave anywhere anytime they want. Unless they're incarcerated, eh? I, too, sincerely hope you find what you're looking for, DukeCityDawg. Moving around can make for a tough life, though. Something for you ta think about.
I fully agree! (Something I do not do often...) Although we did move around a lot...
In Mar 2014, the OP posted this:
"Good luck. No company wants the privilege of paying the excessive 7% gross receipts tax that New Mexico imposes. As for ABQ, the County Air Quality Board is no friend to industry and growth. And then you have UNM. University of Mediocrity. Finally, the failed attempts by the state's economic development group. NM and ABQ are mired in a national low public opinion/perception swamp. And then add on the high housing costs for a plot of desert land with poor water. I love ABQ and NM (for the recreation and friendliness), but this state is stuck."
One month later, the OP posted this:
"ABQ is definitely a hidden gem in many ways. The outdoor activities (hiking, camping, day hikes, skiing, etc.) are great. The Rocky Mountains are nearby, and a lot of great places are easy to travel to (DEN, Durango, Vegas). The weather is very mild, but you still get four seasons. Personally, I think ABQ weather is better than the famous SoCal weather. People are friendly (except on the road, of course!), and it's pretty easy to find a place to live that will meet your needs. I would say the biggest downside is the job market. There are relatively lower number of non-government professional jobs compared to other metro areas this size. The other thing some people don't like is the desert environment, but once you live here, it seems to take on its own charm and beauty. I mainly suggest you move here with a good job in pocket first."
Yeah, I know. Great for retired people with money. And for their kids/grand kids if they can fund said kids. Especially good for lab families since nepotism runs rampant at the labs.
You can criticize this poster for other aspects of his content, but I want to chime in here that he is spot on with labs and nepotism. I have worked next to this. It is rampant in every vestige of the Intelligence Community. The big thing is the TS/SCI clearance. Most companies do not want to pay the $75,000 background check to hire someone that takes a year to do. However, dad can get kids in and they do that, all the time. The kids usually start with the security then work their way into a white collar welfare position. That clearance in this state is the equivalent of having a union card in the 1950s.
This is tough. Santa Fe is for elite retirees who want to be artists. No real professional commerce jobs. Go too far north to Espanola or LAs Vegas, NM and you have crime-ridden small towns. Las Lunas and Belen have a good attitude about growth, but are small. Las Cruces also has a good growth attitude, but now you're near El Paso and might as well live in Texas with no income tax. Farmington is better, but again lots of poverty. Not sure of your occupation, but Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, etc. are good places with some growth.
Curious...what is "a good attitude toward growth"?
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