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Yes, you can drop $$$$$ on a house, even in Albuquerque! You definitely don't have to, even in the La Cueva school district, but if you want La Cueva + amazing mountain views, then yes that will cost you. Your budget is healthy for your wants though, and you can actually find what it sounds like you are looking for and "only" spend closer to $500k. Take a look at some of these examples:
Nob Hill is walkable. No doubt you'll end up there at some point and have a nice time. It gets plenty hot in the summer, like most places. Albuquerque is an easy place to live.
Read through the local threads, everything you want to know is found here. Be seeing you ...
Where is exactly Nob Hill? Is it the stretch from Girard and Central due east as I recall? It's no more than a few blocks with some restaurants as I recall. You don't see major crowds.
Where is exactly Nob Hill? Is it the stretch from Girard and Central due east as I recall? It's no more than a few blocks with some restaurants as I recall. You don't see major crowds.
A stretch from Girard Blvd to Washington Street on Central, about 1 mile...
We're visiting in June for a vacation/gathering at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya. I'm getting the retirement/relocation itch, so even though I've never been to Albuquerque, I also want to check things out. What neighborhoods/suburbs should we tour for potential retirement spots?
We appreciate areas that:
are "safe"
are walkable
have high speed internet (do I have to say this anymore?)
are near a university/college
have a liberal vibe
are not age restricted
have a good school system *
* We're older parents who may retire with one still in school.
BTW, much will depend on how I take the heat. Generally, I strongly dislike hot weather, but I'm mostly familiar with hot+humid areas. What is life like in the summer? Do people rush between the house AC and the car AC?
Also, we're techies. So if someone wants to tell us about the opportunities for software engineers and tech marketers/tech managers/program managers/etc. that might be of interest, too! (I can search job sites, but things like what sides of town have good commutes to the likely work areas...)
Thanks!
I suggest you stay away from Albuquerque as it is expensive to live there and crime is on the rise. Suggest you look at Silver City or Deming. Both are good to live in and friendly. Cost of living low for retired.
It would really help, OP, if you say what climates you've lived in before so we can give you a comparison. We have no idea what you're used to when you ask about "heat".
If you have that much money to spend on a house you may consider private school if your youngest can qualify. The Albuquerque Academy ranks among the best private high schools in the US. There are other choices also. For public schools, La Cueva HS may be the best, but it serves the most car-dependent, least walkable neighborhoods. The most walkable areas (like Nob Hill/UNM) don't have the best schools but they still may work for your child.
You are visiting in our hottest month so don't draw a hasty conclusion. There might be a day or two that reaches 100 degrees but humidity might be single digits. I and most other people use an evaporative (swamp) cooler, not AC. I was skeptical at first but it does a great job at a fraction of the cost. AC is available in newer homes but some transplants jump to AC without realizing that there is another option. Desert nights are cool so I only run the swamp cooler about ten hours a day. This is high desert and the heat isn't like in Arizona and the humidity is usually very low. The sun will get to you before the heat will. Winters are short and mild with sunny, 50-degree days quite often. Night temps are often in the 20s. Snow lasts a few hours or maybe a day or two.
You will probably want to live on the same side of the Rio Grande as your workplace. Traffic is generally not too bad but the bridges are bottlenecks.
I live only a few miles from the Tamaya in Rio Rancho and I like the area as a retiree. I live in a sparsely developed area and would not call it "walkable" except for the sake of exercise. Some Albuquerque areas would be walkable to cafes, bars or stores. There are no real safety issues and the Rio Rancho schools are good. The University of New Mexico is in Albuquerque. There are several campuses for CNM community college. I don't know what internet speed you need but it seems adequate for my needs -- but I'm not a techie. New Mexico is a pretty much a blue state and Albuquerque is reasonably liberal. I seldom encounter anyone who is very extreme one way or another. The general attitude seems very tolerant and nonjudgmental. It is a multicultural place with several languages spoken and nobody really cares.
Oh wow" normally I would not say June is the hottest month infact early June is very comfortable. I thing of mid July to late Aug as being the truly hot months. I do agree Rio Rancho would be the best place to start a search. One more thing, I guess we all see things differently but I would never think of NM as being blue: I might call it purple but not blue at all. If ABQ is liberal and the only place in the state with much of a population it would be hard to think blue: yes, you don't often find people who are very openly political.
Oh wow" normally I would not say June is the hottest month infact early June is very comfortable. I thing of mid July to late Aug as being the truly hot months.
Maybe in Arkansas but in NM (statistically speaking) late June to early July is the hottest part of the year.
And no, people here do not "rush between the car A/C and the house A/C" (unless they are really wimpy). Summer mornings are delightful in the 60s and 70s, and even afternoons in the 90s are tolerable in the shade. I lived for 3 years in Albuquerque with no cooling at home (except a floor fan) and have owned cars here with no A/C (and this is coming from the East Coast).
The murder that just happened isn't helping. Also, what is exactly "Self Serve Sexuality Resource Center" smack in the middle of Nob Hill?
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