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For those of you who live in Rio Rancho, what do you feel are the pros and cons? Burglaries seem to be a bit high---is this something to be concerned about if one lives in a single family home? Thanks for your input.
I don't live in Rio Rancho, but the commute is a bad if you have to cross the Rio Grande. Also depending on what part of Rio Rancho it could be far out in the NW in the middle of no where.
Much of Rio Rancho is small lot subdivisions, many, many subdivisions. We almost bought a house there but when we visited the high school the administrator told us to always pack a lunch for our son because they had no idea how they would feed all the kids in the over-crowded school. Plus, they had to wear security badges everywhere while on the campus. We drove away as fast as we could and settled near Sandia H.S. Granted, you don't need to worry about that as retirees. But, most of Rio Rancho is concrete and xeriscaping. At least in N.E. Albuquerque there are older homes and older landscaping, so bigger trees and shrubs. We enjoy the friendlier vibe north of Candelaria and out to Academy.
As for property crime... look at all the houses with security bars on the windows and front door. Most will have some type of security system, either bars or a alarm system, or likely both.
I think as a suburb being retirees do you want to be stuck driving a car everywhere or near public services in ABQ. Right now you maybe able to drive everywhere, but what about when you're 80+? What will you do then? ABQ has more services for seniors than Rio Rancho. Just saying. Being in a car oriented development is worst than being in a people oriented development.
I don't live in Rio Rancho, but the commute is a bad if you have to cross the Rio Grande. Also depending on what part of Rio Rancho it could be far out in the NW in the middle of no where.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ejisme
Much of Rio Rancho is small lot subdivisions, many, many subdivisions. We almost bought a house there but when we visited the high school the administrator told us to always pack a lunch for our son because they had no idea how they would feed all the kids in the over-crowded school. Plus, they had to wear security badges everywhere while on the campus. We drove away as fast as we could and settled near Sandia H.S. Granted, you don't need to worry about that as retirees. But, most of Rio Rancho is concrete and xeriscaping. At least in N.E. Albuquerque there are older homes and older landscaping, so bigger trees and shrubs. We enjoy the friendlier vibe north of Candelaria and out to Academy.
As for property crime... look at all the houses with security bars on the windows and front door. Most will have some type of security system, either bars or a alarm system, or likely both.
A lot of people who do not live in Rio Rancho are usually first to chime in on the place.
The town is unlike most places in New Mexico. It is the third largest populated city in the state and is huge in area (105 sq. miles). It has existed a relatively short time on land that was once considered undeveloped desert. There are people who well remember its confused early days and that clouds some opinions. It is more dispersed in a commercial sense without a cute downtown or an old town plaza. Because most of the residents worked in Albuquerque, the earlier residential areas grew up near bridges across the Rio Grande. The Enchanted Hills area is in the north near Hwy 550 (and the Bernalillo bridge) and there is a lot of development in the south near the Alameda bridge. The huge Intel facility is another reason for development in the southern part. Many of those residential areas are dense, especially the newer construction. There is also a lot of commercial and residential development along Unser Blvd. in the west (a major N/S artery) including a major hospital, and along Southern Blvd. In between there is considerable open space with dispersed (large lot) homes and some newer developments. There are some communities built further out, like Mariposa.
The commute across the bridge is bad but not as bad as most larger cities. Plan ahead. There needs to be another bridge or two to divert some of the traffic. That is a regional problem and also impacts the west side of Albuquerque.
Schools in Rio Rancho are better, on average, than those in Albuquerque. No one ever asks why there are 76 private schools in Albuquerque. There are 5 in Rio Rancho. Rio Rancho Public schools seem to do the job. I am impressed with the school facilities.
Crime in Rio Rancho is not as much of an issue as in Albuquerque (and even there it is overblown). I actually don't see security bars on doors and windows in Rio Rancho compared to ABQ, and it was more of a style at one time. In seven years I witnessed one criminal act, due to domestic violence, in a McDonald's parking lot. Like any place, even ABQ, you need to watch your stuff because some folks have sticky fingers and are opportunists. Pick your friends wisely and don't frequent places that seem dodgy. I don't always lock my door and I (unwittingly) have left my garage door open all night a couple times but never experienced a burglary or theft. I don't live in a subdivision and have only a few neighbors but we notice what is going on in the area. There is a recent building boom so there will be more people soon. I am retired and at home most of the time. I occasionally travel for weeks at a time with no problems or concerns about home security.
I seldom actually travel into Albuquerque since everything I need is locally available. I do my banking in Bernalillo. My doctor is close by. I have a choice of grocery stores or other commercial places. My choices are Lowes or Home Depot; Albertsons or Smiths; Walgreens or CVS. I have ample choices for restaurants -- most locally owned. There are fast food chains. I can also frequent places in Corrales or Bernalillo if I choose.
Rio Rancho is a fairly typical US suburban city of nearly 100,000. I expect it to surpass Las Cruces in size in the near future. The RR population has grown 80% in twenty years and it experiences growing pains and spurts at times. I am not thrilled with the postal service -- we could use a second post office. There are a lot of transplants from other states so it does not exactly reflect the state or regional demographics (40% Hispanic compared to 48% in ABQ). It seems pretty average in age demographics.
The city government seemed confused at times but that was before my time. The idea of establishing a "city center" and city hall out on Unser and Paseo del Volcan might pan out at some point. It has been joined by a new UNM hospital, the event center, Hewlett Packard, and the UNM health sciences campus. Cleveland HS is close by. There is some residential development. There is actually an Arena Soccer team that plays at the event center (New Mexico Runners) but the pandemic shut them down for a while -- maybe restarting in December '21.
I think as a suburb being retirees do you want to be stuck driving a car everywhere or near public services in ABQ. Right now you maybe able to drive everywhere, but what about when you're 80+? What will you do then? ABQ has more services for seniors than Rio Rancho. Just saying. Being in a car oriented development is worst than being in a people oriented development.
Think again. We'll be 80 in what will probably fell like the blink of an eye, and likely still be right here in Placitas. Like SunGrins, we are simply not in ABQ that often and am writing this just after a trip to Alberson's in RR.
Thank you, everyone, especially SunGrins for the detailed reply. That is very reassuring about the crime. It's also good to know there is a new UNM hospital in the area---this suggests the quality of healthcare will be good.
MG
It's been about 6 months since he posted, and it was pretty sparse before then. We could use his cheery photos.
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