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I'm from Delaware. Lived for many years in Richmond, Virginia, and three years in the DC area. Also, spent some time in Norfolk in 2004. I was in Richmond when the crime rate was first in nation per capita. From there moved to Minneapolis and lived there for 13 years. At times it was called "Murderapolis." I moved to Albuquerque in 2008. Recently I was in Omaha, Nebraska, for three months. You can live in places like Omaha where the unemployment rate is supposedly lower and they don't talk of that much crime. But, then, again, you have to contend with their weather and other stuff. Albuquerque is home for me now. I find the people to be decent and nice. You can't beat the weather on most days. I've spent years driving in winter weather and there is something truly special and relaxing about being able to get into your car and not have to worry about winter driving conditions. Same goes with just being able to get outside the door without putting on hats, gloves, and boots for most of the winter days. When the rain hits Albuquerque, I find it welcoming, since it doesn't last for weeks as in Minnesota or in the North East. Also, the drier air here is much better for my joints and muscles. I haven't lived in the Northeast for years, however since many relatives live there, and I still talk to people there somewhat regularly, I hear a lot of complaints about life in that part of the country, still. I would say if many folks could get up the nerve to leave, they would. There's traffic here, but I like the wide open spaces. And, I like the usually sunny days and decent weather. It can be cold at times in the winter, and although it didn't get above freezing on most days in Minneapolis for five months straight, I was much younger when I lived there. Now, even days in the 20s get to me. Sure, Albuquerque has its issues, but consider other things around here while working and doing your daily activities, and you may not have a problem: consider the vistas, the hiking, the painted overpasses, the huge vases and metal scruptures in the medians of the highways, the mountains, the volcano parks, the dry air, the luminarias in December. Sure, I miss my Colonial homes of the East, with their center halls, beautiful windows, shutters, detailed moldings and candles in each window during Christmas. I miss the British Colonial history I studied so much in my university years, and that kind of history in the East. But, there is history here, too. There is much more to learn. Perhaps for someone at my age, close to 50, I don't need nightlife, bars, sports arenas, and the like. You do different things here - like take your kids on hikes, which they can't do looking at a computer or TV screen.
Thank you, As a person considering a move to Alb all the talk of crime, lack of upkeep, lack of development was getting to me. You put it in persective again. I am going to visit just to see if Alb is what we are looking for. While I am looking I will keep your thoughts in mind
I'm relatively new to Albuquerque - my former haunt was near Boston. I will say that the negative things I remember hearing about Albuquerque are:
1. The high crime rates
2. The heat and dryness
3. The lack of nightlife, fine dining, shopping, entertainment, etc.
4. The lack of an "international" flavor - various cultures, ability to get direct flights to many major cities or Europe/Asia
5. The poor public educational system
6. The lack of money/resources (coming from Boston, where most things are in abundance (medical facilities, "good" education, every business you can think of, etc.)
7. The lack of efficient public transportation
8. It's "dirty".
Now, to address each of these (for the quick version, skip to the last paragraph, and anyone feel free to comment on my line of thinking):
1. This is one thing that still resonates with me that I am still skittish about on occasion - it was never really clear to me what exactly these crimes were, though. I once had hubcaps stolen off my car in a gated, "upscale" Atlanta apartment complex and was minorly annoyed - but does that count as "crime"? In any case, I am yet to find out what exactly this crime is about - I hope I never do - but with so much talk about it, it planted a negative seed in my mind and would probably be the single thing that could change my opinion about the city in a heartbeat (I love it so far.)
2. Not an issue. At least for now, we'll see - maybe I am yet to experience the worst of it. I am glad we have 4 seasons without real extremes. I think there is something magical about the ocean and waterfront, which I miss about New England, but not enough to make me stay there, get underpaid for higher cost of living, and deal with other drama.
3. Not an issue. I have been okay with the level of "stuff" here and have outgrown the "need" for more at this point. It was great to have access to Patriots/Celtics/BoSox tickets or world-class Newbury Street shopping and spas - but who can afford that? Certainly not I. There was a lot of stuff, but I hardly accessed or used it. I tend to enjoy the same things I'd enjoy in any other city - reading, watching movies, spending time with friends. If I feel the urge to do more on a rare occasion, a weekend trip to Texas, Denver, Phoenix, or a West Coast city is fine with me - not to mention other cities with direct flights from Albuquerque (Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, to name a few.) I do really miss the historical things associated with Boston and New England, and I enjoyed visiting many of these places associated with the birth of our nation. But Albuquerque and the surrounding areas have their own history which is in some cases much older than just 200 years. Visiting Bandelier and seeing the cave dwellings where the ancestral Pueblo people lived was mind-blowing. The Petroglyphs were interesting, too.
4. Not an issue. Boston was a melting pot, but I don't think it's nearly as diverse as, say, NYC, Chicago, or San Fran (just my opinion). I haven't been out and about very much, but I have seen many races/ethnicities and cultures here, and I like that there is a strong Hispanic presence that permeates a unique culture here - what Irish and Italian is to Boston, I guess. There are more restaurants of different ethnicities in Boston, but I certainly did NOT like every Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Ethiopian, Indian, Italian, French, Venezuelan, Moroccan, or Turkish restaurant I visited. I found the Mexican food there laughable. As for flights - I grew up in an area where you always had to take 2 flights in order to connect to a major hub flying to other major cities anyway, so this will not be a deal-breaker for me.
5. Not an issue. Again, not yet. Without school-aged kids, I haven't really been forced to face this issue, but rest assured I will when the time comes and will reassess. I grew up going to a public school in a rural community and am very happy, so I don't happen to believe that Boston Latin School or Harvard is necessary to achieve what you want out of life.
6. Not an issue. Not yet. I got a lot of flak for leaving Boston - e.g., Why would you EVER want to leave here, everything is the best here?! It will be so hard out there. What about if so-and-so needs this operation or this service? They won't have it out there. Things move too slow out there. If you stay here, your kids could learn 4 languages, take ballet or soccer through their school system, take advanced this-and-that... etc., etc. Many people in the world live their lives without every service at their doorstep. If I need anything, and Albuquerque doesn't have it or we're not satisfied, I'll reassess. Just because they have it in Boston doesn't mean it's the easiest thing in the world to get, either.
7. This one bugs me, too - it's not an insurmountable problem, but I do feel bad running up my mileage and using so much gas. I would love to see Albuquerque do more to improve public transportation. I live near a bus stop, but the hours and required route changes are not convenient to when I need to be at work. I miss the T in Boston. It would be a wonderful perk if Albuquerque did more to this end, but I didn't consider it a deal-breaker or a reason to stay in Boston per se.
8. Not an issue. What??!?!! Does dust = dirt? There were dirty areas in Boston - the mice and rats are no secret, the restroom areas of even the nicer restaurants (in older historical buildings, what can you do?) were dingy... I'm waiting to see this one show itself.
So what don't I like? Constant perception of high crime and lack of good public transportation.
I know you didn't ask, but what do I like? I am literally blown away by how nice everyone has been - I know this is a subjective, personal thing, though. There are TONS of NE transplants here. I ran into someone yesterday, and we noticed each others' Boston articles of clothing. We chatted for a few minutes about things we remembered and other commonalities - it was very pleasant. It felt like there was this instant camaraderie. Honestly, I can count on one hand the number of times someone struck up a conversation with me in Boston "just because". I actually like waving to strangers I pass walking on the roads or give the right of way to. Not to knock Boston; it's a great city, there's a lot I miss about it, and I'm so glad I experienced it for the time I was there. I learned a lot about myself and my needs and likes. I was ready to move on, and this was the perfect place. Several days ago we went on a hike and it was the best I've felt in years.
1. This is one thing that still resonates with me that I am still skittish about on occasion - it was never really clear to me what exactly these crimes were, though. I once had hubcaps stolen off my car in a gated, "upscale" Atlanta apartment complex and was minorly annoyed - but does that count as "crime"? In any case, I am yet to find out what exactly this crime is about - I hope I never do - but with so much talk about it, it planted a negative seed in my mind and would probably be the single thing that could change my opinion about the city in a heartbeat (I love it so far.)
Depends on which statistics you use.
Crime in Albuquerque
Murders, Rapes, Robberies, Assaults, Burglaries, Thefts, Auto thefts, Arson.are listed here half way down
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 320.9) Albuquerque for 2008 is 573.0
I'm relatively new to Albuquerque - my former haunt was near Boston. I will say that the negative things I remember hearing about Albuquerque are:
1. The high crime rates
As a former Bostonian myself, I know that crime there is also pretty bad. The murder rate in Boston is much higher. Since I could only afford to live in pretty dubious neighborhoods there I fell victim more than I have here. In four years in Beantown I had two burglaries, was assaulted once, and had a car stolen (which I was borrowing from a friend at the time to facilitate my move to ABQ). In Albuquerque over 20 years I've had one burglary and a bike stolen at work. Just lucky? I don't know.
As a former Bostonian myself, I know that crime there is also pretty bad. The murder rate in Boston is much higher. Since I could only afford to live in pretty dubious neighborhoods there I fell victim more than I have here. In four years in Beantown I had two burglaries, was assaulted once, and had a car stolen (which I was borrowing from a friend at the time to facilitate my move to ABQ). In Albuquerque over 20 years I've had one burglary and a bike stolen at work. Just lucky? I don't know.
I believe in insurance.
I always thought Boston was one of the safest bigger cities in this country, and it had one of the lower murder rates of the bigger cities.
Basically I miss truly high-end stores (not that we shopped in them that often, but...),
big name, live theater productions (Andrew Lloyd Webber, etc.), museums and galleries,
symphonies, 95th percentile restaurants, etc. All things that the big coastal cities excel
at and are completely unreasonable to expect a mid-sized city to have to anything near
the same extent.
Actually, Debbie and I are very pleased with many of the cultural features here and
think that the city does a really good job with the zoo, bio-park, street sculpture,
decorated interstates, etc., etc., etc. considering that it has so few resources when
compared to the big cities.
Still, a Nordstroms and a Citronelle would be nice....
big name, live theater productions (Andrew Lloyd Webber, etc.), museums and galleries,
symphonies,... All things that the big coastal cities excel
at and are completely unreasonable to expect a mid-sized city to have to anything near
the same extent.
May I ask for clarification... in case someone is reading this and thinks we don't have a symphony and touring companies that bring Broadway musicals and the like (which we do)... you mean to say the New Mexico Symphony is not a "big name" symphony, and that we don't have local theater companies producing current Broadway shows...? Because we have had lots of national touring companies put on extensive runs of Broadway hits in Popejoy Hall at UNM. And I think the NM Symphony is more than adequate, if not exactly on par with the National Symphony. The June Music Festival and KHFM bring in top chamber music groups from around the world. Don't forget also that the Santa Fe Opera is absolutely world-class, even if it's only a summer gig.
I would say I miss "Yankee values." At first being in this place felt like an adventure, but as time goes on it turns into a feeling of "not belonging." I've tried to embrace New Mexican culture but ultimately there is no escaping myself, that feeling that I will always be a northeasterner, or outsider. Especially since in the interim most New England states became pioneers in recognizing same-sex marriages, it feels like that is the region where they walk the walk better than others when it comes to "liberty and justice for all," and always have. But I am spoiled by the weather here and would be very reluctant to go back to the awful winters, awful summers, and awful cost of living, just based on shared values. For now I will content myself with staying here while the Northeast takes the lead on social issues. But it is annoying that NM is at or near the bottom in so many national rankings, while the Northeast excels in education, technology, health, etc.
As I like to say, I just believe in common sense and personal responsibility, wherever I live.
Granted, I am lucky to not face a few of those social issues that are geographically proscribed. It's true that I may feel differently if I was.
I see what you are saying, aries, on wanting to identify with a place and the values it purportes to uphold, but...
I always take issue with the notion that the Northeast excels in education, technology, and health, etc. I loved a lot of things about the NE, but having worked at several excellent facilities in other cities non-NE, I can speak to this firsthand. Harvard, MIT, and others have a rich history of excellent innovation, but the playing field has definitely leveled and the thinking behind education at these big institutions is changing. I met plenty of dolts at Harvard as well - those who definitely talked the talk, and worse, were pains in the ### while doing so.
Technology - again, was once the case, maybe, but not anymore. West Coast has taken that over. Funding initially weighted toward those big NE schools has now been more equally dispersed, and as a result, other schools/institutions are starting to produce more than NE. In fact, I just saw on the news the other day about the University of Iowa - 1 of every 10 incoming freshmen this year is coming from China! China to Iowa! They know they're getting a good thing out there, well, except for the weather. And they're realizing the high prices 30K+ aren't necessary for them to display their talents.
Health care: I've also witnessed this firsthand. It's true that if you need a super-super-super specialist in something that is extremely rare, chances are higher you'll find someone in the NE who has seen it. But for run of the mill infections, chronic disease management, or common surgical procedures, it almost seemed like too much red tape. It's almost like losing the forest for the trees - most the older generation doctors still had the common sense, but newer doctors were wrapped up in the latest toys and bells and whistles to really stop and think about medicine - it was called the Harvard Curse or something like that. I found that trying to see a doctor to manage a common upper respiratory infection led to more CAT scans, and I personally never got over the hunch that I was seen as more of an experiment or research subject for certain things. Unnecessary tests because of the fear of RAMPANT medical litigation in the state. Also, I think mandatory health insurance has its ups and downs. The whole system is broken, so it's not necessarily the right fix... but it's commonly presented as such. People have been bankrupted having to pay for their insurance when they feel they are perfectly healthy without any issues. It's not as cut and dry as it looks.
Again, there are a lot of things to love about the NE, but there was a lot of fooey, too, that I could never identify with even though I believe in liberty and justice for all. Interestingly, "liberty and justice for all" was lifted from the Pledge of Allegiance written by a man called Bellamy who had been kicked out of his church... in Boston.
The more I think about this thread, the more I realize something about myself: I am not someone who is defined by the city or region I live in.
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