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My partner and I live in Bend, Oregon, a mid-sized city with abundant outdoor recreation, a dry climate, and long winters. We are considering moving to Albuquerque and wanted input on a couple of our concerns. First about us: we love the outdoors, have dogs, are very employable, live a peaceful, gentle lifestyle, and are fortunate to live on acreage adjacent to miles of public land. In considering Albuquerque, we are drawn to:
ethnic diversity;
warmer climate;
more sunshine;
ability to be outside comfortably for more of the year;
larger lesbian/gay community;
adventure.
Our concerns are:
1. the water situation. How drinkable is the tap water? If we live rurally, how are the wells holding up? Most importantly, what are the long term prospects for adequate water? With the drought, coupled with climate change, are we foolish to leave an area with excellent water quality. (Bend is also a high desert community but we have rivers, snowmelt and aquifers.)
2. silence. Where we live we often hear silence or the wind in the junipers. Can we find areas within 30 minutes of Albuquerque that are utterly silent?
3. the crime and bigger city hassle. I don't really have questions about this, it's just something we need to balance.
We would be able to keep our house here and still purchase something in the Alb. area so in that sense we won't "lose" anything. I'm a teacher and make substantially more here than I would there. Plus, I'm deep into this retirement system.
Any insights you have for us would be most appreciated.
Water supplies here are stable for now (many people have well failures when the water table drops but this is by no means a problem for most well users in a given year). I'd guess the water supplies are comparable.
The biggest threat to silence in the distance is air traffic. If you're going to live 30min out check flight patterns and don't live where those tend to be (I imagine you'd have to deal with that where you're coming from too). It does get dead quiet (except for wind rustling) in plenty of areas, particularly mountain areas. Just don't live near a busy highway or near a construction site.
Bend and Albuquerque are extremely similar given their distance from each other, in terms of climate and landscape. Winter temperatures are identical and the times it's hotter in Albuquerque are when it's summer (and then only by 5-10 degrees). I'd wonder what reason you'd want to travel so far to get something so similar.
Bend! Strange, we were just discussing a trip there
Have you looked into salt lake city? SLC proper is a very gay friendly and progressive community (particularly the marmalade district). We recently moved from SLC to ABQ and are looking to to relocate ASAP to either the PNW or back home in Austin. ABQ is just not a good fit for us and we never thought we'd miss SLC, but it took moving here to do so. Yes, the winters were occasionally long, but with that snow came spring and summer with beautiful trees, flowers, streams and lakes. ABQ has none of that. Not even close.
If you are truly considering NM and can make it work financially, I would look north to santa fe or taos.
Bend and Albuquerque are extremely similar given their distance from each other, in terms of climate and landscape. I'd wonder what reason you'd want to travel so far to get something so similar.
I've been to Bend. And I lived in closeby Missoula, Montana for years. Those two places are similar. They are not similar to Albuquerque (and, for me, that's not a bad thing). There may be a few statistical parallels, but...
Quote:
Originally Posted by dogflower
Any insights you have for us would be most appreciated.
In general, water in New Mexico is a concern. It's a dry place experiencing prolonged drought conditions. We have few sustainable resources in our state for generating utility-scale water. We probably won't run out in our lifetimes, but there will likely be significant issues facing New Mexicans in the future. There are watering restirctions in most places. Water conservation is a frequent topic of discussion here.
In my opinion, most tap water in the state is pretty good. But I'm not a water snob, either. I drank tap water in Chicago three blocks off the lakeshore for several years and never had a problem. Personally, I drink nothing but tap water in Albuquerque and really enjoy it (no bad taste, etc.). And I live close to the river. We don't use a Brita or any type of filter.
Well water can be good and bad. I know people with great wells, and I know people who have dug wells recently that yielded unsafe amounts of arsenic and had to be abandoned. In NM, you're responsible for your own well safety. EPA rules don't apply to private wells here, which means you have to test your well yourself every year. I think most wells are okay, but it's important to take all the necessary steps to make sure you're getting good-quality water if you decide to buy into a private well water system.
In terms of where you live: if you're into silence and wooded isolation, check out Tijeras. If you're looking for just peace and quiet most of the time, check out Placitas, ABQ's Far North Valley and isolated areas of Bernalillo. Bosque Farms and Las Lunas might also be okay places to look.
Last edited by Cornflakes; 11-02-2012 at 10:24 AM..
In terms of where you live: if you're into silence and wooded isolation, check out Tijeras. If you're looking for just peace and quiet most of the time, check out Placitas, ABQ's Far North Valley and isolated areas of Bernalillo. Bosque Farms and Las Lunas might also be okay places to look.
Agree on Placitas. We were this>< close to moving on a house there and just missed out. Very quite with little light pollution and large lots. Due to the uneven/hilly terrain, you are getting the benefit of larger acreage without having to pay for it. There is also nice little country store out there for a quick run for milk etc.
Moderator cut: Recommending real estate businesses not allowed.
Last edited by Poncho_NM; 11-02-2012 at 11:59 AM..
I have a friend who is gay and moved to SLC (from Scottsdale) over the summer with his partner. They really, really love it there. Who would have thought? Not to hijack this thread, but I am just curious about what you and your partner dislike about ABQ? I am thinking about where to locate in the not-so-distant(? or maybe distant?) future and am quite confused. Perhaps I should visit SLC next year as well as ABQ to compare. My friend said that SLC is much more inclusive, progressive, and gay-friendly than even Phoenix and Tuscon ever was. Where in the PNW would you consider? Thanks!
I really appreciate everyone's input--and even suggestions of other gay-friendly places to live.
I have lived in SLC and love its beauty--and particularly its proximity to the incredibly spectacular red rock country. SLC has an earlier spring than we have here (one of my complaints of the Bend area. It seems like spring starts in June, along with summer.)
One thing for GLBT folks to consider is domestic partner rights. In Oregon you can register as domestic partners and obtain a few marriage-like protections and all public employers offer domestic partner health insurance (which is unfortunately taxed). Many public employers in NM also offer this . . .I would be surprised if this is available in SLC but would love to hear from others about it. As we age, my partner and I are more aware that one could suddenly become the primary care taker and the implications of not having access to each other's health insurance, etc. become scary.
My partner and I live here in ABQ and often have the same kind of discussion, but about where to live in retirement. I have been here 23 years, he 15 years, and we find it difficult to contemplate leaving the state for various reasons. We like Oregon but are concerned about income taxes and higher cost of living, with grayer skies. Bend seems too isolated for us, and has no university, although it is beautiful.
Between the two of us, we've lived in most parts of the country we've wanted to live in. Don't want to go back. Other places we've never lived we would not consider either because of politics, lack of mountains, or cold weather. Albuquerque and Santa Fe for us provide very good year-round recreational opportunities and we know that this is important to us and helps us stay active and healthy. We bike, hike, run, and play tennis year-round, and x-country ski in winter. We don't know of many other places where you can do that. Plus we have the cultural offerings of the University. As for high-end shopping, pro sports, chain restaurants and such that others complain about not having, we could care less.
We live in the SE ABQ area and even though we are close to the airport, it is blissfully quiet most of the time. Neighbors' dogs can be an issue, and some of the Air Force activities get disruptive at times, but overall it is plenty quiet for us. We just got back from a vacation in a larger city, and back home we can't believe how quiet it is, but it may not be quiet enough for some people. We enjoy living close in so we can bike a lot of places. We are not particularly concerned about water, crime, or the usual issues that people ask about on these boards.
I'd personally be concerned about the water situation. A few years ago the city started adding diverted Colorado water to the mix, to improve the quality and quantity both. The river levels are now so low that the city is letting the Rio/Chama water pass through, and utilizing only the aquifer. This does two things: Accelerates the aquifier depletion (which is already inadequate for the long haul), and raises the arsenic levels in the public water supply (which in the past have often exceeded federal standards). I think Albuquerque is a wonderful place, but I would think twice about making it my long-term home, esp. since it sounds like you are settled in Bend and doing o.k.
raises the arsenic levels in the public water supply (which in the past have often exceeded federal standards).
Arsenic occurs in the water naturally. The fact is that the federal standards were lowered 2001 from a questionable allowable safe level to a lower level. The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) finalized a proposed arsenic standard for drinking water that lowered the maximum concentration level. In question were the risks from arsenic exposure in drinking water and the costs of compliance with the new proposed standards. There are areas of New Mexico that are characterized by high and variable background levels for arsenic from naturally occurring arsenic associated with aquifers that contain rocks from volcanic sources. Removing arsenic from drinking water is not so much an issue as much as the costs...
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Thanks for input and DMs!
