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Thanks everyone! Here's a question - when it does snow - does the sun come out?
Oh yes. This is on the outter edges of the Chihuahuan Desert. A very sunny climate. Usually a good figure is 300+ sunny days per year.
So as Sunseeker pointed out, while parts of Placitas are more akin climate/weather-wise to Bernalillo, NM (a northern suburb of Albuquerque) and parts are more akin to deep foothill/cooler climates (almost like a cross between ABQ and Santa Fe temps-wise), ALL of Placitas is a very sunny (strong bright sun) climate.
I wouldn't imagine the need to bring out a snow shovel in Placitas all too frequently per winter, as even in the higher elevations / altitudes, etc., typically the sun will do the majority of the "shoveling" for you if you are just a little patient!
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Originally Posted by SoggyInSeattle
we have also been looking at areas around Edgewood/Tijeras (think I spelled it correctly). Any idea about the commute from there to ABQ (in general, since we don't know where we'll be working).
A lot of people do it pretty commonly / frequently. It isn't terrible, although personally that would depend upon your threshold / tolerance for commuting. The drive times can be - depending upon where you are settling in that East Mountain location and where you are headed in Albuquerque - probably generally roughly between 20 and 45 minutes.
The Canyon that you head through via I-40 into ABQ can sometimes get pretty nasty with the weather in the winter and that would be the chief complaint with doing this commute I would imagine. Often times where Albuquerque will be mild / dry in winter, this area can see more snow occurrences, etc., and there can be some good wind gusts through it in the spring too. Accidents aren't terribly infrequent in the Canyon area.
However, if you are used to traversing Seattle metro's rush hours, etc., I wouldn't imagine this would be a huge challenge for you.
I would imagine you could get some good buys in the East Mountains, but as EnjoyEP says, commuting to ABQ over I-40 may present the occasional weather problem. More-so than I-25 in ABQ. Just last week on the one coolish day we had here with snow flurries here in the Foothills, Moriarty got several inches of snow and driving was slick.
Good to note. I just recently went from 10 yrs of 1.5 hr (one way on a good day) commute (about 38 miles) to a 30 min commute so I'm fairly tolerant. The ol' hubby is used to his 30 min one so he'll have to acclimate to wherever we move I'm sure (tee hee).
Good to know about the weather in the canyon - that was what I was most worried about.
And SUNSHINE? Really?? You wouldn't be teasing me now would you? People also say it doesn't rain much in Seattle and the sun always shines (behind the thick cover of low clouds).
Soggy,
It's all true. It really is sunny here. Only rarely are there cloudy days and almost never drippy, dark days. After it snows or rains, the sun is out soon, and, if there is any snow, it is usually gone pretty quickly. Sometimes people will tell you all the sunshine is boring, but for myself coming from the cloudy northeast, I love it.
[...]Bernalillo, NM (a northern suburb of Albuquerque)[...]
That characterization strikes me as kind of sad (but true). At one time, not long ago, Bernalillo was the town and Albuquerque was a string of bean and corn fields trailing off to the south. Then came the mighty railroad! Now Bernalillo is where they keep the Home Depot and Circle K workers.
And SUNSHINE? Really?? You wouldn't be teasing me now would you? People also say it doesn't rain much in Seattle and the sun always shines (behind the thick cover of low clouds).
They're not kidding about the sunshine. I moved here from Florida because I wanted MORE sunshine. I didn't need sunscreen in FL, but boy do I need it here!
Thanks everyone! Here's a question - when it does snow - does the sun come out?
One of the things I've always loved about New Mexico is that the big skies let you often watch massive, powerful storm cells march across the landscape as single entities. What this means for snow is that many times you get a relatively quick accumulation over the evening and you wake up to sun, cobalt blue sky and a thick blanket of white. If there's one thing we have, it's amazing weather. My wife and I joke about how excited the local forecasters get when the weather starts coming through, because for them, it must feel like out of a textbook. They'll get out the 'real time SuperDoppler 3000 radar' and will warn communities as it's happening like: "Moriarity looks clear, but people in Vaughn should find shelter now. Also, there's a menacing flock of birds over ziaAirmac's house. OK, I made up the last part. They don't know where I live. But you get the point.
On a day trip out of Albuquerque, my wife and I (actually we were still dating then) left Albuquerque in sunshine. We arrived in Jemez in snow, with roads slushed enough I was break-checking often to test for the turn back point. We finally ended up in the warm cocoon of one of the hot springs watching these impossibly puffy snowflakes floating down through the pine forest we had just hiked through. Finished up with Sushi at Crazy Fish on Central in the Nob Hill area, laughing about what an amazing day we just had.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoggyInSeattle
Plus gov'mt can't decide to even replace an elevated road that has basically been condemned due to earthquake damage that happend 8 yrs - guess a lawsuit when it collapses may light the fire under their arses... ok ok, enough of that...
Oooo sensitive subject!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoggyInSeattle
We are leaning more toward the ABQ area since that is most likely where we'll find employment. So keep the advice coming on areas, commutes, etc etc!!! We may be there sooner than we'd originally planned!
If it's getting that firm, maybe it's time for a long weekend to do some on the ground research. Check out Jrod2828's recent 'Best day trip from ABQ' thread for some great ideas of what to do while you're out. You can obviously use the sunshine, and moving to that just-right community instead of a best guess by map is well worth the tickets.
Oh, and if you 'add chili' to a burger while you're out you get chopped roasted green chili on your burger, not brown beans and spicy meat in a cup. I was in SeaTac on a layover on the way to Ketchikan and got excited when I saw the 'add chili' at the burger hut there. I never learn. Needless to say, the disappointment was big enough to stick with me through the next flight. All I could think of was these little yellow cans with red zia's on them emblazoned with the words "Hatch green chili".
LOL ziaAirmac - it took us 15 yrs but we are finally used to beans in our chili. Sad to admit to, I know. hhhmmm maybe I shouldn't admit it...
We are planning a trip in June. A quick one unfortunately, 13th-17th. Not a lot of sightseeing but we'll be making the oil companies rich as we drive around scoping all the territory we can between SF & ABQ and points all around. We are both very excited - tickets bought, car rented, hotels reserved... maps outlined... I'm anxious to see all the changes since I was last there 18 yrs ago.
The weather is something we are looking forward to. Being originally from TX we were always able to 'predict' what the weather was going to do - "tornado in that cloud; ooo hail south of Ft Worth", etc) now we think, yep, that's a snow cloud if I ever saw one and nothing... The weathermen just cover all the bases by saying "good chance of rain today with a chance of sun breaks throughout the day". Really, good chance of rain? And let it deviate slightly and its like all heck broke loose - get a little wind and you'd think we were having a hurricane. And I always thought you had to have lightening and thunder to have a thunderstorm but apparently just a dark cloud will work for the NW. tee hee... do miss those TX thunderstorms.
Ah well, for all of my griping, I do have to admit, the Pacific NW is one of the prettiest areas around...
And thanks to whoever started the thread on the Google street view - my husband is addicted now. Luckily (??) it hasn't made it to Seattle, but looks like ABQ area was well 'mapped'.
I, too, used to live in Texas......do not order chili (or chile) in New Mexico. It will NOT be what you expect. I learned the hard way.....NM's idea of "chili" is a bowl of red chile (not chili) sauce with a spoonful of meat in it and some cheese on top....ick. I love the New Mexican cuisine but I'd kill for a good Tex Mex restaurant here, with real Texas chili.
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