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I'm looking at some fed jobs in Los Alamos? Where do all the people who work in Los Alamos live? Los Alamos looks like a tiny place? How is the drive from ABQ? Or Rio Rancho?
Again, I'm moving for the warm climate so I don't want to live up in the mountains. Should I just not pursue jobs in Los Alamos or is there some places close enough to live but not in the mountains?
I'm looking at some fed jobs in Los Alamos? Where do all the people who work in Los Alamos live? Los Alamos looks like a tiny place? How is the drive from ABQ? Or Rio Rancho?
Again, I'm moving for the warm climate so I don't want to live up in the mountains. Should I just not pursue jobs in Los Alamos or is there some places close enough to live but not in the mountains?
Thanks!
Los Alamos is small.....people who work in Los Alamos live there, in Santa Fe, White Rock and Pojoaque.
ABQ is over 90 miles from Los Alamos....and given the winding road that goes to Los Alamos, it would get very old and very tiring very, very fast.
Many people who live in large cities like Washington, Los Angles, Phoenix, Dallas have commutes comparable to Albuquerque to Los Alamos. They are nuts though, so keep that in mind.
> Los Alamos looks like a tiny place?
There are many people who commute from the Santa Fe area.
> I'm moving for the warm climate ...
Santa Fe has a relatively cool climate. Actually, if you are moving for a warm climate, Phoenix or Tucson would make more sense. Albuquerque has milder winters than Indianapolis, but so are its summers.
For me, I'd love living in Los Alamos.
According to weatherchannel.com, Indy has an average
....................................January high of 34 low of 18.
For Los Alamos (7400-7500 ft), ....... it's: ... 38 and 18
For Santa Fe ..(6995 ft at the Plaza) it's: ... 43 and 15
From ground level, you'll find Los Alamos winters to be easier to take than winters in Indy because cars parked outside in Indy during the winter are cold due to extreme lack of sun whilst in Los Alamos, even if it's 10 degrees outside, the car is probably basking in sunlight that will make the interior pretty comfy.
If you have a good enough job in Los Alamos, you should live in town and not waste your life sitting on your butt in your car. Use the money you save to live in a nicer house. Use the time you save to exercise, enjoy the out-of-doors and stay healthier.
I used to work with a guy at Sandia who left to work at LANL. He commuted from Abq until he moved to SF. He currently takes the charter park-n-ride up the hill from SF. He lives near the mall, and it is probably 30 miles from there.
When he lived in Abq, he shared a van with 5 others. He claimed the drive was not bad, but the time involved was too much. I know of a few times he was stranded overnight due to bad weather.
Some commuters used to work 7 hours, and claimed they worked an hour in the van. No lunch either. He also mentioned a group that worked 4 10's. They were gone at 5 in the morning and did not get back until 7pm, but they had Friday off.
I have not worked with him for a while, but keep in touch. He did mention that the new contractor had changed things quite a bit. UC was probably more lax than LANS, but just my guess.
The current proposed train schedule from Abq to SF indicates a trip time of just over an hour. Assuming they work closey with the charter company, they could have a bus up the hill in another 30 minutes. Depending on where you live in Abq, you are still looking at 2 hours end-to-end, or 4 hours a day. That is a long time to spend commuting!
Thanks for the info. LANL has a really great program for my wife to get her Ph.D. and work at the same time. That being said, we are moving here for warm weather and don't want an awful commute. We'd really like to live as close as possible to ABQ but also not too far from Los Alamos. It sounds like the only options are Santa Fe. Is there any other communities half way?
Plus what is the deal with housing in Santa Fe and Los Alamos? Way way too expensive. If Los Alamos is a small little town and Santa Fe is a big tourist spot, then why is the real estate so expensive? You'd think everyone would want to live in ABQ which would drive up home value there. But instead people are moving to a tourist town and tiny town in Los Alamos with only 1 big employer? Makes no sense.
Santa Fe *IS* a big tourist spot, but it has so much more...at least in my personal opinion (which many here at city-data don't agree with!)
I love the mountains there and the moderate climate (I don't consider it cold in Santa Fe and I wish it snowed MORE there! ), the wonderful diversity of culture and the history, the museums, the great restaurants, the architectural and decorating style. To me it is much more than just a tourist town, unless you are right down in the downtown plaza area.
However, much as I LOVE Santa Fe and can hardly wait to get there, I would consider the commute to Los Alamos to be way too long. ABQ to Los Alamos? NO WAY!
We were in Los Alamos last month, and I was surprised as how many houses have been built up there since we were last there maybe ten years ago. It looked like there might be a lot of choices in homes, but yes, they are probably quite expensive.
Yes they are expensive but I don't understand why. Small towns in Indiana have very cheap homes prices. Why would a small town like Los Alamos and a touristy city like Santa Fe have high home prices? It's just doesn't make sense. Unless, those areas are in high demand.
Thanks for the info. LANL has a really great program for my wife to get her Ph.D. and work at the same time. That being said, we are moving here for warm weather and don't want an awful commute. We'd really like to live as close as possible to ABQ but also not too far from Los Alamos. It sounds like the only options are Santa Fe. Is there any other communities half way?
Plus what is the deal with housing in Santa Fe and Los Alamos? Way way too expensive. If Los Alamos is a small little town and Santa Fe is a big tourist spot, then why is the real estate so expensive? You'd think everyone would want to live in ABQ which would drive up home value there. But instead people are moving to a tourist town and tiny town in Los Alamos with only 1 big employer? Makes no sense.
Well yes mostly, except that it makes sense. Los Alamos especially and also Santa Fe are hemmed in by mountains and cliffs and arroyos, and public and pueblo lands. And also we insist that developers show us the water before they build -- which keeps some private land undeveloped. If you run out of land, then prices go up -- it is supply and demand.
Also the Santa Fe economy rests on government (the state capital) and the arts/culture more than tourism. Santa Fe is the US's third largest art market despite having a combined city county population of 140,000 spread over a large area. This makes it attractive to people and prices go up.
If you are considering a move here, then you should probably learn something about the area and not be dismissive. But it sounds like you would not be happy here.
I suggest that you move to Albuquerque -- that is where most people go -- and that your wife find a job at Sandia.
Last edited by Devin Bent; 03-23-2008 at 11:42 AM..
This sounds really important since you said it more than once.
I suggest (as others have over and over in other threads), that you drop a thou' and fly out here now - before it gets too warm and decide if the climate is suitable *in* Los Alamos.
It will seem cheap later if you either found it to your liking or you found it sux for you.
Nowhere in New Mexico can be considered a warm weather climate, IMO. Towanda, OTOH thinks Las Cruces is a burning pit of fire, but that's her opinion. When you come out here and check out Los Alamos - comparing it to Indianapolis, take a drive down to Tucson and see what you think. If that's not warm enough, visit Phoenix.
You *have* to visit. If you are too cheap to do so and later find out that you are miserable then you will have put your self in the position of deserving to be miserable (as many many people have done).
> ... don't want an awful commute. We'd really like to live as
> close as possible to ABQ but also not too far from Los Alamos.
What you have just written sounds a lot like we don't want bad gas mileage, but we want a huge a vehicle as can possibly fit on a public road. The distance is what it is.
> ... any other communities half way?
Nope. None. Houses, yes. Communities, no. Think of putting the whole Indianapolis metro area into an area three times the size of Indiana (approximately, for all you pedants out there) and you have New Mexico. Santa Fe is close to being the second largest city and is quite a bit smaller than Muncie.
> ... what is the deal with housing in Santa Fe and Los Alamos?
> Way way too expensive. If Los Alamos is a small little town ...
Los Alamos is built on 'fingers' of mountains that stick out into canyons. Practically every square inch is taken.
> ... don't understand why. Small towns in Indiana have very cheap homes prices.
It's not like in Indiana where you can just start building on the next acre of endless flat farmland.
> You'd think everyone would want to live in ABQ ....
Relatively speaking, they do. Almost everyone who is a resident of the state of New Mexico is also a resident of the Albuquerque metro area. The next five or so largest towns combined are smaller than Albuquerque.
Note that the Albuquerque metro area for all practical purposes is an area large enough to extend from the center of Indianapolis to the Illinois (or Ohio) border. Belen is almost as far as Santa Fe.
> ... people are moving to a tourist town and tiny town in Los Alamos with only 1 big employer? Makes no sense.
It doesn't have to make sense. People living in the Bay Area and paying all that money for housing don't make sense either.
> Why would a small town like Los Alamos and a touristy city like Santa Fe
> have high home prices? ... Unless, those areas are in high demand.
You have answered your own question.
Last edited by mortimer; 03-23-2008 at 11:36 AM..
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), the wonderful diversity of culture and the history, the museums, the great restaurants, the architectural and decorating style. To me it is much more than just a tourist town, unless you are right down in the downtown plaza area.
It makes sense
