Albuquerque-How is it living there?
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Anonymous
| Assuming you had a job, would like to hear about what it's like to live there. Schools, traffic, housing, social life, quality of life? |
Anonymous
Sorry, I was only there as a college student. I liked it, although it was incredibly car dependent. I loved The Double Rainbow coffee shop on Nob Hill. The mountains are beautiful. Haven't got any useful details, good luck! |
Anonymous
| I have a college friend lives there and loves. Very outdoorsy family: hiking, running, skiing, She has lots of money (family money) though so not a good person to ask about COL. |
Anonymous
Lots of gangs and poverty, DH thought about applying for a job there several years ago but after a little research about schools, etc. we decided against it. And we're from Arizona so our standards aren't that high 
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Anonymous
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We seriously considered it but after looking around didn't end up moving. It was just sort of "blah" to me. One of my friends said, "Do you know anyone from NM?" She was right. I don't know anyone! Perhaps they don't make it out very often.
But go and look. Schools are very hit or miss, traffic is better than here but can still be a pain, houses are CHEAP, quality of life seems ok but we had a really hard time figuring out how we would fit in socially. |
Anonymous
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If you are used to DC life, it can either be a completely miserable culture shock or a refreshing change. More people there do not have college degrees or much education and people generally don't work long hours. People say ABQ is the "land of Manana," which is probably true of a lot of cities. There is a lot of poverty and for some reason, it feels more in your face than in DC. Because it's a dry climate, people will drive their jaloppys until they are dead. It's like Havana, Cuba (but for different reasons, obv.)
I absolutely LOVED it and miss it terribly. The high desert climate, the views, the crazy balloon fiesta and the chase vehicles all over the city trying to find the balloons once they go down. Sandia mountain and the FOOD. OMG. I gained a ton living there and loved every minute. Restaurants like Sadies, Padillas, Los Cuates. Green Chile. Breakfast burritos. Sopapillas and honey. I loved exploring the whole state. We would go somewhere amazing every weekend. Highly recommend it! Best place ever. |
Anonymous
| I lived there for 10 years before moving here. More PhDs per capita than any other state in the nation. Incredible amount of research going on there- with two national labs (Los Alamos and Sandia) and a large "Research I" university (UNM). A lot of PhDs teaching high school. Also a large Microsoft fab there, employing a lot of highly qualified people making a lot of $$. Culture is where you find it: If culture means back-to-back black tie charity galas populated by washington lawyers, you won't find it. If you like deep, native culture, you will find it. at least a dozen pueblos line the Rio Grande, as they have for hundreds of years. A plaque in town honors the original 12 Spanish families, and you can still find their kin in the neighborhoods. The Navajo Nation is on its original land. The world's largest Native American pow wow is in ABQ every year: an event I will never forget. Santa Fe have quaint gallery openings and a stunning opera. Georgia O'Keefe? Ever wonder what all the fuss was about? Of course there are poor parts of town and low performing schools. Where are there not? It's the only place I ever moved to because I wanted to and for no other reason. It's also the only place I could ski on saturday and mnt bike on sunday (and hike on monday- if it were a 3-day weekend). ABQ has held it's real estate value very very well. If you go, be sure you have an extra bedroom because you will have an endless stream of visitors. PP sounds very superficial, I mean, very D.C. |
Anonymous
| Sorry! ABQ makes me think of Breaking Bad and meth! |
Anonymous
| 22:10, not the OP but I love your review, thanks. |
Anonymous
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Honestly, I'd prefer Santa Fe. Smaller, quainter, artsy-er, and a bit cooler. Literally.
WRT public schools, you might do your research, here. Generally, not very good. Cost of living: much, much cheaper in Albuquerque; just much cheaper in Santa Fe (compared to DC). |
Anonymous
While there are a lot of PhDs in the state, Los Alamos can't really be considered part of the ABQ area (it's north of Santa Fe) and the lab you refer to, I'm assuming is Intel, not Microsoft, in Rio Rancho, right outside of the city. While the native american culture is fascinating and I understand your boosterism for the place, you cannot deny that there is a great deal of poverty. The state currently ranks near the bottom (48th) when it comes to the people living in poverty and much of it was profoundly depressing to me. I had a friend counsel gambling addicts many of them native americans who were losing everything to the casinos that were supposed to be a boon to their communities. Alcoholism and drunk driving are major problems. As many people in ABQ know, Santa Fe and its environs, its chi chi art galleries and its touristy vibe feels a world apart from the realities of living in Albuquerque even though its barely an hour's drive. There is surely something in the air there, that draws artists, it's almost magical, the blue skies and red rock monoliths are spectacular but it's also not entirely accurate to paint such a rosy picture. Living in Nob Hill near UNM sounds great until you have to call the police 50 times to get the johns from screwing prostitutes in their cars outside your house. |
Anonymous
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Np. All have spoken truth here and shared some insightful tips. Check the city-data.com forum too, OP.
A quibble: Those smart PhDs live in and around ABQ, not in the forest where their labs are sited. So they do participate in and impact the vibe of ABQ life/culture. |
Anonymous
| We took a road trip out to Santa Fe. While it is beautiful out there, I don't think I could ever live in the state of New Mexico. I did not realize just how much poverty there is. It was very sad. |
Anonymous
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We lived in Las Cruces for 1 1/2 years and I couldn't wait to get the hell out of there. Very, very poor area. The desert is beautiful but there is just trash everywhere.
NM schools in general are ranked around 48th in the nation. Call me a horrible snob, but anyone with any sort of standards for their child's education would be hard pressed to find suitable schooling. Friends of ours sent their kids to public and home schooled them. Both boys did end up going to Caltech but of course this was due in part to the extra effort made by the parents. ABQ may be better in certain pockets because of the research labs. I don't know. The only good things that I can say are that people are friendly and won't get in your business and that the sunsets are the most beautiful that you will ever see. |
Anonymous
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I've traveled there quite a bit for work...here are my observations:
Super nice people with no pretensions Small community where everyone seems to no one another Lots of poverty, sub-par schools, okay health care Natural beauty but really poor urban planning...you need a car to get everywhere and the city seems to be comprised of a bunch of freeways all flanked by huge and aesthetically UGLY billboards...EVERYWHERE |