Albuquerque/El Paso Questions (Corrales, Bernalillo: car insurance, crime rate, new house)

[Trisher]

We're still in the exploring stage, but know we want to move to either AZ or NM - that much is certain. Right now, I'm exploring possibilities in some of the larger areas of each state, with smaller communities available to live in - commute to the big city - if that makes sense.

Can I get a few ideas about Alburquerque and El Paso? Again, we wouldn't want to live in the city proper, so I'm curious about the smaller towns in the area that would make a decent commute. Hoping to keep it under an hour, if possible. Someone in another post mentioned moutains east of ABQ, but no town names. Have also seen some interesting posts on El Paso, so again - am exploring the possibilities.

Ultimately we're looking for a small neighborly community, milder weather most of the time (not necessarily all), reasonable cost of living and fairly decent jobs available if we commute.

[mortimer]

Try reading the forums back in time for Albuquerque, New Mexico,
and El Paso. Branch out a little into the Arizona forums also.

All of your questions have been hashed-over in many different
ways. You may get some answers here, but if you are going
to truly do your homework, get a nice beverage and take your
time and read the older posts.

I've learned a lot here by doing just that.

[Trisher]

I have and will continue to do so, but new things come up, new people get online, so you never know what new info someone might decide to talk about in these cities. But thanks for your suggestion, all are appreciated.

[designer]

trisher the east mountain area is just over the sandia mtn to the east of
albuquerque. It is a very nice area with lots of trees. There are two or three
little towns or areas that are close to interstate 40. I have been there several times but I don't know much about them except they got a lot of
snow this last winter and some people were snowed in for a few days. So it's
very nice in the summer but if you have to commute to albuquerque each
day it could be a problem in the winter. Tucson has Benson that you might
check out. I think it is about 45 miles and there are some nice communities
south of Tucson as well. Phoenix is a monster and even though there are
some towns up in the hills it would be more of a challenge to commute to
the city everyday. El Paso I don't know much about. I don't live all that
far from it but it just doesn't appeal to me but it could be just fine. I keep
hearing that their crime rate is much lower than Albuquerque.

[abqsunport]

There are some new houses in Bernalillo, NM that wouldn't be too bad. I really like Corrales. you should also check out Placitas. All of these places are all very close to Albuquerque.

[mortimer]

Trisher admits:

> I have and will continue to do so, but new things come up,
> new people get online, so you never know what new info
> someone might decide to talk about in these cities.

You're completely correct. However, you can just as easily
revive an old thread rather than start a new one. My guess
is that the response might be better since people might tend
to get tired of answering the same question dozens of times.

I have to admit that I'm starting to ignore such non-specific
posts as ... moving ... what's it like? ... and stuff like that.
Ask something specific and I'm a pompus opinionated putz
(and not ashamed to admit it).

[rotorhead]

I was stationed at Ft. Bliss in El Paso when I was in the Army. My impressions on the place are over a decade old but were extremely unfavorable. It's one of the few cities that makes Albuquerque look good by comparison, even with ABQ's generally decrepit appearance and surplus of graffitti. El Paso TX often seems more like a slightly more upscale suburb of Juarez, Mexico than the other way around. It has the distinction of often being downwind of the huge smoking ASARCO copper smelter thats just across the border, where environmental controls are non-existant. Water was so scarce that nobody had even token lawns, and if you wanted a job there you had to speak Spanish or you couldn't get hired. In addition, it was ground zero for the invasion of illegal immigrants and was sky-high as far as car insurance goes, since auto theft is rampant. I had two friends whose new cars were stolen the same day they bought them, and never recovered. In fact, one of the El Paso TV stations sent a reporter with a camera to the employee parking lot at the Mexican Federal Police station to film VIN plates, and it turned out that ALL of the cars there were vehicles stolen on the American side. On the rare occasion that the US Customs agents would check outbound traffic to Mexico, the bridge traffic would inevitably be tied up for hours because there were always stolen cars in line abandoned on the spot once they figured out someone was checking. On the positive side, as you would expect, they do have some very good Mexican restaurants there. There is also an excellent air museum about a half hour out of El Paso in a little town called Santa Teresa, the War Eagles Air Museum.

[abqsunport]

Personally my choice will always be Albuquerque area between ABQ and EP, but I still think El Paso has a lot of charm. Many people really despise El Paso, but I think the culture is great--and this is coming from a conservative white male. I think its kind of cool that they don't care if people like them or not, they just do there thing. And you really only have to know Spanish if you are in a everyday customer interacton buisness (fast food, cashier, etc.). I actually admire El Paso for the pride the residents have for it. It has always seemed no one wants El Paso. Texas wants to get rid of them and New Mexico won't take them. Oh well, El Paso does its own thing, and most of the residents enjoy living there. You either love El Paso or you really really really hate it.

[observe]

rotorhead........
ABQ's generally decrepit appearance and surplus of graffitti. El Paso TX often seems more like a slightly more upscale suburb of Juarez,

What part of Albuquerque did you live in? The whole city is not decrepit like you are trying to insinuate. moving back to AK......well not SOON enough, don't let the door hit you!

[Six Foot Three]

Originally Posted by rotorhead

It has the distinction of often being downwind of the huge smoking ASARCO copper smelter thats just across the border, where environmental controls are non-existant. Water was so scarce that nobody had even token lawns,

Sorry to disappoint you but Asarco has been shut down for several years now and was reciently denied a permit to reopen by The Texas Dept of the Enviroment and not in Mexico.

As for water Ft. Bliss is building the largest Desalinization water facility in the United States as they have a 1,000 years of Brackish water underneath the basin....but i'll give you a gold star on your forhead for trying anyway......