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Okay, all these tips are great. We are flying to Albuquerque this weekend to house hunt and have decided for Ne heights, Ventana Ranch, Taylor Ranch, or Paradise Hills. Please tell me any objections to these.
NOw more specific questions...
1. Are there good restaurants and cultural activities in the West as well? What about public swimming pools or Water PArks? Gyms??
2. How much is an electricity bill for a 4 bedroom house with air conditioning?? We live in the cold so we have no idea
All the areas you list are nice, but "NE Heights" covers a VERY large area. As a rough area to target in the NE part of town, based on your wants above, check out homes in the Sandia and Eldorado high school districts, north of Menaul or Candelaria. You should be able to find some nice older homes with larger lots there. Your realtor should be able to help you find where these areas are. Again the West Side areas you mention are all nice, but will just require a longer commute.
1. I assume you are referring to the West Side (WS) of Albuquerque here. There are plenty of restaurants on the WS, but mostly chains. Cultural activities? There are a couple of movie theaters. (Maybe you could clarify here.) No water parks in ABQ at the moment, but there are a few public pools on the WS and Rio Rancho. Defined Fitness and NM Sports and Wellness are the two "big dogs" in the gym market in ABQ. They both have facilities all over town.
2. This may require an adjustment on your side as well. When you say "air conditioning" I'm guessing you mean Central/Refrigerated Air. The majority of homes in the ABQ utilize swamp coolers which don't use nearly as much electricity. We spend about $55-$75/month for electricity at peak season to cool our 4BR with a swamp cooler.
3. Cell Carriers: If you stay primarily in the city or on the Interstates, most carriers will probably be fine, although I would recommend against Sprint/Qwest Wireless (very spotty coverage in ABQ). If you'll be traveling outside ABQ or "off the beaten path" you'll probably want to go with Verizon or Alltel as I've found they have better rural coverage.
4. The majority of hospitals are located on the east side (UNMH, Presbyterian, Lovelace). But the WS does have a Lovelace hospital as well as several Urgent Care centers. My family prefers the Presbyterian Health System doctors/facilities.
1. What about public swimming pools or Water PArks? Gyms??
Sue, Eisenhower MS has a public swimming pool. I'm pretty sure there are others around the whole ABQ area.
Chap is right about Sports & Wellness, and Defined Fitness. We decided on S&W; they are a bit more expensive but also a tad nicer. If you go with them, many of their locations also have pools, so it's a two-fer. I've also heard the Jewish Community Center @ Wyoming & Academy is pretty nice; don't know if they have a pool though. I don't think you have to be Jewish to join.
For housing in the N.E. heights shoot for La Cueva High School areas first, then El Dorado, then Sandia (in order of affluence). The East Side will be much more convienient in terms of ammentities, but the west side has some stuff going on. Coronado Mall and ABQ Uptown, UNM, etc. are on the East Side, Cottonwood mall is on the west side.
I would not suggest Paradise Hills if you are working at sandia labs. Although the west side areas that have been mentioned are nice, they are much more suburban, and the schools are overcrowded. (Although Cibola might be getting better with the new highschool opening.) La Cueva district is also a bit expensive and it might be hard to get a nice house for 250k. I would look in the areas south of academy, north of I40 and east of carlisle. These houses are older with more personality in the neighborhoods, the local highschool (Monzano, Sandia, and El Dorado are very good.) Plus you are in the middle of the city and have less of a commute.
you can still find some nice houses in the La Cueva district for under 250K, though there is that common misconception. I would suggest looking around the Cherry Hills/Herritage Hills Park area for bigger yards, decent houses, and reasonable prices for less that 250K. Check around Ventura and Freedom Way, and areas around there.
abqsunport is right, now that I look at it, you are able, with effort, to get a house for 250k in la cueva district. But that doesnt change my opinion, that the original poster would do better living farther south, in the nearer NE Heights.
Thanks so much to all of you, you have been truly helpful. My husband and i were in albuquerque this past weekend house hunting. it was indeed close to impossible finding a home in the NE for that price. What we found there was not what we were looking for so we decided for the west side, close to i40 to facilitate his commute.thanks so much!
I've been looking at rental homes online and have seen quite a few in a subdivision that lies W of I-25, E of second street, N of Osuna and S of 423. I think this is considered the NE Valley ? Anyone know any pros/cons associated with this area? I'll be commuting to the VA hospital (beside Kirtland AFB).
Also, I've seen some homes listed that are in the far NE (E of I-25, N of Paseo Del Norte.) Given that there's been population/city growth in the two years I've been away from ABQ, would a drive down I-25 S to Gibson at 7:30am (and going N at 4:30pm) be horrific? I really don't want commute for more than 30 min, well, that is unless I can live in Placitas or the East Mountains and see the stars nice and bright every night...now that I'd commute longer for, but maybe look into that after I get in a rental for a year and decide where to build/buy.
Thanks-
Last edited by honu1; 07-12-2009 at 06:46 AM..
Reason: many typos..fingers not able to keep up with bain just yet
There isn't really a "NE Valley" in Albuquerque. Locals refer to it as the north valley.
There is a large subdivision called Vista Del Norte immediately N of Osuna about halfway between 2nd and I-25. The biggest complaint locals have is the distance to shopping. No Wal-mart or even a grocery for a good couple of miles. The houses are newer, and the lots smaller than average (though probably average or above average for newer homes).
I recommend you save yourself the headaches of a rush-hour commute on I-25 both ways and pick something closer to Gibson. There are hoods down that way, but also thoroughly decent homes for affordable prices. Even something off Menaul would put you significantly closer than that far north.
East mountains may actually be less insane than Osuna, IMO.. I-40 (after the construction) may make that commute a bit easier than I-25. Still, recommend you try the foothills (E of Juan Tabo but not yet out of the city) if you need mountainy that bad.
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(Maybe you could clarify here.) No water parks in ABQ at the moment, but there are a few public pools on the WS and Rio Rancho. Defined Fitness and NM Sports and Wellness are the two "big dogs" in the gym market in ABQ. They both have facilities all over town.
thanks
