Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Violence in Albuquerque comes from many sources, one of which are street gangs, as illustrated above. Most of the street gangs are local. The influx of gangs from other states has happened to some extent, but is not as prevalent as the news would have you believe. The links above refer to men and women who are from street gangs that have a long history in the city.
The comments in the reddit discussion above reflect the sentiments given in the poll discussed in previous post. Common among the things people don't like above living in Albuquerque are the "criminals, crime, thugs."
Another thing contributing to crime and violence is the general poverty of New Mexico. A lot of people grow up in rough conditions. There is substantial violence on the reservations, for example. This spills over into Albuquerque because a lot of people ending up moving to the city from the outlying areas.
I agree -- we never hear about how crime ridden Salt Lake City is, or Tulsa, be we are about in that same range. There is that external perception that seems way out of proportion to what is really going on. Maybe the Breaking Bad image has taken hold, but it seems more than that.
But what I don't get is how people who live here will bad mouth places where they have never been or have no real knowledge. It seems like anyplace more than eight blocks away is horrible. Gee whiz -- you put your life at risk if you go to South Valley or Bernalillo. God help those poor souls in Rio Rancho. Don't venture too far south of ______________ (fill in the blank). Really???
Lest anyone who takes a quick look at this link freak out, the default sorting on the page is alphabetical which is why Albuquerque shows up at the top. You can click on any of the subcategories to sort by a particular type of crime. Happily, Albuquerque is not actually first in any category.
Assuming these numbers are accurate (I didn't check), we are in the top 10 among cities with populations of 250,000 or more for property crime and in the top 25 for aggravated assault, violent crime, rape, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. Not great at all...but with only 80 cities on the list this might not be quite as bad as it looks at first blush. It's also worth noting the cities that show up ahead of Albuquerque in multiple categories, which includes not only peer cities like Tucson or Tulsa but also places like Seattle or San Francisco that I don't think most people usually consider crime-ridden.
Well, having lived in Albuquerque a few times, and having visited recently, anyone that says that there isn't crime is dreaming. Do they think they just make this stuff up in the newspaper? There is certainly crime, and much more than say Las Cruces, which is where we lived for four years before moving to St. Pete, Fl. Albuquerque is a largish American city, and there are drugs, gangs, guns, and a fair number of criminal types. They're here in St. Pete too. Most of this is localized, like anywhere else. I also would not trust the Albuquerque police more than I could throw them. There's a reason why the feds are getting involved in an attempt to stem the violent culture that exists in that department.
Statistics are just that. Numbers. It mainly depends on where you live and how you live in a city or area. And, things will change. Our old hometown of Hilo, Hi was really safe when we left it 13 years ago, but in the last few years the crime has spiked way up. Serious crime, w/ shootings, home invasions, and stabbings. There never used to be those types of crimes there, but now there is.
Personally, I would trust the people more that mention the crime than the ones who seem oblivious to it. In the end, someone has to move to a place they feel safe, and that's a personal choice, not a matter of statistics. I might feel safe somewhere, while someone else may feel unsafe. Neither position is right or wrong, it's how the individual feels that is important. This website is full of boosters too. Not just this city forum, but most all the city forums. There are going to be people that will gloss over anything perceived to be negative or critical. I have no idea why that is, but it's a fact, so just remember that whatever you read is just someone's opinion (including mine), and not necessarily reality. We all live in our own comfort zones. Money has a lot to do w/ it too. Someone that is rich will live in a very safe part of town and frequent upper scale, safe areas. Someone that is poor will be forced by circumstances to live in areas that have more crime. That is just life everywhere.
For what it's worth, I have lived in the S.F. Tenderloin, Harlem, and other similar places. Those were rough areas, but I wasn't prepared for what I saw in the bad parts of L.A. That was way out of my comfort zone, yet other people saw no problem living there. It's really about how someone personally feels about this issue.
I still think the overabundance of the danged burglar bars give a bad first impression, and because they're more prevalent here than any other city I've lived in, the perception of visitors and newcomers is OMG THERE IS HORRIBLE CRIME HERE!!!
And once you have that impression, it's very hard to get rid of it.
That is total crap and you know it. Crime happens everywhere and some o the worst crimes tend to take place where the wealthy live because, well, there is wealth there and some just want to take it. As I said before, I lived in the "War zone" and nothing happened, matter of fact I preferred most of those people there than I did the stuck up idiots in the heights.
Present company excluded, I hope.
FYI, the "war zone"/"international district" is part of the heights (SE heights). Most of Albuquerque east of I-25 counts as heights (basically, if it's not in the valley..). An awfully broad brush to paint with.
As a near-lifelong resident of the heights, I always thought the stuck up idiots were for the most part from outlying communities or Santa Fe. And even then, they were the exception rather than the rule.
Personally, I would trust the people more that mention the crime than the ones who seem oblivious to it... There are going to be people that will gloss over anything perceived to be negative or critical.
Smarino, because your negative generalizations about Albuquerque do not in any way match my day-to-day experience here, I clicked your profile to get a better understanding of your perspective. I was surprised to see that you posted the following in the middle of the night last night to Florida forum at Drug Addicts, Drug Dealers, Thugs and Thieves...:
Quote:
Originally Posted by smarino
Bizarre thread. Things are not at all like the way the original op stated. We know, because we just moved to St Pete from South Daytona after four years in the Daytona area. Sure, there is crime, but it's not out of control, and there are ghetto areas and there are good areas. The police do what they can on their limited budget, and if I was a criminal I sure wouldn't want to mess w/ the cops there. They do not play. In some ways, the crime is more serious in St Pete, as it's a much larger metro area. You have to be more on your toes here compared to Daytona. But it offers so much more (for us), so we're happy we moved. Nearly all crime is localized within a city or area in every state in the U.S. You just have to pick out the safest and most convenient areas to live in that you can afford.
Your words above could be used verbatim to rebut your negative generalizations about Albuquerque. Why do you apply a different standard to Albuquerque?
Did you perhaps have very high expectations that were disappointed, or perhaps a relationship that didn't work out? We briefly considered moving to Latin America, and had very high expectations when we visited Uruguay and Panama. We were disappointed with both places, which was a bit devastating at the time because we had such high hopes. As a result, I felt a kind of hatred toward Uruguay and Panama – like they owed it to me to be the places I expected – and I would say bad things about those places whenever it came up. Years later, I realize my perceptions were distorted by my unrealistic expectations.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,936 posts, read 36,989,150 times
Reputation: 40635
Quote:
Originally Posted by BoozeVoodoo
I understand that some people have been affected by crime and it is going to happen no matter what city you live in. Some of these posters have to be trolling acting as if Albuquerque is world war 3 every day, all day. I lived in Albuquerque in the 80's in the "War zone" or the new politically correct termed "International district". We were not affected by crime in any sort of way but then again we didn't associate with those that commit crime as part of their active lifestyle either. Wait, I had my bike stolen once.
I have been living in Madison, WI for some time now with plans to move back to the ABQ shortly. Madison, WI is supposed to be one of the most crime free places to live because the media hates to show this proud university city in a bad light. Truth is there is a ton of crime here as well and have experienced far more in this "crime free" city then anything I experienced in the 80's ABQ. Idiot college students downtown and all of the scumbags and douchebags that Chicago didn't want. These morons couldn't make it in Chicago so they all come here with new identities and newly grown big brass balls causing some pretty serious crime. You won't find a lot of it in the news however.
My wife, having lived in Chicago and Philly, almost audibly laughed when she went over the crime statistics compared to where she has lived and all these posts of the sky falling make me .
I don't understand why some people from Albuquerque, and the "experts" that have only traveled there a couple of times feel the need to make the city out to be the wild west when it is actually pretty tame.
Funny, I know someone that lived up near Allied Drive in Madison (which is a hotbed for crime, or it was) but moved to Albuquerque after finishing at UW. She was never a victim of crime in Madison (which is super safe) but has been many many times in Albuquerque. Once, the thieves cut through the back fence, broke in the back door, and loaded their washer and dryer on a truck (complete with their wash) and drove away. She still seems to make it sound like the wild west to this day, but her husband has a good job there.
I lived in Madison for a decade and indeed, I have nothing but good things to say about it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In Case You Missed It
.
