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Do visit beforehand to get a sense of how you and your husband respond to the New Mexico culture. As I like to tell my east coast friends, its the closest thing to living in a foreign country in the USA. The culture here is so distinct and all pervasive. You must love it and adapt if you're going to call it home. Most persons respond strongly to it one way or the other. I love it, but have seen family members and friends react negatively. Its all a matter of personal taste. Albuquerque is not your generic American city.
OK, I didn't know about the Santa Fe airport. But then again, I was living close to ABQ. Thanks for mentioning the other airport. That can be an important factor in deciding where to live.
Actually one can fly out of the Santa Fe airport directly to Dallas though I think there is only one flight per day.
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Originally Posted by lizzytish
OK, I didn't know about the Santa Fe airport. But then again, I was living close to ABQ. Thanks for mentioning the other airport. That can be an important factor in deciding where to live.
For over ten years my wife traveled from ABQ and I traveled with her or I traveled to the east coast. Neither of us could ever get a flight out of Santa Fe or into Santa Fe to connect to our destination. That's one reason why we live 37 minutes from ABQ...
If I were you, I would not move to New Mexico unless your husband already has an engineering job lined up. Good jobs are hard to find. Many of the engineering positions are with government contractors and require US citizenship and the potential to get a security clearance.
Albuquerque would be the best location for your family but you might also consider Las Cruces. There are government contractor engineering jobs at White Sands which would require some commuting time. New Mexico State University is in Las Cruces and has some Muslim students. There is not a vibrant downtown but the areas near the University and a few other parts of town might fit your needs. It may be worth checking out. Then of course, there is Los Alamos National Laboratory which is about 45 minutes from Santa Fe but it is expensive to live in Los Alamos or Santa Fe. Unfortunately the government contractors across New Mexico are downsizing but they do have an older workforce, many of whom may be retiring in the next few years.
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Originally Posted by TylerJAX
I wouldn't move here without a job lined up. This isn't Texas or one of the coasts. There really is only one city in NM, and that's Albuquerque. It's also probably your best bet if you are adamant about making a blind move here.
These are both correct. I have nothing to add except that competition for an engineering job is likely to be pretty stiff in the form of grads from NM Tech, NMSU, etc. since their engineering schools are large (and if I recall correctly, ranked pretty decently nationally).
Albuquerque would be your best bet if you absolutely insist. Anywhere else, and you may find difficulty in finding fellow Muslims, halal food, etc. (though Las Cruces does have an "international" market and a mosque, etc.)
LC provides access to a good sized city, El Paso. Also the airport there provides good access to many locations I am told. Between Juarez and EP the population of the area is 2.7 Million I believe. While it is 30- 45 minutes from LC to El Paso DT, it does give LC claim as a town that is part of a metro which certainly is a city, even if the city is in Texas. The University and White Sands Missile Range make for an interesting mix of technical work uncommon for a city its size.
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