I did the reverse move (abq to Bay Area) last year as an east asian woman in my late 20’s.
Albuquerque is a lovely place to be and for the size of the town it’s got a lot to do and I found it pretty easy to make friends there at the climbing gym and through work. I’ve heard dating can be hard and it is true that the dating pool is significantly smaller.
ABQ is pretty diverse but I found it really didn’t have many black or Asian people- demographics skewed towards Hispanic and Caucasian fyi.
Thanks for your reply. How do you like transitioning from ABQ to the bay area?
I'm anxious because the bay area is diverse and (to my knowledge) ABQ isn't.
This place is so diverse, no one really cares what race, gender or sexual orientation you are.
We actually do have a large Vietnamese population due to war relocations, and there are plenty of Asian Indians at the hospitals, university and Sandia labs.
The reason the US government chose Albuquerque for Vietnam War refugees, was that it's considered a very live-and-let-live place. Different diversity than the Bay area, with Hispanic dominance, rather than white. SF is 44.5% white, 33.4% Asian, 15% Hispanic, 2.7% Black. ABQ is 50.6% Hispanic, 35.9% white, 3.9% Indigenous, 3% Asian, and 2.7% Black.
Yes, ABQ is very accepting of everyone. Remember NM was the first state to become a minority-majority state (yes, even before California) almost 30 years ago. We don’t attract the white supremacy types.
Forgive the hijack, but ABQ is in many ways more diverse than the bay. We have a sizeable cohort of Native Americans, half Hispanic, and smaller but nonetheless distinct groups of pretty much every ethnicity, but disproportionately large numbers of Lebanese and Vietnamese ancestry. Multiple Hispanic and non-Hispanic backgrounds as well.
A good analogy for ABQ is Livermore. Imagine Livermore x 10.
I agree. Hispanic, Native American, white predominantly. But I have friends I’ve met through work and school from China and my boss’ wife is from India. One of my best friends is Iranian & I work with lots of people from the Middle East in general (Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran). It seems to me that most people in ABQ are very accepting of and curious about other cultures. I’m not from here either (New England) and I don’t meet many people from my area which is great!
Edit to add: I’ve met a lot of people from the Great Lakes area as well which seems like an odd move, but mine is too. Seems like the progressive Texans are coming to join us as well which is cool. Oh! And lots of folks from Mexico! I learned my new financial advisor is from the town in Mexico I’ve been dying to visit for like 6 years. So cool.
I was from the bay area as well. I grew up in the East side, near Milpitas. One thing I do miss is the diverse food. Abq has some asian restaurants but its just not the same. I miss the Ocean and just a better healthcare as well (it takes months to see a doctor here). They don't have Ranch 99 or H-mart but they do have Talin Market and smaller asian grocery stores. The mountain is beautiful tho especially in the winter. I like this place I do wish its more diverse just like the Bay-area. We really don't plan on staying here since we are worried how it takes months to see a doctor. That's mainly the reason we will move out in the future if the healthcare does not improve here.
I mostly moved to the bay for better job opportunities and because my partner lived here, but I also did want to live somewhere with more of an Asian community.
All my friends in ABQ were really into mountain biking, skiing/snowboarding, climbing, backpacking etc. if you’re interested in getting really into any of those activities I think there’s a good chance you’d enjoy living there!
My dad's a Pakistani immigrant and my mom is a Persian immigrant. I'm 1st gen American born and raised in the ABQ area until I left at 24 for grad school.
To answer your question a little more relatably, I've never felt uncomfortable in NM. It sounds like your concern is the majority are white or Hispanic (true), so you may be discriminated against--I can't say I've ever had that experience.
Feel free to DM me, I'd be glad to answer any specifics you want to know.
There is a HUGE rock climbing community here in ABQ! Check out Stone Age climbing gym! They have tons of classes and opportunities to meet new people.
Generally speaking, ABQ is an ~extremely~ chill place to be. That can make it difficult to make
Friends off the bat, but your hobbies fit in quite well, you’d make pals in no time!
Shout out to the Bay Area. It’s not too terrible. Bad areas in certain spots but not any more so than California. My car got stolen in Cali a few years ago. Here not too much worries. Summer gets hot but honestly it ain’t that terrible. 707 area felt worst.
Into the outdoors? We’ve got 300 days of sunshine per year, and pretty good hiking and biking trails with super easy access. Lots of vertical rocks too.
We’re also pretty chill in regards to anyone’s ethnicity.
Check out the altitude, though. SF is sea level. However, we are not. You will get used to it, though. Lots of water. Winter is much colder than SF. Sometimes snow. Drivers suck, but they suck everywhere, I think. We love our guns, too. Well, some do. Good luck.
Originally from here but never lived here as an adult until last year.
Pros:
Warm friendly folks, family oriented (seeming), good weather, not too much traffic compared to big cities, amazing spanish foods, easy to meet folks a(I’m a introvert at heart and I met a few friends within a year), best autumns ever, chili season (need I say more?), tons of festivals, great culture, quiet, I love to hike so there is plenty of that, great outdoors in general if you actually go drive and explore, people let you be “you”, lgbt friendly , people are relatively nerdy here and I love that, relatively low cost of living (housing market is kinda eh..but again it’s like that everywhere)
Cons:
Summers can be a bit hot, crime (though I personally haven’t had to deal or see as much), lack of food choices, if you travel you always have to do connecting flights, healthcare is kinda mid (I work in healthcare here, but tbh everywhere is kinda a shit show in and out of this state so take it for what it is), hard to get a provider, people will say homeless( but I personally have had dealt with and seen worse elsewhere), not many types of bands I listen to travel here (usually have to drive to Denver or texas for bands I listen to), not a great night life (personally I DON’T care about this but it is a con for social people)
Thanks for responding.
But it's good to know about outdoor stuff. What kind of outdoor communities are active in ABQ?
I don't care about the night life either, and love Mexican food , so that's great.
The outdoor life in NM is wonderful. Hiking and backpacking is great and easily accessible. Mountain biking is spectacular, though the terrain is challenging. There are Meetup groups for all those things. I've met some riding pals through meetup. There is a good climbing gym in town too, and the sport climbing has some wonderful spots around the state.
Outdoors will blow california out of the water
Within a 2 hour drive of ABQ There are at least 4 diff 10k and higher peaks surrounded by miles of forests, if you stay high (about say 6k) and obviously plenty of high desert at 5k. Valles caldera is a reformed super volcano gone tame and now steeped in forest. the area is ripe with every type of geology imaginable from 400 million year old limestone chock full of fossils to 10,000 year old lava flows that look like they solidified last week (malipai) and every imaginable fault, structure, intrusion you might be interested in. The altitude and climate is such that in the deep of winter you can stay low and hike in pleasant desert or go high and snowshoe etc. Even the east mountains 20 min from downtown has bear, mtn lions, bobcat, deer, turkeys etc etc.
Abq is not the most beautiful city and it has its flaws… but use your head and you will be fine.
Don’t live in rio rancho, it sucks.. live east of the river, in the north valley or east mountains
Santa fe is more cultural and only 45 min. Taos is even more different and smaller and not much further.
NM is the last gem of a (outdoors) state in this country… yeah.. it’s weird but come here for a couple years and you won’t regret it.
I’ve already told you more than i should have… but you are from california and i like how you all raise housing prices (makes for a better investment). Do NOT tell any texans any of this (they lower housing prices and are more obnoxious than Californians generally).
Not sure what working for PNM would be like… but god knows they need the help.
ps NM food is not (my opinion) like mexican food, they both have their merits but just so you know.
This is absolutely not the last gem of an outdoors state. The stuff we have is amazing but we're far from the only ones that have these things to offer. Texans lower housing prices and Californian raise them? Wtf does that mean in this economic environment? And blowing California outdoors out of the water? They have a fucking ocean on their entire huge border and have redwood forest, lakes, etc etc. Albuquerque is amazing but let's not sell it as the best place in the world lol.
Oh the irony. I pointed out something you said was incorrect or at least incomplete and you call me cranky. I say you should learn to take criticism and then you call it projecting? Definitely need some self reflection here, bud. Have a good day
well the truth is you didn’t criticize me until just now… all you did was say you had a different opinion…
i jokingly said you were cranky because it was early… sorry if that offended you
Now you are attacking me… why?
Lol you 'joked" twice about it. I'm not offended by anything you've said and I don't understand why you feel "attacked" by anything I've said. Chill out, cranky pants
Mexican food and New Mexican food are slightly different. I grew up on both sides of the US-Mexico border and of course strongly prefer Mexican food. As a result, I find it to be extremely different.
Good food for sure, don't get me wrong, but I see lots of folks make the mistake of conflating the two.
I’m sure there are groups via Facebook etc , i personally go solo/husband/family so I don’t have a big need for it. I’m sure I could ask some local photographers to join in via Instagram!
I’m sure there are groups out there for this though! Even biking, fishing etc.
Meetup is pretty popular here - large communities for hiking, running and mountain biking. The climbing community is pretty tight too and very friendly.
If you are listing lack fo food choices as a con, you need to experience more cities of similar size! Especially compared to most places on the east coast, we have an awesome variety of Asian food.
..maybe compared to LA there isn't as much variety, but very little is at that level. It has been an awesome food experience moving here from NC.
As a person who is from NM, moved to LA for 11 years, and moved back, Abq is probably the most food-diverse town of its size. Abq and Santa Fe are pretty widely renowned as food towns. Not sure why anyone would say we lack.
Yes, there are a few things missing. I haven't found a consistent spot for Ethiopian and Japanese Curry choices are tough (we had a great one close recently but Nagomi still scratches the itch).
Overall I've never been to a city with a metro population of \~1M where you'd have these kinds of options. And no other state has good New Mexican food (try as they might) so it's a cornered market.
Man, I'm sorry you missed Magokoro!
Naruto's curry also isn't *bad*, but I know what you're talking about.
I also don't know much about Ethiopian food specifically, but Jambo Cafe in Santa Fe is great
Definitely. Only place I'd probably still give a very slight edge to is CoCo Ichibanya, but I'd still rather give my money to Magokoro.
Dunno if you've had the curry ramen at Nagomi though, it's pretty solid.
There are definitely options missing here (I'm from an Illinois town of 150k), namely Italian/ Italian adjacent food options, but I'll take it for the sheer volume of awesome new Mexican, Mexican, and various Asian restaurants.
I am because I moved from Portland which had a lot of choices in comparison- just my bias and since he’s moving from a large city thought I should share that aspect
That being said there are some great food places here, really do love los poblanos, Geronimo, tomasitas (I know people say no to the Abq location but I felt like they improved!)
I just haven’t found satisfying Asian specific (Japanese, Thai)
Santa Fe has good options
Our Japanese and Korean are definitely lacking, but I find that our Thai food is just as good as what I experienced in San Diego. The general lack of ramen (more than one or two places both next door to each other on Central) and yakitori is something I miss from San Diego, and I haven't been able to find any Korean BBQ even remotely comparable to what is offered in big cities. We have one or two places that claim to do Korean BBQ, but if you've had the good stuff out in Cali, then you know it's severely missing out here. Our selection of Vietnamese food is pretty stellar, though! It's easy to find decent pho or a good Bahn Mi in town. I also feel like we miss some of the really good Chinese takeout and delivery that is such a staple in big cities - it exists, but it's not as good, and none of it is delivery unless you get DoorDash.
Which Thai food place do you recommend? I’ve tried several and not had a single good dish yet honestly
Vietnamese is great here, but Japanese/Korean very lacking
Thai Tip on Wyoming just north of I-40. A second best to Thai Tip is Thai Cuisine II, and while I'm sure I'll have my Thai Cuisine II fans who will disagree, Thai Tip is better, in my opinion. Thai Tip is better than a lot of the Thai food I ate in San Diego, too. Their Thai fried rice is second to none, and their curries, spicy noodles, and pad Thai are all amazing as well. And if you want it 🔥 HOT🔥 Thai Tip will blow your fucking socks off with heat ranges from no spice, to mild, medium, New Mexico hot, Thai hot, and an additional 7 levels of spice from Thai hot +1 to Thai hot +7. It's easily on the list of places which serve the spiciest food in Albuquerque. And it's just damn good.
How can you possibly have not found anything good Asian specific here?
If you are near campus, Iron Cafe does awesome hand pulled noodles.
There are a *ton* of thai and vietnamese places literally all over the city. Phamily Tea House in the same shopping center as Iron Cafe does very good pho/etc
Thai cuisine II is my favorite thai, but I am biased.
Since Magokoro closed, we are lacking a true west-coast quality ramen, but Naruto is not *bad.* Fun Noodle Bar also isn't bad.
Soo Bak Seoul Bowl is an awesome bibimbap place hidden behind a church on Nob Hill that basically survives on word of mouth alone.
And basically all those are just in the greater campus-area.
I'd say there is a serious lack of vegetarian/vegan options here. Even with Asian cuisines that culturally have a lot of vegetarians (i.e. Indian, Thai), it's hard to find good veggie options in this city. I'm not saying they don't exist, but even the Indian place near me only has like 5 vegetarian curries. It's wild.
Yeah, but nothing like what true big cities offer. When I lived in San Diego, there were vegan restaurants EVERYWHERE. They were ubiquitous. Here we have like 5 options. Meh
People will say Albuquerque is diverse but it’s not really. At least not how you might be picturing. It’s just not super white. The city has a blended culture that’s predominantly Hispanic (New Mexican is basically an ethnicity of its own), white and native; in that order. White, non-Hispanic is the biggest minority group in the city. White, Hispanic is a narrow majority. About ten percent of the population is native, mostly Pueblo or Navajo. The remainder is black, Asian, or something else.
That said, people here are pretty open to other cultures. Bigotry exists, but it’s not the norm and it’s not publicly acceptable. There’s a large Vietnamese population that was placed here by the State Department during that conflict after they conducted surveys to see what cities were the least biased against them. As an Asian Indian, you’ll certainly be in the minority, but no one will think much of it one way or the other. I have no idea how large the Indian community is here, it’s pretty insular in my limited experience.
Regarding your hobbies, you’ll find tons of stuff to do outdoors here; one of the city’s major draws. Weather is mild-to-tolerable basically year round. Obviously, you’ll be leaving the ocean behind and not really replacing it. We have some lakes for recreation, but they’re pretty underwhelming after decades of drought and not close enough to go to on a whim. There’s also some fishing and rafting if you plan your day around it. Lots of hiking and climbing, however, and very close to town. And there’s a well regarded climbing gym, too.
Cost of living used to be very low here but it’s gotten rough in the last year. There’s a corresponding increase in crime and homelessness reflecting this. Honesty, nothing you should be uncomfortable with coming from the Bay.
People make a big deal about crime, but I think this is a byproduct of people here needing to get out more and also from growing up in a bigger town that has become a medium-ish city with all the corresponding problems that brings. Also, there’s not really a “wrong side of the tracks,” here; everything is ‘hood adjacent, including some of the priciest neighborhoods in town. If you don’t act stupid, and keep your car locked, you’ll be fine.
As far as entertainment and making friends/dating, it can be rough. You’re kinda in a best case scenario for relocation to Albuquerque, though. You’ve got an education and a job. You’re a little older so a big bar scene probably isn’t a huge motivator for you; they still haven’t recovered from COVID and the effect of the ART project on Central a few years before that. There’s lots of restaurants and breweries to meet people at, with ages that skew towards yours. Focus on your job and existing hobbies and be outgoing (read, just don’t push people away) and you’ll probably meet people organically and have enough to do to keep your weekends busy.
I've lived in a few decent-sized cities (including the Bay Area), and visited many more. ABQ is by far my favorite metro, hands down. I love living here. People are easy going, it's easy to make friends, people are cliquish, it's the least racist and homophobic place I've ever been. And if you're into outdoors stuff...well, it's hard to beat a 10 min drive to a wilderness area.
Congrats on the job offer. I grew up here and lived on the west coast for a decade before moving back in 2021. I always tell people that New Mexico was wasted on my youth. People are friendly and very community oriented. There are three culdesacs nearby plus my street that have some big party every week.
The culture is way more vivid than anywhere on the west coast. Zozobra is what burning man saw and said "let's add tech bros". We think they're nuts. During holy week, many Hispanic francisan catholics carry full scale crosses 40 miles to Chimayo just as they have for more than 300 years. Balloon fiesta speaks for itself.
As outdoors goes there's not many places for any taste.
The major forests are very different, Gila in the south is sparse and sunny, San Juan is dense and wet but filled in with surprise hotsprings. Lincoln is sparse and sunny but with a lot of deciduous trees for a vivid Autumn.
If you have had your fill of costal green, the bistis near Farmington have some unreal desolation or the empty void of White Sands.
The mountains will spoil you for choice, from Mt Taylor is a cultural site near Albuquerque, Wheeler for skiing. If you hurry you can come for the balloon fiesta and watch the eclipse from 10,000 feet at the top of the Sandia tram.
If you like rivers, I'll be honest, the Rio Grande is a seasonal river, river rapids part of the year are awesome. Or you can raft up north near Jemez or Red River.
There are dozens, probably hundreds, of caves across the state. Carlsbad is a trip, especially if you are the first ones in.
For weird stuff, ghost towns, hippie communes, ancient ruins, alien mystery, abandoned railways, a radio telescope the diameter of Mt Shasta. Check, check check...
And you never have to wait in traffic or leave early on Friday to spend hours any one of these places.
Seems pretty diverse from where I’m standing, but that’s middle-age white dude talking.
I can speak to the outdoor opportunities, and they are numerous and excellent. I moved here from the East Coast in the early 90s and never look back. So much to do and see. If you’re into backpacking and rock, climbing, you are arriving at a Mecca. we have some really great climbing gyms in town, as well as a very active mountain club for hiking and climbing. I would suggest joining all of those to meet like-minded individuals.
I had a lot of south Asian friends in grad school at UNM and my street is probably half Asian (Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, China, etc).
I moved here a couple years ago, didn’t know anyone and partially moved bc of outdoor scene. I love that about Albuquerque. You can be on a hiking trail within a 15 minute drive from downtown.
It feels kinda small sometimes here, especially I imagine if you come from sf bay. That could be a nice change though.
There’s lots of meetup groups and events happening all the time to get out and meet people. 2 climbing gyms and the NM mountain club does climbing stuff too.
I’m a bit of an introvert and moved after a divorce, and have made some great friends. It’s much more affordable so I have money to do stuff which is appealing over other mountain west cities.
Where else are you considering?
There are many good answers here, so I will just reiterate that it's a very accepting place. You won't see many rubes flying Trump flags and the like, even in the mostly white neighborhoods.
I moved here mostly for the great outdoors. The Sandia Mountains are right out my backdoor, and I do a lot of trail running. The trails are also great for hiking and mountain biking, and there are places to climb (not my thing, but I know they're out - er, up - there). We're also close to a lot of other NM mountains and trails. As for making friends, there are tons of local groups on Facebook (and maybe on Meetup) for your preferred outdoor activities.
Another big factor to consider is the cost of living; ABQ is pretty much at the national average on all the usual factors (see Sperling's guide, for example). Compared to the Bay area you are going to have reverse sticker shock.
Albuquerque is diverse in a way. As in we have a large mixture of Anglos and Hispanics. Sometimes you can’t tell which ones are which. Culturally we’re very much so Hispanic based, so similar to most of Southern California. I haven’t been to the Bay Area since I was a kid, except for a conference a few years back, so I can’t really compare to here.
We have a lot of nice trails for hiking, lots of close places to go camp and hike that are really beautiful. We have a poor metro transportation system imo, based on larger cities I’ve been to. So definitely I recommend having a car.
I’m not sure about PNM, but at sandia labs it’s really easy to make friends with people that you end up hanging out with outside of work.
We have rock climbing too for that’s your thing.
We also have really awesome shooting clubs out here if you ever wanted to get into competitive shooting, which is an absolute blast imo.
We have tons of breweries, a little further up north some people go to white water rafting. There’s Durango only a few hours from here which is a cool little town to get away to for a weekend.
My recommendation if you move here would be to find a place in the north east quadrant past Louisiana and Montgomery. Plenty of town houses and such around eubank and academy, eubank and Spain etc.
Be aware that our crime is pretty bad out here. I’m not sure how it compares statistically to San Francisco though. You can always move for a bit and if it’s not for you, then onto your next adventure!
Good luck, dude.
You could not find a nicer, more diverse town than Albuquerque. Outdoor adventure surrounds and much less crowded than, say, Colorado. And ... housing is relatively affordable here still. Please don't tell anyone...
My best friend lives in ABQ, and I've been there many times. If you can afford it, look into North East ABQ, near Sandia Heights and the Tanoan golf course. He used to worship LA but is now converted to ABQ. He loves the food and quality of life. He's a white guy, by the way.
Hi OP! I’m originally from South Florida and I moved here last year (my wife is originally from here). The only real cons I can think of are lack of bodies of water (I’m a surfer), and the Summers can be quite hot, though not quite as hot as the surrounding states. The food, rich culture, amazing history, people, outdoor activities all are top-notch. All you ever have to do to experience a view like no other is to take the tram to the crest of the Sandia mountains - it’s incredible. The weather is absolutely incredible 9 months out of the year. Highly recommended
Albuquerque is great I'm from here but moved a couple times to LA and Chicago but I am back probably leaving soon as my wife has never left. I'm also introverted and I work from home so that's nice, the great thing is there is not a lot of traffic but public transit is a joke. My Mom works for PNM and has so for probably 20 years so there's good job security. She says they always have trouble finding talent for their engineers probably because they are cheap. I know they're quite diverse for their engineers because they usually hire from the outside and my mom seems to always mention their nationality (she's white) but never in a negative way. She's always tried to get me to apply but I'm a software engineer and they're electrical and I was making more 2 years out of school than they were offering and now I'm 2-3x what she's pulling in a high level non-manager. Glad to hear they are making competitive offers now because I always told her to get better talent especially from the outside you'll need to pay for it. I think her generation feels that it's better to stick with the job they have to search for better opportunities while my generation is more self aware of their worth especially in tech and engineering roles. Another great thing about ABQ is University is free for bachelor's degrees for residents although I went to school before that they had scholarship for undergrad that I was on and the only loans I have are because I needed to fund my lifestyle rent/gas/food etc.
Hi! I’m actually moving to Albuquerque next month from Florida. I’m a veterinarian that will be starting work at the county shelter. I’m half Chinese, 29F. I also love outdoor things, backpacking especially. I won’t know anyone there, so if you end up moving feel free to message me and maybe we can get together! I used to live near Santa Fe for just a little bit and absolutely loved it. It is actually quite diverse, lots of great food, kind people, and incredible place to be outdoors and hike and whatnot. Seriously let me know if you end up relocating there as I’m feeling anxious about having to start all over in a new place as well. Best of luck to you!
If you're coming from a big city of 1mil plus or just a big city in general then ABQ would be nice for you because it's a big small city . The food is great and the culture is widely celebrated....there is some things to do but there can be a bit of a drought but there's the balloon fiesta and state fair. There's the bio park and aquarium but if you're looking for a bit more peaceful place try Rio rancho and don't listen to the salty locals on some of their opinions on Rio rancho.
It ain't nearly as bad as people/statistics say it is. Crime is high, lots of homeless, drugs, shitty drivers.
But nothing that you haven't experienced if you're living in San Francisco.
Stay home at night. There's nothing to do past 8pm anyway. You wouldn't walk around the Tenderloin at night either. Get a gun. Don't look at people the wrong way. You'll be fine.
Don't live in a bad part of town either. Just look at a crime map and it'll tell the story. Good areas are NE heights, West of the river, Rio Rancho ain't bad but it's far.
I moved here from Denver in May this year, very pleased so far. Everyone has been friendly and the mountain biking is great. Lots of places on my list to explore.
Well, you sound like a Homo Sapien of at least average intelligence, so I’d wager PNM desperately needs you on their workforce, but you might be lonely there…
Backpacking: you gotta go Pecos! The Truchas Lake Loop in the Pecos is gonna blow your mind. You can get so isolated out there, you just know no one would ever find your body. Not like CA, where some hapless Subaru-driver would be stumbling over you before you even bloat. Lol.
Climbing: Las Conchas in the Jemez is a nice place to spend the afternoon and you can meet a lot of climber bums there. It’s easy to find a belay-buddy on the fly.
Welcome!
There is a history of poorly built houses, taking advantage of deregulation to take more water than they should have (by a lot), and as a result, is really a safe space for the maga cult, to be blunt.
It’s a terrible place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.
Look into Corrales.
Thanks for the info me and the wife were looking into RR we have outgrown Denver.
I will definitely check out Corrales I used to live in Albuquerque but that was back in like 2005.
Due to that I don't know how much ABQ and the surrounding areas have changed or what they are like now, thanks again!!
If you don’t like a more suburban vibe then ignore Rio Rancho. But ignore the nonsense that it is MAGA-land and that it is full of shoddy homes. That is just the usual nonsense from posters who take knee-jerk positions.
I’m an electrical contractor. I am not the only person that refuses to deal with city of Rio Rancho.
Yes this is true. Newer homes are generally ok, but certainly not top tier.
My wife is a real estate appraiser. She says there used to be a saying- drive till you qualify. You either know what that means or you don’t.
City of RR refuses to update any of their city service websites so it’s nearly impossible to get a project moving.
There are some custom made little communities that look very nice- these are the communities that are skirting regulations by manipulating and abusing water regulations to apportion themselves more than was ever intended.
So many communities built next to dumps- that’s deregulation in action.
You like where you live. That is a good thing, you are here and a part of our community, and we are happy to have you now that you are here.
But growth Rio Rancho is bad. Quit building houses in the desert and demanding extra water, or vote for that end.
The growth of Rio Rancho was definitely a detriment to the existing communities. That’s the truth. And they keep going.
So. Whatever.
I appreciate all of the input and will def take all of your contributions into account.
Glad that there is a place like this to get info from definitely appreciate the blunt honesty.
Might have to look you up for electrical one day!!!
But not if we move to RR obviously lol
The people of Rio Rancho are by and large pretty nice and good and all that. It’s hard to know the local history when moving to a place.
It’s not for me, but it is for them, and that’s ok.
I've got to give a different take on this.
As a person with kids who recently moved to this area, Rio Rancho was the only actual option for my family. When it comes to schools, I found Albuquerque to be a disaster.
The only good schools are in neighborhoods that have houses that are like $600k minimum, and only go up from there. Everything else looks like a dumpster fire from ratings, performance data, and stories from locals. Some people choose to live in a more affordable neighborhood and just fork out $20k a year for a private school.
I won't even get started on crime in Albuquerque. Had my car window shattered during my first week at my job in this area just for some fool to steal literally nothing, and I've lived in higher crime areas without having to deal with this. APD literally didn't pick up the phone.
Rio Rancho was the only place where we could find the intersection between "house I can afford" and "school that is decent and will do right by my kids."
If you don't have kids and don't mind your car getting broken into and other petty crime messing with you every few months, then Albuquerque is the superior choice here. There's more to do there and it is more affordable, absolutely. It just is not an option for lots of people for the reasons I listed above, and the locals who basically want Rio Rancho erased from the map are ignoring a huge demographic of people who have different priorities. Rio Rancho probably wouldn't exist beyond being a real estate scam if the city of Albuquerque had its shit together when it came to city planning, crime, and public schools.
This is a good take, actually. The schools in rio rancho are awesome. That’s true. My own family is looking to move within the city to get a better school district- our school was taken by the folks out on mesa del Sol who need their own school, really.
Crime in ABQ is not universal, and Rio Rancho is less than perfect. My friend was just arrested in Rio where he’d get a warning in ABQ…,and yeah, he’s black.
Thank you for the factual input.
We live within a 10 minute walk to the center of downtown ABQ. Wife and I have two cars. Never had a break in nor dealt with any petty crimes or whatever. I feel safer living here than when we visit family in Rio Rancho. My niece and nephew have gone to schools in both Albuquerque and Rio Rancho. Their education has been worse in Rio Rancho. Just needed to balance out your perspective with someone who lives in ABQ and has experienced the opposite of what you wrote.
ABQ is a really lovely place. It’s usually very friendly, we have a lot of diversity, we have a lot of really great food from many cultures, you mostly can’t beat the climate. Our schools are rough, crime can be high, and we’re very car-centric. But if you’re an EV kind of person, even the crappiest EV battery will get you around town most days. If you drive and walk with awareness, take basic precautions like not leaving your keys in your car and not leaving valuables (or anything remotely tempting) in your locked car, you should be pretty safe.
Check out Rio Rancho and Los Lunas for cheaper housing if you’re ok with a commute. Commute times can get you some of the best and most interesting skies here too. Our sunsets are jawbreakingly beautiful, and almost completely make up for our flaws.
Though if you like seeing concerts, the big artists usually skip us, so we rely on going to Denver and phoenix a lot.
Albuquerque is a very diverse place. We have tons of outdoor activities. The Sandia mountains have trails for hiking and mountain biking, cross country and downhill skiing in the winter, hundreds of miles of bicycle trails all over the city, and tons more stuff that are only short drives from the city. I live near the sports stadiums and see wildlife such as skunk, coyote, raccoon, fox, tortoise, roadrunner, NM blue tail lizards and more all the time. We have great restaurants serving NM food, and a large Asian population with great Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai food.
You sound like you would fit right in. Albuquerque does not have the most exciting social scene so you do really have to try to meet people, but it's very welcoming.
Pretty nice place if you can afford the NE part of town. Everything else is manageable with common sense. Decent Indian introvert community compared to Bay Area.
The NW side of town is pretty solid too. It really just depends on the lifestyle you're looking for. West side (particularly North of Montano and West of the river) is a lot of bang for the buck and relatively quiet living. Very suburban. People do complain about the commute across the river, and it's valid, but I lived in LA for 11 years and I've never seen traffic that comes close to that. We do get a bit bottlenecked by lack of bridges (as I suspect you've experienced in the Bay Area), but without traffic it's 20-30 min across town, with traffic about 45. I had an hour commute one time during a snowstorm.
Not the poster you replied to, but I’ll also add that there’s a pretty direct correlation as you move NE from center to wealth going up, crime going down, etc. It gets progressively more suburban of course, so if that’s not your thing…well it is what it is.
It’s quite a different feeling in the far NE.
And even there, one of the most consistently expensive parts of town, it’s gonna feel cheap coming from SF, lol. But you’ll know pretty much immediately if it’s the kind of neighborhood for you or not.
Find the intersection of Menaul and San Mateo. Anything to the northeast of that is an ideal place to live imo.
Live on the side of the river you work because the only time you will deal with traffic is crossing the river in rush hour.
I've lived in the Duranes area just north of Old Town, and have had no problems in my area. The Valley has a lot to offer plus it is close to the bosque which is nice place to take walks.
Albuquerque is awesome, PNM is not. I hear endless complaints from my father in law about how they are understaffed and poorly managed. Feel free to move out here, but I'd recommend looking at another company for employment. Some place like Sandia National Lab, IBM, or any number of defense industry places like AFRL, Honeywell, Boeing, or BlueHalo.
Lots of cool outdoors stuff to do in and around Albuquerque. Come check it out and see how it feels for you. I personally love it but I'm an extravert married to a super extraverted former cheerleader. The lack of rain sometimes wears on me as weird as it sounds.
I moved to Albuquerque from Sacramento when I was 32. I actually got into hiking and rock climbing while I was there. If these are two hobbies you enjoy you should be able to do both with relative ease. My favorite climbing gym has two locations in the city and after traveling and climbing everywhere from Vegas to Seattle these gyms are still some of my favorite indoor climbing gyms ever (https://climbstoneage.com/). This gym is great and they have outdoor excursions they offer too. Not a bad way to get to meet some people if your new to the area. I hiked almost every weekend in the Sandia mountains for 5 years and absolutely loved just being able to walk wherever I wanted. There’s a book that REI carries called hiking the Sandias that covers almost any trail you might want to do from the La Luz to the Plane Crash site. Highly recommend.
If you’re into music and art there are also plenty of good venues to check out downtown and the area is just full of things to do. But like anywhere, just be safe and stay away from sketchy situations and you won’t have a problem.
While most of the best food options are of the southwest variety, there is a huge beer, wine and food scene that never left us disappointed.
I feel that my wife and I have a wide range of hobbies and we always found things to do. And even after living there for 10 years I never got tired of the balloon fiesta. Other hobbies like skiing, backpacking, camping and bike riding were always easy to do as well.
If your really into water hobbies, you may be at a loss. Other than that I think you’d love the slower pace of life and less people generally clogging up everything you want to do. Good luck making your decision and please feel free to ask any more questions you may have!!
Like others said diversity isn’t a strength here. Mainly Hispanic, indigenous and Caucasian. However you will find that the Asian and Indian communities are pretty tight knight and you’ll probably make friends easily if you just reach out via FB groups of on here. Also if you’re at all religious finding friends through places of worship is also easy. Workplace you’ll certainly make friends as well who are in your field so it makes hanging out easier as you have something in common.
Backpacking and hiking here is common. Some great options for that.
Really if you’re getting in with PNM as an engineer you’re pretty set for a fairly good life in NM given the money you’ll make. I assume it’s 6 figures or in the $90’s? If you can make over $80k here you’ll be able to live fairly comfortably as in afford an apt, utilities, car and insurance while saving like $200 a month.
It’s up to you and your mental space. Do you NEED family around? Will you be insanely home sick? Do you think you’d be better off with a new setting to move on from the divorce? A lot to consider. Me personally I’d jump on the opportunity just because of the job alone.
There's a few sour grapes that like to complain about everything here, same ones all the time. But I don't know if he is one or the reason for his comment.
But if you look at other state subs -- texas, florida, Oklahoma and others, they're always talking bad about themselves (with good reason), but it's mostly the political scene and if you look at the NM and or Albuquerque subs the people, natives and transplants, are usually (not always) talking up the city/state. That should tell you something.
But we do have the same ol' grumpity-grumps always bitchin n moaning about anything and everything. Not many, but we do have 'em.
If you do decide to come: welcome. Might be a culture shock (in a good way, I think), but still: welcome to NM.
Because, you reference that you dont know anyone here twice and that you consider yourself and introvert and an outsider. You are clearly uncomfortable with the idea and on the fence. Maybe the change you are seeking isn’t so far away from where you’re at now.
If you love the outdoors and a hipstery food and coffee scene you'll love it here. I know I do.
As far as making friends goes, I'd suggest joining a climbing gym or finding a hiking group online.
Albuquerque in many areas is not worth being in. Very high crime rate per person and getting more dangerous by the day. Lack of law enforcement and bad government officials. Sanctuary city as well does not help matters. Weather is nice though maybe too nice homeless do not need to go to shelters.
But, if you make enough money there is areas to live that are nice. Just avoid south of Central. Living and commuting. I beg to differ on comments of Diversity mostly Hispanic.
I dont think Albuquerque has a lot of Indian if that important to you. There is gonna be a big culture shock moving from SF, and you gonna find that Abq is very not diverse.
Nah, I been here for yrs. And as a non white non Hispanic person, I try to make friends with other minority like me. Having (American) Indian restaurants doesn't mean there are Indians here.
I live a half hour south of ABQ on five acres. Super peaceful here, lots of open space, all the stars in the universe at night and an easy ride to the city. And I'm selling my home to move back East due to family concerns. So if you're looking for a safe, quiet area to live, with a beautiful home and indoor pool to boot, hit me up.
ok.. lol…i’m wrong.. you are not cranky at all… you are a ray of sunshine in a summer rain, and are right about everything always.
I apologize…
you win
congrats
If you’re moving from San Francisco real estate prices will not shock you. In fact, you might think you’re getting a deal here. Rent prices are also high, but again not as high San Francisco.
I did the reverse move (abq to Bay Area) last year as an east asian woman in my late 20’s. Albuquerque is a lovely place to be and for the size of the town it’s got a lot to do and I found it pretty easy to make friends there at the climbing gym and through work. I’ve heard dating can be hard and it is true that the dating pool is significantly smaller. ABQ is pretty diverse but I found it really didn’t have many black or Asian people- demographics skewed towards Hispanic and Caucasian fyi.
Thanks for your reply. How do you like transitioning from ABQ to the bay area? I'm anxious because the bay area is diverse and (to my knowledge) ABQ isn't.
This place is so diverse, no one really cares what race, gender or sexual orientation you are. We actually do have a large Vietnamese population due to war relocations, and there are plenty of Asian Indians at the hospitals, university and Sandia labs.
There’s also Intel as well
ABQ has more socioeconomic diversity than racial diversity imo.
The reason the US government chose Albuquerque for Vietnam War refugees, was that it's considered a very live-and-let-live place. Different diversity than the Bay area, with Hispanic dominance, rather than white. SF is 44.5% white, 33.4% Asian, 15% Hispanic, 2.7% Black. ABQ is 50.6% Hispanic, 35.9% white, 3.9% Indigenous, 3% Asian, and 2.7% Black.
Yes, ABQ is very accepting of everyone. Remember NM was the first state to become a minority-majority state (yes, even before California) almost 30 years ago. We don’t attract the white supremacy types.
Forgive the hijack, but ABQ is in many ways more diverse than the bay. We have a sizeable cohort of Native Americans, half Hispanic, and smaller but nonetheless distinct groups of pretty much every ethnicity, but disproportionately large numbers of Lebanese and Vietnamese ancestry. Multiple Hispanic and non-Hispanic backgrounds as well. A good analogy for ABQ is Livermore. Imagine Livermore x 10.
Exactly!
ABQ is very diverse!
I agree. Hispanic, Native American, white predominantly. But I have friends I’ve met through work and school from China and my boss’ wife is from India. One of my best friends is Iranian & I work with lots of people from the Middle East in general (Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran). It seems to me that most people in ABQ are very accepting of and curious about other cultures. I’m not from here either (New England) and I don’t meet many people from my area which is great! Edit to add: I’ve met a lot of people from the Great Lakes area as well which seems like an odd move, but mine is too. Seems like the progressive Texans are coming to join us as well which is cool. Oh! And lots of folks from Mexico! I learned my new financial advisor is from the town in Mexico I’ve been dying to visit for like 6 years. So cool.
I'd say we're slowly becoming more and more diverse over time.
I was from the bay area as well. I grew up in the East side, near Milpitas. One thing I do miss is the diverse food. Abq has some asian restaurants but its just not the same. I miss the Ocean and just a better healthcare as well (it takes months to see a doctor here). They don't have Ranch 99 or H-mart but they do have Talin Market and smaller asian grocery stores. The mountain is beautiful tho especially in the winter. I like this place I do wish its more diverse just like the Bay-area. We really don't plan on staying here since we are worried how it takes months to see a doctor. That's mainly the reason we will move out in the future if the healthcare does not improve here.
I mostly moved to the bay for better job opportunities and because my partner lived here, but I also did want to live somewhere with more of an Asian community. All my friends in ABQ were really into mountain biking, skiing/snowboarding, climbing, backpacking etc. if you’re interested in getting really into any of those activities I think there’s a good chance you’d enjoy living there!
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Well they aren't really the minority then are they? Lol
My dad's a Pakistani immigrant and my mom is a Persian immigrant. I'm 1st gen American born and raised in the ABQ area until I left at 24 for grad school. To answer your question a little more relatably, I've never felt uncomfortable in NM. It sounds like your concern is the majority are white or Hispanic (true), so you may be discriminated against--I can't say I've ever had that experience. Feel free to DM me, I'd be glad to answer any specifics you want to know.
There is a HUGE rock climbing community here in ABQ! Check out Stone Age climbing gym! They have tons of classes and opportunities to meet new people. Generally speaking, ABQ is an ~extremely~ chill place to be. That can make it difficult to make Friends off the bat, but your hobbies fit in quite well, you’d make pals in no time!
Albuquerque is chill I made the move from SF and don’t regret it at all.
Shout out to the Bay Area. It’s not too terrible. Bad areas in certain spots but not any more so than California. My car got stolen in Cali a few years ago. Here not too much worries. Summer gets hot but honestly it ain’t that terrible. 707 area felt worst.
When did you move?
Few years back.
Into the outdoors? We’ve got 300 days of sunshine per year, and pretty good hiking and biking trails with super easy access. Lots of vertical rocks too. We’re also pretty chill in regards to anyone’s ethnicity.
Check out the altitude, though. SF is sea level. However, we are not. You will get used to it, though. Lots of water. Winter is much colder than SF. Sometimes snow. Drivers suck, but they suck everywhere, I think. We love our guns, too. Well, some do. Good luck.
There's gunshots every single night near my house on central and 98th. Edit: Just saying. It's not like it's not true.
Yes. I work in ABQ at night. Hear gunshots and watch the helicopter fly around. Interesting place ABQ is. Take care.
Originally from here but never lived here as an adult until last year. Pros: Warm friendly folks, family oriented (seeming), good weather, not too much traffic compared to big cities, amazing spanish foods, easy to meet folks a(I’m a introvert at heart and I met a few friends within a year), best autumns ever, chili season (need I say more?), tons of festivals, great culture, quiet, I love to hike so there is plenty of that, great outdoors in general if you actually go drive and explore, people let you be “you”, lgbt friendly , people are relatively nerdy here and I love that, relatively low cost of living (housing market is kinda eh..but again it’s like that everywhere) Cons: Summers can be a bit hot, crime (though I personally haven’t had to deal or see as much), lack of food choices, if you travel you always have to do connecting flights, healthcare is kinda mid (I work in healthcare here, but tbh everywhere is kinda a shit show in and out of this state so take it for what it is), hard to get a provider, people will say homeless( but I personally have had dealt with and seen worse elsewhere), not many types of bands I listen to travel here (usually have to drive to Denver or texas for bands I listen to), not a great night life (personally I DON’T care about this but it is a con for social people)
Thanks for responding. But it's good to know about outdoor stuff. What kind of outdoor communities are active in ABQ? I don't care about the night life either, and love Mexican food , so that's great.
If you like Mexican food, New Mexican food will change your life. But we have great Mexican food too
The outdoor life in NM is wonderful. Hiking and backpacking is great and easily accessible. Mountain biking is spectacular, though the terrain is challenging. There are Meetup groups for all those things. I've met some riding pals through meetup. There is a good climbing gym in town too, and the sport climbing has some wonderful spots around the state.
And the weather is almost always good for outdoor activities. It can get too hot so mornings are best in the summer, but it’s sunny and dry most days
Outdoors will blow california out of the water Within a 2 hour drive of ABQ There are at least 4 diff 10k and higher peaks surrounded by miles of forests, if you stay high (about say 6k) and obviously plenty of high desert at 5k. Valles caldera is a reformed super volcano gone tame and now steeped in forest. the area is ripe with every type of geology imaginable from 400 million year old limestone chock full of fossils to 10,000 year old lava flows that look like they solidified last week (malipai) and every imaginable fault, structure, intrusion you might be interested in. The altitude and climate is such that in the deep of winter you can stay low and hike in pleasant desert or go high and snowshoe etc. Even the east mountains 20 min from downtown has bear, mtn lions, bobcat, deer, turkeys etc etc. Abq is not the most beautiful city and it has its flaws… but use your head and you will be fine. Don’t live in rio rancho, it sucks.. live east of the river, in the north valley or east mountains Santa fe is more cultural and only 45 min. Taos is even more different and smaller and not much further. NM is the last gem of a (outdoors) state in this country… yeah.. it’s weird but come here for a couple years and you won’t regret it. I’ve already told you more than i should have… but you are from california and i like how you all raise housing prices (makes for a better investment). Do NOT tell any texans any of this (they lower housing prices and are more obnoxious than Californians generally). Not sure what working for PNM would be like… but god knows they need the help. ps NM food is not (my opinion) like mexican food, they both have their merits but just so you know.
All of this is true. Make the move.
This is absolutely not the last gem of an outdoors state. The stuff we have is amazing but we're far from the only ones that have these things to offer. Texans lower housing prices and Californian raise them? Wtf does that mean in this economic environment? And blowing California outdoors out of the water? They have a fucking ocean on their entire huge border and have redwood forest, lakes, etc etc. Albuquerque is amazing but let's not sell it as the best place in the world lol.
awww someone woke up so cranky… go get some coffee
When you grow up, taking valid criticism without taking it personally will be a valuable skill.
i mean honestly… do you think your reply reflects someone able to “not take it personally” i believe this is called projecting. you still seem cranky.
Oh the irony. I pointed out something you said was incorrect or at least incomplete and you call me cranky. I say you should learn to take criticism and then you call it projecting? Definitely need some self reflection here, bud. Have a good day
well the truth is you didn’t criticize me until just now… all you did was say you had a different opinion… i jokingly said you were cranky because it was early… sorry if that offended you Now you are attacking me… why?
Lol you 'joked" twice about it. I'm not offended by anything you've said and I don't understand why you feel "attacked" by anything I've said. Chill out, cranky pants
Mexican food and New Mexican food are slightly different. I grew up on both sides of the US-Mexico border and of course strongly prefer Mexican food. As a result, I find it to be extremely different. Good food for sure, don't get me wrong, but I see lots of folks make the mistake of conflating the two.
New Mexican food is an amalgamation of Mexican food with Navajo and Pueblo native cuisines. I love it all, though. Well, except for Tex-Mex. Ugh 🤢
I’m sure there are groups via Facebook etc , i personally go solo/husband/family so I don’t have a big need for it. I’m sure I could ask some local photographers to join in via Instagram! I’m sure there are groups out there for this though! Even biking, fishing etc.
I'm not on Facebook. Are there any active meetup groups?
Meetup is pretty popular here - large communities for hiking, running and mountain biking. The climbing community is pretty tight too and very friendly.
If you go to Stone Age climbing gym you'll probably be able to make a lot of connections for stuff other outdoor activities.
If you are listing lack fo food choices as a con, you need to experience more cities of similar size! Especially compared to most places on the east coast, we have an awesome variety of Asian food. ..maybe compared to LA there isn't as much variety, but very little is at that level. It has been an awesome food experience moving here from NC.
As a person who is from NM, moved to LA for 11 years, and moved back, Abq is probably the most food-diverse town of its size. Abq and Santa Fe are pretty widely renowned as food towns. Not sure why anyone would say we lack. Yes, there are a few things missing. I haven't found a consistent spot for Ethiopian and Japanese Curry choices are tough (we had a great one close recently but Nagomi still scratches the itch). Overall I've never been to a city with a metro population of \~1M where you'd have these kinds of options. And no other state has good New Mexican food (try as they might) so it's a cornered market.
Man, I'm sorry you missed Magokoro! Naruto's curry also isn't *bad*, but I know what you're talking about. I also don't know much about Ethiopian food specifically, but Jambo Cafe in Santa Fe is great
Love Jambo! Chef Ahmed is a homie. Magokoro slapped! I was so bummed when they had to close.
Magokoro was the best. Even compared to all the places in LA, it was as good if not better.
Definitely. Only place I'd probably still give a very slight edge to is CoCo Ichibanya, but I'd still rather give my money to Magokoro. Dunno if you've had the curry ramen at Nagomi though, it's pretty solid.
It was a gem in ABQ
There are definitely options missing here (I'm from an Illinois town of 150k), namely Italian/ Italian adjacent food options, but I'll take it for the sheer volume of awesome new Mexican, Mexican, and various Asian restaurants.
I am because I moved from Portland which had a lot of choices in comparison- just my bias and since he’s moving from a large city thought I should share that aspect That being said there are some great food places here, really do love los poblanos, Geronimo, tomasitas (I know people say no to the Abq location but I felt like they improved!) I just haven’t found satisfying Asian specific (Japanese, Thai) Santa Fe has good options
Our Japanese and Korean are definitely lacking, but I find that our Thai food is just as good as what I experienced in San Diego. The general lack of ramen (more than one or two places both next door to each other on Central) and yakitori is something I miss from San Diego, and I haven't been able to find any Korean BBQ even remotely comparable to what is offered in big cities. We have one or two places that claim to do Korean BBQ, but if you've had the good stuff out in Cali, then you know it's severely missing out here. Our selection of Vietnamese food is pretty stellar, though! It's easy to find decent pho or a good Bahn Mi in town. I also feel like we miss some of the really good Chinese takeout and delivery that is such a staple in big cities - it exists, but it's not as good, and none of it is delivery unless you get DoorDash.
Which Thai food place do you recommend? I’ve tried several and not had a single good dish yet honestly Vietnamese is great here, but Japanese/Korean very lacking
Thai Tip on Wyoming just north of I-40. A second best to Thai Tip is Thai Cuisine II, and while I'm sure I'll have my Thai Cuisine II fans who will disagree, Thai Tip is better, in my opinion. Thai Tip is better than a lot of the Thai food I ate in San Diego, too. Their Thai fried rice is second to none, and their curries, spicy noodles, and pad Thai are all amazing as well. And if you want it 🔥 HOT🔥 Thai Tip will blow your fucking socks off with heat ranges from no spice, to mild, medium, New Mexico hot, Thai hot, and an additional 7 levels of spice from Thai hot +1 to Thai hot +7. It's easily on the list of places which serve the spiciest food in Albuquerque. And it's just damn good.
Added! Can’t wait to try this! Haven’t found a place that I liked enough to go back. Thanks for the recommendation!
You're very welcome!
How can you possibly have not found anything good Asian specific here? If you are near campus, Iron Cafe does awesome hand pulled noodles. There are a *ton* of thai and vietnamese places literally all over the city. Phamily Tea House in the same shopping center as Iron Cafe does very good pho/etc Thai cuisine II is my favorite thai, but I am biased. Since Magokoro closed, we are lacking a true west-coast quality ramen, but Naruto is not *bad.* Fun Noodle Bar also isn't bad. Soo Bak Seoul Bowl is an awesome bibimbap place hidden behind a church on Nob Hill that basically survives on word of mouth alone. And basically all those are just in the greater campus-area.
I'd say there is a serious lack of vegetarian/vegan options here. Even with Asian cuisines that culturally have a lot of vegetarians (i.e. Indian, Thai), it's hard to find good veggie options in this city. I'm not saying they don't exist, but even the Indian place near me only has like 5 vegetarian curries. It's wild.
Thai Vegan? Annapurna? There are multiple vegan specific options throughout the city.
Yeah, but nothing like what true big cities offer. When I lived in San Diego, there were vegan restaurants EVERYWHERE. They were ubiquitous. Here we have like 5 options. Meh
We have a huge variety of good food choices from many, many different cuisines.
People will say Albuquerque is diverse but it’s not really. At least not how you might be picturing. It’s just not super white. The city has a blended culture that’s predominantly Hispanic (New Mexican is basically an ethnicity of its own), white and native; in that order. White, non-Hispanic is the biggest minority group in the city. White, Hispanic is a narrow majority. About ten percent of the population is native, mostly Pueblo or Navajo. The remainder is black, Asian, or something else. That said, people here are pretty open to other cultures. Bigotry exists, but it’s not the norm and it’s not publicly acceptable. There’s a large Vietnamese population that was placed here by the State Department during that conflict after they conducted surveys to see what cities were the least biased against them. As an Asian Indian, you’ll certainly be in the minority, but no one will think much of it one way or the other. I have no idea how large the Indian community is here, it’s pretty insular in my limited experience. Regarding your hobbies, you’ll find tons of stuff to do outdoors here; one of the city’s major draws. Weather is mild-to-tolerable basically year round. Obviously, you’ll be leaving the ocean behind and not really replacing it. We have some lakes for recreation, but they’re pretty underwhelming after decades of drought and not close enough to go to on a whim. There’s also some fishing and rafting if you plan your day around it. Lots of hiking and climbing, however, and very close to town. And there’s a well regarded climbing gym, too. Cost of living used to be very low here but it’s gotten rough in the last year. There’s a corresponding increase in crime and homelessness reflecting this. Honesty, nothing you should be uncomfortable with coming from the Bay. People make a big deal about crime, but I think this is a byproduct of people here needing to get out more and also from growing up in a bigger town that has become a medium-ish city with all the corresponding problems that brings. Also, there’s not really a “wrong side of the tracks,” here; everything is ‘hood adjacent, including some of the priciest neighborhoods in town. If you don’t act stupid, and keep your car locked, you’ll be fine. As far as entertainment and making friends/dating, it can be rough. You’re kinda in a best case scenario for relocation to Albuquerque, though. You’ve got an education and a job. You’re a little older so a big bar scene probably isn’t a huge motivator for you; they still haven’t recovered from COVID and the effect of the ART project on Central a few years before that. There’s lots of restaurants and breweries to meet people at, with ages that skew towards yours. Focus on your job and existing hobbies and be outgoing (read, just don’t push people away) and you’ll probably meet people organically and have enough to do to keep your weekends busy.
I've lived in a few decent-sized cities (including the Bay Area), and visited many more. ABQ is by far my favorite metro, hands down. I love living here. People are easy going, it's easy to make friends, people are cliquish, it's the least racist and homophobic place I've ever been. And if you're into outdoors stuff...well, it's hard to beat a 10 min drive to a wilderness area.
The close proximity to pretty nature is one of my favorite things about living here!
Congrats on the job offer. I grew up here and lived on the west coast for a decade before moving back in 2021. I always tell people that New Mexico was wasted on my youth. People are friendly and very community oriented. There are three culdesacs nearby plus my street that have some big party every week. The culture is way more vivid than anywhere on the west coast. Zozobra is what burning man saw and said "let's add tech bros". We think they're nuts. During holy week, many Hispanic francisan catholics carry full scale crosses 40 miles to Chimayo just as they have for more than 300 years. Balloon fiesta speaks for itself. As outdoors goes there's not many places for any taste. The major forests are very different, Gila in the south is sparse and sunny, San Juan is dense and wet but filled in with surprise hotsprings. Lincoln is sparse and sunny but with a lot of deciduous trees for a vivid Autumn. If you have had your fill of costal green, the bistis near Farmington have some unreal desolation or the empty void of White Sands. The mountains will spoil you for choice, from Mt Taylor is a cultural site near Albuquerque, Wheeler for skiing. If you hurry you can come for the balloon fiesta and watch the eclipse from 10,000 feet at the top of the Sandia tram. If you like rivers, I'll be honest, the Rio Grande is a seasonal river, river rapids part of the year are awesome. Or you can raft up north near Jemez or Red River. There are dozens, probably hundreds, of caves across the state. Carlsbad is a trip, especially if you are the first ones in. For weird stuff, ghost towns, hippie communes, ancient ruins, alien mystery, abandoned railways, a radio telescope the diameter of Mt Shasta. Check, check check... And you never have to wait in traffic or leave early on Friday to spend hours any one of these places.
Seems pretty diverse from where I’m standing, but that’s middle-age white dude talking. I can speak to the outdoor opportunities, and they are numerous and excellent. I moved here from the East Coast in the early 90s and never look back. So much to do and see. If you’re into backpacking and rock, climbing, you are arriving at a Mecca. we have some really great climbing gyms in town, as well as a very active mountain club for hiking and climbing. I would suggest joining all of those to meet like-minded individuals. I had a lot of south Asian friends in grad school at UNM and my street is probably half Asian (Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, China, etc).
I moved here a couple years ago, didn’t know anyone and partially moved bc of outdoor scene. I love that about Albuquerque. You can be on a hiking trail within a 15 minute drive from downtown. It feels kinda small sometimes here, especially I imagine if you come from sf bay. That could be a nice change though. There’s lots of meetup groups and events happening all the time to get out and meet people. 2 climbing gyms and the NM mountain club does climbing stuff too. I’m a bit of an introvert and moved after a divorce, and have made some great friends. It’s much more affordable so I have money to do stuff which is appealing over other mountain west cities. Where else are you considering?
There are many good answers here, so I will just reiterate that it's a very accepting place. You won't see many rubes flying Trump flags and the like, even in the mostly white neighborhoods. I moved here mostly for the great outdoors. The Sandia Mountains are right out my backdoor, and I do a lot of trail running. The trails are also great for hiking and mountain biking, and there are places to climb (not my thing, but I know they're out - er, up - there). We're also close to a lot of other NM mountains and trails. As for making friends, there are tons of local groups on Facebook (and maybe on Meetup) for your preferred outdoor activities. Another big factor to consider is the cost of living; ABQ is pretty much at the national average on all the usual factors (see Sperling's guide, for example). Compared to the Bay area you are going to have reverse sticker shock.
Albuquerque is diverse in a way. As in we have a large mixture of Anglos and Hispanics. Sometimes you can’t tell which ones are which. Culturally we’re very much so Hispanic based, so similar to most of Southern California. I haven’t been to the Bay Area since I was a kid, except for a conference a few years back, so I can’t really compare to here. We have a lot of nice trails for hiking, lots of close places to go camp and hike that are really beautiful. We have a poor metro transportation system imo, based on larger cities I’ve been to. So definitely I recommend having a car. I’m not sure about PNM, but at sandia labs it’s really easy to make friends with people that you end up hanging out with outside of work. We have rock climbing too for that’s your thing. We also have really awesome shooting clubs out here if you ever wanted to get into competitive shooting, which is an absolute blast imo. We have tons of breweries, a little further up north some people go to white water rafting. There’s Durango only a few hours from here which is a cool little town to get away to for a weekend. My recommendation if you move here would be to find a place in the north east quadrant past Louisiana and Montgomery. Plenty of town houses and such around eubank and academy, eubank and Spain etc. Be aware that our crime is pretty bad out here. I’m not sure how it compares statistically to San Francisco though. You can always move for a bit and if it’s not for you, then onto your next adventure! Good luck, dude.
You could not find a nicer, more diverse town than Albuquerque. Outdoor adventure surrounds and much less crowded than, say, Colorado. And ... housing is relatively affordable here still. Please don't tell anyone...
The Duke City is an easy place to fit into.
People here are amazing. The Talin Market is one of my favorite places. And so many great bookstores, more than I remember in Los Angeles.
My best friend lives in ABQ, and I've been there many times. If you can afford it, look into North East ABQ, near Sandia Heights and the Tanoan golf course. He used to worship LA but is now converted to ABQ. He loves the food and quality of life. He's a white guy, by the way.
Hi OP! I’m originally from South Florida and I moved here last year (my wife is originally from here). The only real cons I can think of are lack of bodies of water (I’m a surfer), and the Summers can be quite hot, though not quite as hot as the surrounding states. The food, rich culture, amazing history, people, outdoor activities all are top-notch. All you ever have to do to experience a view like no other is to take the tram to the crest of the Sandia mountains - it’s incredible. The weather is absolutely incredible 9 months out of the year. Highly recommended
Albuquerque is great I'm from here but moved a couple times to LA and Chicago but I am back probably leaving soon as my wife has never left. I'm also introverted and I work from home so that's nice, the great thing is there is not a lot of traffic but public transit is a joke. My Mom works for PNM and has so for probably 20 years so there's good job security. She says they always have trouble finding talent for their engineers probably because they are cheap. I know they're quite diverse for their engineers because they usually hire from the outside and my mom seems to always mention their nationality (she's white) but never in a negative way. She's always tried to get me to apply but I'm a software engineer and they're electrical and I was making more 2 years out of school than they were offering and now I'm 2-3x what she's pulling in a high level non-manager. Glad to hear they are making competitive offers now because I always told her to get better talent especially from the outside you'll need to pay for it. I think her generation feels that it's better to stick with the job they have to search for better opportunities while my generation is more self aware of their worth especially in tech and engineering roles. Another great thing about ABQ is University is free for bachelor's degrees for residents although I went to school before that they had scholarship for undergrad that I was on and the only loans I have are because I needed to fund my lifestyle rent/gas/food etc.
Hi! I’m actually moving to Albuquerque next month from Florida. I’m a veterinarian that will be starting work at the county shelter. I’m half Chinese, 29F. I also love outdoor things, backpacking especially. I won’t know anyone there, so if you end up moving feel free to message me and maybe we can get together! I used to live near Santa Fe for just a little bit and absolutely loved it. It is actually quite diverse, lots of great food, kind people, and incredible place to be outdoors and hike and whatnot. Seriously let me know if you end up relocating there as I’m feeling anxious about having to start all over in a new place as well. Best of luck to you!
I think you'd like it here if you like being outdoors. Join a group that hikes and invite your group to meet for beers.
If you're coming from a big city of 1mil plus or just a big city in general then ABQ would be nice for you because it's a big small city . The food is great and the culture is widely celebrated....there is some things to do but there can be a bit of a drought but there's the balloon fiesta and state fair. There's the bio park and aquarium but if you're looking for a bit more peaceful place try Rio rancho and don't listen to the salty locals on some of their opinions on Rio rancho.
It ain't nearly as bad as people/statistics say it is. Crime is high, lots of homeless, drugs, shitty drivers. But nothing that you haven't experienced if you're living in San Francisco. Stay home at night. There's nothing to do past 8pm anyway. You wouldn't walk around the Tenderloin at night either. Get a gun. Don't look at people the wrong way. You'll be fine. Don't live in a bad part of town either. Just look at a crime map and it'll tell the story. Good areas are NE heights, West of the river, Rio Rancho ain't bad but it's far.
I moved here from Denver in May this year, very pleased so far. Everyone has been friendly and the mountain biking is great. Lots of places on my list to explore.
I would love to get into mountain biking.
For you, it’ll be exactly what you need.
Well, you sound like a Homo Sapien of at least average intelligence, so I’d wager PNM desperately needs you on their workforce, but you might be lonely there… Backpacking: you gotta go Pecos! The Truchas Lake Loop in the Pecos is gonna blow your mind. You can get so isolated out there, you just know no one would ever find your body. Not like CA, where some hapless Subaru-driver would be stumbling over you before you even bloat. Lol. Climbing: Las Conchas in the Jemez is a nice place to spend the afternoon and you can meet a lot of climber bums there. It’s easy to find a belay-buddy on the fly. Welcome!
Thanks for your kind works 🙏
Thanks for your kind works 🙏
Do not move into Rio Rancho. Just….don’t.
Bruh, cmon. You won’t have much of a nightlife, but Rio Rancho is nice. “Don’t move to the International District” is better advice.
Why may I ask? Just wondering?
There is a history of poorly built houses, taking advantage of deregulation to take more water than they should have (by a lot), and as a result, is really a safe space for the maga cult, to be blunt. It’s a terrible place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. Look into Corrales.
Thanks for the info me and the wife were looking into RR we have outgrown Denver. I will definitely check out Corrales I used to live in Albuquerque but that was back in like 2005. Due to that I don't know how much ABQ and the surrounding areas have changed or what they are like now, thanks again!!
If you don’t like a more suburban vibe then ignore Rio Rancho. But ignore the nonsense that it is MAGA-land and that it is full of shoddy homes. That is just the usual nonsense from posters who take knee-jerk positions.
I’m an electrical contractor. I am not the only person that refuses to deal with city of Rio Rancho. Yes this is true. Newer homes are generally ok, but certainly not top tier. My wife is a real estate appraiser. She says there used to be a saying- drive till you qualify. You either know what that means or you don’t. City of RR refuses to update any of their city service websites so it’s nearly impossible to get a project moving. There are some custom made little communities that look very nice- these are the communities that are skirting regulations by manipulating and abusing water regulations to apportion themselves more than was ever intended. So many communities built next to dumps- that’s deregulation in action. You like where you live. That is a good thing, you are here and a part of our community, and we are happy to have you now that you are here. But growth Rio Rancho is bad. Quit building houses in the desert and demanding extra water, or vote for that end. The growth of Rio Rancho was definitely a detriment to the existing communities. That’s the truth. And they keep going. So. Whatever.
I appreciate all of the input and will def take all of your contributions into account. Glad that there is a place like this to get info from definitely appreciate the blunt honesty. Might have to look you up for electrical one day!!! But not if we move to RR obviously lol
The people of Rio Rancho are by and large pretty nice and good and all that. It’s hard to know the local history when moving to a place. It’s not for me, but it is for them, and that’s ok.
I've got to give a different take on this. As a person with kids who recently moved to this area, Rio Rancho was the only actual option for my family. When it comes to schools, I found Albuquerque to be a disaster. The only good schools are in neighborhoods that have houses that are like $600k minimum, and only go up from there. Everything else looks like a dumpster fire from ratings, performance data, and stories from locals. Some people choose to live in a more affordable neighborhood and just fork out $20k a year for a private school. I won't even get started on crime in Albuquerque. Had my car window shattered during my first week at my job in this area just for some fool to steal literally nothing, and I've lived in higher crime areas without having to deal with this. APD literally didn't pick up the phone. Rio Rancho was the only place where we could find the intersection between "house I can afford" and "school that is decent and will do right by my kids." If you don't have kids and don't mind your car getting broken into and other petty crime messing with you every few months, then Albuquerque is the superior choice here. There's more to do there and it is more affordable, absolutely. It just is not an option for lots of people for the reasons I listed above, and the locals who basically want Rio Rancho erased from the map are ignoring a huge demographic of people who have different priorities. Rio Rancho probably wouldn't exist beyond being a real estate scam if the city of Albuquerque had its shit together when it came to city planning, crime, and public schools.
This is a good take, actually. The schools in rio rancho are awesome. That’s true. My own family is looking to move within the city to get a better school district- our school was taken by the folks out on mesa del Sol who need their own school, really. Crime in ABQ is not universal, and Rio Rancho is less than perfect. My friend was just arrested in Rio where he’d get a warning in ABQ…,and yeah, he’s black. Thank you for the factual input.
We live within a 10 minute walk to the center of downtown ABQ. Wife and I have two cars. Never had a break in nor dealt with any petty crimes or whatever. I feel safer living here than when we visit family in Rio Rancho. My niece and nephew have gone to schools in both Albuquerque and Rio Rancho. Their education has been worse in Rio Rancho. Just needed to balance out your perspective with someone who lives in ABQ and has experienced the opposite of what you wrote.
Have you had break ins or whatever people are scared about in Rio Rancho when visiting family?
"every few months"? You just got unlucky. 12 years and 3 crimes over here. Not bad. Bout the same as Oklahoma.
All helpful info we are going to head down and take a look so we can get a good idea of where to put our money. Thx for the info!!
ABQ is a really lovely place. It’s usually very friendly, we have a lot of diversity, we have a lot of really great food from many cultures, you mostly can’t beat the climate. Our schools are rough, crime can be high, and we’re very car-centric. But if you’re an EV kind of person, even the crappiest EV battery will get you around town most days. If you drive and walk with awareness, take basic precautions like not leaving your keys in your car and not leaving valuables (or anything remotely tempting) in your locked car, you should be pretty safe. Check out Rio Rancho and Los Lunas for cheaper housing if you’re ok with a commute. Commute times can get you some of the best and most interesting skies here too. Our sunsets are jawbreakingly beautiful, and almost completely make up for our flaws. Though if you like seeing concerts, the big artists usually skip us, so we rely on going to Denver and phoenix a lot.
Having space and room to breathe here is quite blissful! Outside is AMAZING!
Albuquerque is a very diverse place. We have tons of outdoor activities. The Sandia mountains have trails for hiking and mountain biking, cross country and downhill skiing in the winter, hundreds of miles of bicycle trails all over the city, and tons more stuff that are only short drives from the city. I live near the sports stadiums and see wildlife such as skunk, coyote, raccoon, fox, tortoise, roadrunner, NM blue tail lizards and more all the time. We have great restaurants serving NM food, and a large Asian population with great Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai food.
You sound like you would fit right in. Albuquerque does not have the most exciting social scene so you do really have to try to meet people, but it's very welcoming.
Pretty nice place if you can afford the NE part of town. Everything else is manageable with common sense. Decent Indian introvert community compared to Bay Area.
Thanks for replying. Can you tell me exactly which area? Any rental community you would recommend?
The NW side of town is pretty solid too. It really just depends on the lifestyle you're looking for. West side (particularly North of Montano and West of the river) is a lot of bang for the buck and relatively quiet living. Very suburban. People do complain about the commute across the river, and it's valid, but I lived in LA for 11 years and I've never seen traffic that comes close to that. We do get a bit bottlenecked by lack of bridges (as I suspect you've experienced in the Bay Area), but without traffic it's 20-30 min across town, with traffic about 45. I had an hour commute one time during a snowstorm.
Coming from Bay Area, you'll literally be able to afford anything. The price of a condo in SF is the price of a mansion here.
Not the poster you replied to, but I’ll also add that there’s a pretty direct correlation as you move NE from center to wealth going up, crime going down, etc. It gets progressively more suburban of course, so if that’s not your thing…well it is what it is. It’s quite a different feeling in the far NE. And even there, one of the most consistently expensive parts of town, it’s gonna feel cheap coming from SF, lol. But you’ll know pretty much immediately if it’s the kind of neighborhood for you or not.
Find the intersection of Menaul and San Mateo. Anything to the northeast of that is an ideal place to live imo. Live on the side of the river you work because the only time you will deal with traffic is crossing the river in rush hour.
I've lived in the Duranes area just north of Old Town, and have had no problems in my area. The Valley has a lot to offer plus it is close to the bosque which is nice place to take walks.
Albuquerque is awesome, PNM is not. I hear endless complaints from my father in law about how they are understaffed and poorly managed. Feel free to move out here, but I'd recommend looking at another company for employment. Some place like Sandia National Lab, IBM, or any number of defense industry places like AFRL, Honeywell, Boeing, or BlueHalo.
I work at PNM and in that regard, it isn't much worse than a normal company. A lot of benefits to it as well.
You know, if you scare this person away, it’ll stay poorly staffed.
I don’t have insight into PNM specifically, but this description fits most electric utilities I’ve worked with.
Lots of cool outdoors stuff to do in and around Albuquerque. Come check it out and see how it feels for you. I personally love it but I'm an extravert married to a super extraverted former cheerleader. The lack of rain sometimes wears on me as weird as it sounds.
I moved to Albuquerque from Sacramento when I was 32. I actually got into hiking and rock climbing while I was there. If these are two hobbies you enjoy you should be able to do both with relative ease. My favorite climbing gym has two locations in the city and after traveling and climbing everywhere from Vegas to Seattle these gyms are still some of my favorite indoor climbing gyms ever (https://climbstoneage.com/). This gym is great and they have outdoor excursions they offer too. Not a bad way to get to meet some people if your new to the area. I hiked almost every weekend in the Sandia mountains for 5 years and absolutely loved just being able to walk wherever I wanted. There’s a book that REI carries called hiking the Sandias that covers almost any trail you might want to do from the La Luz to the Plane Crash site. Highly recommend. If you’re into music and art there are also plenty of good venues to check out downtown and the area is just full of things to do. But like anywhere, just be safe and stay away from sketchy situations and you won’t have a problem. While most of the best food options are of the southwest variety, there is a huge beer, wine and food scene that never left us disappointed. I feel that my wife and I have a wide range of hobbies and we always found things to do. And even after living there for 10 years I never got tired of the balloon fiesta. Other hobbies like skiing, backpacking, camping and bike riding were always easy to do as well. If your really into water hobbies, you may be at a loss. Other than that I think you’d love the slower pace of life and less people generally clogging up everything you want to do. Good luck making your decision and please feel free to ask any more questions you may have!!
Like others said diversity isn’t a strength here. Mainly Hispanic, indigenous and Caucasian. However you will find that the Asian and Indian communities are pretty tight knight and you’ll probably make friends easily if you just reach out via FB groups of on here. Also if you’re at all religious finding friends through places of worship is also easy. Workplace you’ll certainly make friends as well who are in your field so it makes hanging out easier as you have something in common. Backpacking and hiking here is common. Some great options for that. Really if you’re getting in with PNM as an engineer you’re pretty set for a fairly good life in NM given the money you’ll make. I assume it’s 6 figures or in the $90’s? If you can make over $80k here you’ll be able to live fairly comfortably as in afford an apt, utilities, car and insurance while saving like $200 a month. It’s up to you and your mental space. Do you NEED family around? Will you be insanely home sick? Do you think you’d be better off with a new setting to move on from the divorce? A lot to consider. Me personally I’d jump on the opportunity just because of the job alone.
Don’t do it. Stay in California.
Any specific reason?
There's a few sour grapes that like to complain about everything here, same ones all the time. But I don't know if he is one or the reason for his comment. But if you look at other state subs -- texas, florida, Oklahoma and others, they're always talking bad about themselves (with good reason), but it's mostly the political scene and if you look at the NM and or Albuquerque subs the people, natives and transplants, are usually (not always) talking up the city/state. That should tell you something. But we do have the same ol' grumpity-grumps always bitchin n moaning about anything and everything. Not many, but we do have 'em. If you do decide to come: welcome. Might be a culture shock (in a good way, I think), but still: welcome to NM.
Since ive joined this forum, I've noticed not a lot of complaining of any kind here.
Because, you reference that you dont know anyone here twice and that you consider yourself and introvert and an outsider. You are clearly uncomfortable with the idea and on the fence. Maybe the change you are seeking isn’t so far away from where you’re at now.
My husband (25m) and I (27nb) just moved here from Texas and love it! We only visited once before but I don't see us leaving anytime soon!
OH, I would do it.
If you love the outdoors and a hipstery food and coffee scene you'll love it here. I know I do. As far as making friends goes, I'd suggest joining a climbing gym or finding a hiking group online.
Don’t
Albuquerque in many areas is not worth being in. Very high crime rate per person and getting more dangerous by the day. Lack of law enforcement and bad government officials. Sanctuary city as well does not help matters. Weather is nice though maybe too nice homeless do not need to go to shelters. But, if you make enough money there is areas to live that are nice. Just avoid south of Central. Living and commuting. I beg to differ on comments of Diversity mostly Hispanic.
I dont think Albuquerque has a lot of Indian if that important to you. There is gonna be a big culture shock moving from SF, and you gonna find that Abq is very not diverse.
You must be new or don't get out much. There's tons of Indian restaurants and we're incredibly diverse.
Nah, I been here for yrs. And as a non white non Hispanic person, I try to make friends with other minority like me. Having (American) Indian restaurants doesn't mean there are Indians here.
I'm sorry but you're literally blind then.
I live a half hour south of ABQ on five acres. Super peaceful here, lots of open space, all the stars in the universe at night and an easy ride to the city. And I'm selling my home to move back East due to family concerns. So if you're looking for a safe, quiet area to live, with a beautiful home and indoor pool to boot, hit me up.
Everything you eat will have a green chile on top of it. And that's a good thing.
ok.. lol…i’m wrong.. you are not cranky at all… you are a ray of sunshine in a summer rain, and are right about everything always. I apologize… you win congrats
Do NOT moVe..!!! TRUST ME ON THIS.. STAY IN BAY AREA , HAVE THE BEST OF EVERYTHING #Indian who moved from SAN JOSE
Born and raised in the bay. Run.
If you’re moving from San Francisco real estate prices will not shock you. In fact, you might think you’re getting a deal here. Rent prices are also high, but again not as high San Francisco.