We’re waiting to see where future projects may take us and given the unwelcome winter weather in most of the country, we decided to stick it out in Albuquerque through the end of February. It’s warm(er) here, so why not?
Because our plans have been up and down, we departed from our usual one to two months in a single location, and have moved/will move around Albuquerque. I think it’s interesting how it’s changed our approach to evaluating whether or not to live in a place long term. Or maybe it’s clarified what we’re looking for in a long-term spot? Hmm….
This is on the high-end of creative.
I’ll be upfront — we’ve decided that Albuquerque isn’t our forever home. On the whole, housing and businesses are too far-flung and sprawling while neighborhoods fight what we’ve termed “desert clutter.” Sure, it’s cheap and warm here, but there are other things we can’t overlook.
The zoning here makes me nuts — housing transitions to vacant lots and industrial warehouses very quickly. Alleys, when they exist, are dirt roads that seem to serve no purpose — not even garbage pickup. I find these puzzling. Housing lots vary in their offsets, too, and street width is not standard. Ya’ll, we found a “hidden park” that was probably created when an alley met up with another alley and zoning went south.
Garbage pick-up and car access is in the front of housing, so this means that sidewalks go up and down, making walking a nightmare. We walk a lot, so this is a factor. Since traffic isn’t crazy here, we find ambling in the streets to be more comfortable.
The other thing that makes me crazy is the placement of fire hydrants and signs — the pic below isn’t uncommon. Unsurprisingly, we’ve seen more than one person with a knee brace wheeling themselves in the street versus using the sidewalk. I don’t blame them.
Albuquerque screams for people to own a car. We’re not big car people. Lesson learned.
We have been happier after the move from the far-flung NMU area to the Sawmill neighborhood. There’s still a lot of walking, but breweries, coffee shops, and bakeries are an easy distance from our rental. Density of amenities and services will be part of how we evaluate things. I’ve started to spend a lot of time on the Walkscore site to see how places compare to Chicago (our baseline.)
We’re going to try a move to the other side of the Rio Grande next to see if proximity to the river and different view makes a difference.
Between Lima and Albuquerque, we’ve lived in two desert cities so far. Long term, we need a place to have a little garden, grass, and familiar trees. I admire the desert climate, but I just don’t love low, adobe buildings and yards filled with yucca and cactus.
The mountains, though? I want to take those with me everywhere.
I think our next step will be to put these criteria into a spreadsheet and start to put a little more rigor around finding our forever home. Walk-ability, neighborhood density, climate, views, need for a car, and affordability are all biggies and we’re now seeing how much the mix of those factors impacts our stay in places. More to come.
Brilliant analysis! I’m glad to see some shape coming around what will ultimately work for you and what won’t. I suspect you needed to get a few places under your belt first. What you’re doing really became clear when you said in a recent post, “We’re not on vacation.” You’re on a personal mission.
I support whatever you want to do.
FWIW, Chicago is the don’t-need-a-car-iest place I’ve ever lived. Texas, like you describe New Mexico, is VERY attached to its cars, and its public transportation reflects that, even in the bigger cities. Likewise the sensibility to spread out horizontally rather than vertically — I think that’s the mindset in most of the Southwest. The tradeoff, of course, is the lack of arctic temperatures.
But it has the potential be incredibly walkable, which is so frustrating. Also, I was just saying to Jan how odd it was not to see a bodega on every corner — where the hell do kids hang out? I do not understand this flat life.