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Albuquerque has a gang culture that spans generations. A friend of mine at APD told me they don't even know how many gangs there are, but at least 100 identified ones, with "branches" of the large LA gangs and a few from Mexico, Cuba and Vietnam. I agree with the areas the others have identified. Recently, I hired someone who thought the south valley looked inviting, and he ignored my suggestion that he not buy a house there. His house was cleaned out by burglars the first week he was in it. And... he has to work nights and sleep days, and can't get any sleep because of the booming car stereos. Needless to say, he's not very happy with his house decision. So...learn all you can about the city. Some areas are much better than others when it comes to crime.
keep In mind Daniel that there really isn't much in this area that one would need to indulge in. Unless you are going to the state fair grounds/tingley there isn't really a reason to be in any of the bad areas.
Also keep in mind that this area has been consitantly improving crime wise--but money wise they are still faultering.
Take a visit out to here, and you will realize that 90%+ of ABQ is very nice and safe.
Take a visit out to here, and you will realize that 90%+ of ABQ is very nice and safe.
Hi there, I have been to Albuquerque. Our tire blew out in 2005 on the freeway and we drove all over Albuquerque trying to find a place to get it fixed. I was pretty impressed with Albuquerque, which is why I was asking this question. I didn't know ABQ has such a gang problem. Can't really be any worse than Tucson. That's where I live now. But you all would know better than I.
Albuquerque is a city I would definitely love to come back and visit again and spend more time.
Albuquerque's demographics are slowly changing, and many of the "bad" neighborhoods aren't so bad anymore.
The "war zone" or area along Central between probably San Mateo and Eubank has been downright terrible in the past but a lot of the drug activity has gotten pushed out. It's still largely low income and I would avoid buying a house there but it doesn't deserve a lot of the bad rap it's getting anymore. A look at the crime maps confirms this.
Similarly, the south valley as a whole is downright huge. In fact, there's been talk of the entire entity incorporating and forming its own city. There are pockets in there that are the worst of the worst and always have been. There are also enclaves that are high dollar and deservedly so, offering the amenities of the north valley or Corrales but with less congestion and slightly lower costs. My experience is that unless you go looking for trouble, most of the south valley is a great place to live or be.
The places that I think are the most dangerous and to be avoided is certain areas of the west side, such as Coors & Central, and a few other areas further south, like Tom Tenorio park. Lots of shady activity, and the area is trending down more than the other bad areas. North of downtown past I-40, like 4th street and Rio grande, before you reach the more gentrified areas of Los Ranchos, also a bit crime prone. Most of this is just where low-income population is clustered.
Student ghettos south of UNM, also crime hotspots. Lazy landlords are the most at fault in this case. Still, great place to live and typically, the crime is more an inconvenience (cops blocking your street or driveway because of your neighbor or some spillover from Central) than something you'll personally be the victim of.
> Student ghettos south of UNM, also crime hotspots.
> Lazy landlords are the most at fault in this case.
What about clueless students who go off and leave windows open and cars unlocked? There is a lot of that happening too. Ghetto crime is frequently crimes of opportunity with those 'shady' characters mentioned just wandering around looking for something to boost, boosting it, taking off.
Any beatings/fights are among rival groups including gangs, fraternities, etc.
I've seen random acts of vandalism such as broken windows and graffiti in the area.
I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I've never known anyone ever getting mugged or robbed around there.
We walked through the student ghetto the other day. We didn't feel unsafe. We checked out a house on the edge of the ghetto. We didn't want to live there. We noticed a house close by with a lot of students, loud radios, and lots of dogs. We aren't up to the "student ghetto," thing anymore. We've been there done that (in other cities).
We've driven through the "war zone," and it didn't seem bad at all. I wouldn't buy a house there, but I didn't feel unsafe just driving through. I've been in neighborhoods in other cities where it felt unsafe just to drive through during the day. This was not like that. If that is really the worst that ABQ has to offer, than we're not concerned at all. Actually, we were kind of amused. We asked ourselves, "Is this the bad neighborhood? Really?"
We have found miles and miles of nice neighborhoods that are clean and well-kept. We've seen many parks filled with families. We've found lots and lots of independently owned businesses. And yes, we've met only friendly people so far. I'm sure there are rude people somewhere, we just haven't met them yet. (We've been her a week.)
> ... we've met only friendly people so far. I'm sure there are rude people somewhere, we just haven't met them yet. (We've been her a week.)
Perhaps your attitude is all wrong. You have to go out there looking for trouble. Make hostile eye contact and assume that the OP is out to get you and hates you for your background.
In short, have a chip on your shoulder.
Pretty soon, everyone will seem nasty and you can be a professional victim for life.
Most people make albuquerque sound really bad and crazy but honestly.. the crime rate has decreased so much and the south valley is <u>not</u> apart of albuquerque city limits which is good, but even in that area there is not much crime considering thats were some relatives used to live and it was very quiet. And second the state fair area..not as bad as it used to be it had troubles back in the 90's over the years it has all changed. Lots of development still the 3rd fastest growing!
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