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Albuquerque: Austin for Families
After moving my family here two and a half years ago, I’m ready to declare Albuquerque “Austin for Families.”
Even deserts have flowers
Tibetan monks paint a sand mandala at UNM
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is the largest in the world
Bandelier National Monument
Lunch with aliens in Roswell
All photos copyright Andrew & Stephanie Hedges
Austin, Texas, is a great town. I was only there for a long weekend a few years ago, but in that time saw four shows and every one of them was amazing. Additionally, it’s got great weather, a nice river-front and a friendly feel. And, if you’re a webbie, don’t forget SXSW!
Like Austin, we have the weather thing. New Mexico is a very sunny place. What’s nice about Albuquerque in particular is that, at 5500 feet above sea level, our temperatures are actually pretty moderate compared to somewhere like Phoenix. We also don’t have the humidity of places farther east like, well, Austin.
But it’s not the weather that makes Albuquerque so great for raising kids. This area has so much to offer you could spend a lifetime exploring and not experience it all.
Museums
Albuquerque has some fine museums. Natural History houses the scientists who control the Mars Rover. Explora is as good as any hands-on science museum in the country. The Rio Grande Zoo is top notch and always seems to have a baby something to look at (the baby camel was really cute). Even the aquarium rocks. The National Atomic Museum is a bit creepy, but still well done. None of this is surprising because this area has the highest percentage of PhDs per capita in the country thanks to the presence of Sandia and Los Alamos laboratories and collaborations with University of New Mexico, a major research institution. There are scientists everywhere! For just $80, a family can join the New Mexico BioPark Society and gain entrance to the zoo, aquarium, natural history, and Explora for a year.
Arts & Culture
Santa Fe is better known as a hub of the arts, but Albuquerque is no slouch. In fact, I prefer the more down-to-earth feel of the arts community here to the sometimes snooty Santa Fean “aesthetic.” There is great community theater going on here, too. One of my family’s favorites is Gorilla Tango Theater. They do a fun, kid-appropriate improv show every Saturday night. Albuquerque has some of the best known slam poets anywhere and hosted (and won!) the 2005 National Poetry Slam. The University of New Mexico also attracts great productions and cool cultural shows such as Tibetan sand mandala painting. In addition to fine arts and theater, there is a thriving Native American and Hispanic folk arts community here. On the Plaza in Old Town, you can buy jewelry and other handicrafts directly from the people who make them.
The food, oh the food!
How many states have a state question? In New Mexico, it’s “Red or green?” As in, will you have that smothered in red or green chili sauce? Of course you can opt for “Christmas,” a little of both. New Mexican food is different from Mexican food you’ll find in other parts of the country. Go to Phoenix and you won’t find sopaipillas or fideo, delicacies both! Plus, you’ll find items on the menu here that anywhere else would be marked with five spiciness stars just sitting there minding their own business.
Bike Friendly
Albuquerque has earned kudos from the League of American Bicyclists for being a bike friendly community. Bicycling Magazine named Albuquerque the third best cycling city (with populations between 200,000 and 500,000) in the U.S. There are nicely maintained bike trails crisscrossing the city, plus it’s almost always nice enough weather to hit the road on two wheels.
Rio Grande, Sandia Mountains, Bosque
Yes, the climate here is desert, but don’t let that conjure up images of shifting sand dunes and Saguaro cacti. We have high mountains to the east and the famous Rio Grande running through the center of the city feeding a lush flood-plain called the Bosque. Take the tram to the top of the Sandias and you’ll take in a breathtaking view of the city. It really is spectacular. We have great mountain biking, hiking, camping, rock hounding, rock climbing, skiing, rafting, and of course the world’s largest balloon festival all right here.
The Rest of New Mexico
The rest of New Mexico has it going on as well. Here is just a sampling of the many great day-trips you can make with Albuquerque as your home base.
- Santa Fe’s many museums, galleries, and restaurants
- Taos’ world-class ski area
- Native American pueblos
- National Parks and Monuments such as Bandelier, Chaco Canyon, El Morro, Tent Rocks, Petroglyph (minutes from downtown!), and White Sands
- The Very Large Array
- The world famous UFO Museum in Roswell
- Carlsbad Caverns (OK, this is more realistically an overnighter)
Cost of Living
I grew up in the Seattle area and lived for six years in Washington, DC. Both are great towns, but what Albuquerque has going for it over either of them is a reasonable cost of living. You can actually buy a house here without giving up your firstborn.
Downsides
To be fair, there are some downsides to raising a family in Albuquerque. The Albuquerque Public School system is the largest in the nation. The entire city is administered as one school district. As the father of 9 and 8 year old daughters, I am most familiar with the elementary schools. Within APS the quality of the grade schools varies tremendously. There are some that are outstanding. There are some that are truly scary. Do your research! Another option is to do as we did and live in the neighboring town of Rio Rancho. The schools there are consistently good.
Another knock on Albuquerque is the crime rate. Yeah, they’ve filmed a few episodes of C.O.P.S. in New Mexico. Honestly, I haven’t noticed that Albuquerque is all that different from any city in this regard. Any crime is mostly avoidable once you know the lay of the land. Just like anywhere, you need to be smart to be safe.
Finally on the map?
Albuquerque is only now being discovered. Kiplinger Magazine recently listed Albuquerque as a top U.S. city for "smart living." Orbitz says this is a top 5 travel destination worldwide over the next few years. Forbes Magazine ranked Albuquerque the #1 city in the whole United States for starting a business.
We devote a page in our Jobs area to why Albuquerque is so great. Once candidates look into it, it’s not a hard sell. I think most people just haven’t thought much about it.
We still occasionally hear comments like “There’s a New Mexico? Do you need a passport to go there?” We all know Americans are notoriously poor at geography, but come on, it’s part of the United States! New Mexico is the fifth largest state, in fact, and shares borders with Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and, yes, even “Old” Mexico.
The whole Southwest is booming. Places like Denver, Phoenix, Tucson, and Austin get a lot of the press in that regard, but Albuquerque deserves a look as well.
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One other note, I said the Santa Fe scene is “sometimes snooty.” I stand by this statement, but to be fair wanted to give an example of when it’s not. Stephanie and I spent the afternoon at Shidoni, a bronze foundry between Santa Fe and Tesuque. The art was amazing, but so was the openness and friendliness of the people there. We were delighted that we were able to just wander around the place with very few limits. We talked with folks pouring bronze and folks blowing glass. We poked around sheds full of old molds, watched while an artist carved in a wax, and saw pieces of what will be a giant bronze of a draft horse. It was a fantastic experience, highly recommended! Website: http://www.shidoni.com/
I’ve lived all over the world and in every big city in the USA -- north, south, east, and west -- and ABQ has more going for it than any place I’ve ever lived.
In addition to all the advantages you mention, there’s the magic. Phoenix doesn’t have it, and even though I love Tucson, it really doesn’t either. I’m talking about the slightly wild, raw, rough current that runs just under the surface here. Some Southwestern cities have been “polished” to death, but not ABQ. This city isn’t about window-dressing, it still feels REAL.
I almost hate to see it getting so much attention in the media; there’s a part of me that would like to see it remain a well-kept secret. But it will be interesting to see how it evolves over the next decade or so.
My son is a grown man, so I don’t see ABQ through the eyes of a parent, but it’s a great place for empty-nesters, as well. For a relatively small city, there’s an awful lot to do.
In my opinion, this town just can’t be beat. Climate, art/culture, music, diversity, a wonderful sense of history, great food, friendly people, low cost of living, and OH, those beautiful mountains!
Albuquerque is a fantastic place to raise a family - both of my kids (22 and 15) are products of the Albuquerque Public Schools and my daughter is about graduate from UNM. While there is no argiung that APS is a monolith with the attendant problems that go with organizations grown too large, I feel that both of my kids have gotten an excellent education from some passionate and committed teachers.
My wife is a fine artist and the community here in Albuquerque is wonderful. She has established a great network with other artists through organizations like the NM Fiber Arts Council, NM SIlk Painters Guild, the South Broadway Cultural Center, the Albuquerque Arts Alliance, and others.
And the weather... oh, the weather! Best anywhere. I travel all over the country and have been nowhere that offers the mild four seasons, crisp, high-altitude air, quantity of sunshine, and blesssedly low humidity we enjoy here.
What does he propose to do... build a wall around the city and refuse admittance to anyone who wants to come in?
I hate to break it to him, but Albuquerque’s a *city*. If he wants to live in the sticks, then more power to him - but for him to think ABQ is some kind of rural nirvana is silly.
Albuquerque Public Schools, however, is nowhere near the largest district in the country. It’s 33rd in fact. You treat its problems fairly otherwise.
“Yes, there are lots of nice places in the world. I could live with considerable pleasure in the Pacific Northwest, or in New England, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, or in Key West or California or Honolulu. But there is only one of me, and I can’t live in all those places. So if we can have only one house � and that’s all we want � then it has to be in New Mexico, and preferably right at the edge of Albuquerque where it is now.” Ernie Pyle, January 1942
Andrew, you’ve caught the bug, that’s for sure. Watch out, it’s a dangerous one ;-)
Thanks for clarifying about the size of APS. That’s an oft-quoted statistic here, but I should have checked my facts before posting.
Chantal,
Yes, I guess I have caught the bug! What do they call this area, “The Land of Entrapment”?
rah62,
Not to get off the topic of Albuquerque too much, but my father has been fighting the insidious creep of “progress” in the Portland area for a long time. My understanding is that the urban growth boundary, which is meant to encourage denser, more sustainable development within the city limits, has been pushed out more than once. Portland is often held up as a paragon of smart development, but it is this way because people like my father push the local government not to give in to pressure from developers to allow sprawl like so many other cities.
Thanks for your comments, everyone!
-Andrew
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Like I said, my experience is exclusively with the elementary schools here. No Child’s Behind Left has certainly introduced stresses on school systems that produce some (I suspect) unintended consequences. The emphasis on testing isn’t something I disagree with as a concept, but the way it’s implemented is that each class is compared against the class that came before it, and there is supposed to be continuous improvement. This means that, rather than following a class of students through their “careers” and seeing if they get better at certain subjects, there is pressure to get each class of kids to outperform the kids that were there the year before. It’s as if the 4th graders this year are supposed to be performing at a 5th grade level and that next year’s 4th graders need to perform at a 6th grade level. Obviously this is unsustainable and it only serves to put undue pressure and stress on both teachers and the students who want to please them. All of that said, I think this isn’t an issue exclusive to Rio Rancho schools. I sure saw it when we lived in Paradise Hills. Let’s hope the folks in DC who make these crazy laws come to their senses before our elementary school kids start getting ulcers from the stress!
The people are so friendly and nice. We’d never seen anything like it.
The stores and Malls are great, many jobs are available, and the housing prices are affordable.
We’d never go back to the moldy Mid-West, even to visit.
Nice article. I am a native Texan (San Antonio), lived in DC/Baltimore metro for ~10 years and most recently lived in Austin (13 years) before moving to ABQ 2 years ago. Austin is a great town, but it also benefits a lot by being close to San Antonio. We ended up going to San Antonio (and the nearby hill country) for many family activities. I was surprised how relatively poor Austin was in museums etc. Austin has also turned into a traffic nightmare (not quote DC, but getting there). I am surprised by how many more quality family oriented activities exist in ABQ than Austin. ABQ’s museums, nature activities and biopark generally blow away Austin’s (we often went to San Antonio for these things). To be fair, Austin is larger and has more kid resources (ie, doctors etc). ABQ’s traffic situation is much better, and honestly, there were also a lot of mediocre or bad public schools in Austin. In both ABQ and Austin, it really depends on where you live and how involved you are in the school’s activities. My kids loved Austin, but they tell me that they love ABQ a little more. They mostly miss the fact that ABQ does not have a decent water park!
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"After moving my family here two and a half years ago, Im ready to declare Albuquerque 'Austin for Families.' " From Andrew over at Clearwired.com
Tracked: Oct 29, 07:57