Total WTF in Albuquerque???

[exsparky]

So I go to the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque. The biggest balloon thing on the planet for a mellow pg thing.

Its a two week deal, its not bad but WTF IS UP WITH ALBUQUERQUE?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albuqu...Balloon_Fiesta



We check into the KOA and I notice they have 10' metal wall around it and a guy at the gate at all times.
If he isn't there they close it and you have to have a code to get in...
The marine in the lot next to me said he caught a guy with a slide hammer breaking into his jeep. The guy had already hit 5 cars and it wasn't even dark yet.


I notice its hot but people spend their money on bad ass fences instead of ac...


On the way to the zoo the neighborhood is total sketch. I thought I was going to see cock fights in the front yards.
This wasn't the worst spot by far I went through. They couldn't make better signs?



Come to find out.
ABQ is...
3rd in property crime
6th in murders.
19th worst city on the planet for crime,
between Tijuana and Cali Columbia. just 3 spots down from Detroit.


Rank City Crime Index Safety Index
1 Pietermaritzburg, South Africa 82.5 17.5
2 Pretoria, South Africa 81.8 18.2
3 Caracas, Venezuela 81.6 18.4
4 Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea 81.2 18.8
5 Johannesburg, South Africa 80.8 19.2
6 Durban, South Africa 80.6 19.4
7 Port Elizabeth, South Africa 77.9 22.1
8 Memphis, TN, United States 77.6 22.4
9 Salvador, Brazil 76.9 23.1
10 Recife, Brazil 76.2 23.8
11 Fortaleza, Brazil 75.7 24.3
12 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 75.4 24.6
13 Guayaquil, Ecuador 74.4 25.6
14 Detroit, MI, United States 73.9 26.1
15 Cape Town, South Africa 73.7 26.3
16 Baltimore, MD, United States 73.1 26.9
17 Tijuana, Mexico 71.9 28.1
18 Cali, Colombia 71.5 28.5
19 Albuquerque, NM, United States 71.3 28.7
20 Porto Alegre, Brazil 70.9 29.1

https://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_current.jsp

What gives?

They have UFO money from Roswell don't they?
Lockheed, Intel, Booz Allen, Honeywell, Sandia, Ernest health, Sunbridge, Sumco. Was I on the bad side of town?



Check out the this fence. 10' with razor wire next to restaurant on a busy road in a retail strip mall.

How bad is the crime for you to say I need 10' fence plus razor on a busy street, in a strip center.

[exsparky]

I forgot to mention you could buy blue meth and LEGO RV meth labs in the KOA gift shop.

That could be a factor.

[skaredshtles]

We spent 4 days in Albuquerque last Xmas/NY time frame in old town and had a really good time.

So I guess YMMV.

[stealurface831]

breaking bad was not just randomly set there.

[exsparky]

That's not much farther north of the Zoo.

I think you were in the blue part. I was mostly in the red part and the zoo is the yellow I think.

The balloons are the north part.

[exsparky]

I felt like swat would have a hard time with how hardened some of the homes looked there.

[skaredshtles]

We walked around at night and I never felt uncomfortable. And the food down there is delicious.

I've got a former colleague who grew up there, and he said there are some *rough* areas in town. Including the one he lived in.

[supermodel159]

I've stayed at that KOA. Town is full of zombies. Everyone is a character from Breaking Bad.

[yeahman]

Really enjoyed ALB in June. As SS said, great food. Found good brew too. Tram to the Sandia Crest was totally worth it. Hit many cool areas of the city but def stayed out of the hood. Between Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos, Alb is the one I would most likely return to.

The drivers absolutely suck though. Scarily insane.

[Danno]

ABQ, not ALB.

[Danno]

And there's a reason we refer to those yellow license plates as "warning plates", as in "warning, New Mexico driver".

[MontuckyFried]

Allllll Allllllbuquerque!!!

[skaredshtles]

Allllll Allllllbuquerque!!!

Love that song/story.

[chaka]

I grew up in the area, went to HS in ABQ. This thread cracks me up, keep it rolling. Agreed the drivers are fucking horrible, everyone with missing, broken side mirrors going 90 in the right lane, or slow and veering in the fast lane. Saw a guy veering likely hammered right in front of a state patrol, patrol didn't seem to care at all, probably afraid to make a stop. There are at least a dozen of "have you been injured in an auto accident" billboards between Bernalillo and downtown on the 25. But, man oh man, the food almost makes it worth it. Almost. I have fun trying out the beer when I visit my mom, Bow and Arrow was really impressive.

[cat in january]

One of the things I used to like as a runner is I would be able to go places otherwise I had no right going. Running around Albuquerque was about as sketch as I have seen it for a city in the US. Almost every house had a junkyard dog chained or fenced in out front. This was in the late nineties before breaking bad. When they made it there I was like right, fits.

[Meadow Skipper]

breaking bad was not just randomly set there.

This.

It’s been that way as long as I can remember (>30 yrs.)

ABQ, not ALB.

And this.

Also, chile, not chili.

[Danno]

Also, chile, not chili.

Christmas, please.

[skiballs]

I like ABQ, it’s like any city, there are parts of town that you avoid. Having spent plenty of time in Baltimore & DC, you learn to pay attention to your surroundings and avoid eye contact with the sketchy looking folks.
The UNM championship golf course is one of best tracts I have ever played.


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[Zhem]

I grew up in the area, went to HS in ABQ. This thread cracks me up, keep it rolling. Agreed the drivers are fucking horrible, everyone with missing, broken side mirrors going 90 in the right lane, or slow and veering in the fast lane. Saw a guy veering likely hammered right in front of a state patrol, patrol didn't seem to care at all, probably afraid to make a stop. There are at least a dozen of "have you been injured in an auto accident" billboards between Bernalillo and downtown on the 25. But, man oh man, the food almost makes it worth it. Almost. I have fun trying out the beer when I visit my mom, Bow and Arrow was really impressive.

Ron Bell….? Lol.

I lived there from 2005-2015, it is as bad as you present in some areas and not so much in others. The NE Heights have some great areas as do parts of the NW, you were down in an area that is notoriously bad.

All that being said….we moved for a reason and shortly after we left most of my friends moved to Phoenix or Denver.

But the chile based food just can’t be beat, we went through withdrawals when we moved to California and still bring back a cooler full of frozen green chile when we visit my wife’s family in the four corners area.

I have no desire to move back, but there are worse places to live.


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[Rideski]

I think the whole country changed after covid.
BC (before covid) I went to ABQ and stayed downtown for biz, wandered around to several bars till midnight. Kept my eyes open but no problems. Not sure what it's like now.

[ZomblibulaX]

I've seen a gun fired in anger twice in my life, and both of them were on Central with literally hundreds of people around. There is very little good that happens in ABQ after dark.

This is the city that banned the show COPS from filming there because it made the city look so bad. Now, after a decade long federal investigation, dirty cops are just flat out skipping court appearances because even they know that, as criminals, they do what they want.

Querque has been the closest city to me my whole life, and I used to work down there quite a bit. I've been to an awful lot of sketchy neighborhoods in sketchy cities at bad times all over the country, and Albuquerque takes the cake over most of them (haven't ever been to Detroit though, so who can say?) It's got so much going for it (food, climate, culture, recreation opportunities), that never seems to quite make up for the fact that there are a lot of really shitty people there. There's some really nice parts of town, but property crime is just out of control. Meth hit that place (and most of the SW) hard in the '90's and the situation on the ground hasn't improved much.

But they got a whole lot of really sketchy (mostly in a good way) titty bars!

[pfluffenmeister]

I grew up in the area, went to HS in ABQ. This thread cracks me up, keep it rolling. Agreed the drivers are fucking horrible, everyone with missing, broken side mirrors going 90 in the right lane, or slow and veering in the fast lane. Saw a guy veering likely hammered right in front of a state patrol, patrol didn't seem to care at all, probably afraid to make a stop. There are at least a dozen of "have you been injured in an auto accident" billboards between Bernalillo and downtown on the 25. But, man oh man, the food almost makes it worth it. Almost. I have fun trying out the beer when I visit my mom, Bow and Arrow was really impressive.

Not ABQ related but I saw a billboard for some lawyer group in Denver emblazoned with:

F*ck Around and Find Out.

[The AD]

Meet the New Mexico, same as the Old Mexico.

[jackstraw]

Burque. Never felt threatened there, but almost melted into the pavement. Saw a roadrunner for the first time over by Sandia and the airport easy in an out.

[old goat]

Ron Bell….? Lol.

I lived there from 2005-2015, it is as bad as you present in some areas and not so much in others. The NE Heights have some great areas as do parts of the NW, you were down in an area that is notoriously bad.

All that being said….we moved for a reason and shortly after we left most of my friends moved to Phoenix or Denver.

But the chile based food just can’t be beat, we went through withdrawals when we moved to California and still bring back a cooler full of frozen green chile when we visit my wife’s family in the four corners area.

I have no desire to move back, but there are worse places to live.


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No need to go to NM to get NM chiles--Safeway in Truckee imports Hatch chiles every August. Although my wife is in NM now--Santa Fe native--and I expect her to bring back frozen chiles and some ground dry chiles--probably Chimayo.