Albuquerque Travel Forum

Hello all...I've read your previous postings and it has helped me a lot. I have been searching online for an apartment to move into in August. I've used apartmentguide.com and it is very informative. I have been most interested in some beautiful apt. complexes in the northeast area of town. I've also researched that most of these areas are only between a ten or fifteen minute drive.
But, I would love to have the option of riding my bike to campus on pretty days. My question is, do you know of any scenic apartment complexes within biking distance of UNM's campus? I will be entering a masters program in landscape architecture, so outdoor scenery is important to me. Thanks for all your helpful advice.

Most of the newer / prettier complexes are in the heights or west side of town. What you'll find closer to UNM are converted older homes used as student rentals. Each of these has it's own charm and you can create your own mini landscape! North campus area rentals look over the golfcourse ... but i really don' THINK that's what you had in mind ;)

You best bet, since you'll be in town for the duration of your grad program, is to take an apartment you find online for a short term lease. That will give you the security of knowing you'll have an initial homebase - but give you the freedom to look for something else once you have your bearings in town.

BTW- parking on campus .. well like most uni's .. sucks. I prefer to bus into campus myself :)

There is a bike trail that goes from the street Pennsylvania in the NE Heights all the way to UNM, here is a web site with bike maps http://www.cabq.gov/bike/. You can also catch the rapid ride bus at the Uptown bus station, taking you all the way to UNM. It would be best if you check out the city and get a view of where you would like to live.

*waving*
Hi Dave! great idea about rapid ride AND bike paths :)

HI Kymbanm

Good to hear from you. Lets get this group together for a spring meeting.
Dave

Just to let you know people ride their bikes year around here, in colder months you might not get to ride as much but there is always good days to ride anytime of the year.

You might consider the Citadel Apartments which are only about a mile north of UNM on University Blvd. A bike trail to UNM passes right behind the apartments. I can't recommend them, since I don't know what they are like. They are relatively new (5+ yrs?) and look nice from the outside.

Citadel Apts are at least 25 years old as they were there when I was in grad school in 1979. Sounds like at least the outside has been well kept up. If you live in the NE just remember it's all up hill going home. I lived at Snowheights and Eubank and planned on biking to UNM but only did it once. Also, you don't want to be biking at night if you have night classes. Even with bike trails, I wouldn't trust the drivers or criminals.

We just moved back after 20 years and have found the crime rates a lot higher than in the 80s. We don't go out at night much and got a rental house with bars on the windows and doors. Had a murder less than a mile away in one of the nice areas and the grocery store 1/2 mile away was robbed this summer.

I agree with the suggestion of renting someplace short term - maybe a semester then looking around. I don't know if all the buses have bike racks or not but at least some of them do so you should check that out.