On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 18:51:11 -0400, "Madgardener"
wrote:

I need to know what Albuquerque, New Mexico is like. Climate. Cost of
living. Cost of houses. Sizes of yards. Restrictions. Crime. What zone it's
considered. A good site that is idiot proof that might take me to these
questions. What groceries average. This is extremely important to me and
before ya'll tell me to go to a website. ..... the ones I've found are
extensive, it takes forever to download these sites of some of them (I have
dial up connection and I need a dead ringer site that would be simple with
answers to these questions) unless there is someone out there in the
newsgroup that can answer me because they live there.................
madgardener serious about these inquiries (don't ask, just help me, please)

Don't live in, but grew up in Albuq. Would love to go back. You might
try the Albuq. Tribune web site (http://www.abqtrib.com/) for a
snapshot of local life. The last time I looked at employment
opportunities there, the wages offered indicated a low cost of living
(or teachers would be starving in the streets!)

The climate is high desert (5,000 ft) with minimal rain and very
little humidity. Add Albuq. to your Wonderground.com 'favorites' and
check the weather. While it's hot in summer, temperatures cool 30
degrees at night, which makes it more than bearable. Plus, no humidity
means that perspiration does the job it's designed for and shade
*means* something. It snows occasionally in winter. The mountains are
gorgeous. The sky is bluer there than anywhere. Great Mexican food, as
you can imagine, but Albuq. is a big city, not a rustic backwater.
According to their site (www.unm.edu), the University of New Mexico
entertains close to 25,000 students. There's a lot of Hispanic/Indian
influence on architecture, language, and culture. Gardening will be
*very* different. I remember the main gardening chore being
*watering*. Everything that isn't sprinkled or irrigated dries up and
blows away. (See the film 'The Milagro Beanfield War', which is set
somewhat to the north, and shows a *lot* of that blue sky!)