# Looking near Albuquerque NM



## Gaea Star (Sep 7, 2011)

We are hoping to find a place with 10 or more acres and a house with at least 3 bedrooms in or around Albuquerque NM hopefully not too far away but nearer the south valley is better for us. If anyone knows of a low cost property in that area that might fit our needs please let us know.

We want to raise mini cattle, chickens and a garden at the very least. Thanks all this looking for under 80000 properties is making my head spin... :stars:


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## cobz (Jul 26, 2012)

Hi,
I've been in Albuquerque for about 10 years now, living right in town. One nice thing about Abq is that in most parts of town, especially along the river, you can have livestock in your backyard and nobody thinks it's weird. Goats, chickens, horses, sheep, llamas are pretty common. Occasionally you see a pig. Some of the lots are big (by in-town standards -- half an acre up to two acres) but those are expensive, about $100,000 / acre with a house, and that's in the cheapest part of town, the South Valley. If you want to live in the North Valley (less paint, appliances, trash, and drug needles in your irrigation ditch, and slightly more upscale neighbors, for what that's worth) or if you want a decent house, it's probably going to start around $200,000. If you can find a decent size lot with water and without a house, it'll be around $60k/ acre. But those lots are scarce. South of the South Valley is Isleta Pueblo, and to live there you have to be native. South of the Pueblo things get a little more affordable, and the commute is still manageable if you need to work in Abq. Los Lunas and Belen are both relatively affordable and they have irrigation ditches. But be careful about your neighbors when you buy. Many areas are owned by a single family that has divided it up over generations, so you may find yourself surrounded by somewhat insular old-school New Mexico families all related to each other and not particularly interested in newcomers, especially non-New Mexico newcomers. I know several folks who've inadvertently bought property from a family's black sheep, then been alienated, harrassed and otherwise driven out by the remaining families. Compare the street name with the neighbors' names -- often the family has the road re-named after their family. Overall, as you can probably tell, I can't recommend this area to a homesteader. It never rains, the river and its irrigation ditches are polluted, and land is crazy expensive. I'm moving back to Kentucky as soon as I can.


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## cobz (Jul 26, 2012)

Another thing -- many folks irrigate with well water. Over the last few years it's come to light that Kirtland Air Force Base dumped several million gallons of jet fuel, which is now contaminating wells across the South Valley. So if you buy something with a well, be sure to have it checked. Also at Kirtland, apparently, they store something like 10,000 nuclear warheads. So far this hasn't caused any immediate problems that I know of, but it's kind of creepy to live just a couple miles from one of the world's largest nuclear arsenals.


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