asteramella

Student housing is exhorbitantly expensive and the older dorms are NOT well maintained. Living off-campus is the best option. The "student ghetto" (south of the University, sometimes called Silver Hill) is best for people without children. It's walkable, with a local grocery store, a farmer's market stand, restaurants, laundromats, and small retailers. The two biggest east-west streets south of UNM, Lead and Coal, were recently re-paved, with nice landscaping, new benches, new bus stops, and new trees. These streets also now have bicycle lanes. So the area is very liveable and has been spruced up a little. There aren't many large apartment complexes in the student area. Apartment buildings are usually 10 units or less. The large complexes tend to be older and poorly maintained. Generally the best way to find a place is to walk around the neighborhood and call numbers on the "For Rent" signs. Craigslist or ads in local newspapers like alibi.com can work, but many landlords do not advertise online. My landlord never does anything but put a sign out, and he owns many properties in the area. If you're looking for something house-like, you're in luck! Most of the residences in the Silver Hill and Nob Hill areas are "casitas," small 1 BR or 2 BR houses. Apartments are usually housed in duplexes, triplexes, or quadplexes, so they're more "house-like." Most casitas are one-story. If you're looking for an apartment, try to get a second-floor apartment if possible. The area south of UNM (and UNM itself) is infested with roaches when it's warm (most of the year). They are big suckers and they are everywhere at night. You'll still see some on the second floor, but not as many as on the first floor. Street parking in this area usually requires a permit, which can be obtained from the city for free. Parking on campus is difficult; walking or taking the bus is your best bet. Crime isn't too bad in the UNM area. In the summer there are a lot of "characters" (publicly drunk people, panhandling, crust punks who are backpacking across America, etc). I go out at night but I walk fast and stick to more well-lit streets. There is some violent crime but the biggest problem is theft. Lock your bike securely, don't leave your windows open, don't leave your car unlocked, etc. UNM recently had a couple of high-profile cases of sexual assault by strangers on campus, and in response they have beefed up their security, so on-campus isn't as scary at night. On the other hand, the EDO (East of Downtown) area is rough. Ditto the part of the city south of Central and east of San Mateo. (DON'T live at Cinnamon Tree apartments if you can help it!) It's definitely possible to live without a car in the UNM area. However, it's nice to have a car to visit the rest of NM: Sandia Crest, the Jemez Mountains, Las Cruces, Taos, etc. It's a dry heat, so the shade is very cool, and the temperature drops a lot at night. If you're from a cooler, more humid climate, remember to drink LOTS of water (keep a bottle of water with you at all times) and use lip balm and lotion frequently. On the upside, outside of the rainy season in the summer it almost never rains so you can plan a lot of outdoor activities and/or walk to campus without incident. Albuquerque isn't the most cosmopolitan city. There are some good museums and Old Town is fun, and there are some fancy restaurants/boutique hotels/art galleries springing up in the past few years. But despite being the biggest city in New Mexico, Albuquerque has a small town feel, especially around UNM. You will run into people you know all the time. There are only two malls (well three, but two of them are across the street from each other). The restaurant scene is kind of dismal with a few gems. Things close early; there is not a lot to do late at night but go to the Frontier for carne adovada. But, the weather is nice, there's a lot of outdoorsy things to do, lots of interest in sustainable living,and people are distinctly laid-back.