teofilo

I grew up in Albuquerque, in fact in the UNM area, so I know a bit about it. It's basically a pretty typical postwar southwestern city, similar in look and feel to places like Phoenix, Las Vegas, Colorado Springs, etc. It's pretty sprawly and auto-oriented as a whole, particularly in the newer areas. The UNM area, however, is one of the older parts of town, so it's a bit different. The main UNM campus is on Central Avenue, which is sort of the main drag. There are a lot of cool little cafes and restaurants and other small businesses in the immediate campus area, both on Central itself and on the smaller streets perpendicular and parallel to it. The area south of Central around UNM is known as the student ghetto, and it has that sort of feel; mostly run-down old houses and apartment complexes, all of which serve primarily as student rentals. Some grad students live in this area, but it's mostly undergrads. It's one of the few neighborhoods in the city where a car isn't necessary, and lots of people walk or bike everywhere they need to go. Rents are low. To the east of UNM but still along Central is the Nob Hill neighborhood, which is fairly upscale. This is a pretty hopping part of town along Central, where most of the businesses are, and there are a lot of good restaurants with a wide variety of price ranges here. Rents are higher here, and the population is more professors than students, but there are some grad students. This is also a pretty walkable neighborhood, and it would be possible to live here without a car. Further east along Central the neighborhoods get a lot poorer. This part of town is known as the War Zone for the gang violence that used to be extremely frequent there. The violence, which has contributed to the reputation of Albuquerque as kind of a tough city (as noted earlier in this thread), has decreased a lot in the past twenty years or so, although there is still a certain amount. Rents are very low in this area, but not that many students live there. To the north of the main UNM campus, which ends at Lomas Boulevard, is the North Campus area, which is where I grew up (and am in fact sitting right now, at my mom's house, as I write this). This area is a bit wealthier than the student ghetto, but not really rich the way Nob Hill is. More middle class to upper middle class.The population is mainly professors and other professional types, with student rentals sort of scattered throughout the area. Rents are fairly low. The UNM North Campus (basically the law school, medical school, and a few other programs) is right next to this neighborhood, as is the UNM North Golf Course, which is a great place to run, walk a dog, etc. To the west of UNM main campus, across University Boulevard, is an interesting little neighborhood called Spruce Park. This neighborhood is built on a fairly steep hill, and the income gradations as you move up the hill are very noticeable and stark. There are big, fancy houses on top, more middle-class houses partway down, and cheap student rentals at the bottom. This neighborhood is particularly close to the anthro department, which is at the western edge of the main campus. Those are the neighborhoods that are most convenient to UNM. There are a lot of other neighborhoods further away, some of which are pretty interesting, but they're not very convenient to campus and while some students do live in them, I don't think I'd really recommend it. From most places you would have to drive to campus, and parking is a huge pain. Much better to be close enough to walk. As for the feel of the place, rock, tattoos, and southwestern food is a pretty good description, particularly of Central and the neighborhoods around it. There are lots of restaurants serving the distinctive New Mexican style of Mexican food everywhere. The public library system is fairly good, but somewhat weirdly there are no branches very close to the UNM area. The closest would be the Ernie Pyle branch, which is very small but interesting. It's in a little house that used to belong to the famous World War II journalist Ernie Pyle, in a neighborhood south of the student ghetto toward the airport. For most purposes you'll probably want to use the UNM libraries, which are excellent. As for part-time work, hard to say in this economy, but I doubt it would be harder to get here than anywhere else. The UNM campus itself is beautiful. All the buildings are in Pueblo Revival style architecture, which lends it a certain uniformity that I at least find very pleasing (not everyone agrees). There are some very cool little places on campus to study or just relax. The anthropology department, as I'm sure you know, is very well-regarded, so I'm not surprised that it's one of your top choices. I wouldn't say I love Albuquerque, exactly, but I certainly don't hate it. It's a sprawling sunbelt metropolis without much of a college-town feel, but it has its charm if you know where to look for it. I'd be happy to answer any further questions you have.