Our Neighborhood

We looked all over the city for the perfect place to live, and also in some nearby communities outside of ABQ. We considered commute time, traffic, the feel of the neighborhood, options for walking/biking, safety, views, and the likelihood of being able to buy or build a large garage for Stephen. Once Stephen "discovered" the Four Hills neighborhood, we kept returning, drawn by all the advantages listed above. At first, we really liked Tijeras, a town in the mountains East of the city, because it reminded us the most of the Adirondacks. But then we were told that they get a lot of snow and that the state simply closes the roads when that happens so you're either stuck at home or stuck at work until it melts. Stephen said he wasn't planning to take his plow to New Mexico, and crossed that area off the list.

Four Hills is on the Southeastern corner of ABQ. It was the "fancy" neighborhood in the late 60's and 70s. There is one entrance to the development, off Central Avenue (Route 66) and you drive through a little valley and across a bridge to get into it. That's one reason it's considered a safe neighborhood, because the one entrance is easy to patrol. There's a lot of property crime in ABQ, and we were told that wherever we lived in the city, we needed an alarm system and would not be able to be casual about locking up the way we were in Schuylerville. That is an aspect of city life that I don't much care for, but everyone we spoke to agreed that it is necessary. There is one security company in Four Hills that patrols in SUVs with armed response to alarms, but we decided that was a little much and chose a more traditional company; the one the previous owners had used. It only took me a couple of days to get used to setting the alarm, and it's easy to use. I haven't set it off accidentally yet!

Since Four Hills is an older neighborhood, it has plenty of mature trees in the landscape, which sets it apart in ABQ and makes it very pleasant. The houses are a mix of styles. There are plenty of modest brick ranches just like you would expect from a development built in the 70's.

And there are a few houses that would look perfectly at home in Clifton Park, NY. Then there are a lot of houses with Spanish style elements or New Mexico style, like ours. There are some that were ultra-modern when they were built, like this artistic design.

And there are some million-dollar mansions like this one that you can look down on from a promontory in the open space.

Our house sits between two cul-de-sacs. This is the gate into our back yard, and our neighbor's house beyond.

This is our neighbor across the street:

At the end of our cul-de-sac is the open space with miles of walking and mountain bike trails.

The open space borders on the Air Force base:

But you can walk along our side of the fence all the way up the mountain.



When you've climbed the hill a short distance, you can look back and see over Four Hills to the city.

On my way to work today, I saw this magnificent fellow chewing on our neighbor's shrubbery. Good thing most of our edible greenery is within the walled-in yard!