Albuquerque=hell
I lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico for three years. I don't recommend this.

My first experience was when I was pulling in to the driveway of my new apartment with my da' for the very first time ever.

We were immediately surrounded by shotgun-wielding police officers, who told us to get into the house, NOW.

Turns out that someone had reported an intruder in the house behind mine, and the cops were doing some sort of 'sting' operation...the intruder turned out to be a house-sitter, but still, what an introduction to Albuquerque. In that house, I lived next to a grotty old man who turned out to be a raging alcoholic. When he died, his family simply left his two cats locked in the house to die. We and another neighbor rescued his sad, emaciated, abused animals almost two weeks later. One of the cats still lives with a friend of mine--turned out to be a wonderful pet, but required dental surgery from the kicks to the face given by the nasty old drunk.

My next place in Albuquerque was less eventful, except that you could often hear people running across the roof of the building with the police in hot pursuit. Oh, and the woman next door was ALSO an alcoholic. She would be very quiet for weeks, and then have a complete blow-out at 2 a.m. screaming, threatening to call the cops, and throwing things against the wall she shared with my apartment. Never could figure out what she was throwing at the wall, but it sounded like something the size and shape of a grapefruit. Odd enough, except that she lived alone, and near as I can tell, there was never anyone IN the apartment for her to be screaming at when she went on these rampages. The first time this happened, I was concerned. The seventh time it happened, I was just annoyed.

This is the same city that showed me my first methamphetamine addict, and the town where I had the unique experience of a bum asking me for change, and, when declined, asking, "...So, what are you doing tonight? Wanna get together?" I've had grudging admiration for him, though--gotta admire someone able to panhandle change AND ask for dates in the same conversation.

Needless to say, I left Albuquerque as soon as humanly possible and have never returned.
(herbivorous, Fri 26 Aug 2005, 23:02, Reply)