Spent a few years there. Coming from east coast megalopolis, I loved the freedom, cost of living, and weather. I could hit the mountain/forest or scrubby wasteland in 45 minutes from the center of the city, even did a little fishing on the Rio Grande. It was easy to find spots to camp or shoot with no one around.
As an /o/tist, I found the lack of traffic (and traffic enforcement) amazing. The Sandia Crest highway is my favorite road ever, I spent a lot of days/nights going up and down again and again. Feels amazing on the mountain when the city is hot as balls. Riding up past Jemez is also a great way to spend the day. The highways are superb for really fast cars/bikes (other than the altitude). Plenty of offroading too.
There are a lot of drugs, methed out car thieves, and homeless. Other than being paranoid about my vehicles being stolen/broken into, I rarely felt unsafe. The city is very much racially segregated and the mangs are different out there (fewer recent immigrants).
They can be rude dickheads, and I'm sure they're violent when dealing with money/drugs, but I'm much more worried about the instantaneous random anger and violence of blacks here back home. It sets a certain baseline stress level knowing they may chimp at any moment, even when they're joyful, and especially in groups.
