Cedar Crest NM is technically a part of the greater Albuquerque metropolitan area, but you wouldn't know it to visit the place. The neighborhood is about as far away as you can get from the hustle and bustle of city life. Cedar Crest is known for its hiking trails and scenic beauty, friendly people, low crime rates, and generally peaceful, tranquil atmosphere. If you want to live near Albuquerque without having to rent in the heart of the city, Cedar Crest is the best of both worlds.
Source:wikimedia.org
In terms of age, the people in Cedar Crest skew middle-aged. Around 42% of Cedar Crest residents are aged between 40 and 64 years old, with young adults, aged 18 to 24, being the smallest age group at just 5%. Of the remaining people in the town, the second largest age demographic is the 25 to 39 set. It would be false, however, to say that Cedar Crest is sort of a "retirement village." Rather, it's where people wind up settling when they're looking for the peace, the breathing room and the personal freedom that come with a slightly more rural environment.
Interestingly, the town's workforce is considerably diverse. Health and education are the largest employment industries at 25%, with the broad label of "professional" making up another 23%, and then you have 6% in arts and entertainment, another 6% in construction, 7% in manufacturing, and 17% of people working from home. Unemployment affects only 1% of the people in the area; in fact, it's only 19 people total. You could count them on your fingers and toes.
Source:wikimedia.org
Cedar Crest is not a very active town if you're looking for a hot nightlife, art festivals and local events and so on. The culture of Cedar Crest is the celebration of the individual American spirit. People in Cedar Crest generally live outside the rule of homeowners' associations; they don't have people telling them when to take their Christmas lights down or complaining that they haven't mowed their lawn. You can see the hot air balloons overhead when the balloon festival takes place in Albuquerque, but other than that, you will generally need to venture outside of your own cozy neighborhood if you're hoping to take in some of the local Albuquerque culture.
There are two notable exceptions. The first would be the Tinkertown Museum, where you can see miniature wood-carved figures, animals, objects, Western towns and even arcade machines. Then, there's the locally grown produce at the Triangle Grocery store. The whole area takes on the intoxicating aroma of roasting chili peppers every Summer. The perfect thing to pair with a local microbrew and some grilled burgers.
Source:wikimedia.org
Eighty-nine percent of the homes in the area are owner-occupied, crime is so low that there are no reliable figures for it, and 90% of the people in the area earn more than $30,000 a year. The remaining 10% enjoy affordable housing, with about half of the rental properties in Cedar Crest costing under $1,000 a month. The town's closeness to nature and quiet atmosphere may be a turn off for those who are looking for a more exciting neighborhood to call home, but for those who simply want to take life at their own pace, you can't ask for much more than Cedar Crest has to offer.
On the other hand, if you are the outdoorsy type, then Cedar Crest is like an all-day amusement park. The Turquoise Trail, Travertine Falls and Gutierrez Canyon Open Space are absolutely stunning for hikers, bikers, campers, RVers, and horseback riders and people who just enjoy taking long walks. The breathtaking vistas and open air you'll find in these places are precisely what New Mexico is all about.
Most people probably know Cedar Crest for the Turquoise Trail and Tinkertown, both of which were mentioned in the classic Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias." Other than that, the town isn't known for much because the town isn't much known. To the people who live here, it's like a secret oasis in the middle of the desert, a green, mountainside hideaway with log cabins and ranch style homes and friendly neighbors.
This is what Cedar Crest is all about, really: Taking life at your own pace. A higher-than-average number of people in the town work from home for that very reason. Cedar Crest isn't quite "dull," it's not that far from Albuquerque, there's plenty to do if you're an outdoorsy type, there's simply less to contend with out here than there is in the city.
