Cool, there is a brew pub here, Turtle Mountain that is nice, and O'Hares and Crazy Crocks that I know of for sure and a few near 528, that I have seen but not been to.

Are you going to be able to come out and visit before you make your final decision, or are you doing it sight unseen?

Close to HP you are going to have to find a house for rent. Though three of you making the same salary in the other thread, you should be able to get a house here, 3-4 bedroom from between $850-$1500 a month

They really did build the Santa Anna Star Arena in the middle of nowhere. The city center next to it, and HP behind it, and the new UNMwest & CNM campus. to the left. UNM should be opening in Jan but right now there are no other business up and running in that area, there will be I'm sure once the school gets up and running, and UNM has big hopes for the area, multiple buildings, a medical services department, dorms the whole thing. But right now its just open land of dirt and tumbleweeds.

Well we were able to talk them into matching the wages that the other guys there are on, so its a bit higher now, closer to $28000 after the night shift allowance, so shouldnt have much of a problem cash wise with three of us.

We have to go out blind, so wont have a clue when we get there but I think it just makes the whole idea of moving more exciting. The Satnav is going to be a life saver.
Knowing us we'll probably end up trying all of the bars in the first few months (if not first few weeks)

When we heard HP were setting up in Rio Rancho at the start we tried looking for pictures, any we've seen with the HP building made it look like it was in the back end of nowhere, it was only when we used googlemaps we seen how big the place really is.

Just waiting now on the wee details to be finalised before we can get our visas sorted. We dont even have a month left before we finish working here. So shouldnt be long now before we are on the place (hopefully )

HP is in the middle of nowhere! All you can see around it is desert. Personally I'm hoping to be able to transfer to UNMwest next door, so it might work out that we'd be work neighbors. Of course there are lots of stuff for my place to work out too, as the building isn't finished, much less them knowing details of how to staff it.

If you want pictures of anything or an idea of how far it is to places, let me know. I may not be able to get there immediately but I'm usually driving around and like I said I live about 3miles from HP, and go up there to check on the other construction, a few extra pics are no biggie.

Rio Rancho, is a little confusing, as new city, Its the city of vision. I like to say that the city planners were having a vision alright, a vision on crack! streets do weird things, but once you get used to it, its not bad.

Albuquerque is pretty easy to find your way around, its like a big grid, once you learn your east-west, and north and south you're good.

Good negotiation skills on getting the salary higher!

No problem. Yeah I would imagine a decision to move across the pond would be a big one, especially sight unseen.

Been spending about an hour or so looking around in google street view, real eye opener. Made it very clear how important a car is going to be

Just waiting on the final confirmation of all the details from HP then its Visa time. Might as well flip a coin to decide if im going or not

There's a NEW Mexico?

Yes, I am not certain you can get around without a car here. or at least motorcycle or moped. Things like grocery stores etc, are at least 10-15 minutes away by car, and if you want a house close to HP, your going be 5-10 miles from the nearest store, and the nearest store may not be where you want to go. and walking to work, you will have to go the long away around on the the roads, unless hiking through desert terrain is your idea of a good time. And not really something I would recommend in the dark if you guys are working nights. Wiley E Coyote and the Roadrunner make a cute cartoon, but the real coyotes and roadrunners (and rabbits) live out here too.

I don't meant to scare you off the place, its nice quiet and pretty laid back, and the land and sunsets really are beautiful, we have the best views of the Sandia Mountains and Alb. But it really is middle of the southwest desert living. its close to Alb, and as the major city in NM thats good, but to even get out of the state, its at least a 3-4 hour drive in any direction. and most of that open undeveloped space. its just from what I hear of the UK a big change. I do really love it here, I'm not sure I would ever willing move away. Though I love it for all the reasons that its different from everywhere else. Its close enough to city life for me, and yet out in the country enough that I can see all the beautiful stars at night, we have very little clouds most of the year, and very little light pollution, so not only can you make out the big constellations, but the "smaller stars that are usually hidden" are clear and its quiet if you want to sit out at night.

All that just makes me want to move out even more. I'll most likely rent for a week or two at the start, buy a car then. Didnt have any intentions of not driving again, love it too much, just hoping driving an automatic doesnt take too much fun out of it.

With us working nights being a nice distance away should make it easier to sleep in the mornings when we get home.

I'll not be starting work until about 2am

Still having alot of problems getting information from HP so it could be months before I move, if it ever happens. They still havent been able to confirm what money I'll be on there, or when we finish working here. Its got to the point where i feel like im talking to a brick wall, and expecting it to tell me how the universe works.

HP have finally decided that they are going to stick with their orignal insult of a wage offer, so looks like I wont be moving after all.

Thanks for the help anyway guys