Belen

About 30 miles south of downtown Albuquerque, and 5 miles north of the city of Belen, the master-planned community of Los Chavez offers country living not far from major thoroughfares. “Living in Los Chavez, you’re really close to I-25 which is so convenient if you work in Albuquerque. But then you get to come home to a much larger lot. Right in the city, the lots are smaller,” says Crystal Sadowski, Realtor with Realty One of New Mexico. “And folks love living here because they’re right by the Rio Grande.” Many of the neighborhood’s 6,800 residents work at Albuquerque’s Facebook data center, or in Belen’s Historic Arts & Cultural District, home to art studios, bookstores and a museum; locals spend leisure time at nearby parks, line dancing or attending classes at the First Baptist Church of Los Chavez. Up to four-bedroom manufactured homes sit along State Route 314, selling between $140,000 and $275,000; built between the 1980s and early 2000s, many feature dirt-packed driveways with sidewalks leading to front doors, and modern single- or split-level ranch-style homes on up to 3-acre lots range from $250,000 to $350,000. These have earth-toned stucco, two-car garages and space for horses, while newly constructed Craftsman-style stucco homes on smaller lots near Interstate 25 sit within 10 miles of major employers, and average $300,000. In the neighborhood’s southwestern end, vacant lots of up to 15 acres start at $15,000. Students can attend Belen Consolidated District schools like Dennis Chavez Elementary, then continue to Belen Middle, each earning a C-plus from Niche. In early 2023, C-minus-rated Belen High’s wrestling team won the 4A state championship. Students can apply to attend the B-rated School of Dreams Academy, a pre-K-12 charter school, which offers STEAM virtual learning programs like robotics. Sitting 6 miles south, Belen’s downtown Historic Arts & Cultural District preserves the Harvey House Museum. Once home to Fred Harvey, the Sante Fe Railway’s restaurant manager in the 19th century, now exhibits Belen’s early local businesses and Harvey family memorabilia; residents can tour the museum before heading outdoors. Eagle and Rosendale Park are within 7 miles south along State Route 314: At Eagle Park, football and soccer teams practice on open fields, and skateboarders can grind rails at its neighboring skate park, while Rosedale Park features a sand-filled playground next to picnic tables, benches and a basketball court. Locals can head to the First Baptist Church of Los Chavez along State Route 314 for Sunday school and services, or to join small interest groups. Six miles south, Taqueria Sinaloa offers authentic Mexican dishes like tostadas and asada plates with refried beans, while about 2 miles south at Rio’s Restaurant and Cafe (formally known as C&J’s), diners can order breakfast burritos or take a loaded hotdog to go. Two miles south, residents hit up Adelante Bargain Square Thrift Store, Valencia County’s favorite thrift store for clothing and home furnishings, or check out art studios and book stores 6 miles south in downtown Belen; shoppers can grab groceries at Walmart roughly 4 miles south. Roughly 6 miles south, Anna Becker Park hosts Art in the Park every other Saturday during the spring and summer, where local artists showcase their paintings and sell hand-made crafts, and food and coffee trucks stay onsite. Line dancers can grab their boots and head to Bosque Farms Community Center 12 miles north, where instructors teach the latest steps every Wednesday afternoon. State Route 314 links locals to shopping and restaurants within 5 miles of Belen, and residents can travel the roughly 30 miles north to downtown Albuquerque via Interstate 25; commute times can be up to an hour. Locals can hop on a train at the Belen Rail Runner Station about 7 miles south, which can take them to neighboring communities like Tome, while toward the north, the Presbyterian Hospital and the city’s airport, Albuquerque International Sunport, are both within 29 miles. Los Chavez has a CAP Index Crime Score of 3 out of 10, compared to the national average of 4.

West Belen is characterized by panoramic views of the New Mexican high desert, and residents who value space and independence. “It’s really open, so if you’re looking for tree-lined streets — not here,” says Susan Blackwell, who’s sold homes in the area for 13 years and is the owner and broker of Welcome Home Realty. “A lot of people like to homestead out here because the price of land is pretty affordable. It’s easier to live off the grid here in the sense that everybody’s doing it. The community sustains that.” While many come here for its isolation, Belen is only 4 miles east, and planned subdivisions can be found near Interstate 25. The overall CAP Index Crime Score is 1 out of 10, compared to the national average of 4. “Everybody here seems to have a spirit of camaraderie. It’s like they have a pride of being independent,” Blackwell says. “There’s a live and let live, but there’s also a willingness to pitch in and help if you need it.” Along the edge of the mesa, Jardin De Belen is a planned subdivision with 2020s adobe-walled ranch-style homes in colors that blend with the surrounding desert. Set close together on sidewalk-lined streets, the homes here have three, four or five bedrooms, and with xeriscaped front yards, paved driveways and attached garages; prices range from about $250,000 to $350,000. Manufactured homes can be found near I-25 in the gated 55-plus Sunrise Bluffs community, and further west on multiacre lots that are surrounded by dirt roads and undeveloped high desert. Prices typically range between $60,000 for a two-bedroom manufactured home on over an acre to $215,000 for a three-bedroom in Sunrise Bluffs. Buyers can also purchase undeveloped lots; a 5-acre lot in the neighborhood's remote south can start at $4,500, while 50 acres on Camino Del Llano, the main road into Belen, can cost $550,000. According to Blackwell, the mesa's open spaces provide plenty of ways to get outside, though she cautions, “You must bring your own beer and shade.” The Rio Puerco, a Rio Grande tributary that’s dry most of the time, is a popular spot for hiking and off-roading. “Because it’s a run-off area, a lot of things come down, so there’s a lot to explore. You might find some pretty cool rocks and sometimes Native American findings.” The Belen Shooting Sports Association has ranges for trap shooting and archery, plus a dedicated pistol range. At Belen Regional Airport, residents can take a recreational flight and get a bird’s eye view of the high desert scenery, and adventure seekers can take a tandem dive with Skydive New Mexico. Within the neighborhood, hungry residents can head to locally owned spots like La Dos Gringas, known for New Mexican dishes like green chile stew and smothered burrito, and the 1950s-style Penny’s Diner, which serves up American comfort food like hamburgers and ice cream sundaes. Across I-25 in Belen, the Farm to You Retail Store by Bomvida Farms sells produce and meat from local farms; the store offers membership options for a flat fee. Other area grocery options include Lowe’s Market and Dollar Tree. Local kids can start school at Gil Sanchez Elementary, which earns a B-plus from Niche, then attend the C-plus-rated Belén Middle. At the C-minus-rated Belén High, students can join over 10 sports teams, including golf, tennis and wrestling; the boys’ wrestling team won the state championship in 2023. Private options include the B-minus-rated Calvary Chapel Academy for kindergarten through Grade 12 and the unrated St. Mary’s Schools for pre-kindergarten through Grade 8. Interstate 25 borders the neighborhood to the east, connecting to Albuquerque, 36 miles north. Camino del Llano leads 4 miles east to downtown Belen, where the Rio Metro’s Belen Rail Runner station provides another way for residents to head north to Albuquerque. With no public transportation, bike lanes or sidewalks in West Belen, residents rely on their cars to get around. Presbyterian Urgent Care is 3 miles east, and the nearest hospital is Presbyterian Hospital, 35 miles away in Albuquerque. The Belen Regional Airport, which supports local aviation businesses and has no commercial flights, is in the neighborhood’s center; Albuquerque International Sunport Airport is a 33-mile trip. Every winter, Belen hosts the World’s Largest Matanza in Eagle Park. “Matanza means ‘slaughter,’ and so what they do is they slaughter pigs, and they cook them in every way conceivable,” says Blackwell. “If you’re a vegan, this is not the party for you.” Friends and families team up to cook the best pork dishes, and the ticket proceeds go toward scholarships for local students. “It’s quite a local cultural experience because many people, myself included, we do these in our backyards,” Blackwell says. “It’s taken off in a great way, and it’s a way we locals can share that culture with outsiders and really give you a flavor for what it’s like to be at a backyard party if you were to be born and raised here.”