East Mountains a world away from Albuquerque

Going from the west side to the east side of the Sandia Mountains brings a dramatic change in scenery, and lifestyle. Which would you prefer? The city sprawl of the westside or the wide open forests of the east side? Albuquerque is on the west side, and numerous small villages are on the east side. A rural land real estate drone video assignment took me to the east side recently and I could not help but think just how much of a divide the mountains are. Living on 22 acres of forested land would be very peaceful. Driving over 30 minutes to go see a movie, not so convenient. I guess the ideal is to have both!