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I’ve lived in ABQ and in California. It is much much worse in Los Angeles with none of the redeeming qualities that ABQ has. I will trade places with you any day.
If the OP longs for Texas, I can think of a solution for that. Wild horses could not drag me there but some people seem to like it. I don't "get" that either.
I don't know if I would want to live in Taos, but I think it's hands-down the prettiest city I've seen in NM. The first road trip we took there, the minute you take that right turn around the mountain road, and suddenly the view opens up, and you see the Rio Grande Gorge, and the valley, and the mountains...WOW. Blew my socks off. It is just so quiet there, and the sky is so blue. I told my wife that if we ever did move there, I'd probably get back into painting. (Haven't done that since art classes in my youth.) Everything I was expecting Santa Fe to be (little artsy-fartsy town that inspired you) to me...is Taos. I seriously don't understand what is so special about Santa Fe...at all. I'd take ABQ, crime and drivers and all, any day, over Santa Fe. ABQ is way more interesting.
Hell no, I don't long for TX. I long for seeing the beach again, but I can't afford it. But the views in ABQ are sort of like an ocean, which is what is so frustrating for me. The way I felt, sitting on my surfboard in San Diego, is how I feel standing on the edge of a park in Albuquerque at sunset, watching the horizon and the volcanos. I never got anything like that anywhere in TX.
I don't know if I would want to live in Taos, but I think it's hands-down the prettiest city I've seen in NM. The first road trip we took there, the minute you take that right turn around the mountain road, and suddenly the view opens up, and you see the Rio Grande Gorge, and the valley, and the mountains...WOW. Blew my socks off. It is just so quiet there, and the sky is so blue. I told my wife that if we ever did move there, I'd probably get back into painting. (Haven't done that since art classes in my youth.) Everything I was expecting Santa Fe to be (little artsy-fartsy town that inspired you) to me...is Taos. I seriously don't understand what is so special about Santa Fe...at all. I'd take ABQ, crime and drivers and all, any day, over Santa Fe. ABQ is way more interesting.
Hell no, I don't long for TX. I long for seeing the beach again, but I can't afford it. But the views in ABQ are sort of like an ocean, which is what is so frustrating for me. The way I felt, sitting on my surfboard in San Diego, is how I feel standing on the edge of a park in Albuquerque at sunset, watching the horizon and the volcanos. I never got anything like that anywhere in TX.
Have you thought about riversurfing? surfing a standing wave? I used to surf. Grew up in HI, learned to surf in Santa Cruz!
OP, I agree with an earlier poster; you need to move to Santa Fe. I haven't seen any of the issues in SF that you mentioned in ABQ. What's this "rolling coal" thing? Except I have occasionally seen sports cars weaving in and out of traffic, but the cops will eventually get those. I used to see them more often north of town, on the highway between SF and Pojoaque, where traffic tickets don't go on your record, but the tribal police do patrol the area and catch some of those people.
What you're calling "run down" in Santa Fe is the traditional adobe architecture look, it sounds like.
But you don't like SF, so...meh. Maybe NM isn't for you. I just wanted to say, SF doesn't have any rolling coal (), DGAF attitude that I've encountered in nearly 20 years of living here, no entitled types hogging grocery aisles (in fact, the types you'd think would feel entitled, like the lab engineers & such, are very nice, personable, and considerate in the one small grocery store in their neighborhood), no risking your life if you honk at someone in front of you, etc.
But, suit yourself. Wherever you chose to live, I hope to works out for you.
P.S. I love to visit Taos, but by the 3rd day (of a 3-day weekend, say), I start to notice it's just another dusty little town. A charming dusty town, with a good deal of culture (museums, concerts, a bit of classical music, etc.), but still a dusty desert town. Also, I take it you haven't been there when one of the regional motorcycle clubs//gangs roars through the main drag, then diverts to the central plaza, roaring circles around the plaza as visitors and residents alike are trying to enjoy a quiet dinner on balconies overlooking the plaza, then roars back out. Motorcycle clubs are a big thing in NM.
But Taos is definitely beautiful, though a smaller, equally touristy version of Santa Fe. You said you didn't like SF's touristy-ness. I suggest you spend more time in Taos, to get a better feel for it.
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 05-12-2021 at 09:36 AM..
Sounds like you lived in Texas long enough to catch on to the Texas state pastime. And that is bashing other states.
Ya know, when I drove through Texas on I-20 from El Paso, I was thinking that the reason why Texans brag so much is because they've got nothing to brag about. (I grew up in California with beaches, deserts, mountains, redwood forests.) I mean, it's actually kind of comical when I consider where I'm from.
Well then I got east of Dallas and I really liked that area (NE Texas). But the rest of Texas? No thanks.
As for Santa Fe, ABQ and Taos? I'd choose ABQ. Santa Fe reminds me of L.A. where I'm from (too many cars, high prices, pretentious people, too much rich/poor), Taos is very expensive with a big drug culture (I found out that a former boyfriend was involved in that). It's also very pretentious and "New Age" cliqueish.
Now, I realize that Santa Fe is really attractive to some people - mostly artistic types with a fair amount of money to spend on living expenses. They may love it there. I first visited Santa Fe in 1974. That's the Santa Fe I remember and would move to. Cool small town that's been ruined like most of California.
Agreed that San Antonio was definitely anti-progress for many years. ("Keep San Antonio Lame" is/was the unofficial slogan of the city. Twist on the "Keep Austin Weird" slogan there.) I believe that changed with mayor Phil Hardberger. In addition to really working to get business to come to San Antonio, he did wonders to expand the park system.
The difference between SATX and ABQ is that SATX economy went ballistic. I moved there in 99, and it was pretty status quo through I'd say 2010-ish. And then, boom, never stopped. Seemed to start with Toyota moving in with their plant, and then it just kept going. Still ongoing.
I will never live in Tornado Alley ever again. Hell no on OKC. I did Tulsa. That was enough. We left SATX for my wife's residency here in NM. (Her faculty is urging her to leave the state post-residency, as apparently the liability laws in NM are very bad, from the standpoint of doctors. I find it stunning that in a program apparently intended to attract more medical professionals to the state, faculty are advising residents against staying in the state.)
While I love Austin TX, I'm afraid what I love about that city is soon to be gone. It is becoming a tech hub and the cost of living and real estate have exploded. It is California-level expensive now. I don't really like DFW, but realize it does have a good economy, and reasonable cost of living. However...tornados.
Howard Peak 1997-2001 ex mayor started the Greenway Trails in SA, when finished 69 miles of paved trails across the city. Phil Hardberger was also instrumental in expanding the park system.
Unique culture? Where else do you find a mixture on Spanish, Native Americans, Mexicans and Anglos? Anglos being the minority? Maybe HI, South Dakota, and OKC. Haven't been to the last two places. SATX, is kind of the same as ABQ, it has a manana culture.
Don't forget about those picturesque Hill Country towns. The Germans in New Braunfels and Boerne come to mind.
Quote:
All states surrounding TX are poor. Why is UT, CO, TX, and AZ more affluent? More white people.
OK and Arkansas are heavily white and poor. Louisiana too if you consider French Creoles/Cajuns white. Plenty in Houston--blue-collar workers from Southern LA outside of New Orleans, while the N.O. white-collar professionals have relocated to Houston.
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Originally Posted by jackjackbadbad
The difference between SATX and ABQ is that SATX economy went ballistic. I moved there in 99, and it was pretty status quo through I'd say 2010-ish. And then, boom, never stopped. Seemed to start with Toyota moving in with their plant, and then it just kept going. Still ongoing.
I will never live in Tornado Alley ever again. Hell no on OKC. I did Tulsa. That was enough. We left SATX for my wife's residency here in NM. (Her faculty is urging her to leave the state post-residency, as apparently the liability laws in NM are very bad, from the standpoint of doctors. I find it stunning that in a program apparently intended to attract more medical professionals to the state, faculty are advising residents against staying in the state.)
The 2010s literally woke San Antonio up from its slumber. My Dad remembers his first visits in the early '80s after he entered the U.S. and can't believe that sleepy San Antonio has been taken over by Californians.
Seeing the areas the Moore and Joplin tornadoes destroyed first-hand turned me off to tornado alley. On my way to Chicago several years ago, I went to the Popeyes up the street from the hotel in Joplin and thought that this was a blighted neighborhood and this newish Popeyes was part of a revitalization project. Later found out on Google that this was where the tornado touched down. On the way back, I was looking for a hotel for the night and noticed the path when the Moore Tornado crossed I-35. (Ended up staying in Norman.)
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Originally Posted by jackjackbadbad
Hell no, I don't long for TX. I long for seeing the beach again, but I can't afford it. But the views in ABQ are sort of like an ocean, which is what is so frustrating for me. The way I felt, sitting on my surfboard in San Diego, is how I feel standing on the edge of a park in Albuquerque at sunset, watching the horizon and the volcanos. I never got anything like that anywhere in TX.
Hopefully your husband can find something at the Texas Medical Center and you can visit Galveston more often.
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), DGAF attitude that I've encountered in nearly 20 years of living here, no entitled types hogging grocery aisles (in fact, the types you'd think would feel entitled, like the lab engineers & such, are very nice, personable, and considerate in the one small grocery store in their neighborhood), no risking your life if you honk at someone in front of you, etc. 
