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Keeping in mind that the OP is European, I think ABQ would be more culturally interesting than the other three - visiting the pueblos and Santa Fe, skiing/camping in the mountains, sampling the local food would make for an unforgettable experience. And UNM is a good university.
I had only lived in the US (Boston) for 2 years when I moved to ABQ for a year, and I loved it.
That said, I have also lived in Lubbock. Nothing in the way of scenery, but I met some of the nicest people I have ever known while there. And I loved Texas Tech.
I visited Canyon / Amarillo, meh.
As for El Paso, it may be safe, it may be scenic, but it's hundreds of miles from anywhere, that's my gripe about it.
That's my 5 cents worth.
Nice post!
Albuquerque is head & shoulders above the others. You would be better off comparing Albuquerque to Tucson, or Las Vegas.
Sorry, but you can't compare albuquerque to Tucson or Las Vegas. I've been visiting abq at least 6 times a year on business for the past 10yrs. Don't know what the big deal is. I don't see anything that's head and shoulders above the others. Don't have much of an attraction to new mexico, except for the Gila Widerness and Sacramento mountains which surround Las Cruces.
El Paso and Albuquerque are peers of Tucson and all three are about the same size range and all three are larger than Lubbock or Amarillo, which are very small cities in comparison to those other three and naturally because they're smaller offer less big city amenities. Not saying those cities aren't fine choices to live in, which is highly subjective but their amenities offerings are considerably less than El Paso, Tucson, and Albuquerque.
I'd say El Paso and Albuquerque are equally my top picks here, I love the scenery around Albuquerque more but the food around El Paso is better for me because it has Tex-Mex, El Paso's own regional flair for Mexican food, and real authentic Mexican food also. All 3, and some of he highest ranked Mexican restaurants in the country are in El Paso.
Albuquerque has its own flair of food too but overall it and El Paso are very much similar to where picking either one is acceptable because its really just splitting hairs. Albuquerque, Tucson, and El Paso are like the triplet trio similar to the pairings of Dallas, Houston, and Atlanta. Or Washington, Boston, and Bay Area. Or Saint Louis, Baltimore, and Detroit.
The only thing I say West texas has over Albuquerque is BBQ. Other than that, culture, diversity, views, and things to do in my opinion by far outweigh anything west texas has to offer. West Texas in my opinion has limited diversity lots of racists, tex mex isn't very impressive, and it is very flat, also don't forget it's smells terrible just passing through there, I don't see how anybody could "enjoy" that. Also it is very humid over there. Albuquerque enjoys 4 mild seasons, and as far as crime goes, that is everywhere, I've never once had a problem in Albuquerque with crime. Just my .02 of course.
Albuquerque = good weather + high crime.
El Paso = same as ABQ only hotter + really high crime
Lubbock = good people, low crime, Texas Tech, lot's of family things to do.
el paso? high crime? you must be thinking about juarez... not el paso. i've heard el paso is one of the safest cities in the usa.
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