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Sesamekid, you've given me alot to think about. I've read in some places about Denver's "mild" winter climate but I don't buy it. I've never had to commute in snowy, icy conditions so that scares the bejesus out of me. If I lived in Denver I'd try to live in an affordable neighborhood close to the light rail line that is walkable with good pubs, bars, ethnic restaurants, parks, and mom and pop businesses. Are there any neighborhoods that you know of that meet these criteria? I've heard good things about the Captiol Hill and Highlands areas and I know that LoDo is crammed with good bars, music venues, and restaurants. I've also heard from some posters that LoDo seems sanitized and formulaic. How accurate is this? Does Denver have it's own personality or is it more like an "anycity USA?"
Sesamekid, you've given me alot to think about. I've read in some places about Denver's "mild" winter climate but I don't buy it. I've never had to commute in snowy, icy conditions so that scares the bejesus out of me. If I lived in Denver I'd try to live in an affordable neighborhood close to the light rail line that is walkable with good pubs, bars, ethnic restaurants, parks, and mom and pop businesses. Are there any neighborhoods that you know of that meet these criteria? I've heard good things about the Captiol Hill and Highlands areas and I know that LoDo is crammed with good bars, music venues, and restaurants. I've also heard from some posters that LoDo seems sanitized and formulaic. How accurate is this? Does Denver have it's own personality or is it more like an "anycity USA?"
"Anycity" USA. I can't really think of much about Denver that is authentic culturally. Denver is just an ordinary big middle American city, executed very well, with a nice mountain backdrop behind. Its downtown and central city is nice, but they're copycats of other successful cities, nothing original. See my post on the Denver forum for more info.
I definitely agree that Albuquerque has a much more distinctive southwestern sense of place.
Best for Art: Albuquerque (Ranked 6th Nationally for Large Cities, was no. 2 Midsize City Last Year)
Best for Live Music: Austin
Keep in mind Santa Fe is only an hour away from Albuquerque where you get a great deal of art and culture activities.
Denver is massive, and you have a lot of ammentities, but at a price.
ABQ is the 5th best city to grow wealth Salary.com Site Search (http://salary.com/sitesearch/layoutscripts/sisl_display.asp?filename=&path=/destinationsearch/personal/par925_body.html - broken link)
Take a trip and explore each city for a couple of weeks. That'll make your decision easy.
"Anycity" USA. I can't really think of much about Denver that is authentic culturally. Denver is just an ordinary big middle American city, executed very well, with a nice mountain backdrop behind. Its downtown and central city is nice, but they're copycats of other successful cities, nothing original. See my post on the Denver forum for more info.
I definitely agree that Albuquerque has a much more distinctive southwestern sense of place.
Denver is defined by being a western city so it is not as old as east coast cities. Denver grew into being via "the new rich" who struck it big in the mountain mines. So lots of mining heritage there. Denver people are also crazy about pro sports teams - like the Broncos. The biggest cultural indicators are the cowboy hats in one truck and the ski racks on the subaru beside him. Albuquerque has a much richer array of cullture woven deeply into the community.
I love Austin, the food, the music, hippie hollow,the laid back no-attitude vibe, its a great town. That said, have you ever spent time there in mid-summer? I was there last June and it was 98 degrees at 10pm. I'm used to hot humid weather (live in Baltimore) but Austin is extreme. I mentioned to a local that the birds outside the B&B where I stay never sing, they just scream; the reply was, "they're bitchin about the heat". Denver is beautiful, it's a great outdoors town with lots of sun but not too hot. It lacks the character of some more established cities but still, quality of life there is decent and, is a great bike town. Albuquerque is one city I haven't visited but is high on my list. I do find a lot of negative posts on this site for Albuquerque (for that matter NM in general) but believe one has to judge for oneself. My biggest reservation about NM is, I don't care for mexican food, whether authentic or tex-mex so, is the culture diverse enough there for other culinary favorites of mine (asian, mediterranian, fusion) to expand? That said, NM has Bill Richardson ( a major plus!) and seems a bit more liberal than most southwest states so, I hope to check out Albuquerque and Las Cruces in the coming year. best of luck.
Interestingly enough, these are the three cities I find myself visiting most frequently. Now, I am from ABQ so I'm slightly biased. I really do like Austin and Denver.
Austin, to me, is a larger version of ABQ. It's downtown/urban scene is a little ahead of Albuquerque's in that it's growing rapidly with tons of new stores, apartments and condos. However, the new places tend to be chains that are found all over the rest of Texas and the new construction is ridiculously priced. That being said, I would have to pick Austin as my favorite city, due to the overall vibe, if it weren't for the weather, lack of real mountains, and being in Texas.
Denver on the other hand is a terrific, growing city with plenty of jobs, terrific nightlife, a thriving urban/downtown scene, and unrivaled outdoor amenities. The only drawbacks, in my mind, are the slight midwestern feel and the cold winters.
ABQ is a nice blend of the other two cities. It's a university town that has a laid back attitude like austin (just not on the same scale) and terrific outdoor amenities. The weather is damn near perfect, comparably. The food scene is pretty decent and rapidly growing. The biggest drawback to ABQ for me is the relatively small population. Some days it is a blessing to not have to deal with bad traffic, but sometimes it would be nice to have the volumes of restaurants/club/shops/concerts of the other two cities.
You have picked 3 great cities and your reasons for wanting to chose where to live have a bit of each city within. Denver's winters are very cold, so that may be a deal breaker if you are used to mild Miami. Austin is great, but ABQ is the "new" Austin. For me, it would come down to what I did for a living and where I found the best job first....but you may have other considerations.
Whatever you do, update us here and let us know where you land! Maybe we can all meet for a drink. Best of luck.
ABQ is a nice blend of the other two cities. It's a university town...
Urbana, when I think of a "university town" I think of Charlottesville, VA, Chapel Hill, NC or Ithaca, NY. Small towns where the university life dominates. Albuq. does have a university, but I personally wouldn't really call it a university town...
jprog, if you like seasons you'll get them in both Abq & Den...except that in Den, you'll get a lot more of one of those seasons. [brrrr....]
I would agree with Tim that Albuquerque cannot be defined as a University town. Even the "Student Ghetto" has more in common with "hipster enclaves" than the true University town vibe.
Albuquerque could just as rightly be called an Air Force town as a University town, yet, depending on what you do and where you go, you can easily remain almost wholly ignorant of Kirtland's effect on the city.
Denver on the other hand is a terrific, growing city with plenty of jobs, terrific nightlife, a thriving urban/downtown scene, and unrivaled outdoor amenities. The only drawbacks, in my mind, are the slight midwestern feel and the cold winters.
I'm highly skeptical of that. Denver's job market is dismal lately. There are plain too many "educated" people there all looking for the same limited positions. I also wouldn't say Denver has a "terrific nightlife." Not even close. The rest of your post I agree with. And I say this as a Denver native.
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