Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Portland "tries so damn hard" to be hip. Albuquerque just is hip (just not the "hip" in the way many CD Forum 20 year-olds would define it - as MTV / VH1, "alternative music" and their college professors have taught them to define it).
Portland is just bellowing out "look at us - we are HIP!" Albuquerque hides, and yet, is truly the "hip" place.
Portland *tries hard* to be real. Albuquerque really is real.
(That, and Portland is gray and drizzly and cool most of the year; Albuquerque is sunny, dry, and warm most of the year)...
I agree totally Rankin - you are right, although a few following observations:
1. Ever notice that ABQ is filled with retirees, but ones that typically came to ABQ as part of the military (KAFB), knew nothing about ABQ before coming, fell in absolute love with the town, and retired there to live there after their career ended?
It is funny like that. The retirees from Michigan, Wisconsin, NY, Vermont, Montana, Illinois, etc., etc., etc., that have no idea what truly it is like to live in the southern regions of the nation year-round, when they retire, they more often than not pick CA, NV, AZ, FL, GA, etc. However, those that actually *do live* in a place like ABQ for a year or two, they end up overwhelmingly staying in (or returning to) ABQ, due to what a preferable place it is.
2. I never quite understood the logic of choosing a climate as a retiree like Phoenix, where sure - you are admittedly getting tremendously nice "winters" - however, you are then having to have the tradeoff of 4 or 5 quite miserable months in the summer, just to avoid those "cold" 3 months of winter in a place like Albuquerque that average a strong sun nearly daily, a "bone chilling" high of 50 degrees, and a low of 25; put that winter weather up against anywhere else in the nation, and most people would kill for it. Throw in the nearly heavenly other 9 months (and honestly, those winter months are right up there too), and I don't see why you'd pass on a place like ABQ.
But then again, selfishly, I guess I am glad that those 52-degree high January days (when I would be golfing at Arroyo Del Osos) chase the influx of retirees away. It keeps ABQ what it is - the beautifully perfect city that it is today.
Of course, now the "in" migration cities will grow slower for a while
due to the economy.
Another thought:
Just how will going from 999,999 citizens to 1,000,000 citizens really effect anyone?
Do you really consider a city of 900,000 any different in size than one of 1,100,000?
Some people do. Some people don't. -- I don't.
Maybe it's like having $900k in my IRA vs. $1.1M in there.
It wouldn't make any difference to me.
Orders of magnitude make things different.
I see no real difference in the cities. Honesty, I'd say any city from about 700,000 metro to 1.25 Million are similar size cities. That said, $200,000 would be a remarkable (not overwhelmingly remarkable, but a substantial difference to me)
So Mortimer, I think you hit the nail on the head!
Personally, I am far more worried about Job Growth in the metro than population growth. I haven't looked for a job in 25 years (though I do quite a bit of hiring every year) and I still watch unemployment figures religiously.
I am more focused about Restaurant Growth (I wish they would build a good Mexican food restaurant in the Far Northeast Heights--Like the Paseo area) because I am tired of driving down to Central for El Patio, Duran's, 4th to Sadies, etc.
So perhaps Population growth and these things go hand-in-hand, but I do think that sustained population growth is a good thing. Booming economically is a good thing (which cause a slow sustainable growth). If Albuquerque ever does cross the 1.5 Million marker many moons from now, I just hope that we are the same unique city with a more dense urban core, with a few suburbs (rather Growth and development of Current Suburbs).
I have seen some cities, like Phoenix, lose all their culture. Some cities never had culture (Denver). Some have always been massive (DFW), and some have managed to keep a cool little vibe (Raleigh, Austin, San Antonio). Hopefully Albuquerque will grow in a way that it still seems unique.
Portland is just bellowing out "look at us - we are HIP!" Albuquerque hides, and yet, is truly the "hip" place.
I think this is a good point EP. There is a natural progression that cities or neighborhoods go through, as they transition from down & out, to "affordable & attracting the creative class", to becoming truly hip, then uber-hip, and finally morphing into a showy, faux-hip that subsequently repels many of the creative people who contributed to its hipness in the first place.
An example of these five states might be:
Detroit - Oklahoma City - Albuquerque - Boulder - Sedona.
Portland "tries so damn hard" to be hip. Albuquerque just is hip (just not the "hip" in the way many CD Forum 20 year-olds would define it - as MTV / VH1, "alternative music" and their college professors have taught them to define it).
Portland is just bellowing out "look at us - we are HIP!" Albuquerque hides, and yet, is truly the "hip" place.
Portland *tries hard* to be real. Albuquerque really is real.
This... deserves a dozen reputation points!
Quote:
Originally Posted by EnjoyEP
(That, and Portland is gray and drizzly and cool most of the year; Albuquerque is sunny, dry, and warm most of the year)...
This... makes me want to move to Portland. I am the one person on Earth who moved to Albuquerque and loved it despite the weather :-)
We are supposed to hit the big million in 2013. (Im talkin metro)
and by then we should be at 620,000+
Were growin, just dont compare us to that trashy sprawl city of Phoenix.
Were not growing that fast at all. We wont grow that fast either, Were making sure of that.
There are stats putting El Paso at just shy of a million by 2013. Looks like we could really use that Rail Runner connection! I'd love to visit ABQ more often if I didn't have to spend about $100 in gas for my truck!
I love it here in the southwest, I've made my way out here from green and cold east and I actually find the brown dryness great.
I think both our cities (ABQ and EP) are destined for great things if we look at the mistakes of cities such as Phoenix that are crippled with sprawl's expense and resource draining.
What I find funny is how many people don't realize how large these cities are and how many things they have to offer. Everyone seems to just think Mexican drug cartel violence when mention the southwest.
I agree totally Rankin - you are right, although a few following observations:
1. Ever notice that ABQ is filled with retirees, but ones that typically came to ABQ as part of the military (KAFB), knew nothing about ABQ before coming, fell in absolute love with the town, and retired there to live there after their career ended?
It is funny like that. The retirees from Michigan, Wisconsin, NY, Vermont, Montana, Illinois, etc., etc., etc., that have no idea what truly it is like to live in the southern regions of the nation year-round, when they retire, they more often than not pick CA, NV, AZ, FL, GA, etc. However, those that actually *do live* in a place like ABQ for a year or two, they end up overwhelmingly staying in (or returning to) ABQ, due to what a preferable place it is.
2. I never quite understood the logic of choosing a climate as a retiree like Phoenix, where sure - you are admittedly getting tremendously nice "winters" - however, you are then having to have the tradeoff of 4 or 5 quite miserable months in the summer, just to avoid those "cold" 3 months of winter in a place like Albuquerque that average a strong sun nearly daily, a "bone chilling" high of 50 degrees, and a low of 25; put that winter weather up against anywhere else in the nation, and most people would kill for it. Throw in the nearly heavenly other 9 months (and honestly, those winter months are right up there too), and I don't see why you'd pass on a place like ABQ.
But then again, selfishly, I guess I am glad that those 52-degree high January days (when I would be golfing at Arroyo Del Osos) chase the influx of retirees away. It keeps ABQ what it is - the beautifully perfect city that it is today.
I agree about the weather. Back east I had to go outside and work in 5 degree windchill factors and deal with that dark, depressing, "dead," atmosphere surrounding the winter months. I am already beginning to feel cold though when the temps hit the low 70's at night!!
I hope that EP and ABQ can take advantage of the big push for Green power and try to get in on the solar energy industry. We have several great universities in these two cities churning out all sorts of proffesionals that could work for this industry and maintain it.
This is an interesting thread that I've just caught on to.
I've been in Albuquerque for 9 years now, and in that time I've seen some interesting new additions. In terms of commerce: ABQ Uptown, an additional Co-Op, more Flying Stars and Satellites, and Sunflower and Trader Joes suggest to me that Abq is growing in a more sustainable, responsible way.
In terms of housing: you have the ever-expanding Rio Rancho and West Side, using up more water and natural resources and being built on unstable ground. It seems harder to build a ton of housing in a sustainable way - the condos/apartments around ABQ Uptown are a nice example of urban planning, and so are the condos in Nob Hill. But not everyone can afford to live in these urban places - I know I can't. I wonder whether Mesa del Sol will be an example of low-cost, earth-friendly housing. Otherwise it's just going to be more sprawl, which I'm not a fan of. I would like both commercial and residential buildings to grow carefully and with respect for the local climate.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Portland v. ABQ
