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I'm not sure what you mean by daytime activities? If you are talking about things like going to the zoo, bike rides, parks and recreation, water parks, urban spaces for picnics, visiting monuments (cultural) I'm just naming things that I would normally do during the daytime.
I don't know if the categories of dining, nightlife and culture are going to go to Indianapolis so decisively or quickly.
I really think Albuquerque has lots to do. It has fun things like murder mystery theaters, escape rooms, magic shows, ghost tours, etc. And it has a great brewery and restaurant scene and a decent amount of clubs for nightlife. There are live music venues and many restaraunts that feature live music nightly. The casinos surrounding the city add to the things to do here with many concerts and parties or events to attend. The city also has many festivals, block parties and art, shopping and restaurant crawls, etc. for both day and night activities. We have a comic con event, auto show and film festivals as well. And also many local parades such as for Dia de Los Muertos and one this weekend to celebrate our founding.
For arts, Albuquerque has the traditional Southwestern and Western art scenes to point to, and it also has a nice indie and underground art scene as well. It has been and is home to many famous and noted artists and sculptors such as Wilson Hurley, Pablita Velarde and Glenna Goodacre. Galleries and art events are in abundance here, and so are performance arts and venues that feature local theater and other kinds of live performances such as poetry readings and improv. The art museums may not be world renowned but they are here as well. The Tamarind Institute of Lithography is actually well-regarded and unique. Albuquerque is also noted for its literary arts, producing people like Tony Hillerman and Rudolfo Anaya, both of whose novels have been turned into Hollywood movies.
And Albuquerque has a great and unique local culture with its long Spanish and Native heritage that has produced many traditions, customs, and ways of life in addition to a spectacular local cuisine. We have many institutions which explore and celebrate that here in the city in addition to all throughout our metro area with Indian ruins, such as Abo,and centuries-old Spanish haciendas and farms, such as Casa San Ysidro where people can learn about ancient and old ways of life.
There's no question Indianapolis has a better economy and economic output, with about $17,000 more in GDP per capita and much higher incomes on average, lower unemployment (4.9 percent to Albuquerque's 5.7 in February) and higher rates of job growth.
Shopping, I'm not quite sure about as I've never really looked into what Indianapolis offers in that regard.
Weather and scenery, I'm sure for most people will go to Albuquerque, though I do really like the forests around Indianapolis and if it snows and rains a lot in Indianapolis then I personally would like that aspect to its weather better since I'm not a big lover of sunny days. There's nothing I like better than a cloudy day, especially with rain or snow. I've lived all my life in Albuquerque and I hate the amount of sunny days here and the intensity and brightness of the sun, especially in summer. Our rainy season in late summer, the fall, and winter when it snows every so often are my favorite times of year. Early summer when it doesn't rain and is the hottest period with many days reaching into the high 90s and occasionally into triple digits is my least favorite part of the year. I hate very warm/hot weather and especially hate very high temperatures. I realize that I'm different than most people in hating warmer weather and sunny days, though.
Urbanity I'm sure will go to Indianapolis, just based on the Monument Circle area alone. I've seen YouTube videos that show a very nice amount of foot traffic there and a very built up feel not found in Albuquerque. I do have to say that I was somewhat let down by Broad Ripple when I started exploring it further online. Over the years every time people talked about it they made it sound much more built up and urban than it is. I actually think it's comparable to Nob Hill here in Albuquerque, and even think that Nob Hill might be better. I'd love if in this thread these two specific afeas of each city could be compared as well. Still, Broad Ripple isn't Indianapolis' most built up area and many people think Nob Hill is the best Albuquerque offers for city living, so it's safe to say Indianapolis has more urbanity overall.
Another thing I'd mention is that Albuquerque and Indianapolis are very comparable when it comes to public transportation. Both cities rely on buses and both cities are planning very comparable BRT systems. Albuquerque's first ART line will probably be finished before Indianapolis' system gets started, though, since it's scheduled to start construction in July and open in September of 2017 while Indianapolis is still in the planning phase right now. In addition to Albuquerque's bus system we also have commuter rail, which Indianapolis lacks. And Albuquerque is actually ahead in ridership on its buses with about 11.8 million trips per year in 2015 compared to Indianapolis' just over 10 million trips in the same period.
I don't know if the categories of dining, nightlife and culture are going to go to Indianapolis so decisively or quickly.
I really think Albuquerque has lots to do. It has fun things like murder mystery theaters, escape rooms, magic shows, ghost tours, etc. And it has a great brewery and restaurant scene and a decent amount of clubs for nightlife. There are live music venues and many restaraunts that feature live music nightly. The casinos surrounding the city add to the things to do here with many concerts and parties or events to attend. The city also has many festivals, block parties and art, shopping and restaurant crawls, etc. for both day and night activities. We have a comic con event, auto show and film festivals as well. And also many local parades such as for Dia de Los Muertos and one this weekend to celebrate our founding.
For arts, Albuquerque has the traditional Southwestern and Western art scenes to point to, and it also has a nice indie and underground art scene as well. It has been and is home to many famous and noted artists and sculptors such as Wilson Hurley, Pablita Velarde and Glenna Goodacre. Galleries and art events are in abundance here, and so are performance arts and venues that feature local theater and other kinds of live performances such as poetry readings and improv. The art museums may not be world renowned but they are here as well. The Tamarind Institute of Lithography is actually well-regarded and unique. Albuquerque is also noted for its literary arts, producing people like Tony Hillerman and Rudolfo Anaya, both of whose novels have been turned into Hollywood movies.
And Albuquerque has a great and unique local culture with its long Spanish and Native heritage that has produced many traditions, customs, and ways of life in addition to a spectacular local cuisine. We have many institutions which explore and celebrate that here in the city in addition to all throughout our metro area with Indian ruins, such as Abo,and centuries-old Spanish haciendas and farms, such as Casa San Ysidro where people can learn about ancient and old ways of life.
There's no question Indianapolis has a better economy and economic output, with about $17,000 more in GDP per capita and much higher incomes on average, lower unemployment (4.9 percent to Albuquerque's 5.7 in February) and higher rates of job growth.
Shopping, I'm not quite sure about as I've never really looked into what Indianapolis offers in that regard.
Weather and scenery, I'm sure for most people will go to Albuquerque, though I do really like the forests around Indianapolis and if it snows and rains a lot in Indianapolis then I personally would like that aspect to its weather better since I'm not a big lover of sunny days. There's nothing I like better than a cloudy day, especially with rain or snow. I've lived all my life in Albuquerque and I hate the amount of sunny days here and the intensity and brightness of the sun, especially in summer. Our rainy season in late summer, the fall, and winter when it snows every so often are my favorite times of year. Early summer when it doesn't rain and is the hottest period with many days reaching into the high 90s and occasionally into triple digits is my least favorite part of the year. I hate very warm/hot weather and especially hate very high temperatures. I realize that I'm different than most people in hating warmer weather and sunny days, though.
Urbanity I'm sure will go to Indianapolis, just based on the Monument Circle area alone. I've seen YouTube videos that show a very nice amount of foot traffic there and a very built up feel not found in Albuquerque. I do have to say that I was somewhat let down by Broad Ripple when I started exploring it further online. Over the years every time people talked about it they made it sound much more built up and urban than it is. I actually think it's comparable to Nob Hill here in Albuquerque, and even think that Nob Hill might be better. I'd love if in this thread these two specific afeas of each city could be compared as well. Still, Broad Ripple isn't Indianapolis' most built up area and many people think Nob Hill is the best Albuquerque offers for city living, so it's safe to say Indianapolis has more urbanity overall.
Another thing I'd mention is that Albuquerque and Indianapolis are very comparable when it comes to public transportation. Both cities rely on buses and both cities are planning very comparable BRT systems. Albuquerque's first ART line will probably be finished before Indianapolis' system gets started, though, since it's scheduled to start construction in July and open in September of 2017 while Indianapolis is still in the planning phase right now. In addition to Albuquerque's bus system we also have commuter rail, which Indianapolis lacks. And Albuquerque is actually ahead in ridership on its buses with about 11.8 million trips per year in 2015 compared to Indianapolis' just over 10 million trips in the same period.
Sadly it will, because a lot of people on here are from the east coast/midwest and have no experience or knowledge about southwestern cities so their vote will automatically go to what's familiar to them.
There aren't an true forest until you start getting into southern IN. You're looking at an hour south or west of most of the metro to get into deeply wooded areas, and those aren't like Maine or Washington.
There aren't an true forest until you start getting into southern IN. You're looking at an hour south or west of most of the metro to get into deeply wooded areas, and those aren't like Maine or Washington.
Hmm, okay. Well, I thought there was. Many years ago I saw a program on A&E about a man in suburban Indianapolis who killed many gay men from the city and buried their bodies in the forest behind his house. Besides that grisly fact I thought the forest was really beautiful with those tall, skinny trunks and bare branches tinged with snow, since it was in winter that they filmed the footage. I absolutely love trees and especially forest scenes like that in the winter.
I Googled "forests Indianapolis" and this is what I came up with that comes close to what I'm talking about:
Albuquerque actually has a forest running right down the middle of the city, along the Rio Grande, but it's not exactly like the kinds of forests that I really love. The ones that I like are more like the ones in the Blair Witch Project or Wrong Turn movies.
I realize that I may be coming off gloomy and dark with my dislike for sunny days and talk of these grisly and spooky movies and events, but I'm not actually a Goth or anything like that, haha.
Elsewhere in New Mexico and even in the Sandia Mountains of Albuquerque there are scenes that come close to that or are Indeed like that, but unless you are hiking in the mountains or live in those areas you can't really enjoy them that often. I thought Indianapolis was built in or at least surrounded by a forest to where people go through and can see it everyday. Either way, I do know that that scene in suburban Indianapolis that I remember does not exist in Albuquerque proper.
Here is a forest scene in the Sandia Mountains that flank Albuquerque to the east.
The most forested part is the east slope of the mountains and the upper reaches on the side facing Albuquerque. There are bedroom communities such as Sandia Park and Edgewood in that eastern area where scenes that I describe and envision do exist, so perhaps I wasn't thinking and sold Albuquerque short for that kind of scenery in my comment.
And here is a scene in our Bosque that I found that is also more like those I love:
That last picture is just one that I also found that shows how beautiful Albuquerque and its environs can be.
That last picture is stunning. Breath-taking scenery indeed
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