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The point is not Las Vegas is not the Miami of The desert. In no way shape or form. Plus the glamour and glitz that they each have is on a different level.
I wasn't saying that they are clones, but LV has quite a bit in common with Miami, and is basically the closest thing to Miami you will have in the desert.
Albuquerque is far different from phoenix. far different
Phoenix and Albuquerque are different cities to be sure, but I think it is a stretch to say that either are significantly different from one another. If a random person outside of the Southwest was dropped on any random intersection in Albuquerque or Phoenix, I believe one could certainly confuse one for the other. Certainly, both cities are in a desert environment and experience excessive sprawl relative to their given populations. As there is adobe architecture in Albuquerque, one can just as easily find businesses and homes with red tile roofs and xeriscape landscaping.
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Originally Posted by santafe400
Phoenix and Albuquerque are different cities to be sure, but I think it is a stretch to say that either are significantly different from one another. If a random person outside of the Southwest was dropped on any random intersection in Albuquerque or Phoenix, I believe one could certainly confuse one for the other. Certainly, both cities are in a desert environment and experience excessive sprawl relative to their given populations. As there is adobe architecture in Albuquerque, one can just as easily find businesses and homes with red tile roofs and xeriscape landscaping.
They are culturally different from one another more than anything. Yes many residential neighborhoods in Southwestern cities look the same whether it be on Comanche Rd. in Albuquerque or Indian School Rd in Phoenix it would be hard to distinguish except for the saguaro cactuses and palm trees in Phoenix and the Sandia mountains and higher alititude desertscape in Albuquerque. Albuquerque is more organically Southwestern (as is Tucson), where as Phoenix is a lot culturally closer to Southern California.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 11-30-2012 at 10:52 AM..
They are culturally different from one another more than anything. Yes many residential neighborhoods in Southwestern cities look the same whether it be on Comanche Rd. in Albuquerque or Indian School Rd in Phoenix it would be hard to distinguish except for the saguaro cactuses and palm trees in Phoenix and the Sandia mountains and higher alititude desertscape in Albuquerque. Albuquerque is more organically Southwestern (as is Tucson), where as Phoenix is a lot culturally closer to Southern California.
Phoenix is a Southwestern city. It's not culturally SoCal, It's a major US city, and in that regard it resembles other big cities.
Living in or growing up in PHX, having spent years camping on the Rim, hiking/4wheeling in the desert, fishing/boating out at the river or the lakes, any person who bothers to pay attention knows there's local Indian and Spanish-speaking and Old West history and culture around PHX. They teach it to the kids in school here. There's plenty of examples of SW culture in PHX, however I'd concede most people in the city don't think about it much, and I'd argue most people in all cities don't care about history and tradition on a daily basis. Does the average person in Tucson or Albuquerque walk outside every morning thinking,"Ok, I'm in the Southwest. Gonna have a Southwestern day. I think I'm going to do some Southwest stuff today" then they wrap themselves in a Navajo rug, wolf down some enchiladas, and start carving a kachina doll? I'm not sure why PHX is always the least Southwestern (there must be a rating scale somewhere), except maybe because of all the transplants from CA or the Midwest, who, to some of their credit, learn to appreciate the SW and enjoy the culture (not all of them,but some). One of the main themes I hear from reviews of visits to PHX is; they showed up for a day or two, didn't know anybody, didn't know any neighborhoods or streets where there were things that interested them, drove around aimlessly for a day or two, and wrote the whole thing off as soulless, cultureless, and a waste. Cool, way to explore. If you need a dense urban core with everything within a few blocks, then yeah, you won't like PHX. If you want to dive into PHX, there's a lot there to check out, including the Southwest.
Phoenix is a Southwestern city. It's not culturally SoCal, It's a major US city, and in that regard it resembles other big cities.
Living in or growing up in PHX, having spent years camping on the Rim, hiking/4wheeling in the desert, fishing/boating out at the river or the lakes, any person who bothers to pay attention knows there's local Indian and Spanish-speaking and Old West history and culture around PHX. They teach it to the kids in school here. There's plenty of examples of SW culture in PHX, however I'd concede most people in the city don't think about it much, and I'd argue most people in all cities don't care about history and tradition on a daily basis. Does the average person in Tucson or Albuquerque walk outside every morning thinking,"Ok, I'm in the Southwest. Gonna have a Southwestern day. I think I'm going to do some Southwest stuff today" then they wrap themselves in a Navajo rug, wolf down some enchiladas, and start carving a kachina doll? I'm not sure why PHX is always the least Southwestern (there must be a rating scale somewhere), except maybe because of all the transplants from CA or the Midwest, who, to some of their credit, learn to appreciate the SW and enjoy the culture (not all of them,but some). One of the main themes I hear from reviews of visits to PHX is; they showed up for a day or two, didn't know anybody, didn't know any neighborhoods or streets where there were things that interested them, drove around aimlessly for a day or two, and wrote the whole thing off as soulless, cultureless, and a waste. Cool, way to explore. If you need a dense urban core with everything within a few blocks, then yeah, you won't like PHX. If you want to dive into PHX, there's a lot there to check out, including the Southwest.
Just have to disagree on some points. I think you have to realize the main difference between Phoenix and Albuquerque and even Tucson and El Paso is that Phoenix is much newer. It wasn't established by the Spanish and doesn't have anywhere near as deep roots as those other cities. Phoenix was established by Easterners and Midwesterners looking to escape harsh winters. I still think Phoenix shares far more in common with Vegas and inland SoCal than it does the older SW cities. I think there is even a stark difference between Phoenix and Tucson.
I pick Albuquerque because its a beautiful city but still down to earth. PHX feels like one big suburb, Tuscon is trashy IMO, and Las Vegas is too touristy. Also El Paso isn't on the list because no one likes it.
I voted for Phoenix. I like big cities, especially when they're located in the beautiful Sonoran Desert!
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