Salt Lake City vs. Albuquerque (crime, pros and cons, living)

[AllTheWayToMemphis]

For those of you familiar with the two cities, what in your opinion are the pros and cons of each? Which do you like better overall?

[pw72]

I am more familiar with SLC than ABQ, though I have visited both.

SLC is a growing, family-oriented area heavily influenced by the LDS church. SLC itself is a relatively small city, surrounded by a sprawling metro area from Ogden in the north to Provo in the south. The comparisons to Southern California are real, both in the endless sprawl, and the air pollution. Cost of living is not bad, and the weather is a modified Rocky Mountain climate, with chilly winters and mostly hot summers.

ABQ, while city population is larger, lies in a smaller metro area. I can't quote crime stats, but my understanding is ABQ has more crime. Both areas are dry, growing, and are considered desirable. The "feel" of both cities is "southwest", probably more so in NM just due to geography. I think the hispanic influence is obviously greater in ABQ.

[Boston14]

I would have to say Salt Lake City

[turkeyhead1]

Both of these cities are pretty comparable metro wise, but the actual city proper population of ABQ is almost 400k more than SLC. So in terms, Albuquerque feels a little bigger.

I would choose Albuquerque, but I'm sure Salt Lake City is a good choice also.

[pw72]

I would argue that SLC feels bigger, only because (including Provo-Orem), the metro is close to 2 million compared to less than 1 million in ABQ.

[bradly]

Albuquerque.