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Well, here goes.. I am a 56 year old currently single female, a registered nurse, currently living in Madison, WI..a great place, except for the horrible winters and frequent cloudy days. What I enjoy here is the fact that Madison is very "wordly" for a city it's size in the midwest. On any given weekend you can go to a live music festival, hearing Latin, African, Caribbean, jazz, blues, rock or R&B. We also have lots of summer ethnic festivals..Mexican, African, Italian, Greek, etc..( a great variety of restaurants too) But I think I would be happier in a sunnier warmer climate. Don't want so hot you have to have AC on all the time, but definitely more moderate than Madison. Obviously, I prefer a city with lots of diversity that is not too huge and sprawling (hate bumper to bumper commutes) Am I asking for too much? I am considering these areas: Phoenix, Tucson and Albuquerque.. Also, how is the singles social scene there for my age range?
If you don't like Wisconsin heat, I can't say I recommend Phoenix or Tucson. Both see triple digits frequently, and it's not near as dry a heat as it used to be.
Albuquerque has a great ethnic mix. You may not find as many Greeks, Italians, Africans here versus other areas in the midwest, but we have some, and plenty of other ethnicities.
With our late fall heat wave finally over and done with, it's hard to think of Albuquerque's winters as mild, but compared to Wisconsin, they definitely are. A lot more sun and a lot less snow.
I haven't dated many pentagenarians, but I'd guess Albuquerque would be as good or better for that age range as Tucson or Phoenix.
If you want an even smaller town consider Las Cruces in southern NM.
Nearby El Paso can provide a big city getaway. Las Cruces is a small city of 80K and El Paso 40 min away about 800k
Keep in mind that these areas are not the most cosmopolitan but if you're looking to kick back and enjoy your late years, they might be an option.
They are also heavily hispanic.
For something differentr indeed do consider Albuquerque since its more diverse and its climate is more seasonal but colder than southern NM
I would rate them like this:
1. ABQ- as described above
2. Tuscon- still rather small but very hot
3. El Paso -affordable, hispanic
4. Phoenix -very hot, now a megalopolis
Last edited by WildWestDude; 11-25-2007 at 07:59 PM..
As you've probably already seen, Albuquerque is often described as basically "tricultural," composed of Hispanic, American Indian, and "Anglo." So you will definitely have an unusual number of opportunities to attend, say, flamenco or mariachi festivals. But as abqsunport has already mentioned, there are other types of festivals as well. On top of those, there is interesting ongoing programming at places like the National Hispanic Center: National Hispanic Cultural Center - home, which sometimes sponsors cultural events beyond its Hispanic focus (including Globalquerque) and the Outpost (which programs performances very similar to what you might find in a arty big city venue like Philadelphia's Painted Bride Art Center--not that I expect that to be a familiar name to many outside of Philadelphia): Outpost Performance Space | Presenting jazz, folk & roots, experimental, international, youth programs, spoken word, visual arts and more. The KiMo Theatre also programs some international performers (in addition to a lot of rock). There is a surprisingly large number of local salsa bands, some of them pretty good. There is now an annual electronic music festival, and there is a decent sized experimental music community bubbling under the surface. For a fresh take on classical music, check out Chamber Music Albuquerque: Chamber Music Albuquerque - Home. Also, Albuquerque happens to have a world class Iraqi oudist (oud=ancestor of the guitar) in residence: Rahim Alhaj, someone who collaborates with some of the best musicians in the area.
If you watch the events calendar for the Alibi (alibi . november 22 - 28, 2007), you'll see that the volume of things going on isn't at a big city level, but I think the selection is respectable, maybe even distinguished, considering the size of the city.
Re: dating in your age range, there's some comment on these threads (sorry, not much encouragement on this topic):
> ... I would be happier in a sunnier warmer climate. Don't want so
> hot you have to have AC on all the time,
> ... not too huge and sprawling ... am considering these areas:
> Phoenix, Tucson and Albuquerque..
Phoenix is out since it takes an hour or longer to drive across it now. a/c is on every day for at least six months.
Tucson is also hot as other posters have mentioned, but even in the worst summer months, the day will start off mild enough to have the windows open.
If I was moving here with no knowledge of the area, I'd start with Las Cruces as mentioned by others. It has the best overall climate for those that hate winter and want a mild summer.
I meant to mention that in the summer you have Salsa Under the Stars and Jazz Under the Stars (normally at the Albuquerque Museum), plus you will occasionally find outdoor concerts being held elsewhere in town:
Salsa (http://www.nmjazz.org/page1/page12/page12.html - broken link)
Jazz & Blues (http://www.nmjazz.org/page1/page47/page47.html - broken link)
Okay ABQ Department of Commerce, I'll take my bonus check.
Okay ABQ Department of Commerce, I'll take my bonus check.
And you deserve it ApartmentNomad. I had no idea ABQ had so much. I'm applying for my old job in Santa Fe but want to live in ABQ - hope the Rail Runner gets to SF so I can move down there and commute because there is so much more to do--pretty much did everything in SF when I lived there! Thanks for all your suggestions.
I'm applying for my old job in Santa Fe but want to live in ABQ - hope the Rail Runner gets to SF so I can move down there and commute because there is so much more to do--pretty much did everything in SF when I lived there! Thanks for all your suggestions.
That's interesting. During my brief visit to Albuquerque, I was surprised to meet a woman from Santa Fe who regularly drove in for the salsa dancing in ABQ, even though there were salsa dancing opportunities in Santa Fe. (She preferred the music and overall scene in ABQ.)
(Glad you liked my post. I stuck mostly to things that interest me specifically.)
That's interesting. During my brief visit to Albuquerque, I was surprised to meet a woman from Santa Fe who regularly drove in for the salsa dancing in ABQ, even though there were salsa dancing opportunities in Santa Fe. (She preferred the music and overall scene in ABQ.)
I have a friend who lives in White Rock and he goes dancing in ABQ on a regular basis.
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