Dallas vs. Oklahoma City vs. Albuquerque (cost, state, compare, places)
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It's hard to really compare Dallas with Oklahoma City or Albuquerque. Dallas is a major, urban city with all of the amenities anybody could want from a big city. OKC and ABQ are smallish midsized cities and are missing a lot of things. Personally, in terms of overall quality of life I would say Dallas > Albuquerque > Oklahoma City.
It depends what you want, in some ways I think OKC is the next Austin, it reminds me of Austin from 20-30 years ago and there are some cool things happening there. But all three places are very distinct and not really comparable.
Dallas and Oklahoma City are on very different size levels which is reflected in their respective amenities, but their weather patterns and housing/building styles have many similarities. Albuquerque is completely different, being much drier and less susceptible to severe weather, and with a predominance of southwestern style architecture like adobe.
While OKC and ABQ are somewhat similar sized metropolitan areas, they are far apart in terms of their political orientation and economic emphases - although both have a high share of government jobs (Tinker AFB/state capital vs Sandia Labs, etc). OKC has several energy company headquarters, while ABQ is more of a back office location, reflecting that NM's private sector economy is very under-developed. Both areas are ethnically diverse but OKC is more representative of the nation than ABQ is. ABQ is certainly far more liberal and features many outdoor recreation options - which is not a key focus of OKC (or of DFW for that matter).
The relatively strong job markets, and abundance of affordable newer housing could be considered pluses of DFW and OKC. ABQ has many positive and interesting qualities, but economic factors are not among its strong points.
It depends what you want, in some ways I think OKC is the next Austin, it reminds me of Austin from 20-30 years ago and there are some cool things happening there. But all three places are very distinct and not really comparable.
Oklahoma City has an image issue it has to shed if it is to ever boom. Austin is and was a place people want to live. It is perceived as desirable and that it offers a high quality of life. Oklahoma City is perceived as one of the least desirable metropolitan areas in the entire country and that perception isn't far from reality. Albuquerque on the other hand has potential and if they had an economic driver, could really see some growth. It's a pretty city and its in a desirable area. The culture is welcoming to people across the political and religious spectrum.
I currently live in OKC and am hoping to move to Dallas in about five years, but would gladly move to Albuquerque if given the opportunity.
Which is exactly why this should be just between OKC and Albq.
BOTH Dallas and Fort Worth are different animals from those two, but Dallas more so than FW.
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