Best City of the Desert Southwest (live, state, better, largest)
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This is in response to EnjoyEP's request to start a new poll for the southwest, including more cities within the region, but excluding coastal southern California (LA and San Diego are out, but the Mojave desert portions of CA are still in). I tried to get every urban agglomeration bigger than 100,000 people. I may have missed out one or two-- sorry. And yeah, I know that Flagstaff and Santa Fe are not technically in the desert, but so what-- they are both southwestern to the core, culturally, and are surrounded by deserts on all sides. Here are the choices:
Imperial Valley (El Centro, CA)
Coachella Valley (Palm Springs, CA)
High Desert (Lancaster/Palmdale, CA)
Apple Valley (Victorville/Apple Valley, CA) Las Vegas, NV
St George, UT
Yuma, AZ
Kingman, AZ
Flagstaff, AZ
Prescott, AZ Phoenix, AZ Tucson, AZ Albuquerque, NM
Santa Fe, NM
Las Cruces, NM El Paso, TX
Last edited by vegaspilgrim; 01-04-2008 at 05:07 PM..
Reason: Added my rationale for some of the choices
I have been to all the other cities and El Paso wins this one. Not flashy, not build up too much, nostalgic, friendly and still a hometown.
Can still get a taste of the old west days. Its arroyos and mesas are out of a western movie scene.
Hence, it represents the old west better than any of more modernized cities of the SW. It is very affordable, serene, with low crime and perfect weather.
It needs to be discovered, but when that happens it would not be the same old El Paso
College-town culture LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO
Tina and Doug Bailey
Like many residents of Las Cruces, Tina and Doug Bailey are happy to talk about the city's wonderful weather, the cultural perks that come with living in the same town as New Mexico State University, and the delicious New Mexico-style Mexican food (Las Cruces calls itself the chile capital of the world). But also like most people, the Baileys struggle a little to explain the ethereal charm of this desert town, set at the foot of the Organ Mountains, that has of late attracted so many retirees. "It's the light," says Tina, 56, who moved here in 1971 and married Doug, 64, a California transplant, in 1985. "It just makes everything look and seem so beautiful—that's why so many painters come here."
What's more, Las Cruces, despite its rapid growth and its rank as New Mexico's second-biggest city, still has a relaxed pace and affordable prices. Real-estate prices in Las Cruces are climbing (the median home price in 2005 was $168,000), but they're still a far cry from those in Santa Fe (median house price: $470,000). "We can get in the car and drive to Santa Fe for the weekend, without having to pay those housing prices," Doug says.
The Baileys, who own a government-contracting company, still work but are inching their way toward full retirement. And they're conscious of laying the groundwork they believe will keep them happy in Las Cruces well into old age. Both are avid swimmers, and they work out often with the Las Cruces Aquatic Masters Team. Both also are active volunteers, and they're big fans of the local arts. "We really love the musical and theatrical productions the university does. We pay around $300 for season tickets to the symphony, fifth row, center," says Tina. "We've had these seats ever since we married, and we're lucky—it's often sold out."
Why the locals love it... Las Cruces is a bargain
In addition to having low property taxes, New Mexico taxpayers 65 and older may exempt up to $8,000 (single filer) or $16,000 (married, filing jointly) from any income source if the income is under $28,500 (single filers) or $51,000 (filing jointly). If you're 100 or older, you pay no income tax whatsoever. Lifestyle perks
Thanks in part to the facilities of New Mexico State University and the growing retiree population, Las Cruces has plenty of outdoor fitness options, including four golf courses. And the mountains offer great hiking and camping. Great escapes
Santa Fe, with its many cultural events and festivals, is a four-hour drive. The gypsum hills of the White Sands National Monument are 40 miles away, while Juárez, the nearest shopping town in Mexico, is just an hour's drive away. Residents love
Watching the sun set over the Organ Mountains. "There are oranges, blues, purples, greens—sometimes in the winter there's a dusting of snow—it's always breathtaking," says Tina. "We don't get tired of it." Average temperature in summer: 95° F Average temperature in winter: 65° F Number of sunny days per year: 330 Casual supper for two at Peppers on the Plaza, and maybe even a run-in with the ghosts of star-crossed lovers who are said to haunt it: $40 Hot tickets: Las Cruces Symphony, $25
I'm the one who created this poll, but it's so hard to choose just one city! I love the desert southwest! I'm going to comment on a couple of these cities:
I'm not surprised that Santa Fe, NM is coming out as #1 on the poll. It definitely has a beautiful natural setting, located in a pinion pine forest/ high desert at the base of the Sangre de Cristo range. Lots of history, culture, and unique architecture. Spectacular food. I agree with many that Santa Fe is a tourist trap-- however, it's my favorite tourist trap!
Tucson, Albuquerque, and El Paso are very similar cities, IMO. They are all around the same size (700,000-900,000 people in the metro area, more or less), have a strong Mexican-American culture, spectacular natural settings with outdoor recreation close by, and have ties to both the New and Old southwest. They each have similar problems too, none of them being known as job meccas-- many young people have to leave to find high paying jobs. Tucson and Albuquerque have a lot of crime for their size. Despite their problems, they each have a lot of character-- a distinct southwestern feel. (Disclaimer: of the three, I have yet to visit El Paso-- but it is definitely on my list of places to see. I also plan on checking out Las Cruces on the way).
Phoenix, where I currently live, is a giant monstrosity. There are things that I both love and hate about it. Leaving aside Los Angeles (whether or not LA could be considered part of the desert southwest has already been debated before on the last thread), Phoenix is clearly the largest city in the desert southwest, with over 4 million people in the greater metro area. Phoenix is nicknamed, "The Valley of the Sun," often promoted as "America's Premier Desert City." While Phoenix is not the hottest place in North America (that honor would go to Death Valley, the Imperial Valley, and the Colorado River cities), it has the hottest temperatures of any big city in the continent. The city is huge and sprawling, has very few tall buildings or walkable urban centers, and almost no areas with a high population density. Many people are thrown off when they visit Phoenix, expecting a "big city" feel when there is none. There's also very little pre-WWII history in Phoenix. While the town has existed in one form or another since the 1880s, the Phoenix we know today is a mid to late twentieth century phenomenon. While there are some desert mountains, they aren't very big, and the valley is paper-flat, so it's not particularly scenic in most parts of the city. Like many other areas of the southwest, crime is a huge problem, public education is bad, salaries are low. On top of that, pollution is bad, the roads are overcrowded, the skies are polluted with light (can't see the stars), and urban heat island effect, combined with the already high temperatures, makes even summer nights extremely uncomfortable. In many ways, Phoenix has been a victim of its own success. It's not all doom and gloom, though. There is a lot of culture, sports, art, and food in Phoenix-- one just has to know where to look, and it requires a lot of driving. While on the macro level, the city is not impressive at all, it can be downright beautiful on the micro level.
Las Vegas. It seems like everybody has a strong opinion about Vegas one way or another, even if they've never been there or have been there but only know Las Vegas superficially, having never ventured off the strip. The Las Vegas valley is about half the size of Phoenix, but it's population is rapidly catching up. In fact, the Vegas valley, surrounded on all sides by either mountains, Lake Mead, Nellis Air Force base, Indian reservations, or Area 51, is rapidly approaching build-out. Las Vegas has all the problems Phoenix and Los Angeles have-- and on paper, would quite possibly "rank" even worse. Despite all the problems and intense criticism of Las Vegas (some of which is justified, some is not), I still love Las Vegas, and voted it as my favorite southwestern city. Despite all the wannabe's, both in this country and abroad, there is no place on earth like Las Vegas. The amount of energy, colorful history, excitement, glitz and glamor, hope and despair, packed in that one town in the middle of the Mojave desert is second to none. Not to mention that for the outdoor lover, Las Vegas' location and natural attractions nearby is not too shabby either. Las Vegas has a special "vibe" that simply is not replicated anywhere else.
Santa Fe for me again. By far the best city in the southwest. Its gorgeous, surrounded by beautiful mountains, has an aura to it that cant be matched, beautiful old buildings (ie Palace of the Governors), some wonderful REAL adobe architecture, not too hot, not too cold, clean air, etc, etc, etc.
This is in response to EnjoyEP's request to start a new poll for the southwest, including more cities within the region, but excluding coastal southern California (LA and San Diego are out, but the Mojave desert portions of CA are still in). I tried to get every urban agglomeration bigger than 100,000 people. I may have missed out one or two-- sorry. And yeah, I know that Flagstaff and Santa Fe are not technically in the desert, but so what-- they are both southwestern to the core, culturally, and are surrounded by deserts on all sides. Here are the choices:
Imperial Valley (El Centro, CA)
Coachella Valley (Palm Springs, CA)
High Desert (Lancaster/Palmdale, CA)
Apple Valley (Victorville/Apple Valley, CA) Las Vegas, NV
St George, UT
Yuma, AZ
Kingman, AZ
Flagstaff, AZ
Prescott, AZ Phoenix, AZ Tucson, AZ Albuquerque, NM
Santa Fe, NM
Las Cruces, NM El Paso, TX
1. St. George, Utah.
2. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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And yeah, I know that Flagstaff and Santa Fe are not technically in the desert, but so what-- they are both southwestern to the core, culturally, and are surrounded by deserts on all sides. Here are the choices:
Las Cruces, New Mexico and here is why...
