In August I'll be moving to one of these cities: Albuquerque NM, Federal Way WA, or Austin TX. I'd really appreciate some feedback, as I'm having a VERY hard time deciding where to live...Anything particularily unique about them? Advantages/Disadvantages? Best scenery? Best art, culture, music scene? Best university town without the college party atmosphere, but with grad students and professionals? Safest for a single woman? Thank you very much!!!

Will you be buying a house? If so, I would check property taxes in Austin cause they are ridiculously high. Other than that and the awful heat in the summers, Austin is a great place.

Albuquerque is in the desert Southwest, so it gets hot, but it's a dry heat.

The Sandia Mountains are east of the city, and you're close to Santa Fe and a wide variety of things in northern New Mexico.

It has all the things you're looking for and I think it's a safe place to live.

If you'd like to check out the art/music/culture scene, visit www.alibi.com and www.crosswinds.com for their arts calendars.

Lee Ann

I would definitely choose Austin. It's got great music, yummy food, fun shopping, and it's not too far from San Antonio if you need a change of pace.

Albuquerque isn't the nicest area, but it has some pretty good pawn shops. You can make the drive to Santa Fe, but it is a bit of a trip.

I have never been to Federal Way, so I can't help you with that one.

My personal choice would be Albuquerque because of a preference for the desert SW. Austin is a great town though and I can't imagine it would be a bad decision. Don't know anything about Federal Way.

>Albuquerque isn't the nicest area, but it has some pretty good pawn shops.<

This is totally outdated info. Ignore.

>You can make the drive to Santa Fe, but it is a bit of a trip.<

Santa Fe is closer to Albq than Austin is to San Antonio.

My preference is Albuquerque. I have actually lived in both Austin (2 years) and Albuquerque (3 years) and each has its own merits. As already mentioned, if you like the desert, Albuquerque is the place to go. And it really doesn't get all that hot in the summer; besides you don't feel the heat.

Austin, of course, is more humid but nothing like some of the coastal cities. Other than climatic and humidity differences, and the fact that both cities have their major state university there, you really don't have a lot of differences. They both are located within reasonable proximity of places you might want to see, but I'd give the nod to Albuquerque in that category.

As for size, both cities feel about the same size; both are rather spread out, with lots of different kinds of places to live. Both have a pretty large Hispanic population, and Albuquerque has the Indian element also. Both have military installations not too far away.

For me, it boils down to dry desert weather, with spring and fall dust storms that blot out everything -- versus hotter and more humid weather of south Texas. I pick ABQ.

Thank you all for your helpful comments! In response to one of your comments, Wayne....

>As for size, both cities feel about the same size; both are rather spread out, with lots of different kinds of places to live.<

Any suggestions on specific parts of the city to live? If I move to Austin, I'd be working on the SE side of the city in Dove Springs(?). I was told that it'd be best to live on the west side of I-35. What do you think? Any suggestions concerning places to live in Albuquerque?

Any one else have an opinion???

You don't want to live in Dove Springs. It's pretty run down, and the neighborhoods there have problems with drugs and gangs. Most any place west of IH 35 is fine. I'd avoid E of Ih 35 - although there are some nice developments happening downtown E of 35.

If you want to email me, I'll try to answer your questions.... [email protected] if you have more questions about Austin.

Take advice from Austin, who probably lives there right now. I also think staying west of I-35 is a good choice. As for where to live in ABQ, I would choose the northeast part of the city.

I might mention that it gets pretty cold in ABQ in the winter, but it's a really dry cold. The humidity is so low that most people want to have a humidifier in their homes. On the other hand, winters are not so cold in Austin, but you'll probably get one or two good ice storms each year. Good luck.

Federal Way is a bedroom community between south of Seattle that is in the flight path of planes landing at SeaTac Airport.

Washington State is a great place to live; we have other towns that may be more appealing. Check out Olympia for small town life, for instance.

In Austin live West of I-35 not east. Northwest Austin is very nice or near the lake.

I love New Mexico, but I would not chose to live in Albuquerque.

Cannot help with WA.

Federal Way is a much nicer community that most people realize. Just consider the panoramic Puget Sound views alone. Most people who post here about my hometown have never been past the shopping center. Of course, there are many wonderful communities in Western Washington. The primary difference from the other locations you mention is the extremely mild year round weather conditions. It's cool and a bit damp in the winter while the rest of the country is in a deep freeze. In the summer, July through Sept., the average temp sits about 80 while everyone else cooks. We also have two national parks, water sports right in the city center, so-so but close by skiing, amazing hikes within a few minutes of town, great restaurants and arts, and a short drive to pleasant Vancouver Canada, site of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Where to live in Albuquerque depends to some extent on where you'll be working, your salary, is it just you or you and a spouse/kids...

I would probably choose the Northeast Heights, but Downtown has some nice lofts; the Nob Hill area has some good nightlife; the North Valley and Corrales are more rural but also more expensive.

You might want to rent for a few months and decide what area appeals most to you.

Lee Ann

Come to Austin for a visit, spend your money here, then move to Albuquerque because too many people are already moving to Austin.

Hi, I have no idea if anyone still hangs around here anymore, but I thought I'd take a chance and write something. I'm sorry for taking so long to return to this site! Well, I posted the original message in July of 2005 when I was deciding where to move. I had a choice between Albuquerque, Austin, or Federal Way, and I ended up in....drumroll please....Albuquerque! Having lived there for a year, and since having moved back to Illinois, it's really interesting to look back at what everyone had to say about all the cities. Everyone was so helpful, and very opinionated! I like it! Anyway, I loved Albuquerque. I loved the work I did there most of all, because I got to work directly with so many of the wonderful people who inhabited the city. It was quite a change living near mountains, and it was really amazing. I miss it! So, thanks to all of you for replying to my post. Hopefully, someday I'll get to visit the cities that I passed up for Abq. THANK YOU ALL!

I'm glad you enjoyed living here! What part of town did you live in?

Lee Ann