Tucson vs Albuquerque; who's better?

Since the beginning of my real estate career I've had numerous clients that began their home search trying to decide between Tucson and Albuquerque. With similarities like population size, climate (although Albuquerque does see colder temperatures then Tucson) and cost of living, it's easy to see why people consider both in their initial search.

Tucson and Albuquerque share a lot in common, which is one of the reasons so many people are attracted to them both. If you enjoy an active lifestyle, both cities are great; the weather is perfect and there's easy accessibility to recreation like running, biking, golf, skiing etc. Both Tucson and Albuquerque continue to undergo new development, but they also focus on holding on to their cultural heritage through their support of local arts and by maintaining their older, historic communities. The cities even look similar as you drive in. Although Albuquerque is high desert and Tucson is low desert, they both have the same dry arid landscape, mountains surrounding the city and urban sprawl.

Sure there are a million things that make Tucson better then Albuquerque or vice versa, but for times sake I'm only going compare Tucson and Albuquerque in a few areas. First, both cities began their quest for revitalizing their downtown areas around 1999. Where Albuquerque has made significant progress in this arena, Tucson is at a standstill. The Arizona Daily Star had a great article comparing the revitalization projects of both Tucson and Albuquerque, pointing to no-bid deals with developers as one of the many reasons that Tucson's revitalization project hasn't progressed. While there are plans for new restaurants, shopping, housing and other attractions in Tucson's Rio Nuevo project, we're still waiting to see any of them come to fruition.

Tucson also lags behind Albuquerque in transportation. Whereas Albuquerque has two freeways that dissect the city, Tucson has only one that runs along the west side of town. If you need to drive from the NW to East side of Tucson it can be a long car ride! I personally don't feel that Tucson traffic is bad enough to make the commute unbearable, but some road construction projects feel like they take forever to complete. There is talk of an I-10 bypass in our future, but the costs involved might blow the project right out of the water.

While Tucson's light rail plans are still in the assessment stage, Albuquerque already has the Rail Runner, a commuter rail that runs from central Albuquerque to Bernalillo and will eventually run to Sante Fe. Also in the works is the creation of a light rail that will cover a four mile stretch of downtown Albuquerque. Support for a light rail system in Tucson has been mixed. Although many people like the idea of a more efficient mode of transportation, they fear that Tucson will lose it's character and identity with increased growth that might accompany this project.

While I'm sure there are other areas where we might fall behind Albuquerque, Tucson is ahead of the game in some areas. I personally feel that Tucson is much more beautiful then Albuquerque. Tucson is surrounded by five huge mountain ranges, so it's a good bet that no matter where you live you're going to have a great view of the mountains. Maybe I'm prejudice, but the mountains in Albuquerque just didn't feel as grand and powerful to me. I also noticed there seems to be more variation in the elevation and topography in Tucson and it's surrounding communities. Even though Tucson is very spread out, it doesn't feel that way because you can't see it. To me Albuquerque looked like a flat valley with urban sprawl that continued for miles.

One difference I noticed before I even got to Albuquerque was their lack of luxury resorts. Tucson is a destination city that draws in thousands of visitors (and dollars) for annual events like the gem and mineral show and world championship golf tournaments. Some of Tucson's finest luxury resorts accommodate these visitors now, and a new Ritz Carlton will soon be included in that group. Albuquerque plays host to the massive Balloon Fiesta , but there are very few upscale resorts in the area to accommodate its visitors.

Another factor that comes from the mouths of Albuquerque's own residents is the crime rate. Many complain the crime is much higher in Albuquerque. If you compare the stats, it looks like some crimes are higher in Tucson and some are higher in Albuquerque. I guess it just depends on what you fear the most. At any rate both are significantly higher then the national average in all categories.

And there you have it, my very informal comparison between Tucson and Albuquerque. As I said before, I'll compare the housing stats in both cities soon. I know some of you have lived in Albuquerque so I appreciate feedback!