Quote: (05-19-2019 08:30 AM)SW15 Wrote:
As someone who lives in the next state over in Texas, I can say that I'm pretty well versed on both areas. A lot of Texans spend time in New Mexico, especially during the summer. Both Santa Fe and Albuquerque are at higher elevations and reasonably cooler than Texas in the summer. Albuquerque's elevation is around 5,000 feet and Santa Fe is 60 miles north of Albuquerque and 7,000 feet.
The most important thing to remember is that these cities are actually quite different despite only being 60 miles apart. Santa Fe is a reasaonbly small city at about 80,000 people and Albuquerque is about 560,000 people. Game and lifestyle are going to the different when you have such a drastic population difference.
Santa Fe is a bad place for singles who are 18-39 and childless, especially if you were not raised there from ages 0-18. Santa Fe is a very insular place among the locals. Given that New Mexico is usually the state in the nation with the highest teen pregnancy rate, it's pretty common for a woman raised in Santa Fe to be pregnant by the time she turns 21. If you are a woman raised in Santa Fe, you get a high school education, and you never leave Santa Fe, it's almost a lock that you are a mom by your 25th birthday. Odds are that the baby daddy is some guy from your high school who could be a thug. So if you are a guy going to Santa Fe, you'd have to contend with a lot of young, single moms.
There's really not a lot in the way of employment options in Santa Fe. Santa Fe is the state capitol of New Mexico, so there are a ton of government jobs (city, county, state). However, it is really hard for outsiders not entrenched the whole Santa Fe thing to get these government jobs. The hospital is the other big employer there, and there's a small private sector.
Because of the limited economy, you wouldn't get a lot of non-local females who did not grow up in the area to transplant there for a career. There might be a few hospital nurses that are childless 20-somethings worth dating, but the options are limited. You also might get a cute elementary school teacher there, but usually those girls would move on to a bigger city like Dallas, Denver, or Phoenix after 2-3 years.
Most of the Santa Fe transplants are middle aged people or retirees. Especially retirees. The tourists who come up to Santa Fe are mostly couples, so there's really not gaming opportunities on tourist girls like a Miami or Las Vegas.
Albuquerque is a slightly different story.
Due to the fact that Albuquerque is much larger, it is much less insular than Santa Fe. Albuquerque has the University of New Mexico, so there are some college girls there. UNM is mostly females from Albuquerque and the smaller towns in New Mexico who are less likely to fall into the teenage pregnancy trap. UNM does get some spillover Texas girls due to the competitive atmosphere around college admissions in Texas.
As for the post college 20s/30s scene in Albuquerque, there is a little bit of one. Given the population, there is a little bit more economic opportunity. The women who grew up in the less populated parts of the state and managed to avoid the teen pregnancy trap and graduate UNM are the key demo of the post college scene in Albuquerque. Transplants from other states to Albuquerque who are single are rather limited. Some Albuquerque locals who made it through UNM will stay, but many will transplant to the Texas cities, Denver, Phoenix, or Southern California. The same could be about the more ambitious females from the Santa Fe or the smaller parts of the state.
The worst things about game and lifestyle in both cities is the teenage pregnancy trap, leading to a lot of single moms out there. Albuquerque has more economic opportunities, a good climate, and a much better male-female ratio than Denver (Menver), the big Texas cities, or Phoenix. Albuquerque's good single male- single female ratio isn't helped by the single mom factor, and it is not helped by the general lethargy of the population.
If you absolutely have to live in New Mexico, Albuquerque is the only choice, but I'd recommend going to the big cities in Texas, or Phoenix/Tucson in that general region instead. Tucson is pretty similar to Albuquerque. Tucson is known for being best for University of Arizona students and retirees, and a tough lifestyle/game place for phases of life in between. Try to avoid Denver at all costs due to the horrid male-female ratio there, though Phoenix and the Texas cities are general sausage fests too.
When was the last time you were in Denver?
https://www.states101.com/gender-ratios/...ver-county
Most surrounding counties in the metro are also closer to 99:101 or better male to female.