Beverly Beyette of the Chicago Tribune writes about Albuquerque as a travel destination. I swear, this is the third or fourth story in the past year about the larger, less-sexy sister city to Santa Fe suddenly becoming a belle of the ball.
I’m not knocking it. After all, Albuquerque was once seen as a rather dreary city, and its improvement in the five years since the first time I visited has been dramatic. It’s easy to see why the town has experienced such a population burst.
But I’m increasingly siding with longtime residents who are growing wary. They fear that the influx of new residents will raise property values to untenable levels and blunt the city’s funky charm. Having seen what boom times have done to a formerly unique, wonderful city like Austin, I can understand.
I visited recently for the first time, and I was impressed, particularly by Nob Hill. Next trip I want to take a closer look at Old Town Plaza and the downtown section of Central Ave.
For as nice as Old Town is, it’s been surprisingly quiet every time we’ve visited. It’s like a mini-version of Santa Fe (if a bit more authentic). But with Santa Fe up the road, Old Town has a tendency to be overlooked.
Downtown, with Nob Hill a close second, is the most improved area of Albuquerque. A lot of new, vibrant businesses have moved in or are being built there. And it was nearly given up for dead 15 years ago.
Keep Albuquerque weird!