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Albuquerque ranked as Best Place to Live

US News & World Report magazine lists Albuquerque as their top pick for Best Places to Live for 2009!

U.S. News & World Report magazine looked at areas with strong economies, low living costs, and plenty of fun things to do to identify this year's best places to live.

The editors reviewed more than 2,000 locations nationwide, considering such factors as sales taxes, housing prices, average number of children per square mile, proximity to healthcare, and the availability of educational institutions. Readers can use a database search to tailor the results to their own situation.

"Choosing where to live is a difficult decision for any family," says Brian Kelly, editor of U.S. News & World Report. "With U.S. News's Best Places to Live, we've crunched the most important geographic, economic, and educational data and provided the search tools to help make this decision a little easier for families."

In selecting our Best Places to Live for 2009, U.S. News took a thrift-conscious approach: We looked for affordable communities that have strong economies and plenty of fun things to do.

Albuquerque, New Mexico
Along the banks of the Rio Grande, with the Sandia Mountains in the background, is the beautiful city of Albuquerque, N.M. The sunny climate and endless landscape have long drawn writers, poets, and artists to this spot, which includes an unconventional mix of American Indian, Hispanic, and Anglo cultures. But it's not just freethinkers who drift to this Southwestern city of 511,000. Kirtland Air Force Base, Sandia National Laboratories, and Intel Corp. have helped develop the area into a manufacturing and research hub. They provide a stable anchor for the local economy.
Albuquerque's clear skies, calm winds, and abundant sunshine present plenty of opportunities to explore its natural splendor. Each October, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta fills the sky with more than 700 colorful hot-air balloons. Fourteen area golf courses are open year-round and allow duffers to tee off against spectacular backdrops of volcanoes and mountain peaks. Meanwhile, Albuquerque's foothills and network of trails make the area a wonderful destination for biking. Still, "it's kind of undiscovered at the same time," says Will McConnell of the Albuquerque Bicycle Center.