Albuquerque, NM

I really like ABQ. There is a crime problem and people complain about it all the time, but if you choose your neighborhood carefully and lock up your stuff that can mostly be avoided. Fun, sort of weird vibe with a unique culture, fascinating history, and great food. Perfect weather year round with just enough of each season without too much snow or too much heat. Bosque area or Sandia mountains are great for hiking, easy weekend getaways to New Mexico's national parks (White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns in particular are fun!) and other areas to explore (blue hole in Santa rosa, Santa Fe, Native american ruins, etc), as well as southern Colorado and Arizona. Its just a different kind of place than any other city. Good size and decent airport, but doesn't feel huge. Politically somewhat moderate- the north half of the state is liberal and the south and all the Texan transplants are conservative so it lands somewhere in the middle. Generally friendly locals and a nice melting pot of Native American, Mexican, and other cultures without a lot of judginess- very live and let live. And cheaper than almost any other "big" city in the USA. I have no idea how anyone chooses to live in Phoenix when the weather is so awful compared to ABQ, or chooses Denver when the cost of living is so high compared to ABQ. And Texas is too humid, so New Mexico is a nice little spot in the middle of all of it.