ABQ is not quite Wild West, but you do need to watch yourself there. Good farmers’ market and plenty of Native influence.

Columbus downtown seemed like a nice Midwestern spot, touch of Rust Belt, heavy on Buckeye mania of course. Seemed really quiet when I visited many summers ago.

Have you considered Chicago? Boystown is a great neighborhood. Kinda wished I’d lived there even though I’m not LGBTQ. I think it’s still relatively low crime. But I’m sure you’ll want to do (or have done) your own homework on that.

FWIW I don't think you're going to find a more progressive region to live outside of New England

Albuquerque is… Albuquerque. The food is diverse, the lgbtq+ scene is surprisingly robust, and there’s a lot to do if you’re into outdoorsy things. Nightlife is a bit limited and there’s pockets of crime all over, but you learn which areas to avoid pretty quickly. The zoo is world-class, and the museums are great. There’s history in Albuquerque and all over the state.

I can’t speak on the merits or lack thereof for Columbus, but I have known people to willingly move there.

Sounds less like a positive move and more like a run from problems.

You will find the same problems in the next region, if you live there long enough.

Speaking from someone who has been in 13 schools and moved even more than that.

It really seems like you might have bigger issues than deciding between Albuquerque and Columbus. I can tell you about ABQ, but maybe you can give some more details about what’s pushing you to move, and why you’d look at those two cities in particular.

Columbus has Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace which makes it a far superior choice.

Columbus is a great little city in a not so great state. The local politics are quite progressive and the food and bar scene is quite nice. There was a decently sized queer community when I lived there a decade ago, and I’d expect it to continue to flourish as long as a major university is nearby.

Winters are cold. Summers are hot. The weather is what it is 🤷🏻‍♀️

Portland, OR?

Los Angeles is great. Col is high, but wages are generally relatively high as well. Col in the high desert area is much lower.

If you can get a 15$/hr job (minimum wage in CA is 15) and rent a room somewhere nearby for 500 bucks, you can do pretty well for yourself if you budget your money.

Columbus is basically the only cool city in all of Ohio and Albuquerque is a dangerous shithole. Between these two, Columbus is the far better option.