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in response to the cost of living in santa fe...We just sold our house and are rentng for a while, so we've really checked out the market...
coming from Chicago or New York, it really is not as bad as some make it sound - food, utilities, etc. are all comparable...gas, for some unknown reason is always at least .10 per gallon more then the rest of the state ($2.93/ gal).
Rentals go for $1.00 a square foot, sometimes a little higher in historical areas or furnished.
To buy, Santa Fe is a big second home market so there are a disproportionate amount of multi-million dollar homes that are only occupied a month or two a year. The sale of several homes for 3-5 million dollars really skews the home price here, but you can find affordable homes if you go away from the downtown area. Tourists usually stay in about 1 sq mile of town, but Santa fe county is actually something like 300 sq miles - its huge.
There is lots of affordable housing going in on the south end of town... 2000 sq ft for in the low 300's, but it will be interesting to see if that drops because that sector of the market is dead right now - lots of sellers renting instead and offering lease to own with no money down deals. There are several programs for 1st time buyers to buy with no money down, I think if you stay in the house for 5 years, you don't have to pay back the 20,000$ down payment they help you with.
If you want land and space and don't mind a little drive into town, that is where santa fe, and all of new mexico really, give you a lot for your money. Lots of people come here from bigger cities to live on 2 or 3 acres with a 2500 sq ft home, in the 200-600's, depending which direction and how far out you go.
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