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I am considering moving to either Santa Fe, San Antonio, or Raleigh, NC.
I am looking for a thriving, diverse community first. But secondly, I am looking for an active social scene.
I will be moving from NJ where I only have one friend to a place where I won't have any. I am an extremely outgoing and friendly individual, but its hard making friends here. As it was in Atlanta, where I just moved from.
I went to school in New Orleans and I still have many friends down there, but it isn't a place where I would like to live.
With that being said, as a single 25 year old woman moving to a new area, is it easy to make friends in Santa Fe?
Yes, people are friendly here, but I wouldn't recommend a single 25 yr old female move here.
The demographic is much older. Lost of rich retirees. And it's expensive.
Why didn't you like Atlanta? that sounds like a much better option.
Santa Fe is plunked in the middle of nowhere, with nothing else around, it's like an island and you'll be sick of it after 12-18 months. Believe me, I just went through this. Sure, there are nice people, but it's a really weird demographic, with all the low income people being mexican or indian and the (what feels like minority) being rich white older folks. The white folks lean heavily liberal, like that Berkeley CA mentality and are a stark contrast with the poor mexicans and indians who are just normal folks trying to eek out a living (and don't shop at Whole Foods and attend the Opera).
I find the demographics in Santa Fe to be completely NOT diverse. The rich whites all hob nob together and the poor mexicans and indians are their own separate groups. There's very little in between. Or at least not enough in between for me. I'm from the east coast and I miss a diverse middle class of italians, irish, germans, asians, blacks, etc. Actually, I just realized I miss black people because there ain't any here!
This place stinks if you are single. I am a 34 year old single mom and there is nowhere to go in this town. Santa Fe is a very interesting place. I would go with Raleigh instead. Just my opinion
Depending on what you like to do socially I'm guessing this won't be a good place. The town closes up pretty early and as mentioned there is diversity but the people tend to stick together in their groups. Old rich retired white people, trust funders, Hispanics going back generations and unlike newly arrived people don't need or have time for new friends (also found that when I lived in PA with the PA Dutch people whose families have stayed for generations in one area.) Then you have the poorer people working 3 jobs in order to survive (that includes many ethnicities--some who moved here because of the enchantment of the place and found there are very few good paying jobs), and there appear to be many middle class couples who retire here. I get the impression they have no problem making friends.
My son who is a little older than you left to go to college and although he loves it here because he loves the outdoor activities and sunshine he will probably never move back because of the job situation. If you need to find a job it would be even more difficult. If you like outdoor activities it might be okay--the hiking group on meetup.com appears to have a younger demographic. There is also a younger single group on meetup.com in Santa Fe. You might ask your question there.
My daughter is 33, and she and her friends have no problem finding things to do. I keep my eyes open and listen and find out bunches of stuff to do also. I sometimes have two or three things to have to choose from.
I'm from the east coast and I miss a diverse middle class of italians, irish, germans, asians, blacks, etc. Actually, I just realized I miss black people because there ain't any here!
I'm in Albuquerque but have made friends with people from many different backgrounds through work, organizations, church, friends of friends. I can't believe Santa Fe is that different and as segregated as people portray it. That's the opposite of what I've experienced. (and some of my friends are from Santa Fe or live there)
I lived in Carrboro, NC near Raleigh/Durham. It is a very, very friendly place with lots of social activities to attend if you are so inclined. I also just visited Santa Fe and it's demographic is definitely older... but I found it to be very friendly, and met only ethnic people who were most welcoming to me.
What do you like to do?
Do you like the outdoors?
Do you like to do things at night?
Do you own a car?
Because if you can't entertain yourself with nature, and you don't mind the town rolling up its sidewalks after sundown, then Santa Fe may be for you. There is a decent local music scene except for all the music is folk. There is a lot to do if you're an alcoholic, and enjoy being drunk, due to the plentiful liquor stores and micro brews, as well as the fact that you can purchase any and all types of liquor from your local supermarket. All in all, having relocated from Boston, myself, i'd say stay away if you expect any type of "city" convenience. Because the public transportation out here is too expensive and run very poorly.
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