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There seems to be a trend of people who retire to SF, live 3-5 years, then bail out for greener pastures elsewhere. What are the major reasons for a "failed" retirement there? Lack of diversity and things to do? Healthcare? Culture?
I'm one of them and my reasons are: I have trouble with the altitude and the cold winters; my wife is a water-baby and couldn't adapt to the desert. Also, healthcare here is quite poor; and it's hard to easily get anywhere without non-stop flights out of ABQ.
Adding: alergies. Actually, this is the most common reason I hear for others who leave.
Allergies are actually really easy to eliminate. There's a guy with an allergy-elimination practice in Rio Ranch and Santa Fe, who's very busy from about February through summer, helping people "adjust" to life in NM. He also handles food allergies/sensitivities, chemical sensitivities, etc. Sounds like he should advertise, if people are leaving just because of allergies.
The high desert is not for everybody. Between 7,000 feet of altitude and the desert climate that includes dust and desert critters, it can be a tough adaptation for people, and some just can't manage it. I think it gets tougher as we get older, too.
I think there >is< a bit of snobbish behavior in Santa Fe. I've been looked down on and sniffed at by people sitting next to me at the Lensic, specifically at the Christmas Eve show last year. Fat old lady probably knew I wasn't from there. Just old people attitude or something, or maybe I was better looking or slimmer than she was...who knows. Funny, really.
These Are The 10 Snobbiest Cities In America For 2019
"We looked at science and data to determine which American cities probably think they’re better than you.
Nick James, RoadSnacks
February 7, 2019 - 54,650 views"
"After analyzing the 309 largest cities in the nation, we’ve firmly decided that these are the 10 snobbiest cities in the snobbiest country of them all:"
1 Cambridge, MA (Photos)
2 Alexandria, VA (Photos)
3 San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA (Photos)
4 Ann Arbor, MI (Photos)
5 Pasadena, CA (Photos)
6 Charleston, SC (Photos)
7 Seattle, WA (Photos)
8 Atlanta, GA (Photos)
9 Boulder, CO (Photos)
10 Washington, DC
I think there >is< a bit of snobbish behavior in Santa Fe. I've been looked down on and sniffed at by people sitting next to me at the Lensic, specifically at the Christmas Eve show last year. Fat old lady probably knew I wasn't from there. Just old people attitude or something, or maybe I was better looking or slimmer than she was...who knows. Funny, really.
By my unofficial calculations, cost of living in the Abq. area is 10% to 15% lower than what it is in the S.F. area.
I would say as of about 10 years ago (my latest experience) Albq is substantially cheaper. You can get reasonable pricing in the "regular" parts of S.F. but it's still quite more expensive than Abq.
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I moved here from Shallow Alto, CA, where a lot of folks have an arrogant demeanor.
This I can attest to. (First time I'm hearing the nickname, I'll commit it to memory). By contrast in Santa Fe you won't find that kind of demeanor. I think a lot of outsiders who move to S.F. are actually doing so to get away from that kind of thing. People in Santa Fe, even wealthy outsiders, tend to be nicer than normal.
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Just my dos centavos.
Gracias por los centavos, muy amable.
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