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Old 10-16-2013, 08:41 AM
 
5 posts, read 17,524 times
Reputation: 49

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Your opinion about living in Santa Fe will vary by how much money you have (more is better), how you like art (more is better), whether you have kids (bad place for kids), and whether you are married, single, straight or gay (married and gay is good, single and straight is awful), and whether you are under 40 (borrrring. If you need good medical care, the big hospital called "St. Victims" by employees is often a one way ticket to a funeral. Food can be cheap and good, or expensive and bad, you just have to search. Anglos are often treated with disdain and disrespect by the local "Spanish" population who are not really Spanish, but this is becoming less of an issue. Just expect a large amount of surly and snooty customer service and public interaction which led to one recent national ranking for Santa Fe as the snootiest city in the US. It is really just a small, very rich (5%) and very poor (50%) and not very middle class town in a small backward state.

Santa Fe has grown old. Geriatric and tourist crowd of 50-something lost souls and "homeless trust-fund-afarians" making their way in the coolness and ghetto chic of Santa Fe . Having said this, there is absolutely NO reason to move to Santa Fe if you work in Los Alamos unless you have to have a midnight Taco Bell fix because Santa Fe for those making under $200K a year is mostly crime ridden, annoying and dirty with some of the worst social maladjustment, racial conflict, traffic management, snootiness, property crime and low performing schools in New Mexico. No secret as Santa Fe is a huge uber-liberal retirement haven version of Sun City- Santa Fe now closes early just like every other town outside of ABQ. There is a great basement punk bar in downtown that stays open late, and a good biker blues place (Evangelos), but most of the rest of the places in Santa Fe open after 10 are sketchy and dangerous.
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Old 10-16-2013, 12:02 PM
 
Location: Santa Fe, NM
974 posts, read 2,332,796 times
Reputation: 1122
Norte 7777 - Wow, what can I say? Talk about living in an alternate universe! While there are a few snippets of perception I'd agree with, most of what you say is unfair and untrue. With so many inaccuracies in your post it would take too much effort to respond to each one, so I'm not even going to try. Well, maybe I'll just point out one example (I just can't help myself).
You say Santa Fe was ranked as the #1 snootiest city. In addition to your, what I will politely call, "inaccuracy" - San Francisco is #1, followed by New York and then Boston, then Minneapolis, with Santa Fe and Seattle tied for #5 - what you leave out are the reasons. As Travel and Leisure said in their ranking (which includes places like Seattle):
"To determine which city has the biggest nose in the air, we factored in some traditional staples of snobbery: a reputation for aloof and smarty-pants residents, along with high-end shopping and highbrow cultural offerings like classical music and theater.
But we also considered 21st-century definitions of elitism: tech-savviness, artisanal coffeehouses, and a conspicuous eco-consciousness (say, the kind of city where you get a dirty look for throwing your coffee cup in the wrong bin)."


Personally, with those rating factors in mind, that's not a ranking I feel bad about. Again, I could spend time rebutting more of your assertions, but what's the use. You've got your perspective and the facts won't change it.
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Old 10-16-2013, 12:11 PM
 
Location: Old Town
1,992 posts, read 4,037,102 times
Reputation: 2051
Here, I'll help you out GreatSF with some facts to dispute his/her alternate universe. Poverty level and below make up about 18% of the population. Not 50%. Also, 44% of Santa Feans hold a Bachelors degree or higher.
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Old 10-16-2013, 01:24 PM
 
Location: Santa Fe, NM
974 posts, read 2,332,796 times
Reputation: 1122
Thanks NMHacker. Don't you get the feeling that some people prefer stating their perceptions as "facts"? I have no problem with those who come right out and say "This is my perspective...." What I have no patience for are those who attempt to back up their perspective by using so-called facts that are more illusion than truth.
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Old 10-28-2013, 11:30 AM
 
Location: Western NC.
1,324 posts, read 2,496,289 times
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Really interesting to read people's perceptions of a place. Think so much has to do with a person's attitudes about life in general. I am not wealthy, snooty, am older, and have found NM folks (hispanic and non) very nice whenever we have visited would think we might find the same if we moved there. Biggest issue would be housing cost if we wanted to be in the city.
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Old 10-28-2013, 11:52 AM
 
Location: Santa Fe, NM
974 posts, read 2,332,796 times
Reputation: 1122
tsmw47 - I certainly agree with you. As for City housing costs, the fact is that you can spend anywhere from the $200K's on up and get a nice home. Of course location within the city, size of home and condition of the property will be the primary determining factors of the price. But the idea that Santa Fe has only high-priced real estate is a myth. Santa Fe has homes in all price ranges, but since that includes a number in the million and multi-million dollar range, it drives the average price up. While it's true that Albuquerque and Rio Rancho have lower average housing costs, buyers don't buy the average cost - they buy what they can afford and are qualified for. Santa Fe has the whole range of housing prices.
Just sayin'.....
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Old 10-28-2013, 02:59 PM
 
Location: Western NC.
1,324 posts, read 2,496,289 times
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In looking at real estate websites seems lots in the city very small. Are there any areas with bigger lots that would not be in a subdivision? We will be making a transition from 10 acres, town will take some getting used to I think.
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Old 10-29-2013, 04:47 PM
 
11,883 posts, read 6,467,117 times
Reputation: 13843
Quote:
Originally Posted by Norte 7777 View Post
Your opinion about living in Santa Fe will vary by how much money you have (more is better), how you like art (more is better), whether you have kids (bad place for kids), and whether you are married, single, straight or gay (married and gay is good, single and straight is awful), and whether you are under 40 (borrrring. If you need good medical care, the big hospital called "St. Victims" by employees is often a one way ticket to a funeral. Food can be cheap and good, or expensive and bad, you just have to search. Anglos are often treated with disdain and disrespect by the local "Spanish" population who are not really Spanish, but this is becoming less of an issue. Just expect a large amount of surly and snooty customer service and public interaction which led to one recent national ranking for Santa Fe as the snootiest city in the US. It is really just a small, very rich (5%) and very poor (50%) and not very middle class town in a small backward state.

Santa Fe has grown old. Geriatric and tourist crowd of 50-something lost souls and "homeless trust-fund-afarians" making their way in the coolness and ghetto chic of Santa Fe . Having said this, there is absolutely NO reason to move to Santa Fe if you work in Los Alamos unless you have to have a midnight Taco Bell fix because Santa Fe for those making under $200K a year is mostly crime ridden, annoying and dirty with some of the worst social maladjustment, racial conflict, traffic management, snootiness, property crime and low performing schools in New Mexico. No secret as Santa Fe is a huge uber-liberal retirement haven version of Sun City- Santa Fe now closes early just like every other town outside of ABQ. There is a great basement punk bar in downtown that stays open late, and a good biker blues place (Evangelos), but most of the rest of the places in Santa Fe open after 10 are sketchy and dangerous.
Wow.
This is the MOST ACCURATE description of our experience also with living in Santa Fe for seven years. You described it perfectly except I would have added more about the horrific crime there. The good news is that New Mexico has moved up from the second most dangerous state to only the fourth most dangerous.

The Most Dangerous States in America - 24/7 Wall St.
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Old 11-12-2013, 09:11 PM
 
209 posts, read 463,922 times
Reputation: 301
I get into trouble with the idea that Anglos are treated badly by the Hispano folks. I have found that if you make it your business to know their culture and history, in detail and on the ground, then they know you respect them and you get the same. The only exception to this, in my experience, is some of the smaller towns that are in fact anglophobic. That's alright, just passing through.
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Old 11-13-2013, 12:28 PM
 
Location: Santa Fe, NM
974 posts, read 2,332,796 times
Reputation: 1122
MountainRose references a list showing the most dangerous states. After all, lumping an entire state together helps those who want to prove that Santa Fe is a dangerous place. That same article references a list of the 10 most dangerous cities - and NO New Mexico city is on that list. Say what??? You'd think that the supposedly 4th most dangerous state would have at least one of the top ten most dangerous cities. The most dangerous cities are found in such states as California, Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, Alabama, Tennessee and Missouri. And the most dangerous states include Florida, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Nevada, Tennessee... Like that old saying: "Figures don't lie, but liars figure."
I don't know if any place with 2 or more people is totally crime-free, but if that is the most important measure by which one chooses to select a place to live, then perhaps a small Amish community in northern Indiana would be best. And hey, Indiana isn't one of the 10 worst states, nor do they have a city on the list either.
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