Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It would also help if you either have applied for the NM teaching license, or if you already have one. When I moved to NM that's what I did first, then I looked for the jobs. Good luck!
Best suggestion! Interview with NM license in hand.
I'm glad city data nudged me back! Thanks for all the info. I'm a masters level art teacher and art therapist. My partner is a master's level nurse with lots of good experience. As we are trying not to move without jobs, having a NM license first might be a bit difficult. I am applying on line at the moment.
We are moving from Virginia as well. emhwp2- what is a 3A license by reciprocity?
GreatSantaFE- We are looking in exactly that price range but are having a bit more luck with places we like near Albuquerque. The catch is, I really want space and a bit of green, like a 1/2 acre at the least. That's part of the reason we're leaving a large metro area.
As an former Santa Fe teacher married to another teacher, my short answer is "no, you can't afford Santa Fe." We were at the high end of the scale and it was a continual battle to get out of debt. The slightly longer answer is you can afford to live in SF on two teachers' salaries as long as you don't have a sudden bill (auto breaks down, house needs a new roof, you get injured/sick, go out to eat once a month, etc.).
Another poster was correct about the home loan programs for teachers, which we did use to buy a house, which we still own. That said, we're making double what we made in SF in Nigeria, so I'd think twice about choosing SF as a location if you're a teacher and plan on staying in the area. It's possible, but only barely.
Most teachers in SF have friends and family in the area which helps keep costs down; entertainment is visiting family, hiking, biking, hanging out on someone's porch, anything that doesn't cost much. If you follow that path it is possible to live in SF on the cheap. Again, though, when we lived in SF a vacation was camping in the woods, now that we live abroad it's Paris, London, Cape Town, or, in a week, Santa Fe for the summer. I'm looking forward to visiting with money in my pockets for once.
Hmmm, the minimum salary for a beginning teacher with a BA and NO experience is just over $30,000. So a two-teacher couple with no experience would earn a bit over $60,000. If the previous poster and his partner were "at the high end of the scale" (that could currently be as high as $70,000 each - but let's say it was closer to $50,000 each) and they had a problem getting out of debt, I'd guess the issue wasn't the salary level. Then again, perhaps salary levels were significantly lower back when they were teachers here. And then again, I don't know any people who don't have debt of some kind (mortgage, car payment, college loans, etc.) regardless of their income - hey, it's the American way!
I know I wouldn't want to live in SF on less than $50,000.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
