Impressions of Santa Fe trip... (pros and cons, live, restaurant)

[Chaparral]

Originally Posted by mdmagana

If this puts things in perspecitve for anyone, I would rather live in Youngstown, OH than Santa Fe, NM.

As many have said before, NM (especially Santa Fe) is not for everybody. Hopefully you will find what you are looking for in Ohio.

P.S. When did Cali-girl move to Santa Fe?


Chap

[TKO]

Originally Posted by mdmagana

I have been living in Santa Fe for 2 years now and I am counting down the days until I can leave! It sucks!

It is a cool place to visit, but a terrible place to live! Most of the people that live here and tell you it is wonderful are locals that have never lived anywhere else, and thus have no idea what a civilized society is.

Here are my dislikes:

1. I tihnk the cost of living is very high.... and I come from Orange County, CA!

2. The New Mexico education system sucks so be prepared to deal with lots of idiots!

3. The roads suck, and suck even more so when it snows becuase they don't salt anything or have nearly enough plows.

4. If you are used to big chain stores and lots of strip malls you will be disappointed. There is a Best Buy, but no Circuit City or CompUSA. There is a Home Depot, but only recently did we also get a Lowes. There are only two Grocery Store chains in town unless you count Whole Foods. (Which I dont!) Generally, fast food places are all very, very over priced and the quality is inferior to their out-of-state or even Albuquerque counterparts.

5. For some reason the no one can explain to me (including my state represetative and senator) the price of gas here is very high!

6. The price of water is EXTREMELY high!

7. If you are not inclined to vote for Hilary in the upcoming election then you probably won't like it here. The political climate seems more liberal that San Fransisco if you can believe it.

8. Medical facilities here are terrible. There is one hospital, St. Vincents... it should be renamed St. Victims. If you value you health care you have to go to Albuquerque.

9. The Food! If you like Hot as Hell TexMex stuff you might like it here. Personally I can't stand any of the "Mexican" food here. It is very different than Mexican food in California and with few exceptions, I think it all sucks.

10. Bad Drivers! I have driven all over the country and New Mexico has the worst damn drivers I have ever seen! There is one major interchange in this entire state and no one here can seem to grasp the concept. It doesn't matter if you are on the freeway in Albuquerque, the Interstate, or just driving around the streets of Santa Fe.... bad drivers everywhere!

Those are my top 10 complaints about Santa Fe. If I was planning to stay in New Mexico I would move to Albuquerque in a heartbeat. Bad drivers aside, I like Albuquerque... the rest of the state pretty much blows as a place to live. there are lots of cool things to see and do while visiting here. Santa Fe is an awesome place to visit on a vacation... but is way to ass backwards for me to tolerate living here much longer.

I've lived most of my life in New Mexico. I've left and always come back...it's home.

That said, I agree 100% with this post. Santa Fe is not at ALL like the rest of the state. My favorite thing about Santa Fea as I refer to it, is seeing it in my rear view mirror. Sorry Feans, no personal offense meant, just the way I see it.

[coltoncity]

I loved NM it is our favorite place and I have been all over the US. I have to agree with one thing! I love Mexican food but BLAH! Hot was the flavor. Maybe it was the town we mostly ate in I dont know. We just figured it was a regional thing but you guys have got to have some tough stomachs! We had a hard time finding a salad for a meal there, lots of heavy foods. Other then the food thing I loved it...there is something calming we fellt there and Oh the culture! I have been told it is hard to make friends in Santa Fe though.

[GypsyHeart]

You are 90% right on w/your post. Santa Fe is not geared to 'locals'. It is a tourist trap. The only thing I take issue with is #9....the food. I have to admit I was ROFLMAO, picturing a Cali person eating at one of our "New Mexican" restaraunts! I split half my time between San Diego and Albuquerque and there is no such food on earth as "New Mexican" food. That is the bummer for me, when I am in San Diego....I have no mexican food, because to me it is, so....yuuuuccccchhhh! Fish tacos? Blech! Along with what they call chile...LOL! Oh well, that is the ONE perfect thing, in my book, about NM....the home-cooked home cookin'...New Mexican cuisine!
Oh, and cost of living is, surprisingly high in NM, especially in relation to the poor salaries....more so in Santa Fe, though, for sure.

Originally Posted by mdmagana

I have been living in Santa Fe for 2 years now and I am counting down the days until I can leave! It sucks!

It is a cool place to visit, but a terrible place to live! Most of the people that live here and tell you it is wonderful are locals that have never lived anywhere else, and thus have no idea what a civilized society is.

Here are my dislikes:

1. I tihnk the cost of living is very high.... and I come from Orange County, CA!

2. The New Mexico education system sucks so be prepared to deal with lots of idiots!

3. The roads suck, and suck even more so when it snows becuase they don't salt anything or have nearly enough plows.

4. If you are used to big chain stores and lots of strip malls you will be disappointed. There is a Best Buy, but no Circuit City or CompUSA. There is a Home Depot, but only recently did we also get a Lowes. There are only two Grocery Store chains in town unless you count Whole Foods. (Which I dont!) Generally, fast food places are all very, very over priced and the quality is inferior to their out-of-state or even Albuquerque counterparts.

5. For some reason the no one can explain to me (including my state represetative and senator) the price of gas here is very high!

6. The price of water is EXTREMELY high!

7. If you are not inclined to vote for Hilary in the upcoming election then you probably won't like it here. The political climate seems more liberal that San Fransisco if you can believe it.

8. Medical facilities here are terrible. There is one hospital, St. Vincents... it should be renamed St. Victims. If you value you health care you have to go to Albuquerque.

9. The Food! If you like Hot as Hell TexMex stuff you might like it here. Personally I can't stand any of the "Mexican" food here. It is very different than Mexican food in California and with few exceptions, I think it all sucks.

10. Bad Drivers! I have driven all over the country and New Mexico has the worst damn drivers I have ever seen! There is one major interchange in this entire state and no one here can seem to grasp the concept. It doesn't matter if you are on the freeway in Albuquerque, the Interstate, or just driving around the streets of Santa Fe.... bad drivers everywhere!

Those are my top 10 complaints about Santa Fe. If I was planning to stay in New Mexico I would move to Albuquerque in a heartbeat. Bad drivers aside, I like Albuquerque... the rest of the state pretty much blows as a place to live. there are lots of cool things to see and do while visiting here. Santa Fe is an awesome place to visit on a vacation... but is way to ass backwards for me to tolerate living here much longer.

[coltoncity]

Hey! What doya mean 'fish tacos?' O I love Mexican food, New Mexican food is so hot! It is totally different and you could have never told me that before I went. Is there any Mexican restaurant or certain Mexican food you have liked in other states? Cant you just put in a few habanero chilis in it and call it good?

[coltoncity]

Actually I am curious about that book of yours ... very nice plug you got me wanting to check out actual recipes. See what youve done!

[633red]

To those whom seem to be disenchanted with their Santa Fe living experience,

I made a major move fourteen years ago from Los Angeles to Northern California. Before venturing into a move/area that might not fit my needs, I did my homework. I visited many times, talked to locals, looked into everything from supermarkets to medical care. Please note I DID MY HOMEWORK. We just purchased a home in Santa Fe (Eldorado), and once again, we did our homework!! We were in SF during the major snow storm - we chose to visit in January so that we could experience the weather at its worst. Of course we did not expect the inordinate amount of snow. We were informed by many including all the websites that we visited that the normal amount of snow is around 16 inches per year. I believe these sources and look forward to the environment that we will I am sure enjoy. I am a native Clevelander, and I cannot imagine reurning to Ohio even though I have the utmost respect for my experience there. To each his/her own, and I'm sure that if you have relatives, etc. you must be looking forward to your move. I think that we should all keep in mind that Santa Fe does not promise any one of us anything. Again, do your homework! Incidentally, thank heaven for no more strip malls!!

[TKO]

Originally Posted by 633red

To those whom seem to be disenchanted with their Santa Fe living experience,

I am afraid reality did not allow me live where homework suggested I would like it...I was in Santa Fe to do work work. The kind that you have to do to pay the bills. It was the start of my career and state government was the first step in getting where I wanted to be. It was a sentence of sorts and I was just glad when it was over and I could move out of there.

Some of us don't have the freedom to just move where our homework tells us we will like it, frankly I think it's a little smug of you to assume that. I found plenty of smug people in Fe though, so you obviously have done your homework. I sincerely wish you well.

[tito]

I did my homework and decided that Santa Fe wasn't for me. The main reason why I wanted to move was because I'm an artist and expected to be represented by one of the many galleries there, but I found out that they only represent big established names of Americans and foreign artists that have proven to be big sellers. Another reason why I wanted to move, I was looking for snowless and warmer winters; another was finding affordable housing and finally wanted to move to a city with local color and not a faceless tourist distination.

[Towanda]

Originally Posted by TKO

Some of us don't have the freedom to just move where our homework tells us we will like it, frankly I think it's a little smug of you to assume that. I found plenty of smug people in Fe though, so you obviously have done your homework. I sincerely wish you well.

I wasn't aware that name-calling of other members was allowed on this forum.