Impressions of Santa Fe trip... (Albuquerque, Taos: amusement park, crimes, new house)

[TKO]

Say what you will but Santa Fe does hold a strong image for most people. It's kinda like with the Dallas Cowboy's...you either love it or hate it. Me, I feel the latter for both. But I know them both oh so well as a former state employee and lifelong Redskin fan.

Put it this way - If I were rich I imagine I could warm up to Santa Fe and if I lived in Dallas...eh, no way.

[1hottamale]

Originally Posted by cloudcroft

gabygirl,

You find conversations in Spanish "interesting" and I find them increasingly annoying!

Living here in Mexico -- I mean El Paso, TX, supposedly the USA -- I find the speaking of Spanish a definite negative...and if one does NOT speak Spanish, one's job/career options are almost zero. When I go to Santa Fe/Taos and hear it -- the last thing I want -- it reminds me of here. Fortunately, I usually hear English...a refreshing change from the Borderland.

I will be moving to NM and one requirement is to find a place where English is the norm, unlike here. Consequently, places like Cloudcroft, Ruidoso, White Rock and Los Alamos are on my very short list. Or many parts of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.

I just want to live in America but stay in the Southwest, but that is getting harder to find nowadays in this West Texas area, and lots of NM.

That's fine, some of you here have your pro-diversity views, I have my anti-diversity views.
-- John D.

Who do you think you are?? I have read some of your posts and you want to know what is really annoying? Your pathetic, weak-minded, convoluted, obnoxious, malicious, petty, bigot-driven words are annoying. I happen to live in NM and we hear the beautiful spanish language EVERYWHERE, including those places on your "very short list". So, what are you talking about? You want to move to NM because you think you'll hear less of the spanish language! LOL! You jest! LOL! I've never heard so many imbecilic statements made by just one person! How do you know that all those folks, who have in your presence audaciously spoken in spanish, aren't attempting to learn english? Why you must drive yourself crazy when you have to say the very names of the cities, towns and streets that are in spanish. Wait just one minute - that means that you're speaking in spanish, too! How dare you even think that you can be so eminent! Incidentally, there's an old spanish proverb that I think is quite adequate for you, and it goes as follows: "No hay nada mas peor que un ciego que no quiera ver". In English:
"There's nothing worse than a blind man that doesn't want to see."
I hope one day, for your own sake, you'll want to see.

Jenna

[designer]

Santa Fe has changed a lot in the last few years from what I can tell. I don't
live there but I do live in NM and have many close realatives who live there and am in town quite often. I liked Santa Fe a lot in the fifties and sixties
but I am starting to see it as more of a tourist trap type of town today. There are some really good restaurants there but they are not the ones that
the tourists frequent and yes they are very resonable in price. The expensive
ones are there for the tourists and possibly the very wealthy. I also think the
art thing is overdone in Santa Fe. There are many galleries there but I no
longer think of it as a place to find great art. I still like LA, San Francisco, Chicago, and yes NYC for some of the best art in this country. I guess I am
getting tired of the tourist type of cowboy southwest art seen often in Santa
Fe. Also it might surprise many to know that much of the art exhibited in the
SF galleries are done by artists who do not live in NM anymore. Many used to
live there but because of the high cost of housing were forced to move to
states like Texas or Kansas. I still think Taos is a nice quaint laid back art
community where many artists still live in the area. Toas galleries also
exhibit work by out of state artists as well but is just has a certain charm
that I find missing in Santa Fe.

[manofthesea]

Take it from me, this place sucks!!! Here are some facts for you about this corrupt and stupid state; and this is from somebody who actually LIVES HERE!!

1) Politics here is the most currupt in the country.
2) It Ranks almost #1 as the DUMBEST STATE in the Country(Last year we were #1 as the Dumbest State).
3) The Police are little short guys with an attitude.
4) The Traffic system is a complete joke.
5) Tons of Mental Illness and Alcoholism per Capita.
6) Do you like Mexican Food? Forget it, NOT HERE!! It seems like all the Resturants shared the same recipe for this so called NEW MEXICAN FOOD, No Creativity, No substance and MOST OF ALL NO TASTE!!! Fast Food? Forget it also; these people would'nt know what hit them if they saw an In-N-Out Burger, Jack in the Box, Chinesse Food or even a DELI!!!!!
7) You want a job? The criteria here is NOT WHAT YOU KNOW (god forbid you actually have somebody that knows what there doing and every other word is not UH or EEEE!!), IT'S WHO YOU KNOW!!! You better have an UNCLE an AUNT or a BROTHER on the inside.
8) If your car breaks down on the side of the Road or you run out of gas without a cell phone, well you better start walking!! Because the odds are nobody will stop for you to help. But they will toss there garbage at you from Taco Bell as you walk for help, as I have seen that a few times (ah yes there is a Taco Bell here!!)

This just a few things from somebody who ACTUALLY LIVES HERE!! I have lived here 20 Miles from Santa Fe for about 13 years now, I am originally from Marina del rey California. I dream of going back to the Ocean EVERYDAY; but my job keeps me here for now! Seattle, Vermont, Maine, San Diego, Mexico and Oregon are GREAT PLACES TO LIVE!! California has bacame way to crowded!!

Manofthesea

[Towanda]

Well, I AM moving to Santa Fe in the coming year ... and all the negative posts on this forum will not detract me.

I have been a property owner in Santa Fe County for 15 years, and I visit the area regularly.

1. I have not run into a single rude or nasty person. (Maybe I am just one of the DUMB people and don't recognize mean people when I see them. )
What I have experienced is a lot of nice people everywhere I go in the city.

2. I am not into the art culture or the tourist places, although I do love the wonderful architecture and the "feel" of the city, if that makes any sense.

3. I DO love New Mexican food, and I think Santa Fe has excellent restaurants. Sure you can go to highly overpriced ones, but I don't. We find the reasonably priced ones and have rarely had a bad meal anywhere in the city.

4. I love the climate in Santa Fe, so the fact that it gets cold and snows there is not a deterrent for me...rather it is a plus.

As a person who is not even a resident of the state yet, it surprises me that I have to continually defend Santa Fe on this forum. Why can't we all promote THE WHOLE STATE as a wonderful place that we can be proud of? There is a lot to offer in every part of the state. Santa Fe is not for everyone, I realize that, but why tear it down so much?

[KimK]

Go skiing at Ski Apache in Ruidoso and you will see lots of tourists from Chihuahua. It would not be a surprise that they get over to Santa Fe either en masse. I also think Santa Fe is off the charts moneywise. Santa Fe was a different place about 15 years ago (wasn't everyplace, I guess). I remember then the Texans were starting to visit and the prices of real estate were beginning to go up. I still wished I had picked up one of those little adobe places downtown for about 10,000.00. Now about 800 sq feet is right around 1 mil or more.

[dracul]

You've all heard of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse...well...the fifth horseman is a yuppie in a BMW with an open checkbook

[beyond zero]

Santa Fe is the place where culture dies. Unfortunately, there are a lot of throwback "hippies" and New Yorkers with lots of cash who think they are great artists and dilute the art and life of traditional cultures of NM. They buy the homes of the native cultures and expect the same people to clean the very homes they lived in. Gentrification at it's best. Santa fe is the worst representation of the reality of NM, whether it be art or life. It is SIMPLY a Disneyland version of Native American and Mexican/ Spanish culture. Native NM have endured the oppression of Santa Fe "life tourists" for many years and sadly will have to as more ignorant "trendsters" come and go.

[Towanda]

Guess we are all different, beyond zero.

I am not a throwback hippie(well maybe a little ).

I AM a New York native but I haven't lived there in 39 years.

I am not a great artist (I'm not an artist at all) so I cannot "dilute the art and life of traditional cultures of NM".

I am moving to New Mexico soon but I am not buying a "home of the native cultures" and I DO NOT expect the "same people to clean the very homes they lived in."

I do not believe that "Santa Fe is the worst representation of the reality of NM, whether it be art or life."

I do not believe that Santa Fe is "SIMPLY a Disneyland version of Native American and Mexican/ Spanish culture."

I am moving to New Mexico because it has been my dream for almost 40 years, and I don't plan oppress anyone when I get there.

I do not think of myself as a Santa Fe "life tourist" or an ignorant "trendster".

I plan to be a good citizen, to cherish the city and the culture and the diversity and the history and the environment and the art.

What good does it do to come here to this forum and start running down people who love Santa Fe, and calling names and not saying one single good thing?

Seems a little over the top to me to dislike a city and its people that much.

~~Sharon

[jazzlover]

I've stayed out of this fray for quite awhile, but I feel compelled to comment. I'm one who remembers Santa Fe back when it wasn't such a tourist/yuppie/rich retiree-dominated town. It had great ambiance, art, along with an interesting cultural mix. Then all of the money showed up. I have to agree that Santa Fe has become a Disneyland version of New Mexico just like Aspen became a Disneyland version of Colorado. It's regrettable, because Santa Fe enjoys a great geographical location, a wonderful climate, and as rich a heritage and history as one can find in the United States. All of that is being buried by a bunch of latter-day wannabe New Mexicans living in their faux-adobe McMansions who pretend that they know something about New Mexico and the Southwest.

If there is any positive side to this it is that the cancer of modern Santa Fe is not spreading to the rest of New Mexico as quickly as the cancer that is Aspen is spreading to the rest of Colorado. Too much of anything will wreck a place, and too much money being lavished on hedonistic BS is what is ruining places like Santa Fe. Maybe the coming national economic debacle will staunch some of that.

PS--I'm not running down people who want to live in Santa Fe like Towanda, who--by her posts--clearly does not sound like one of the people who are moving there just because it is "cool," trendy, or the latest "neat" place to be. But there are plenty of those who hold all of those disagreeable traits who are. I have a number of friends who lived in Santa Fe for decades (or have left there because they got fed up with what it has become). I can not think of one of them who is happy about what has happened to Santa Fe in the last 20-25 years.