Quote:
Originally Posted by Arioso
Hi: I'm a musician and looking for a place to retire. I play in orchestras, and play church gigs and weddings, and have done a lot of composition, conducting, etc., my whole life. I also teach privately.
I'm wondering if Santa Fe would be a good place for me. I spend the majority of my time practicing and teaching (strings and piano, not loud or electronic music). For most of my adult life I've spent maybe 80% of the year, touring, living in hotel rooms, playing for bands and backup gigs, etc.
I'm getting older and want to settle down; I'm going to sell my house and make what I hope is one, final move. Moving to Santa Fe kind of scares me, though; I know I could find a lot of kindred spirits, but what if I tire of the adobe buildings, and what if it is too expensive? I have to find some place where I can teach, and practice without disturbing anyone (always a concern).
Your thoughts appreciated...
|
You might tire of the adobes? First time I heard that concern. You'll tire of them if your flat roof leaks (and if you can afford a real adobe, your wall melts), and even then, you can always opt for finding a house with a sloped roof (Northern NM style), but unfortunately, there aren't many of those.
If you are considering Santa Fe, you've got to LOVE mountains, the landscape, and four seasons including winter, and be sure of that.
Renting first, of course, is an excellent idea. It gives you a chance to experience the area in which you are renting, while checking out other areas, and see if you can attract a good number of students to keep you going musically.
Eldorado (11 to 14 miles outside of Santa Fe) may be a good option since the houses are all on large lots which would allow you to practice whenever you want without worrying about neighbors.
The community in Eldorado is large enough there that you might find enough private students, since people there can afford private instruction for their children. I believe the great clarinet player, Eddie Daniels, lives there.
And it is quite safe there, in terms of break-ins. In some neighborhoods of Santa Fe, which can vary from building to building, nothing like a good Santa Fe welcome, of moving into a place, and having all your instruments ripped off. Mention of Eldorado is predicated on the concept that you consider Eldorado affordable.
What renting won't do, is perhaps allow you to take advantage of low foreclosure prices at this time. Then again, a worst case scenario is that the economy could drop 25% more, and along with that, housing prices.
Whether Santa Fe is expensive, is relative to other places. For example, property taxes are tiny compared to places like NJ, and real estate is much cheaper than Aspen, and other trendy chic cities, that are world tourist destinations. However, when they talk about "affordable" new housing in Santa Fe, it is usually something around $200,000, where there are parts of the country where you can still find a decent older house for $60,000. You can't do that in Santa Fe.
The music scene here is a mixed bag. The summer opera is world famous, and chamber music festival leans heavily on the best musicians from NYC or other parts of the country. So, kind of high flying. I knew a composer/conductor piano player who came from Chicago, and then moved back after three years.
The music scene is competitive here, at the levels below the very top. In music, you'll find overly qualified people teaching at low wage jobs at the community college, for example. He was one of those people. Compared to the vibrant musical life in a major city, Santa Fe felt stagnant to him.
If you play viola or bass (or violin or cello) well enough, you might consider auditioning for the opera orchestra or the Santa Fe Symphony, if there's an opening, before you move here. That would give you some work, while establishing good local credentials for teaching. The keyboard level is pretty high around here, for the size of the population. There are lots of piano players.
Also, note that the dry climate here warrants the use of simple instrument humidifier for string instruments and piano.
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.
