Cost of Living Really That High? (Albuquerque, Santa Fe: health insurance, condos, mortgage)

[Xavious Orgus]

"The air is clean, but watch where you live. If you're in a rural area like I am, the dust is overwhelming. Also, a lot of people have a hard time with allergies in the spring and fall. I can't remember what causes the flare-ups, but it can be brutal for some."


From what you describe, I believe the Juniper is the culprit.

[Vinegaroon]

Originally Posted by Xavious Orgus

"The air is clean, but watch where you live. If you're in a rural area like I am, the dust is overwhelming. Also, a lot of people have a hard time with allergies in the spring and fall. I can't remember what causes the flare-ups, but it can be brutal for some."


From what you describe, I believe the Juniper is the culprit.

For sure. Many people are severely allergic to juniper around here. The strange part is that a lot of them don't develop the allergy until they have lived here a few years, and then they sneeze miserably through spring.

[smcdow]

Originally Posted by southernjedi

OPEN HOUSE THIS SUN., 10/26: Hyde Park Craftsman Bungalow

Heh. In 1983, that house was a recording studio.
I was in a band that recorded its one and only album in that house.
Brings back memories.

Greetings, all. I'm still trying to make my way from Austin to Santa Fe.

[Towanda]

Originally Posted by smcdow

Greetings, all. I'm still trying to make my way from Austin to Santa Fe.

Good luck on your journey, smcdow!

[CCCVDUR]

Originally Posted by Vinegaroon

Santa Fe is expensive to live in. I would not move here if you are a young person trying to "make it". People mostly move here that are already made. A big city will always offer you more opportunity and income. If you are determined to move here anyway, be prepared to be more thrifty and budget.

Unfortunately, the Rents and costs of commuting in big cities (as you suggest) are driving us "youngsters" (if I may quote Bob Brinker) to small to medium sized markets (most less than 500,000), such as:

Flagstaff-Prescott-Cottonwood, AZ
Boulder-Denver, CO
Santa Fe, NM
Albuquerque-Rio Rancho, NM
Tucson, AZ
Las Cruces, NM
Eugene-Springfield, OR
Bend, OR
etc.

Albuquerque, Denver, and Boulder have been recently ranked #1 by various financial publications as the "Best Cities for Young Singles..."

Unfortunately, many of us "youngsters" have useless bachelors degrees in such fields as biology and philosophy. Therefore, we are working in service jobs, at $6-$10/hour. Most of us do not want to go back to college because it was (and still is) boring and too expensive.

Therefore, other considerations become the factors of making decisions among the smaller towns, such as:

1....let's hope there are unions
2....let's hope the city has its own minimum wage
3....let's hope the unemployment is still in the single digits
4....let's hope the town allows Big-Box grocery stores, such as Wallmart, Costco, Fred Meyer, and Smiths....as this translates into cheap food, and in the case of the latter three outlets, potential unionized employment
5....let's hope the town will both welcome and hire newcomers to the state

Santa Fe and Albuquerque meet criteria 1,2,3, and probably 4, but generally in my previous experience, people in New Mexico and the Southwest prefer to hire locals over people who move from out of state. Here in Flagstaff, AZ, we fail all five criteria, really hard to believe.

I give credit to both the Santa Fe and Albuquerque Mayors, for both raising their city minimum wages, and also allowing Big Box stores and cheap food via Smiths and Superwallmart. In Flagstaff, we have no minimum wage from the city, no Smiths, no Costco, and no Superwallmart. Unfortunately, according to the other thread, someone at the Chamber of Commerce wants to cancel the 2009 Santa Fe Minimum Wage increase.

The unemployment rate is into the double digits in Flagstaff. Is it still in the single digits in Santa Fe and Albuquerque?

You say that there are more opportunities for young people in big cities. Definitely correct when it comes to "Professional, Scientific, and Technical" jobs (if I may quote the City-Data.Com bar graph headings).

Unfortuately, if you scan the rents in Craigs List for Vegas, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, the rents are too expensive, and one has to look at markets of 500,000 persons or less, like Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Eugene, OR.; and the outskirts of Denver, CO.

So most of us youngsters don't qualify for these high tech companies, we can't afford the rents in big cities, we hated college so we aren't going back, although we are still eager to learn, but just don't want to pay someone to give us multiple choice tests.

We just want to be in a union at a job that pays at least $10/ hour, we want rent less than $800 a month so we can save money to buy land, and Santa Fe and San Francisco are the only two places in the US where everyone is paid $10/hour. Eugene, Oregon is another place where rents are low, but the wages are also low.

It seems to me that nobody seems to care about us.

It's a huge problem. The 18-34 and especially the 25-34 age demos should be propelling this economy in terms of purchasing power. Today they are not.

So much for the American dream.

Does anyone have any other locations to suggest meeting the five criteria above?

[CCCVDUR]

[qu

Does anyone have any other locations to suggest meeting the five criteria above?[/quote]

How about Austin, TX?

[CCCVDUR]

Originally Posted by Vinegaroon

I would like to hear from others that live in and around Santa Fe, or have previously lived here. Does it feel like Santa Fe is more expensive to live in, or is that just a myth?

Good question and I hope others will answer...!
I've lived in both Albuquerque and Santa Fe within the last 2 years. They were both much, much, much cheaper than any of the following cities.

In addition, I'll mention the specific reasons why, since it seems in this thread that people perceive things differently based on their life experiences:

Flagstaff, AZ (thanks to the city council there are no big box grocery stores so food is too expensive, rents are too high, and landlords in this town don't pay any utilities, even sewer/garbage/water, hard to believe)

Henderson-Las Vegas, NV (food prices too high, rents too high, too much commuting)

Seattle-Tacoma, WA (food prices too high, rents too high, too much commuting)

I am leaving Flagstaff because like many others in Flagstaff I can't make it here, and I can't afford to move back to the others.

I could afford to move back to Albuquerque or Santa Fe.

I have no idea about Boulder. On Craigs List, it look expensive. I have no idea why.

Richard Florida is correct that Albuquerque is one of the best cities for the creative class, young singles, etc. in his "Albuquerque-Santa Fe Axis of Creativity." As far as I know, this is not a competitor:
THE COLLECTOR’S GUIDE: ALBUQUERQUE-SANTA FE: AXIS OF CREATIVITY

[Androcles]

Originally Posted by Tom Lane

Albuquerque, Denver, and Boulder have been recently ranked #1 by various financial publications as the "Best Cities for Young Singles..."

Unfortunately, many of us "youngsters" have useless bachelors degrees in such fields as biology and philosophy. Therefore, we are working in service jobs, at $6-$10/hour. Most of us do not want to go back to college because it was (and still is) boring and too expensive.

Therefore, other considerations become the factors of making decisions among the smaller towns, such as:

1....let's hope there are unions
2....let's hope the city has its own minimum wage
3....let's hope the unemployment is still in the single digits
4....let's hope the town allows Big-Box grocery stores, such as Wallmart, Costco, Fred Meyer, and Smiths....as this translates into cheap food, and in the case of the latter three outlets, potential unionized employment
5....let's hope the town will both welcome and hire newcomers to the state

Santa Fe and Albuquerque meet criteria 1,2,3, and probably 4, but generally in my previous experience, people in New Mexico and the Southwest prefer to hire locals over people who move from out of state. Here in Flagstaff, AZ, we fail all five criteria, really hard to believe.

I give credit to both the Santa Fe and Albuquerque Mayors, for both raising their city minimum wages, and also allowing Big Box stores and cheap food via Smiths and Superwallmart. In Flagstaff, we have no minimum wage from the city, no Smiths, no Costco, and no Superwallmart. Unfortunately, according to the other thread, someone at the Chamber of Commerce wants to cancel the 2009 Santa Fe Minimum Wage increase.

The unemployment rate is into the double digits in Flagstaff. Is it still in the single digits in Santa Fe and Albuquerque?

You say that there are more opportunities for young people in big cities. Definitely correct when it comes to "Professional, Scientific, and Technical" jobs (if I may quote the City-Data.Com bar graph headings).

Unfortuately, if you scan the rents in Craigs List for Vegas, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, the rents are too expensive, and one has to look at markets of 500,000 persons or less, like Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Eugene, OR.; and the outskirts of Denver, CO.

So most of us youngsters don't qualify for these high tech companies, we can't afford the rents in big cities, we hated college so we aren't going back, although we are still eager to learn, but just don't want to pay someone to give us multiple choice tests.

We just want to be in a union at a job that pays at least $10/ hour, we want rent less than $800 a month so we can save money to buy land, and Santa Fe and San Francisco are the only two places in the US where everyone is paid $10/hour. Eugene, Oregon is another place where rents are low, but the wages are also low.

It seems to me that nobody seems to care about us.

It's a huge problem. The 18-34 and especially the 25-34 age demos should be propelling this economy in terms of purchasing power. Today they are not.

So much for the American dream.

I just want to say: Amen! I agree completely. Although I didn't finish college whatsover, for many of the reasons you mentioned. I don't really want to be rich, I just want $10 full time or equivalent for a single person with modest tastes to live on. I actually make $10.25 now, but the job is part time and full time positions are rare in a lot of libraries these days to avoid paying benefits, etc.

I was wondering why you left Santa Fe in the first place? I'm guessing because it's hard for an outsider to get hired. I was considering moving to New Mexico and a lot of the info on here has been very helpful. But I want to be wary of whatever drove you from there.

I'd be glad of anybody else who has comments too. One thing I wondered about was water shortages/conservation in NM. To what extent does it impact daily life, esp. for a single person possibly living in an apartment? I will keep searching the forums for more info too. Thanks.

[Towanda]

Oooops...posted in the wrong thread. I DO have a lot of thoughts about living in Santa Fe, but have posted them many times, and anyone could do a search in the Santa Fe forum and get a lot of information.

[Androcles]

I'll check it out. I guess the Santa Fe forum is different from New Mex forum, so I'll probably have to check both.