? about living in Santa Fe area

[Natwbie]

My family and I want to move from San Antonio to the Southwest. SA has grown considerably, the crime rate is rising, pollution is increasing, and the construction thwarts any hope of driving without frustration. We are considering Santa Fe and have visited quite a bit. The Wharton School and Santa Fe Prep are 2 good private schools! Its a European sort of town where dogs are welcome in stores, various languages are spoken on the streets, and culture is plentiful (Museums, the opera, the Indian Market).

The air is very clean and there are many democrats.

[Devin Bent]

In Santa Fe, you will find some good elementary schools and now the charter high school is building a decent reputation. So you can get a decent education for your kids and stay in the public school system.

Housing does does cost more in Santa Fe, but the price differences in other areas are pretty minor.

You can buy in Rio Rancho and work in Santa Fe, but recently the New Mexican ran an article about the poor unfortunates who bought in Rio Rancho and are now getting squeezed by rising fuel cost. Generally, the economics are pretty simple and one-sided -- Buy in Santa Fe and put the additional expense in a mortgage wins hands-down over buying in Rio Rancho and putting the additional expense into transportation costs.

[ricky37]

Congrat's to your wife, are you going to be looking for employment? Most jobs are in Albuquerque. You may choose to pick some land in between. Placitas maybe. The highway from ABQ to SF can be tough in the winter snow. Let me know if you will need some employment suggestions. <Mod message: advertising employment is against the forum Terms of Service (TOS)>

[Vinegaroon]

Chances of finding a nice, 3 bedroom house in Santa Fe for under $200K are slim. In addition, just living here is expensive, although others seem to be constantly debating me on this. (Usually someone from L.A. or the like saying it cannot be as expensive as L.A.)

I could give you many examples of the expense, such as restaurant prices, gas prices, housing, however I can just give you one that I just experienced. I just went out and bought a hot dog off a vendor's cart. The thing cost $5.00! I was recently in Denver and bought a hot dog downtown for $2.50, and it was bigger. That's just Santa Fe to me, paying twice as much for not as much.