Moving to Espanola! -YIKES! Any Advice!? (Santa Fe, Las Vegas: house, to buy, place to live)

[elsueno]

My husband and I have lived in Espanola since 1972. We both worked at Los Alamos Lab. We are originally from Pennsylvania. Espanola is an unusual place to live. It's surrounded by Indian Pueblos. The traditions here are interesting and very different from what we grew up with. We have a pretty nice house with a swimming pool, great yard, and a wine cellar that I would venture to say would cost 3times what it does in Esp.-taxes are also lower in Esp. Meeting people here wasn't easy. The friends we've made over the years are diverse. There's a big gay community in Santa Fe and Abiquiu and our friends here include Indians, Hispanics, Anglos (us white folk), and gays. We also have friends in Santa Fe and Los Alamos. Apartments in Espanola are practically non-existant and what there are are pretty grim. Housing is reasonable, but, again, can be daunting to someone not accustomed to the area. You may even hate Santa Fe because of all the adobe houses. My sister who visited here from Pennsylvania hated it because it didn't look like "home." I do most of my shopping in Santa Fe. It's about 25 minutes from my house to downtown Santa Fe. There is an area - Pojoaque/Nambe - that's about 8 miles south of Espanola where you might find a nice small rental house. Sometimes people rent out their guest houses in Santa Fe. I house sat there for a month to see (before the current economic bust) if my husband & I should sell & move there. Frankly, the place that we could afford was not as attractive to me as where we live in Espanola. The place we couldn't afford was, of course, fabulous. I think it takes a certain adventursome nature to live in Espanola, but my husband & I would be hard-pressed to live anywhere else. Good luck.

[michelle58]

Great to find this thread of conversation. I am making a trip out to Espanola this spring, with a possible move this summer. Would love more info on good places to live in town, or places to avoid. I am looking to rent a small house initially... thanks...

[Fischer_girl]

Originally Posted by michelle58

Great to find this thread of conversation. I am making a trip out to Espanola this spring, with a possible move this summer. Would love more info on good places to live in town, or places to avoid. I am looking to rent a small house initially... thanks...

Michelle58:

Hello. I was the one who origionally started this blog awhile back. Everyone on here has given amazing thought and feedback. My husband and I decided to find housing in Santa Fe...partially because we were so unfamiliar with the area and partially because my husband found a job in ABQ and SF would be halfway for both of us. I actually start my job in Espanola Monday so I'll have more of a better idea of that area when we get started.
There is ONE thing about this area that no one informed me of..and I had never heard of before. The majority of rental places here...apartments that is..have a CAP (max.) on how much income you can have in order to qualify to live there. For example..some places say you have to make less that $32,000/yr even though rent is still $700-$800+/month. Maybe thats what people do here..but it blew my mind as I am NOT used to spending 30% of my income on housing!!! Just...be aware. And if you make more than the cap..there is NO WAY they'll let you in because they get tax credit for being "low income housing"!
Anyway. Not sure if I was much help. I am suuuper glad I didnt get into a lease just by finding a place online. I would by FAR recommend coming here and staying in a hotel til you find a place that meets your standard. It did take me four good days of looking before I fouldnt something I was willing to take. Lemme know if you have more questions that I may be able to aswer.... moving is suuuper stressful!!!

[bradly]

People make it seem super stressful, When most of my family relocated from Colorado to Espanola they found proper housing and well they now have great houses in Espanola. For those of you who think Espanola doesnt have nice houses.. think again. Go down Camino Santa Cruz and Chacoma Vista near El Lano.

[NewMexicoLover]

Theres a family that lives in a huge house in Fairview. The house is valued at around nine million. The family that lives there buys run-down houses around the city and completely renovates them for rentals. They are active in the community and help out whenever possible, especially when you are new. They helped me tremendously when I first moved to Espanola. They also own their own business in Espanola. This is proof that Espanola has great good and there are people here to help out. Another beautiful house is located on Fairview Lane behind a very tall and long white wall. Check it out!

[bradly]

Yea I know who they are, My parents house is at $2.4 Million, not even close to mine at $620k the Next door neighbors is about $3 Million.

Espanola is a very successful city for new businesses, regardless, after my parents opened one restaurant they couldnt stop but build more.. Espanola currently has a masterplan for a new commercial and downtown area, mostly casinos but it will bring in people and jobs.


By the way, that Huge house behind the really nice white wall is the former Espanola mayor Estate.

[ExperiencedEspanolian]

Wow, well how weird...your searching on the internet and you find a posting about you and your family. The family that NewMexicoLover is describing would be myself, my husband, and our two children. Thanks for not bad mouthing! The "huge house behind the really nice wall" would be my our uncles house. Funny how everyone in Esp knows about everyone else's business. It also upsets me when people talk about our community when they haven't lived here for any amount of time, and by the way, passing through or just visiting doesnt give you a right to comment or judge. Just saying!

[La Coqui]

Oh please don't move here!! I've been here 20 + years and if it weren't that I am madly in love with my hubby, I would have left a long time ago. I grew up in a real city and each day I try to find SOMETHING I like about Espanola. So far, it's only been the love of my life....What love can do hu?

[Santa Fe]

I live in Nambe and frankly I would NOT buy or rent housing in any of the towns without coming here and spending a couple of weeks looking around. And if you looked carefully, into where you moved in Espanola, you could be fine.

However, if you are thinking about setting down roots and having kids and sending them to the public schools then -- and I may get some flak for this -- scratch Espanola and even the Pojoaque Valley off the list and look carefully at your neighborhood schools in Santa Fe.

In Espanola, 8% of the high school juniors tested scored as competent on the standardized testing. The sports writer for the Rio Grande Sun pointed out this of necessity implied that some of the honor roll students did not meet competency standards.

[backslacker]

learn Spanish and maybe get a concealed weapons permit. affordable housing is Housing is difficult from Santa Fe all the way to Taos unless you find a experience off the grid but that is hauling water and wood, solar etc. Santa fe is worth the extra money and commute but be weary of drunk drivers.I was very scared when I looked around parts of Espanola & was denied housing because I didn't look or speak Spanish even though I have a Spanish name. Don't ever experience that in Santa Fe. Santa fe has the best of everything NM has to offer. I looked there & scatched it off my list of places I would live.