Pros & Cons of living in Santa Fe ??? (Bosque Farms: home, theater)

[Dancingearth]

Originally Posted by acs.1979

Hello All…

I am currently living in Portland, OR, which I like very much. However, the winters here nearly drive me insane. The summers here are wonderful, but each winter is 6 months or more of cold, dark, damp days. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the cold once in a while, I grew up in New England… but combined with a wet climate, and very little sunlight…I find myself feeling like a corpse by the time each January ends...and winter drags on ‘till April…some say ‘till July in these parts.

Despite that, I do love Portland for its culture, its “live & let live” vibe, and the quantity/variety of its bars & restaurants. So, the thought of leaving it makes me a bit nervous. I am looking for a city that can offer me at least some of what Portland can, but with way more sunny lazy days. Can anyone give me some pointers on what is nice and what is not so nice about living in Santa Fe? Is it tough to find a job (I work in waste management & also freelance art & design) ? Is it tough to find affordable rental housing in a decent neighborhood? Does Santa Fe have a variety (or…any?) of affordable bars & restaurants that cater to it’s locals, not just tourists??? That last one may sound petty, but to me it is one of the best things about Portland…tons of reasonably priced, non-touristy bars & restaurants with great happy hours. Thanks in advance!!

I visited Portland a few times when I lived in Olympia, WA. I remember fabulous restaurants and Powells. I miss Asian food--haven't found anywhere good here although tonight a woman from Korea gave me a tip on a restaurant that has clean woks. I get tired of eating New Mexican food even though I like it. I wish there were more choices. Things close up pretty early--most of the time I don't mind but last Sunday a friend and I were looking for a burrito and all my favorites close at 2 pm (or not open at all on Sunday.)

I don't miss the rain in WA during the winter--much prefer the cold and SUN. I do miss the water (the sound, ocean.) I like the proximity of hiking here. Tomorrow I'll drive 15 minutes to BLM land and will hike up the mesa and see petroglyphs and beautiful views. My favorite thing about New Mexico is the geography and history. I love the sense of space here--skies--mountains--plains.

[Vinegaroon]

Originally Posted by Dancingearth

I visited Portland a few times when I lived in Olympia, WA. I remember fabulous restaurants and Powells. I miss Asian food--haven't found anywhere good here although tonight a woman from Korea gave me a tip on a restaurant that has clean woks. I get tired of eating New Mexican food even though I like it. I wish there were more choices. Things close up pretty early--most of the time I don't mind but last Sunday a friend and I were looking for a burrito and all my favorites close at 2 pm (or not open at all on Sunday.)

I don't miss the rain in WA during the winter--much prefer the cold and SUN. I do miss the water (the sound, ocean.) I like the proximity of hiking here. Tomorrow I'll drive 15 minutes to BLM land and will hike up the mesa and see petroglyphs and beautiful views. My favorite thing about New Mexico is the geography and history. I love the sense of space here--skies--mountains--plains.

What is the place with the clean woks?

[Towanda]

Do some places have dirty woks?

[loborick]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

That's exactly why I haven't looked in UT for my relocation. Mormons are great people in my experience (camping in UT a lot) and they take great care of their cities and state. It's just that for the most part they socialize within the church, and I believe that a non-Mormon could get pretty lonesome there. Since most of the people in most of the smaller towns are Mormon I'm pretty sure the people I dealt with in stores, gas stations, camp grounds, etc., were Mormon, and they were without exception very nice to me, very helpful. If I was willing to switch to Mormonism I would seriously locate there, but I'm not religious.

Cedar City and St. George have large non-Mormon populations and would be more hospitable to non-Mormons (IMO).

I love visiting UT, and in fact one reason in favor of my moving to Santa Fe is that it's closer to UT than where I am now.

Mormon people are some of the nicest people in the world, my comments were in no way disparaging them. But I just didn't feel comfortable there.

My ex moved to St. George and loved it. She has an aunt there and says the climate is wonderful. She as rheumatoid arthritis and the winters in SLC and SF were hard on her. Her grandfather lives in Torrey, just outside of Capitol Reef NP. What a beautiful area. We visited a couple of times and it is amazing.

[Dancingearth]

Originally Posted by Vinegaroon

What is the place with the clean woks?

I couldn't understand the name but she said it was in the shopping center with Cinema Cafe on St. Michaels. She mentioned Wok was pretty good too. I tried Wild Wok and thought it was just okay.

Towanda - I don't know if there are places with dirty woks - this was what she told me and I figured it was her criteria for where to eat.

[Dancingearth]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

Actually I've been wondering the same thing, that I would adapt.

'm thinking more along the lines of selling my house in LA, then maybe renting an apartment or house in SF for a while, to give myself enough time to decide if I really want to live there. However the complexities of moving and all the stuff I have makes that difficult. Moving once is going to be Hell, and I'm not liking the idea of moving twice. Those who have not lived in one spot have NO idea how much stuff you can collect. And heck, I don't wanna give up my power tools! I figure a guy who doesn't own a table saw is almost the same thing as a chick!

Hey, I adapted to my house being 62 degrees although sometimes I bask at 65 if I'm just sitting. Now I find I get hot higher than 62 if I'm cleaning. Sometimes I get tired of the cold but it really isn't so cold you can't get out and hike or walk. We had one night of 9 degrees (I remember that because my bathroom froze); mostly it's in the 30-40 range and SUNNY (I'm still celebrating seeing the sun in the winter after 5 years in WA state.)

Have you looked into the Pods? Using them made this last move much easier--no carrying things up ramps and no unpacking into another storage unit. They delivered two pods to my place in WA, my son packed them for me, and then I had them stored in ABQ until I decided where I wanted to live when I got to Santa Fe. I rented a room until I bought my place. Everytime I move I get rid of more stuff but we wouldn't want you turning into a chick Whew, the table saw in my garage is my son's. I stick with a drill and dremel--less likely to cut off a finger. So I guess I'm still a chick.

[Towanda]

Dancingearth -

How are you enjoying your house in Santa Fe?

[Lovehound]

Thanks DE for the reply. I know what those pod things are but I hadn't given much thought to using them. After your advice I'll give it more serous thought.

Some people accumulate more than others, and most people accumulate more the longer they live in one spot. I've been here in my present house for 30 years, and I'm astonished that I actually have friends who have accumulated more than me. I'm facing up to the fact that I have to do some serious cutting down, and just give up some stuff that I would prefer to take. Although I have more power tools than many, I can probably sell the big stuff and move the small stuff. I can live without the table saw or maybe buy a new one, but I'd rather die than give up my drill press! I've got the shipping box for the press so I can probably disassemble it and get it back in a small package.

It would be good for me to have some yard sales when the weather gets nicer. Tools are one of the hottest items here in So. Cal. garage sales, and I can sell my stuff plus my step dad gave me some tools he didn't want anymore.

I like the idea of the pods, plus I'm planning on transporting serious stuff myself, electronic gear, guns, the kind of stuff that is valuable and easy to steal. I can trust the bed, couch, dining room table, etc. to a moving outfit. There's nothing there I can't replace on an insurance claim.

[Towanda]

Lovehound,

I know what you mean. I lived in my house in Kansas for 28 years, and it took me a full year to scale down on our household goods before our move out here.

I donated boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff to charity, donated furniture, gave away books and yarn and canning jars and kids toys, gave house plants to friends, gave usable household goods to my son and his wife. And I threw out so much stuff I could not believe we had all that junk around for years.

Thank goodness I did! My new house here in New Mexico is not overcrowded with years of accumulated "stuff", I found some good homes for some of my things -- and I have never missed one single thing I threw out.

[Lovehound]

I gotta do that too Towanda. Even if I don't move it would be great to be free from all this personal flotsam, jetsam and effluvia.