Moving to santa fe... Should i buy a machine gun!!!?? (Hope: house, to live in)

[wendyto]

Suggestions for a firearm for a little lady with a big purse? Not too heavy please .

[funkymonkey]

Originally Posted by Cali-girl

One last thing: the open hostility of certain segments of Santa Fe has become more and more evident to Californians. I don't have to say anything...when I say "New Mexico," there is a noticeable pause in conversations with fellow Californians and I can just feel the heaviness.

Pissed because we're stealing so much movie business?

There was a recent show on satellite showing a Californian subjected to emotional abuse in Albuquerque - I think that is having a lot of play.
In any event, word is apparently getting around and its not good.

Better than cop killers in Oakland?

Californians will continue to read stuff like this and will choose to avoid doing the tourist thing or buying property here. Sometimes, consequences are far worse than we can ever imagine.

Huh? Californians threatening not to move to Santa Fe? You just pleased about 85% of the population. If you ask a lot of people, it was the Californians that "ruined" Santa Fe, so don't act so high and mighty.

[newmex]

Originally Posted by rybert

I double that

[Nicholija_Supertramp]

Originally Posted by bradly

Your problem is listening to those ignorant rumors and comments made about Espanola. Mostly of those "newcomers" that move here, because simply Espanola isnt good enough for them. Belive me I know!

Espanola is fine. I dont know how it is not? It has any thing any city its size would have.. I grew up there. It is a fine city! Good experiances??!..well watch out for the muggers.

Actually I'm not going off of any "ignorant rumors" I'm going off of 20+ years of driving through that town and having to use their hospitals, auto mechanics, etc. I don't believe that just because someone if from Espanola they are bad or that the whole town is a horrible place or something. However, I do not like the town from my own personal experiences. I have experienced a decent amount of racism in the town, I have experienced very rude people on a regular basis even in the hospital, and I have dealt with auto mechanics that tried to rip off my family. I have had several guys in that town say rude things to my girlfriend and even my mom when stopping for gas, food, etc. in Espanola. So...again, I am only stating my own opinion that Espanola is not somewhere I like and I make an effort to not stop there anymore on my way to Chama. I have no doubt that Espanola has good things about it too though! I will try to keep an open mind and give another shot maybe in a year or so!

[southernjedi]

I know one thing that after almost getting run over for the upteenth time by yet another person driving a car with California plates who yells "hey move it!" to me as I'm running through that cross walk, get home shaking until my boots come off, I start thinking "now where did I leave my personalized .38 speshul?

Sorry, Cali and NY people, MOST (not all) of you have these very agressive, i'm special, get away or i'll run you over attitudes. Austin hasn't been the same since some of you moved here. It's awful. I've lived in Texas all my life, lived in many states and when I came back to Austin and been here for a few months, it's not the same. It's very disheartening.

So maybe before you trash people in this forum about their "negative" attitudes toward you, about why they don't like you when you move to Santa Fe, Austin, Nevada or whatever, think about WHY the heck they don't warm up to you. Let's listen in shall we?

1. Agressive, ugly drivers who don't care if they kill someone.
2. Agressive in grocery stores, hitting people with their carts and doing stupid wheelies with their carts in very tight areas in grocery aisles.
3. Cutting in line at many stores or venues.
4. Hiding behind large sunglasses and hats with a cell phone perenially attached to their ear.
5. Talking very loudly on their cell phone during church service, buses, libraries, restaurants (your life ISN'T that important honey). And yes, we are trying to mind our own business but it's very hard to think over the loud bulls**t coming out of your mouth as you talk on that phone.
6. Oh and that awesome, warm, enchanting attitude (yes it's sarcasm) you show to people who are asking you a very simple question "what time do you have, kindly sir/madam?", etc. etc.

SOOOO....I could go on and on. So cut the BS and accept that most of you Cali/NY transplants could work on your people/human skills. The faster you adapt and let go of your crappy attitudes you developed in your previous life, the better you can enjoy the new life you are now living elsewhere wherever that may be.

Tamales anyone?

[Xavious Orgus]

Funny.

I spent the past two years taking very long vacations out West (Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico) and there is one thing all the States have in common. They hate Californians!

No offense, I personally don't mind Californian's. They are quite entertaining in their own unique and fragile way. I cannot for the life of me understand...If California is so great, why don't they stay home?!?

[Bideshi]

Originally Posted by wendyto

Suggestions for a firearm for a little lady with a big purse? Not too heavy please .

PPKS in .380 or similar DA auto. PLS don't go lighter than a .380.

[lalahartma]

Originally Posted by wendyto

I lived in Montreal (over a million people) and dealt with far less of this.

Fewer homeless in cold locales. Perhaps Quebec takes better care of its people?

[mesaverde]

I'm going to stick my toe in the water here and contribute a bit, if only because I happen to be a Californian relocating to New Mexico!

First, southernjedi - great post. I laughed through a lot of it, I love how you express yourself. I can't say I disagree with you on a lot of it, and I'm happy you did say, "MOST, not all". Thanks for that, because I do consider myself one of the sane ones.

I can't speak for other areas, because I've not traveled a lot in the U.S. (only abroad), but I do notice the cell phone issue here. Even after they passed a law making illegal to talk in your car, I see everyone doing it. It makes me very frustrated because as a mom of a preschooler, and I'm in my car, going the speed limit, being safe for my little guy's sake and trying to avoid the crazies. I'm continually amazed by the aggressive freeway driving. But, I will say, when I lived in Colorado, the I-25 could get pretty hairy too. Me and the trucks hung out in the slow lane and that was good enough for me!

Originally Posted by Xavious Orgus

Funny.

I spent the past two years taking very long vacations out West (Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico) and there is one thing all the States have in common. They hate Californians!

No offense, I personally don't mind Californian's. They are quite entertaining in their own unique and fragile way. I cannot for the life of me understand...If California is so great, why don't they stay home?!?

I have to say I'm not unaware of the "hating Californians" issue and it does make me a little nervous, especially because I'm committing myself to raising my family and ultimately retiring in SF. I'm in it for the long haul. Hopefully after "x" many years, I'll just blend into the landscape and not be from anywhere except Santa Fe.

When I was in Colorado for two years, I didn't really encounter any open hostility, because many told me, "It's grown so much here, that almost everyone is from somewhere else", but I did ask about the Californian issue, and was told that, "Californians come out here and do nothing but complain about everything. The weather, the elevation, the culture, etc." Now, I realize this is subjective, coming from one person I asked, but I can see some truth in that. I personally loved the culture and the weather (having actual seasons!) but I'm probably an exception I would guess.

I did want to speak to the "...why don't they just stay home" statement. If for no other reason than to have people get to know me and my story a little better.

I do love where I grew up in Southern California. But why does one love a place? Well, my top likes would be:

1. fantastic weather year 'round
2. I live near the ocean and love the water
3. my family is here and that's very important

However, like any place, there are drawbacks, and sometimes you have to make decisions based on what is best for your family. I would have to say that over the past ten years or so, I have slowly been "falling out of love" with California. I still want to be close to my family, and still love the ocean, but living for those two years in Colorado opened me up to a whole new way of living, thinking, seeing the seasons, and it changed me. I came back to California and began seeing cultural things I had never noticed before. I didn't really like what I saw. Some of it was touched on by southernjedi, but it's deeper than that.

Another consideration for us is that we started our own business January 2008. This is a really hard state to live in if your in a start up situation. Not only are the taxes really steep, but the cost of living is off the charts in So. Cal. We pay $2,000 a month for a duplex in an "OK" neighborhood and $800 a month for our health insurance. Those two items alone are staggering to think about. Our operating costs for our very frugal family of three, is almost $6,000 a month! So, along with the very high cost of living, the very high sales tax, franchise (business) tax, and state PIT, there's a lot of hands in our pockets. Not to mention the state is bankrupt and in free fall in the job market.

But for us, our move is really related more to lifestyle. We are choosing Santa Fe because we love it, love the area, love the culture and want a simpler way of life where we are not constantly under pressure. Slowing down, raising our son to appreciate the earth, becoming part of a tremendous wellness and healing community, is what we want. So, I come as a transplant, not with my bad attitude or rude ways, but rather as embracing a culture I want to assimilate into and become a part of. And I promise I'm a slow and respectful driver!

Well, I've rambled a bit here, but in conclusion, the things I think are "great" about California are not enough to keep me there anymore. We can visit the ocean and family. That will have to be enough. I'm not going to miss the culture that moves so fast, living so close to the Hollywood culture and that whole "look perfect, be the best, make the most money" type of thinking. I do see that (and even feel pressure from it at times) and I won't miss it at all.

Anyway, I hope I can be one of the good guys from California. I mean, someone has to, right?

Lauren

[funkymonkey]

As long as you don't constantly babble about how great california is and how backward new mexico is, you'll probably do fine.