Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I visited Santa Fe about 20 years ago and loved what I saw as a tourist. It seems to fit my current needs, and I've been strongly thinking of relocating there from the San Diego area.
This week I talked with a friend from Scottsdale who lived in Santa Fe for five years, and he made a comment that surprised me – he described the city as "dirty." He went on to say that the streets never appeared to be cleaned and that things were generally disorderly and unkempt. He described the town as seeming trashy and culturally conflictive.
In what sense could the city itself be considered dirty? In disrepair? Run down? Do people leave junk and clunkers in their in-town yards, or did my friend completely miss the mark? Could his opinion be outdated?
Please help me get the real 'dirt' on Santa Fe before further considering a move – and thanks for your thoughtful replies.
The downtown area and the streets are clean. There are neighborhoods where people park cars on sidewalks and leave trash and junker cars around. If you want to avoid that, just observe the neighboring houses where you may want to live.
Agreed. The downtown and shopping areas and public areas generally are kept clean. Places like Museum Hill are kept clean. Beyond that it is by neighborhood.
I'll agree with Vinegaroon and Santafe, and also throw in the Eldorado area as "clean".
I think your Scottsdale friend, Steven, may have been trying to compare Santa Fe to Scottsdale - and that's not a fair comparison. If you want a uniformly upscale, white (so no "culturally conflictive"), clean environment then Scottsdale fits the bill. Unlike Scottsdale, which is an enclave, Santa Fe is a culturally mixed city with a variety of neighborhoods that cater to the full range of socio-economic classes.
I can understand how someone who prefers the Scottsdale environment might think that Santa Fe is "generally dirty...disorderly and unkempt." Let's face it - after a winter with snow and rain, combined with sanded highways and our dirt roads, cars and streets don't have that just-scrubbed look you'll find in a desert enclave with no inclement weather (except extreme summer heat). Also, many of us love living on dirt roads or love funky adobe houses, and hate the idea of using precious water to maintain pristine lawns. Scottsdale is the antithesis of that mindset. Don't get me wrong - I have nothing against Scottsdale and have friends there; it's just totally different from Santa Fe and comparisons are not justified.
So my advice is not to make any decision on moving here until you visit again and see for yourself. We've got a vibrant city - the best small city in the country to my mind - and you'll find neighborhoods of every kind, some of which are uniformly very well kept, and others with a more helter-skelter look. If you get caught up in the magic of Santa Fe, who knows which you will prefer?......
The longer I live here, the more I see people who love to run down Santa Fe.
This is in NO WAY a dirty city.
Sure, there are some poor neighborhoods and the last thing on the minds of people scratching out a living is having beautiful landscaping around their property.
As for litter, I see very little of it anywhere around here.
But then ... maybe I just love this city so much I am blind to any "dirt" -- except my dirt road, which I am happy with.
Steven -- come visit and check it out for yourself.
Motel row is the dirtiest part of town - and it's because of the traffic and congestion. Otherwise, SF is one of the cleanest I've ever had the good fortune to visit. I just wish I had seen it 30 yrs ago!
Personally ... I think BOTH of you deserve a blue ribbon for all your contributions to the Santa Fe Forum.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
