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Hi all~
I am planning a move back to New Mexico~where my heart is~ in approximately a year's time. I am very undecided about where is best for me at this time in life, with my present circumstances. Here's some background:
I am a licensed massage therapist, age 46. When I was 33, I packed up an old pickup, my two cats, and some clothes and moved to Taos from Cincinnati, OH. Spent 5 months there and can only say that I was mind-blown, spirit-blown by the beauty of the place...and yet, I struggled quite a bit because I went with only the sketchiest of plans for employment, etc. I was there only 5 months before a sudden death in my immediate family brought me back to Cincinnati, where I presently reside, and which is slowly killing me lol! In the interim, I have spent a few years in New England, which was partly awful and partly gorgeous (coast of Maine) but not "me" in the way that NM is.
In returning, I want to choose the best all-around location both socially and economically. I am not looking to buy a home. I would be an apartment dweller. A single, female, apartment-dwelling massage therapist/writer.
You know Taos to an extent, but if not Santa Fe and Albuquerque as well it might be advisable to do some exploring. Your given career and life would fit all three fine, Taos most specifically. Yet due its size it might also prove the most difficult to become established in; Taos suffers no lack of massage therapists and aspiring writers. In practical terms ABQ might be the easiest to make a home in initially, in no small part due its appreciably larger market.
But in looking consider where you would most like to live, as each of these three towns, all fine in their own way, are naturally different in certain aspects. In size alone you will have an obvious choice in that you most prefer, and some find even Taos too large. People succeed in such fields in all three towns, so the question is how you might? It will almost certainly pose a challenge, as you might have appreciated from your time in Taos. So best to aim for that truly wanted.
Taos is a poor town in a poor county, within a poor state. That is one aspect of it. The expensive adobe houses and fine restaurants bespeak another aspect. As mentioned, one might be mind and spirit-blown in such a place, and that is one of its enchanting aspects. To make a viable life is to incorporate enough of the right aspects in a certain balance. The challenge, key, and enticement.
I'd suggest you check out Silver City in the Southwest corner of the State. It's a beautiful small town with lots of character, wonderful culture and perfect climate. IMO some of the most beautiful hiking in the state.
Love Taos - but wouldn't want to live there. It has become much more commercial and has attracted more transients. You might say it's more glamorous in some ways, and seedier in others.
We looked at living in Taos a few years back. There weren't many good places we could have afforded. I think the cost of living would have killed us. Fortunately, dh didn't get the job. I still love visiting there. I think it would be harder to get established there. The last couple of times we visited, the town appeared to be affected by the downtown in the economy. A bad economy is always good news for someone, but I'm not sure it would be good for your field.
Of the three, I would probably also choose Albuquerque. I think you could find more affordable housing and have more work options available. You can always escape to the surrounding ares if you need more inspiration for your writing.
Thank you all for your replies to my question
I haven't been back to Taos/Santa Fe in over 10 years....I still dream about it and would love to return. So many wonderful memories. Living in Taos brought out a side of this Midwesterner that I haven't really experienced since...however....Taos doesn't offer me the two things I am most interested in right now: an opportunity to make a very good living in my profession and the opportunity to find love with someone who is actually rooted there and who plans to stay awhile. At least, this was my experience all those years ago. Now I'm just older and want those things even more
So, right. As of this moment, Taos is out, Santa Fe is a "maybe," and Alb is my strongest leaning.
Right now, I feel a strong pulll to visit NM again. Anywhere! Just want to cross the state line!
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