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Hi. Just wanted to let you know we just bought a house in Edgewood on 2 acres. Its an adobe style and it is set in the middle of the 2 acres. The neighbors are close enough to wave to and maybe give a shout too, but that's about it. Everyone in the area is on at least 2 acres. The land is pretty flat, but the views of the mountains are panoramic and the night sky will be something to behold. We close on 8-15, if all goes well. There is a Super Walmart opening in the Fall/Winter, 2007 and so it will have "some" shopping. The Walmart looks bigger than any we've ever seen. It is horse country by the way. After we move and I get to know the area, please feel free to contact me and if I can answer any of your questions, I will. Have a great day and good luck!!
NM-Bound!
I am not a genius! Just a good researcher. I learn "new" things from this forum's contributors all the time, just like you. :-)
FYI: There are 55 listings in the Albuquerque area yellow pages for "Graphic Designer," including a few "independent" individuals. So...I'm sure "someone" can always use another talented artist such as yourself. You are talented aren't you? Thought so.
Not only a genius (your words, certainly not mine)...but psychic too! LOL.
On with your "Quest!"
NM-Bound check out google maps and zero in on the northern NM area. Sounds like you want to be near Santa Fe. I'm in Taos and it definitely ISN'T a big city. There are some beautiful places just north of Santa Fe, Espanola isn't my cup of tea but the area around it is nice, try the "high road to Taos" Chimayo area. Also the Pojaque valley. Hey, be sure and have a green chili cheeseburger while you're in the area. If you'll be staying in Santa Fe be sure and go to dinner (or lunch) at Tomasina's at the Railroad complex.
NM_PJ,
A psychic huh, a jack of all trades! Thanks for the info. I will certainly check them out. As for the talented artist remark...I ROCK! LOL!
Take care partner!
Cbundy,
How do you like Taos? I really want to be in a small city. I don't mind traveling 30 min to a big city. Need serenity and stress free living, where I can be an artist at my pace. Is the chimayo area open land or a community setting. I want to own 5 acres+ and have a cow and a horse
(yes, just one of each)
Do you know if Cerro is nice? I'll be in nm next month to look around with my real estate agent. So I need a couple of towns to check out in Taos. Suggestions are welcome!
Thanks again
hi catman,
By "ahead of the curve" you mean I would be moving there just it time, before the big boom in the area? That doen't sound that bad. Someone told me that the locals are a tough bunch. They have a hard time getting ajusted to new comers.
Do you know if that's true. We are a hispanic family and that might help us fit in better, maybe. So are the winters cruel up there?
What I meant was that, last time I was there, Questa hadn't gotten nearly as touristy as Taos, Red River, etc. I thought that perhaps that might equate to lower real estate prices. I may be wrong. I certainly don't expect a megalopolis to form anythime soon in northern NM, but more and more people are retiring up there. There won't be a "big boom", but it seems to me that Questa will eventually be discovered by more people, if it hasn't already.
Taos, even if it is small, has humongous traffic at times around the center, and property there is expensive. There are likely as many tourists there as townspeople during peak seasons, if not more.
The winters are cold and snowy, but to someone from Montana, they aren't bad. It all depends on your frame of reference. To me, used to Ft Worth, TX, they'd be bitterly cold. Compare the temperature graphs on the other part of this site to each other.
Come and look at Taos. I have been here ten years and it is like nowhere on earth. You will either love it or hate it. It can be challenging to make a living here but the scenery and free thinking and acceptance is wonderful here. Moderator cut: advertising
Last edited by Trainwreck20; 08-08-2007 at 03:58 PM..
It will probably be a hectic four days but you may wish to begin in The Land of Enchantment by traveling between Questa and Albuquerque. Whether Questa, Taos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque or surrounding areas, each different in climate and flavor.
Having lived for years in Taos and possibly returning soon, I would certainly recommend it. My guess is that somewhere in its vicinity you may be happiest. Both it and Santa Fe are about 7,000 feet in elevation with not overly hot summers and somewhat cold winters, although Taos a bit more so. Although you will notice the continuing growth and changes within Taos, it still feels like a small community. Summer tourists and winter skiers but they largely avoided if you wish. It is a special place.
Questa is less than a 30 minute drive to Taos, but bare in mind that more significant shopping requires a drive to Santa Fe at least, and that roughly 45 minutes to an hour. Cerro is a bit northwest of Questa, but Questa possibly as small as you wish to go. Taos to an extent, but both these communities more or less old Spanish. More like Truchas on the High Road, some place you will have to work to fit in.
There are people outside of Taos who consider themselves ranchers but this usually consists of 5 acres of sage they shouldn't have despoiled, a few horses and bad pasture. Although property is less expensive to the west of Taos good pasture is usually near or in the mountains. That means close to Taos, Questa, some areas in between, far across the valley in the southern flank of the San Juan mountains, or to the east of Taos within Taos Canyon or the Moreno Valley.
Places like Angel Fire and Eagle Nest in the Moreno Valley are higher in elevation, commensurately colder, and culturally removed from Taos and other towns along the Rio Grande river. Angel Fire is a small ski resort town, while Eagle Nest is even smaller and in some respects more quaint.
As suggested, you might choose to live somewhere outside Santa Fe. Santa Fe is expensive, even more so than Taos, and this influence radiates outward, generally lessening with distance from the Plaza. It kind of feels like a small town, depending on whether you are sitting in traffic on Cerrillos or some enchanting street of adobes near the Plaza. Not the broader selection of shopping like a large city such as Albuquerque but great if you appreciate style and unconcerned with costs. Some very nice restaurants too.
I've also lived in Albuquerque and probably not again. Some areas are nice and it is an easy place to get around in but it shares all too many of the problems afflicting most US cities. One has to have a taste for it. Nevertheless, at roughly 5,000 feet in elevation it does have a warmer climate and more desert vegetation. Pick any direction and you might find a smaller community or largely open space to your liking near Albuquerque.
One I might recommend is Placitas. A bit less than 30 minutes north of Albuquerque, the turn off from I-25 is that of US 550, only one turns east. The old town of Placitas is more like Questa in being provincial. However closer to the interstate, but well removed, is the newer subdivision of decidedly upscale houses. If to your taste it is a nice area, feeling distinctly well outside any city. One caveat is all the large gravel trucks commuting between this area and Albuquerque. The Sandia mountains are beautiful but otherwise I never particularly enjoyed this stretch of road, and these trucks certainly didn't add to that.
I've also worked as a graphic designer. The market is obviously smaller in Taos but possible. There are the local newspapers and also a few web site design firms. While Santa Fe has more art galleries, I understand that Taos has more per capita. It can be wonderful and you may well appreciate this ambience. The corollary is you may find work in unexpected directions.
Anyway, it should be interesting. There is so much varied natural beauty within this state. But even more the artistic sense within so many of these communities, and the intangible you'll only know by experiencing it.
You may well love it.
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