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I am looking to relocate from Southern California to one of the four corner areas and am having a hard time narrowing my choices down!
My "dream" is to open a small ecletic type store which would sale my custom jewelry that I make, southwestern custom art, crystals, gems and incense, solar wind chimes, angels and fairies, etc. I would also offer spiritual readings and Reiki energy healings from the store.
Do any of you who live in any of these 4 areas I have listed see a boutique type store such as this being successful or even welcomed by the community?
i am also an "undiscovered", but soon to be "famous" writer!
As an animal lover, I currently have 2 dogs and 3 cats, so i was hoping to find an affordable place with a little land but not too far from civilization!
Thanks so much for any information that could help me choose my next and final destination!
Corrales would be a town for your type of shop, however housing is very pricey there compared to the other areas you listed. I don't know much about those other places, except they are hours away from Corrales. Corrales is a adjacent to Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.
I suggest that you do a lot more research. Eldorado and Corrales are basically suburbs of Santa Fe and Albuquerque respectively--and both Albuquerque and Santa Fe are absolutely overrun with the kind of shops you wish to open. I suspect you would starve. Aztec and Bloomfield are essentially bedroom communities for Farmington, the economy of which is essentially centered around gas drilling. It's more of a blue collar kind of place. Aztec is a pleasant enough community, but I would not recommend Bloomfield, the latter having a pretty wide reputation as being pretty rough.
In all candor, most tourist trinket and art businesses are having a real hard time in this region right now. A couple of my friends who have such businesses in northern New Mexico are making their living doing something else now, as their tourist-related enterprises have turned into money-losers--even after a number of their competitors have closed up for good. There would probably be no worse time in the last 40 years to try and start up such a business.
There would probably be no worse time in the last 40 years to try and start up such a business.
Probably true... yet many still dream... and they come and go.
What is a "good place" for such a business? I suppose it is areas that already have a lot of these... or maybe not... maybe the best would be a place that currently has none. At least then you'd be unique.
I wouldn't expect this to be your source of income at any rate... more a labor of love. You may be surprised to learn that many of your competitors are semi-retired people who don't really care if they make money... and don't.
Probably true... yet many still dream... and they come and go.
What is a "good place" for such a business? I suppose it is areas that already have a lot of these... or maybe not... maybe the best would be a place that currently has none. At least then you'd be unique.
I wouldn't expect this to be your source of income at any rate... more a labor of love. You may be surprised to learn that many of your competitors are semi-retired people who don't really care if they make money... and don't.
Yes, I would have to agree ruffey! Also, right now, there seems to be a lot of tourists in Santa Fe but they aren't spending their money like they used to be if the GRT reports are acurate. El Dorado is more like an unincorporated suburb of Santa Fe with no market that I'm aware of. Aztec and Bloomfield are really oil towns, I'm not sure about the tourist trade there.
i'm familiar with all 4 towns.
corrales does have a shopping district. however, it's a little less hippie/fairy and a little more expensive ceramics vibe. i wouldn't suggest corrales for your dream.
el dorado is defniitely a suburb of santa fe -- no real shopping etc. it's also more straight laced than santa fe proper. not a good fit for your gig.
bloomfield is definitely not for you. it is a rough place. a family member is an asst. district atty. for the area and too many of his cases come from bloomfield.
of the 4 towns, aztec is the one. i think it Might actually be a good place for what you're looking for. i disagree that aztec is merely a suburb of farmington. it's its own place in geography and personality. it has a very quaint main street and there are a lot of eclectic shops there. additionally, a lot of people who can't afford durango, colorado, take aztec as a similiar, but less expensive, alternative. i don't know if your shop would be a good start there and in this economy or not? but at least there's some question about it.
without question, bloomfield and el dorado are totally out. questionable about corrales -- doubtful at best. aztec is the most promising.
i know there was a similiar shop for quite a long time in the university area of albuquerque. i think it was called "angel alley". i don't know if it's there anymore. that might be an area for you. i would also look into silver city new mexcio. i Love that town and have for my whole life ---through all of its changes. it's now an art community and your shop might be a good fit there. the only thing i don't like about hte area is that it's really remote from other places (see a map).
great luck to you.
I grew up in the four corners area and now live in Albuquerque. I would not personally try a business such as yours in Bloomfield or Aztec. There was shop called The Eclectic in Farmington in the mid 1990's. Unfortunately there was a grisly double murder at that shop in late 1996. So I would be very careful how you name and market your business. If I was personally going to open a shop like yours I would do it in Durango, CO. Aztec is too small and too oilfield to support a shop. Keep in mind that a lot of people have lost their jobs in that area in the last six months. My family still lives there so if you open a shop please let me know because my sister and mom would visit a business like yours.
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