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My hubby and I are looking at Santa Fe as a possible location to move to permanently.
Since he telecommutes, where to move is pretty much a wide open field, except that we need to stay in the western part of US as he occasionally needs to fly back to WA. The biggest reason we want to move is weather. Due to arthritis in our backs, we just cannot take the cold, rainy climate in WA any longer.
I pulled up a realtor site that I like to use, and found homes (although not many--I think about 30) in our range of 2,000+ sq ft and our max price of 300K...(I could go higher, but I really don't want to unless it is not too much higher)
Since you cannot get more specific than that on RE searches that is the closest I could come, but we are really looking for about 2500 sq ft...or just a little under would be OK also
When I pulled up demographics in this site, it seemed like that was not very doable, I did a cost of living comparison to where I now live and it said Santa Fe was not quite twice as expensive as where we live in WA. I am really confused. I live about 45 min outside of Seattle, and this is one of the more expensive regions in the country to the best of my knowledge.
I am hoping there is an RE person out there who could advise...we want to live in a decent area, but don't have to have a fancy house...plain and simple works for us as long as it is newer construction (within the last 10 years or so)...but we want to be in a safe, nicer area...preferably where we'd have a bit of a view. (We have a view of the Puget Sound where we live now and I am really going to miss that)
when we drive around town at least, if not from the house itself.
We prefer to be out of the city, and prefer more rural neighborhoods...so an hour or so outside of the city proper is fine with us, as we prefer less populated areas, BUT we need to be in an area where getting decent medical care is not going to be a problem, therefore cannot be WAY out in the "sticks"...
Are there any smaller towns that I should be looking at?
The BIG issue for us is weather...we want to have sunshine but I don't want to live somewhere where it averages 110 in the summer...90's is pushing it for me already LOL
We really want a more moderate climate than where we currently have a winter home (south of Phoenix) .
Our plan is to sell both of our houses, and buy one that is big enough for us in a place we'd like to retire. We are getting close to 60...but we are young 60's, so want to be somewhere where we can go out to eat, or do other things for fun every now and then. We love scenic drives, photography, music, art and eating great food...uh, did I mention eating great food? LOL
I'm not seeing a lot of smaller towns on mapquest...so I am confused as usually when you have a city the size of Santa Fe there are plenty of small towns outside of the city.
So my question is
#1 ) is what I want do-able in the Santa Fe area?
#2) what towns or areas should I be looking at when I search, compare etc.
When we go down to AZ this winter we'll be touring a few towns, but before I spend a lot of time researching Santa Fe, I'd like to know if what I am looking for is possible there...
Have you considered Placitas? It's located 45 minutes south of Santa Fe and 15 miles north of Albuquerque just off I25. Lots of near-by medical facilities and a very rural feel. We came out from the Bay Area and have lived here for 10 years.
Santa Fe is a small city (or large town) of 70,000 people in the entire metro area. There are very few small towns near Santa Fe. If you are looking for a somewhat rural area near to Santa Fe, I would recommend Eldorado, which is about 15 minutes from downtown SF. You will not find newer houses there, though. I think most are about 30 years old, but there are some within your price range. The other "towns" nearby are Tesuque and Espanola to the north, Galisteo and Lamy to the southeast, and Pecos and Glorieta to the east. Tesuque is quite expensive, Espanola is a bit run down, Glorieta and Lamy are tiny, and Pecos and Glorieta get a lot of snow. So... I'd stick with Santa Fe or Eldorado.
There is at least one very knowledgeable realtor on this site who will hopefully chime in, but to me your wish list seems just fine for Santa Fe. There are only two things I'm not sure you'll find. First, the newer homes in Santa Fe are mostly on the southwest side of town on tiny lots. You can probably find a 2,000 square foot house but it will be on 1/8th of an acre and not at all rural. If you prefer more space you'll probably need to look at older homes. Also, Santa Fe is not known for it's amazing medical care. The one hospital is mediocre and some people drive the hour to Albuquerque for more specialized treatment.
Everywhere in Santa Fe has gorgeous views of mountains and high desert mesas, so you don't need to worry about that. And the cost of living is high, but not obnoxiously so. You'll pay more for a house here than most places, but gas, groceries and utilities are similar to the rest of the country.
Lots in Eldorado (in your price range) will be around 1 to 1 1/2 acres.
2,000 square for 300K is probably doable?
BTW: My wife and I live in a 1400 square foot home with pets.
I'm not sure about YOUR living requirements, but for US, it has worked out fine.
My wife's commute to the southern part of Santa Fe is 11 minutes, but that also depends on where you are in Eldorado.
LOTS of places to hike around Santa Fe.
I prefer driving (30-40 minutes) to the greener Pecos Wilderness Area, as my pooches and I like the water (Pecos River) and all the shade.
The Santa Fe Ski Area has some nice shady walks also.
I like (i.e. LOVE) eating, and Santa Fe has quite a few good and reasonably affordable restaurants.
My wife and I especially like eating in the Railroad District.
Photography wise; high road to Taos, Sandia Peak, Jimez Mountains, are just a few to name.
I'll check into these other towns...being fairly close to medical care is important to me as with my back problems I have to see a doctor once a month for pain meds...and I have heart issues the cardio guys like to keep a close eye on.
I have shied away from Albuquerque due to the high crime rate...I live on a small island, population 1000 (which is too small for me, people always sticking their nose in your business) but a smaller town would be great by me. When I said rural, I did not mean acreage. We currently live on 2 acres and that is one of the reasons we are looking to move, we just cannot keep up with that much land any more, and frankly living in a small suburban neighborhood in winter has spoiled us in that there is virtually no outdoor maintenance. But there we are 6 feet away from neighbors on each side and that is just TOO close for me...we were thinking of getting a one story home on about 1/2 acre so I can put in a vegetable garden.
If there are areas near Albuquerque that are pretty decent re crime issues, can someone post what towns there I should look into?
This is so difficult when you don't have a specific area in mind (such as being transplanted due to a job) as there are so many towns out there you just cannot find on mapquest...and I am not familiar with the Southwest at all, having grown up on the east coast (where I'd really prefer to live, but just cannot with hubbies commute about once a month less to WA)
CA definitely out of the question for me for a LOT of reasons...
The fact that most areas in AZ, NM get so hot in summer also a problem, which is why we are looking into the more temperate areas in higher elevations.
We need to be in a dry climate due to arthritis, rain just plays havoc with our backs...but a lot of cold and snow won't work for us very well either...ideal would be a climate where it is 70 year round --but of course that is impossible...but I'd like to get as close to that as is possible...
Thanks for the ideas, and if anyone has any towns to suggest in the Southwest area (but prefer not to be close to Mexican border due to potential for gang activity) please do post them. I am already looking into Prescott/Prescott Valley area, but there are some things about that area I don't think I'll like, so I want to come up with a few places to check out this coming winter.
RE less than approx 2500 sq ft...just cannot do it...hubby works form home and has a side business that takes up a lot of space + we have a lot of "stuff" (esp with trying to combine 2 households) much of which for one reason or another I cannot get rid of...at least not in this economy and certainly not where I am currently living.
Our 2nd home is 1700 sq feet, and we could never fit there full time...(our primary home is about 2400 sq ft, but not set up well, so we lose a lot of that space in the basement)
I know part of the answer is to get rid of some of our "stuff" but that is just not possible on this tiny island we live on, and frankly some of our "stuff" I would have a hard time parting with...
I need a large kitchen, as I have every kitchen tool known to man...I like to cook, although frankly with my back don't do that as often as I used to, but I am not ready to part with all the kitchen stuff I have amassed over the years yet, as if I can get my back feeling better with the climate, perhaps I can go back to cooking "big" again
We prefer larger bedrooms. These 10 x 10 bedrooms they build these days just don't work for much. Hubby and I both need an office (I usually have an office combined with a guest bedroom, since we hardly ever have guests) and we have gotten used to having a den for him to play video games.
We have not decided yet whether to keep the AZ house in San Tan Valley and rent it out, or sell it...I think we could do OK renting it out, but wonder if it is worth the hassle...and if it comes down to having a mortgage on the new house I think I'd rather sell it and stay mortgage free...
Not knowing what we'll get out of our house in WA is a big problem, as I cannot pin down how much we'll have to spend, and I am trying not to eat into savings too much...but I know we'll probably take a hit of about 100K on this house...which has hurt the price range we are looking at...if we have to go up to 400K I suppose we could do that, I'm just trying not to, if at all possible...
Keep the ideas coming :-) Not being familiar with the Southwest is hurting my search a lot as it is hard to find out about the smaller areas that might suit our needs...we are not fond of big towns/cities, but also need decent medical care in the area we move to...
Having acreage in New Mexico is not like having acreage in Washington state. There's nothing to maintain here since it's all scrub desert. For example, I live on five acres. It takes us about 10 minutes a day to water our flower beds and that's it for maintenance. A friend of mine lives on 1/2 an acre closer to downtown and she has no maintenance. All of her plants are native and deal with the lack of moisture. No grass to mow, trees to trim, nada. So don't worry if you end up on a few acres - it's no more work than 1/8 of an acre.
Also, there simply aren't a lot of towns clustered around the cities, so if you are thinking of moving to Santa Fe, your best bet is to search for "Santa Fe". And if you're thinking of moving to Albuquerque, you'd want to look for "Albuquerque" rather than the names of the million suburbs most other cities have. There are two cities south of Albuquerque called Los Lunas and Belen - but if you don't like heat, they're probably not a good bet. And in the immediate Albuquerque area, there is Rio Rancho to the west and north. It's a bedroom community and looks very suburban. Bernalillo is a town to the north of Albuquerque you could also look at, as well as Placitas. And that's it. There are no towns in the 45 minute drive from Placitas to Santa Fe, so your search parameters are pretty small.
About crime... yes, Albuquerque has a high crime rate... but it's mostly confined to a few sections of the city. I lived in Albuquerque for three years and never met anyone who had witnessed a crime, been a victim, or knew anyone who had. If the only thing holding you back from Albuquerque is the crime, I'd say you might want to put it back on your list. You'll certainly get more house for less money there than Santa Fe.
About crime... yes, Albuquerque has a high crime rate... but it's mostly confined to a few sections of the city. I lived in Albuquerque for three years and never met anyone who had witnessed a crime, been a victim, or knew anyone who had. If the only thing holding you back from Albuquerque is the crime, I'd say you might want to put it back on your list. You'll certainly get more house for less money there than Santa Fe.
I agree. Not to dissuade the OP from looking at SF. I love SF. But, $300k will buy you something nice and in a safe area of Albuquerque, with access to all the amenities the OP is looking for.
I agree. Not to dissuade the OP from looking at SF. I love SF. But, $300k will buy you something nice and in a safe area of Albuquerque, with access to all the amenities the OP is looking for.
True but Albuquerque is not Santa Fe. Really, two very different feels to the either city. I lived in Alb. for 22 years and now I live in Santa Fe (for the past 7 years) and I like it MUCH more. Smaller, great culture, smaller town so easier to get aorund in, etc. Yeah I sometimes miss being closer to more amenities but I can drive to Abq. and get there in a hour or less (depending on the side of town I need to be in).
True but Albuquerque is not Santa Fe. Really, two very different feels to the either city. .
Totally agree. Albuquerque and Santa Fe are pretty much polar opposites. If you're looking for a large-ish city, Albuquerque is the place. If you want a more resort type feel and a small town, then Santa Fe is the right choice. You really need to come out and visit to see if either place feels like home...
You really need to come out and visit to see if either place feels like home...
I agree with that....
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Thanks
