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I have a friend( I use that term very loosley) in Santa Fe.I found the place boring visually, after a week. Uniformal adobe every where is boring. My friend does have a judgemental hoity toity attitude of "I am so spiritually elevated mere mortals can't comprehend".There is a pretentous "cultured" atmosphere because of the bohemian artsy fartsy crowd. Even the art gets boring because just like the adobes they are so "uniformal" nothing unique standing out from the crowd.
I you like a monotone uniformal archecture then Sata Fe is for you. If you like latent hippy dope smoking judgmental bohemian artsy fartsy people who in their mind are the cats meaow and you like to feel special for no special reason....you might just fit right in with the Santa Fe crowd.Nice to visit.But once is enough.Just my .02 of experience in SantaFe.
A lot of this is all too true and it manifests itself in various ways all the time.
For instance, in the Albuquerque Journal on Fridays there are always reviews of Santa Fe restaurants by a Santa Fe-based writer. I remember a few months back the writer made mention in certain terms how much better restaurants in Santa Fe are than in Albuquerque and how what may be exceptional in Albuquerque may not pass muster in Santa Fe.
The architecture thing is also true. Yes, Santa Fe is beautiful, but is there any really great architecture there in terms of innovation and uniqueness? I don't think so. One of my favorite buildings in Santa Fe is the Genoveva Chavez Community Center. It's about the farthest Santa Fe has ever gotten from its traditional adobe-style architecture and it's also quite rare in its contemporary architecture for Santa Fe.
Another recent example of how superior Santa Feans view their city to Albuquerque (and superior overall) is in the planned move of the Spanish Winter Market here to Albuquerque. There is an uproar among artists. One artist, who actually isn't from Santa Fe itself, actually bemoaned that in Albuquerque 'people will show up in their flip-flops and t-shirts and jeans and not buy anything' and that in Santa Fe the market would attract a much more affluent and serious art crowd (and better dressed, I guess) that will buy the art. It's funny, because if that was the case in Santa Fe I imagine the market wouldn't be planning to move down to Albuquerque to try to tap into the wealth down here.
Yet, for all its acclaim and reputation in the art world Santa Fe has nothing to compare to Albuquerque's homegrown and innovative art scene.
Another thing is that people bring up Santa Fe's Hispanic community. The thing is, the longtime Hispanic community in Santa Fe is actually the most adversely affected group because of how popular and expensive Santa Fe has become among rich, and dare I say, white (Anglo) people. Anybody remember Debbie Jaramillo? Remember all the things she brought up when she (successfully) ran for mayor of Santa Fe in the 1990s? I wonder if she'd be able to win today?
I remember a few months back the writer made mention in certain terms how much better restaurants in Santa Fe are than in Albuquerque and how what may be exceptional in Albuquerque may not pass muster in Santa Fe.
Another recent example of how superior Santa Feans view their city to Albuquerque (and superior overall)
i'm siding with the santa feans on those two statements. If it wasn't for driving distance to work, we would have chosen SF over ABQ in a heartbeat.
Sure are a variety of opinions! Atxzj why S.F. over Abq. not just the restaurants I guess? Biggest issue I find of concern is Dr. shortage especially since we are now of medicare age that could make it harder. Seems doctors would be flocking to a place like Santa Fe.
Biggest issue I find of concern is Dr. shortage especially since we are now of medicare age that could make it harder. Seems doctors would be flocking to a place like Santa Fe.
Why would they be flocking. There is a doctor shortage and they seem to prefer other places. This is not a recent issue. It goes back over 10 years that I can recall.
Thanks for the info Poncho. Guess I would think S.F. a desirable location and as a doctor you can decide where to live more easily than most people. Possibly my love of NM plays into my perception....of course lots of people don't even know where NM is located. Something to think about when you are retirement age and thinking of relocating. Good hospital and doctors in this area even though we aren't a large metropolitan area, a mountain town in size similar to S.F.
The "negatives" of Santa Fe are going to be present in many cities. Some believe pretentious people and drunk driving problems are more of an American culture thing.
Having spent my first career in health care, I have to admit that was the one issue I was dubious about when we first moved here. Even though the hospital had a somewhat poor reputation, I found the primary care docs very capable and figured that if hospital care were ever needed, Albuquerque was only an hour down the road. In the past few years our hospital was absorbed into the Christus chain and from everything I've heard and experienced they have made a tremendous turnaround. We can still use more primary care physicians, but that's a growing problem throughout the country, not just here. I know some terrific nurse practitioners here in Santa Fe and they are great adjuncts in busy physician practices.
Does anyone know how difficult it is to find a doctor when on Medicare? We do carry supplemental but in some areas that doesn't seem to matter you aren't wanted. Are the architectural restrictions just for commercial or also residential? Think person I was talking to said all roofs have to be flat? How does that work with snow? Santa Fe seems like a beautiful city but visiting isn't living. I love Abq. but husband is partial to mountains and more green like we have in NC. At the moment we've had soooo much rain I'm greened and humiditied (not sure that's a real word) out! I do not thrive in hot humid conditions.
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Doctor Shortage
