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Not too many years ago - about 20 - Santa Fe was thought of as a haven for working artists. But many found themselves being priced out of town when Santa Fe began attracting high dollar interests that caused real estate prices to soar, along with other cost of living factors.
In a nutshell - COST OF LIVING makes it much harder to enjoy the living for those who have to earn theirs.
I am living in ABQ and looking for a home in SF for 500k. (cash). It is so hard! Everything is way over priced and/or tiny. I am shocked. Now we are looking elsewhere.
Are you looking near the center (historic part) of town or say within 15 miles like El dorado (sp) of Santa Fe. If I was to move there I do want center of town. I find that area to be pricy but worth it if you just want to live and play right in the middle of town and not drive to Santa Fe. Why do you want to leave ABQ? It is only an hour away from Santa Fe. Where else would you be looking? Is there other towns as nice as SantaFe?
I am living in ABQ and looking for a home in SF for 500k. (cash). It is so hard! Everything is way over priced and/or tiny. I am shocked. Now we are looking elsewhere.
I've got one for sale on 3 acres for much much less than that! But I'm 10miles from downtown
Like Debbie said, directly in town is the most pricey.
I am living in ABQ and looking for a home in SF for 500k. (cash). It is so hard! Everything is way over priced and/or tiny. I am shocked. Now we are looking elsewhere.
Hmmm, I took a look for homes just within the city limits. There are 226 homes for sale under $500,000; of those, 123 are at least 1500 sq.ft., 55 are over 2000 sq.ft. and 15 have more than 2500 sq.ft. And if you've got cash, then I know you can find a very nice place. However, it's true that if you're willing to be 15-30 minutes from town, you'll be able to find a wider selection of what you're probably looking for. That would be the equivalent of living in Placitas vis-a-vis Albuquerque. It's a trade-off: a close-in nice neighborhood will cost you more than, say, choosing a home 20 minutes away where you'll get more for your money.
DagnyT63, thank you for your honest appraisal of your home town. My wife and I visited Santa Fe for the only time in April of 2013. Impressive, unusual design of homes and businesses. But very nice. Great variety of knick-knack paddy wack stores downtown. Thanks for including the negative in your post, it helps us get the "real" picture of things there. We're in Alamogordo and I'm working for the hospital here. Good job, great boss, so I don't think I'll be changing locales anytime soon. But as a place ta visit when we head north up by Albuquerque it stands out as a must go to. I'm from Seattle, so liberal was built right in to me, I don't think I'd have a problem with Santa Fe as far as that goes. Might be too expensive of a place to live and/or retire at, I'm thinking.
Oh, and as far as "economic recovery" goes, that's just something that Robin Meade or Diane Sawyer are told to mimic. It's not realistic nor is it really happening on a large scale.
The hospital in Santa Fe has been under new management for a few years, and all they've been doing is cutting back on nursing staff to the point that it's not safe for patients. Even doctors have been complaining, and there's a strike going on as we speak. There's another hospital about 1/2 hour north of here, I don't know what conditions there are like. All I know is they feed inpatients high fructose corn syrup daily. Neither hospital is one I'd want to end up in.
My wife and I are considering retiring in SF. I am still six years before I retire, but I like to research in detail before making a move that far from our home state of Michigan. Our six children are spread all over the US, from LA to Boston, Houston to Grand Rapids & Dearborn, MI. Also our youngest son is considering going to college in CA or AZ. Apartment living is what we are seeking, and it looks it's affordable. We will continue to research and pray for guidance.
Be very very selective when hunting for Apartments in Santa Fe. Many complexes aren't populated with what you might call "good neighbors". Try to look for a condo, that might be better.
We are just a few months from retirement!! After running a cattle ranch mostly by myself ecause husband travels with job I think a condo in Santa Fe is the answer. Sounds wonderful to me. Taking cooking classes at the Santa Fe School of Cooking, working my looms and doing nothing sounds wonderful to me after chasing cows and horses all over the place.
I am living in ABQ and looking for a home in SF for 500k. (cash). It is so hard! Everything is way over priced and/or tiny. I am shocked. Now we are looking elsewhere.
You shouldn't have trouble finding something roomy on your budget. I sold a place last year that was 4 br. + a large family room for much less than what you're offering. Find a good real estate agent to work with. It's a good market right now, it hasn't bounced back since the big bubble burst in the late 2000's. It's just started to come back.
We are just a few months from retirement!! After running a cattle ranch mostly by myself ecause husband travels with job I think a condo in Santa Fe is the answer. Sounds wonderful to me. Taking cooking classes at the Santa Fe School of Cooking, working my looms and doing nothing sounds wonderful to me after chasing cows and horses all over the place.
Yep, that sounds like it will be an idyllic change of pace for you! As has been discussed on another current thread, when looking for condos try to find out (your Realtor should be able to do this for you) whether the condo is FHA-approved or not. The answer will determine the type of loan you'll need to go after - unless you're making a cash purchase.
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