Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My brother and I are looking at moving to the area in Spring, with our elderly father. I was looking at craigslist and saw LOTS of rentals there (whole area) that are very reasonable. Rentals here are not easy to find. Scenery looks quite barren in all the pictures. Is it really a grassless, treeless dusty place? For me this is only temp. I am our dad's caretaker full-time and a public speaker, so I travel, so it is not the end of the world... but I do prefer green.
Are most of the roads hard-packed gravel? Or dirt? I would think in town there would be more concrete, yes?
I have a horse in South Carolina, and it looks like I would keep him there as I see nothing he could eat. Are there areas that are greener?
What is the employment situation in that area? My brother works construction right now (has been for 20 years, quite good, can run any equipment, but wondering what else is there.)
Are there threads or articles yo can point to to just get an idea of what it is like? We are going there because my brother met a girl. ;-) (It's all good), and I don't care where we are... our dad is on in years, want to make the last as comfortable as possible.
Thanks for any links or first person accounts.
Dachia
Well, we have trees.....just not big ones. It is very hard to keep a horse on pasture here unless you have acres and acres of ranch land. Horses here eat hay and our prices are not cheap. There are areas around ABQ that are greener. La Cienega has some greener areas near SF. Nothing in NM will be like South Carolina, though.
The construction market is in a very bad place right now. Things are starting to get better, but it's slow. My husband and I both worked in construction fields here and he's had to get a job out of state and the company I worked for that was in business for 30+ years had to close.
Roads are dirt, gravel and asphalt depending on where you are (in town or rural)
Corrales near Albuquerque is a big horse community. Believe Poncho has taken pictures of horse activities there.
Not to persuade you away from Santa Fe, as you can tell by my City-data "name tag" I'm a big Santa Fe fan, but Corrales is certainly very beautiful and their is indeed a decent size equestrian community in and around the Rio Grande valley in ABQ.
Yes, it is mostly a barren, brown, treeless place. Most of the roads are paved in town, and dirt out. The horse will learn to eat cacti, don't worry. The employment is outstanding. Plenty of high paying jobs, and the locals love to help you find them. If your brother works construction, he will have no end of work in Santa Fe! The town is pro-development and there are dozens of cranes in the sky evidencing Santa Fe's construction boom.
The Santa Fe area has forests with tall timber on its eastern side. You might find it too hilly for your horse (not any flat pasture) and it's expensive real estate. Tesuque, which is north of town is lush in the bottom land along the river and there are forested hiking trails off Bishops Lodge Road. All this comes at a price if you wanted to purchase in that area. To get into green country and spend less green, you could look at Glorieta, Pecos and Rowe. There are some very decent horse properties out that way - about 30 minutes east of town. North of town there are horse properties and farms in the Nambe, La Mesilla, San Pedro and Pojoaque Valley areas. South and west of town are possibilities too; prices are reasonable but, depending on the area, water could be scarce.
Construction is slow, but some new building is going on. And since your brother wants to move here because of a girl, well then, they say you can live on love alone......
Best advice is to come out here and see for yourself.
To get into green country and spend less green, you could look at Glorieta, Pecos and Rowe. There are some very decent horse properties out that way - about 30 minutes east of town. North of town there are horse properties and farms in the Nambe, La Mesilla, San Pedro and Pojoaque Valley areas. South and west of town are possibilities too; prices are reasonable but, depending on the area, water could be scarce.
These areas are all a bit greener (they will still look very much like desert to someone from South Carolina) but please keep in mind that in Santa Fe when we say "horse property" we mean there are either barns/stalls present or it is located in an area where local zoning or covenants do not prevent horses. It doesn't mean pasture that would sustain a horse. Some places (and they are priced accordingly) have what I would consider "snacking" green for the horses, but you'll still need to supplement with hay. I noticed you said you were planning to leave your horse behind so this may all be a moot point.
Yes, it is mostly a barren, brown, treeless place. Most of the roads are paved in town, and dirt out. The horse will learn to eat cacti, don't worry. The employment is outstanding. Plenty of high paying jobs, and the locals love to help you find them. If your brother works construction, he will have no end of work in Santa Fe! The town is pro-development and there are dozens of cranes in the sky evidencing Santa Fe's construction boom.
Honestly, I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or if you're delusional.
Only cranes I have ever seen are way down south and just E of 25
It's rare to see cranes in SF because we have ordinances against tall buildings. Additionally, horses won't eat cacti and the town is hardly "pro-development"
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
