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I fulfilled my long held desire to move to New Mexico this year. I lived in the Rancho Viejo neighborhood, which is very nice. But after a few months there Santa Fe's charm lost it's appeal. First reason, and most irratating, is how horrible the town is layed out! It certainly has the worst traffic pattern that I have encountered in the many states that I have lived in. And this seems to be unique to SF and not the other areas of NM that I have been in. There are hardly any, if any merge lanes to get on the highways, and aften tmes 2 to 3 lanes melt into one too too short merge lane! Then annoyingly all the main shopping seems to be converged into about a quarter mile area with stop signs every 50 feet. From my home in Rancho Viejo I had to go through a total of 12 stop signs/traffice circles/traffic lights to get to the nearest grocery store that was only 3 miles distance! So it would take me about 15 minutes to go 3 miles!
It seemed that the city agencies and utility companies are run by people that are just a little too confused by what they are supose to be doing, so a lot of patience is required in order to deal with them. Like you are living in a backward hick town that just overnight became a huge city (84k population). Oh and the cost of utilities in SF is unusually very high, (especially compared to where I now live: Las Cruces).
Then there's the fact that after you do all the tourist sights, it's pretty boring there, because there's not much else nearby to visit. And I say this knowingly excluding Albuquerque. I see no reason and have no desire to go to Albq ever again. And Taos is a one off thing. Just a minni version of SF.
But the area has very very friendly people, and a nice choice of eating out. But too cold in the winter and way too expensive rent and real estate.
And it just comes off as a touristy town with a lot of people from somewhere e!se. I like living in a town that feels "hommy". By that I mean most people that I encounter are from there and not new arrivals, like me!
And I want to add that the most awesome part of living in New Mexico is the fact that I am living in a predominate Latino and Native American culture! It is what makes living here so welcoming and beautiful. I have lived all over the US and the people here (predominate latino) are the warmest, most friendly, best mannered, people that I have ever lived around. So put that in you pipe and smoke it! I am now in Las Cruces and this place is the best kept secret in the good ol USA!
I don't want to bragg too much on LC because I don,t want a lot of people moving here and turing it into Santa Fe!
You picked a bad place to settle, in the Santa Fe area. Rancho Viejo is isolated from the rest of the city, and the access road was poorly designed, Actually, a friend of mine (now deceased) was on the City planning council, and she fought the committee over that, saying the road connecting to SF needed to be wider, among other issues. The other problem is that the community college is between R. Viejo and Santa Fe, and the CC put in those traffic circles.
What is there to visit, in the Santa Fe area? Well, there are the pueblos, who have ceremonial events, art events, and an art and history museum. There's the lake and waterfall at Nambe Pueblo; there's a natural pool there for splashing around in the summer. It attracts a very nice family-oriented crowd. There's Ojo Caliente, the hot springs. I always enjoy escaping to Taos for 2-3 days for a change of pace. I like how green it is, the scenery -- Rio Grande Gorge, Taos Mountain, and I enjoy puttering around the galleries, visiting the museums, and dining out. Did you know there's a Russian museum in Taos? See, you've barely scratched the surface! I also enjoy going up to Los Alamos occasionally, to visit the museum and art gallery, enjoy the cooler weather at that elevation, visit the Valles Caldera when the elk are migrating, and that sort of thing.
I enjoy going around to the pueblo ceremonies through the Christmas season and New Year, all the way to the January 6 King's Day ceremony, which happens to be my birthday. I appreciate having an alternative holiday-season tradition to the regular, I appreciate Santa Fe's emphasis on art, and the many small and large art fairs throughout the year, as well as the well-developed classical music scene. commercial Christmas. I also appreciate the fact that it's cooler in Santa Fe, than where you are! I'm glad you found a place you enjoy. To each his/her own!
What is there to visit, in the Santa Fe area? Well, there are ...
For all of the reasons you mention and more that I can think of, I wish I could afford to live in Santa Fe! I'd certainly have chosen it over Ruidoso for my retirement if COL hadn't gone through the roof by the time I made my choice. Most of the artists with whom I am (was) acquainted were being forced to move to more affordable locales and some of them had been in Santa Fe for many years prior to about 1990.
For all of the reasons you mention and more that I can think of, I wish I could afford to live in Santa Fe! I'd certainly have chosen it over Ruidoso for my retirement if COL hadn't gone through the roof by the time I made my choice. Most of the artists with whom I am (was) acquainted were being forced to move to more affordable locales and some of them had been in Santa Fe for many years prior to about 1990.
When the Railyard area first began to be developed, there were artist studios in there, and the artists got pushed out of the cheap warehouse studios that were there. I remember that. But are you in Ruidoso? That's not so bad, is it? Funny, I was thinking about Ruidoso, when I read this thread. I've never been there, but a couple of threads discussing it here made me curious.
But are you in Ruidoso? That's not so bad, is it? Funny, I was thinking about Ruidoso, when I read this thread. I've never been there, but a couple of threads discussing it here made me curious.
Ruidoso is even more tourist oriented than Santa Fe with a similar climate. There is very little other than that to compare the two places. You should find the time to visit Ruidoso. lt's definitely not the kind of place to retire to unless one has lived here long enough to fully understand the dynamics (or lack of, perhaps ).
I chose it for the simple reason that it was my second home all of my life, having a grandfather who was one of the pioneer cabin builders in the small village in the pre-WWI days (ca. 1915). Growing up in El Paso was made a lot more pleasant knowing that I could escape to the coolness of Ruidoso in the heat of summer. Though much smaller than it is today, it was also much more family oriented when I was a kid - in pre-race track days.
Ruth4truth i take your point of things to do in SF and area. But for me my objective is to have a variety of destinations and activies. Basically I just like taking day trips that offer up a change. So i did those things in the time i spent there and looked for other places within a day that offers a change, so to get that I would have to do some distance from SF. Those SFpaces are one time things for me, how many times can you go to Alamogordo? Or Taos? Once you've been to a publo celebration is it really something you want to do again and again? All that is is for tourist. I did all the mesums too and they were great. But getting in my car and checking out other cities and parks are something I never get bored with.
Ruth4truth i take your point of things to do in SF and area. But for me my objective is to have a variety of destinations and activies. Basically I just like taking day trips that offer up a change. So i did those things in the time i spent there and looked for other places within a day that offers a change, so to get that I would have to do some distance from SF. Those SFpaces are one time things for me, how many times can you go to Alamogordo? Or Taos? Once you've been to a publo celebration is it really something you want to do again and again? All that is is for tourist. I did all the mesums too and they were great. But getting in my car and checking out other cities and parks are something I never get bored with.
I go to Pueblo celebrations over and over again. Each pueblo has their unique form of ceremonial observance, and besides--they're feast days. If you know someone in the community, you get invited to their home for feasting. This goes for the winter ceremonial calendar and feast days, between Dec. 24 and Jan. 6, "King's Day". I guess you're just not into Native culture all that much? It's not just for tourists.
And I've been to Taos many times. I love it up there; it's my escape from the "big city" of Santa Fe, wonderful for a change of pace, different scenery, more greenery, etc., as I mentioned before. I made friends up there. And some people enjoy going to the hot springs at Ojo Caliente on a fairly regular basis. There's artist Georgia O'Keefe's place, at Abiquiu. There are the quaint villages in the mountains, on the High Road to Taos, that have art open houses a couple of times/year. There are archaeological sites of ruined villages, like the one at Bandelier National Monument, and Pecos.
But ok, I guess for your interests, SF was a little isolated. Whatever. Suit yourself.
Las Cruces was a great choice. Closer to the ELP airport than SF and ABQ. I feel the same way about SF in that is has grown and does seem very over priced and touristy . Taos reminds me more of what SF used to be and I have enjoyed visiting there.
A long time transplant from Albuquerque to Las Cruces says that LC is what Albuquerque was 40 years ago. I have no way to judge but I found Las Cruces to be a welcoming and pleasant city to visit.
Santa Fe has its charms and I love it but I prefer to admire the place from a distance of about 30 miles. I first encountered Santa Fe as an adult in the 1970s and it seemed to be somewhat undiscovered by today's standards. In its defense, any frontier city laid out in the 1600s will have legacy problems that can't be overcome when it becomes too popular for its own good. As an old city planner I look at Santa Fe and think that they are doing the best they can given the constraints. Quaintness is what brings people and money to Santa Fe -- livability sometimes suffers.
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I appreciate having an alternative holiday-season tradition to the regular, I appreciate Santa Fe's emphasis on art, and the many small and large art fairs throughout the year, as well as the well-developed classical music scene. commercial Christmas. I also appreciate the fact that it's cooler in Santa Fe, than where you are! I'm glad you found a place you enjoy. To each his/her own! 
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