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Sorry if this comes off ignorant but I am really interested in learning what people do for a living in Santa Fe? How can individuals be so well off live there? I can understand a section of the population getting rich from real estate but I don't know how the others get by. There is no real industry in Santa Fe so I'm wondering where all the people get their money from. Do people just go their when they are wealthy and retired?
Again, sorry if this seems obvious but I really have no clue. I've lived in New Mexico for some time and I never quite understood this about Santa Fe. Thanks in advance!
We are not wealthy by the wildest stretch of the imagination.
I guess we live in Santa Fe the same way we have lived all of our lives in other places.
We live a frugal life, we don't splurge on expensive things, and we go to inexpensive restaurants and discount / big box stores for the most part. Santa Fe has Kohl's, Walmart, Target, Sam's, Lowe's, Home Depot, Best Buy, etc. Smith's, Albertson's and Trader Joe's have affordable groceries. The cost of living for us in Santa Fe is no different than the rest of the country.
I am not here to spend money. I am here to enjoy the surroundings and enjoy the free stuff -- the weather, the mountains, the contentment, the food.
There are a butt-load of six-figure governatorial appointees there.
There are an additional b-l of even richer out-of-state second and
third home owners who are occasional residents of the place.
Most people are just middle-class residents who work either for the
state government or the tourism industry who choose to live there
and have a higher proportion of their income go to things like housing,
food, everything else.
Santa Fe is a very small place so it doesn't take all that many people
with money out the wa-zoo to skew the numbers. In the investing
world, you might refer to it as a "thin" market that can easily be
manipulated ( or skewed ).
I understand there are middle class people living in Santa Fe and the government and tourism industry typically employ those individuals. But I am still in the dark about how this place can house so many wealthy individuals as they are obviously not making money from the leading industries in Santa Fe.
A lot, not all, of the folks who retire here are from CA, NYC, TX and wealthy. And yep, a lot of them have their second or third home here. So they bring their money here, not make it here. It's a bad scenerio in my mind.
I understand there are middle class people living in Santa Fe and the government and tourism industry typically employ those individuals. But I am still in the dark about how this place can house so many wealthy individuals as they are obviously not making money from the leading industries in Santa Fe.
With private jets, the internet, video networking, faxes, etc., you can do your work almost anyplace. Many people that live in SF have jobs that they can do from SF and fly to LA or wherever once or twice a week to take care of in person stuff. Others are already wealthy. But most of us are middle class people who are just trying to make a living and are in SF because we love it.
I am still in the dark about how this place can house so many wealthy individuals as they are obviously not making money from the leading industries in Santa Fe.
It is true that much of the expensive Santa Fe real estate attracts clientel who are typically around retirement age and comfortable financially. Probably 80 to 90% of the wealthy obtained their wealth outside of Santa Fe. However, a few profitable artist and government employees are the exception.
However, where you live and what you drive is not an accurate assesment of someone's obtained wealth by any means. Additionally, many wealthy folks are good people who just worked and saved their whole lives to live a lifestyle that seems relaxing and desirable. I am glad that many of them have chosen Santa Fe and hope that they find Santa Fe and NM just as wonderful as I do.
Last edited by santafe400; 06-17-2009 at 11:27 AM..
Reason: spelling
The biggest employers here are state government (SF is capital, many agencies here), art-related industries, and businesses related to tourism (restaurants, hotels, gift shops, etc.).
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