What’s So Great About Santa Fe?

Talk to anyone who chose to move to Santa Fe, NM and you will hear a story of how they came to live in “The City Different.” Words like “serendipity” and “magic” will often pepper the story told and re-told with genuine amazement, as if moving to a new locale were an event of cosmic proportions. When it comes to Santa Fe, perhaps it is.

“Santa Fe Style”

Santa Fe has a mystique which is has carefully cultivated to the point where “Santa Fe Style” is recognized world-wide, representing not only pueblo-style architecture but furnishings, clothing,

Inn at the Loretto is iconic Santa Fe style

food, and art, as bold and colorful as our truly spectacular sunsets. “The light, the light is what drew me here!” exclaims many a Santa Fe transplant.

For others the lure is less esoteric: a small, progressive city with a thriving arts community; a mild four-season climate; over 300 days of sunshine a year; an abundance of recreational opportunities in the mount ringing the east side; and a “consciousness” that expresses itself in holistic therapies, organic food markets, New Age pundits, and a general tolerance and openness to new people and ideas. It is, most find, a “friendly” town.

“It’s Not Cheap”

Santa Fe is an oasis – not of water (this is a high mountain desert, and an investment in lip balm and body lotion must be factored into the cost of living!) but of art, culture, intelligentsia and yes, wealth.

Santa Fe is also considered a ‘destination’ and a ‘resort’ market due to the myriad of cultural offerings and quality of life, which are always in demand. Property prices are higher than in other parts of the state due to demand exceeding the supply, and agreement of value among sellers and buyers. There are a limited number of houses in the historic district, foothills and city center, and almost no more private land on which to build.

As the value of develop-able land becomes more scarce, builders are forced to maximize their land investments on the northwest, north, east, and southeast sides of the city, with tract-home developments predominating on the far southwest side. Due to the scarcity of land and the details of construction, homes in these ‘close-in’ areas tend to hold their value.

For real estate buyers, the ’sticker shock’ of Santa Fe’s $200 – $500 per square foot is relative to where they came from; compared to New York, D.C., San Francisco, London, Aspen, et al., Santa Fe offers a great value.

A criticism is that often this wealth, in the form of vacation-home owners, does not contribute to the health and welfare of the local economy. However, on the opposite side, funded by wealth, Santa is home to more non-profit organizations per capita than any other U.S. city. This means an abundance of services and opportunities for local residents.

“You gotta wanna be here”

While the issues of the cost of living here, or elsewhere, are complex, and the prospective individual, people from all economic strata and varied personal and professional interest find their way to this city where, clearly, one must want to be in order to make the effort to even get here. Santa Fe is located some 60 miles north of Albuquerque, the closest commercial airport and arguably a prize testament to suburban sprawl. In 2010, American Airlines inaugurated a daily flight between Santa Fe and Los Angeles and Santa Fe and Dallas, making for easier access to those hubs.

There are no significant rivers or lakes in the vicinity of Santa Fe. The closest natural waters for recreation are about an hour away: the Pecos River for fishing, Abiqui Reservoir for boating, Rio Grande for rafting. No other cities. Only wide-open stretches of rolling hills dotted with juniper and scrub grass, flat-topped mesas, lone rock formations and pine- and aspen-covered mountains, the tail end of the Rockies… and yes, flat-roofed, stucco-brown houses.

The Romance of The West

Santa Fe sunset

There is the romance of the Southwest – individualism, wide open spaces, big blue skies – and, specifically, of Santa Fe: Georgia O’Keeffe, the Plaza at the end of the Old Santa Fe Trail, Pueblo-revival architecture á la John Gaw Meem who ’saved’ Santa Fe style, William Lumpkins who pioneered solar homes in the 1970’s, and a myriad of writers, artists, and musicians who call Santa Fe home, or have credited it with their inspiration.

There is also, throughout each summer, a million tourists who flock from near and far to wander our quaint European-like small streets, buy jewelry direct from the Native American and Hispanic craftsmen, visit some of our 200 art galleries and major museums, sample the food (a special treat for chile afficionados), and attend the famed Spanish Market, Indian Market, and The Santa Fe Opera in its open-air theater worthy of a pilgrimage.

Love it or you’ll be compelled to leave

Newcomers are repeatedly told, “Santa Fe either embraces you or spits you out.” Those who stay and are enamored feel embraced. Those who are enamored leave, and usually quickly and bitterly. It is said that Santa Fe is not an easy town in which to make a living, although I don’t where is. As anywhere, much depends upon one’s skill level and moxie.

Most employers – besides the state government, with a legislature that meets 6 weeks a year in Santa Fe’s Roundhouse (the state capitol building) and Los Alamos Laboratory (30 miles northwest, which employs some 1,800 Ph.D.s, primarily in weapons research) – are small businesses, and the service and hospitality industries dominate. Those who tend to do well here are entrepreneurial, small business owners who either start an enterprise or are able to garner income from some distant source, like telecommuting or internet-based businesses. New Mexico’s burgeoning film industry is augmenting people’s income source, bringing several major motion picture productions to the area each year.

What’s in it for you?

If you are drawn to Santa Fe, for whatever reasons; if you see yourself here; if it feels like the place you want to call home, then, like most of us who love it, you will fit right in, doors will open and you will find the magic of Santa Fe does not disappoint. Call us to discuss your ideas for making Santa Fe your new home: (505) 995-0195

© Aysha Griffin 2008-2011