Review of Santa Fe, New Mexico


Not worth the hefty price tag
Star Rating - 12/18/2018
Santa Fe is beautiful and has nice weather, but it's got a big city cost of living while not having much to offer in exchange. It's small, doesn't really have anything to do and gets boring, but charges like it's a metropolis. I mean there's Meow Wolf, the surrounding pueblos, the Plaza, and that's about it. Each of those get pretty old after two or three visits.

I will say though, the animal shelter is very nice. They take great care of the dogs, let you pet them and interect with them; so if you're looking for a dog that's already social and well taken care of, they've got you covered!
Michael | Albuquerque, NM
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So, covid came and we couldnt retire to Spain. Decided to give Santa Fe a go. Best decision of our lives. This is the only US city that comes close to a city with a european feel. Yes, real estate is expensive but so much nicer than living in a huge wooden boxes like the rest of america. We dont drive and have everything we need within walking distance. Everyday there is something going on. I have lived all over the world and feel Santa Fe is one of the safest places we have lived in. Being able to speak a little spanish goes a long way here. Also,in America it is incredible hard to find a house under a thousand square feet to retire too, Santa Fe has beautiful small houses .This is home
Chris | Santa Fe, NM | Report Abuse

Nothing to do? Nah, that's not right. There is stunning natural scenery and lots of hiking and walking. There is downhill skiing in nearby Taos in the winter - and lots of XX skiing too. The culture is great! Artists and art galleries everywhere - highbrow, lowbrow and in between. And if you're an artist it's a great place to get started; yes crowded but there are shoppers in every category. Someone will buy your stuff. And music! OMG the Santa Fe Opera has world class musicians. There is also theater and dramatic arts. Food. Food. Food. Seriously great restaurants at all price levels. "Will you have green chile on the side or on top?" "Yes."
B | Austin, TX | Report Abuse

If Santa Fe is such a great place to move to then why is their only 74,000 people who live there. Only about 150 people move there a year. It is a city over 400 years old with a meager population increase. There are other cities such as Vegas or Phoenix that get 35k to 40 k increase per year.All other surrounding states have over 2% increase in population. New Mexico at best gets 1/2 percent. In fact from 2010 to 2016 NM population increase was only 36,000 and most of that was from births. NM has highest crime rate in nation and second highest poverty. It also has the worst education system in the nation. Your graducation rate in HS is only about 69%. NM is a lowlife state with a huge gang mentality. and would never move there.There are no trees all along hwy 40 because i looked. The oceans is about 900 miles away. You have no lakes to swim in or enjoy and very few rivers or streams. The closest lake to Santa FE is over 60 miles. You can get the amazing sunsets anywhere as well as the food. You can get amazing culture anywhere in this country without the crime. It also an isolated state and takes days to drive there. How come all the states surrounding NM all have net poulation increases over 2%. NM is at best only 1/2 %....look it up on U.S, Census...yes reallyThese are all facts that I looked up and are not disputable
Brian | Gardnerville Ranchos, NV | Report Abuse

B in austin. The only people who can afford to live in Santa FE are the rich. I checked out a local Real Estate Broker blog on his web site. Not much inventory below $495 K which is all gobbled up really quick. Everything above that $500 k point is not affordable by most. The sales tax is almost 9 %. All income is taxed, including Social security, dividends, capital gains, pensions and everything else. I live in Nevada which taxes no income. You also have an inheritance tax. Nothing like this in Nevada. My property tax is only $800 and my registration is only $7 because of military exemptions. Nothing like that in New Mexico, yeah really. NM sucks and keeps sucking. I looked at events and festivals in Reno NV. It is a booklet of 28 pages with hundreds of events going on. I looked at Santa Fe and they had about 25. Did you know Reno was voted by outside magazine as the 10 best place in America to live becaue of the activities. Santa Fe did not make nor did anyplace in NM. Did you know Reno was just voted as the 13th most friendleist place to live in USA. Again nothing in NM. Did you know Nevada created the most jobs in all America in 2019 and the second most place people move to. Las Vegas in June had over 6.1 million visitors. NM only gets a couple of million people a year. Again NM sucks and sucks. More poverty and more crime than any place in America.
Brian | Gardnerville Ranchos, NV | Report Abuse
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