Santa Fe: Retirement Option?

Santa Fe was settled in 1607 by the Spanish - 13 years before the Pilgrims landed.  I didn't make it there until 2014.  And I enjoyed every minute!  Could I retire there?  Maybe.

It was easy to get to Santa Fe by plane; I flew into Albuquerque and then drove on up.  It's about 60 miles and took about 1 hour.  Easy access to a well served airport is a plus for a retirement home.

I stayed at the Hotel Chimayo de Santa Fe; there's been a hotel operating at this site for over 400 years.  My suite was charming and included a sink, a refrigerator and a small balcony that peaked out over the courtyard where each room and suite opened.  Giant bundles of red chile peppers hung about the tiled outdoor hall, adding to the atmosphere.

Once ensconced in this delightful historic hotel, I went out to see the sights.  There was plenty to view!  All around the small town square, locally crafted silver and turquoise jewelry is offered for sale by artisans who set up tables or spread blankets with the shade-covered walkways. 

The square is fringed with restaurants and cafes; the variety is impressive, with food for every taste and every budget: brew pubs, steak houses, authentic Southwest, even fancy French.

I love to visit museums, and in Santa Fe, there are plenty to choose from.  I couldn't take them all in but did make time to walk through The Georgia O'Keefe Museum right downtown.  It was amazing.  Next time, I plan to check out The Museum of International Folk Art, The Harrell House of Natural Oddities and Bug Museum, and The New Mexico Museum of Art.  Just for starters - there are about another dozen museums more, plus old churches and missions and palaces.  Lots to explore and plenty of opportunities to volunteer.

After the museum, I was getting hungry and dropped into El Meson, a tapas restaurant just a block away from my hotel.  The food was delicious, the sangria was perfect and as if by magic, a jazz quartet assembled and began an outstanding performance. The waiter told me that there is plenty of live music in Santa Fe, year round:  there is an Opera house, a Performing Arts Center, Jazz Festivals and more.  Good music, rich restaurant scene, dripping with culture: all checks in the 'plus' column for my retirement home.

The next day, I packed up a little lunch and a lot of water and ventured out for a hike, visiting Bandolier National Monument.  Arriving early in the day, I had no problem parking; Bandolier limits the number visitors at the Monument at any one time. This means no crushing crowds and adds to the experience.  

At the main location of Bandolier Nathional Monument, you can climb up and into cliff dwellings of Ancestral Pueblo people;  it's incredible to be walking along paths where others walked 1,100 years ago; viewing the drawings on the walls of the dwellings carved out of the rock and seeing the blackened ceilings, stained by the smoke of fires that burned so long ago. 

I admit there were a few scary moments looking down from some of the wooden ladders and steep carved stairways. 'Climb the castle walls' from DMB's Rapunzel ran through my head as I ascended.

 But the exertion was well worth it. A number of dwellings and kivas have been reconstructed, there is a pleasant visitor's center with personable, knowledgable guides and a free video presentation that is worth sitting through.  

A little to the northeast of the main Bandolier location is the Tsankewi Section;  more ladders and stairs to the top of a mesa.  The view of the surrounding landscape is almost as amazing as the view down at your feet, where ancient pottery shards are still scattered thickly all around. If you've never been to Bandolier, I highly recommend a visit.   History, outdoor recreation, and many years worth of exploring all available in the area: another retirement plus!

Based on my brief visit, Santa Fe does seem promising as a retirement destination. The people I met where kind and it's certainly dog-friendly: I was traveling pet-free but was able to get a 'fur fix' everywhere I went. Bike trails wander everywhere. It's a smaller city -  about the same size as Idaho Falls at 69,000 people - but close enough to Albuquerque that I could tap that big city's resources.  And Dave Matthews Band does play in Albuquerque some years. :-)

The median single family home price is about $650,000; and in searching the web, I found some brand new condos for $135,000 that would be great for a 'part time' retirement home.  The adobe/Southwest style architecture is everywhere: I could have a Southwest home just like my hotel.  

This could work.  Santa Fe is on the list!