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Hi there... OK, so I'm a project manager and research & planning is what I do... so I'm driving my husband nuts with looking at retirement options so far in advance. Especially since I have him onboard with looking at Santa Fe (or surrounds) for potential retirement opps. And so, I'm looking for opinions and/or facts about moving the SF (or surrounds).
We are looking (hoping) to 'retire' in 5 years but if the SO can get his job to agree to a WFH situation full time, we could move sooner, which is my ultimate goal.
Currently living in the DFW, Texas area and it's too dang hot. TOO. DANG. HOT. And due to the heat and humidity, and lack of owning a boat... we don't find there's lots of stuff to do here in the summers. NM has more of the outdoorsy stuff we like to do - hiking, sitting with nice coffee on the patio or an evening under the stars with an adult beverage, mountains, visiting historical landmarks, etc. We would much rather be outside than in though we do enjoy museums and such. We are not cultured art-scene aficionados either but do enjoy the occasional galleries.
Born and raised in TX, lived several years in the Seattle area and then moved to Bernalillo in the midst of the 2008 economic crisis and ended back in TX after two years of trying to find jobs. My family homesteaded in Eastern NM in 1906 so to me, NM is "home". My husband... meh, depends on WHERE in NM he is as to how he likes it. He would move back to the PNW if I would but the weather finally wore me down (plus a few other things not worth diving into here).
We have visited SF several times, & loved it; I spent a part of every summer in the Pecos wilderness camping with my parents. And my husband and I camped quite a bit while living in Bernalillo. LOVE the culture and the history of New Mexico. When I'm there, I feel like I've come home. Peace and harmony and all that stuff. HOWEVER, I'm also a realist and know visiting is WAY different than living somewhere.
OK - so as we near retirement age (we'll be in our upper 50s in reasonably good health, if our retirement plans holds) we need to think beyond, "oooo wouldn't it be cool to live here" and think about some practicalities... I already know from looking that housing is crazy, it was in 2008 too, so we'll deal with that later (renting vs buying, acreage vs small city lot, etc) & keep our fingers crossed our place here continues to go up in value.
1). Healthcare accessibility - If you live in Santa Fe do you typically use healthcare facilities there, or do you prefer ABQ? Primary care docs vs specialists (cardiology, etc)
2). Taxes - I know there is a state income tax (around 5%, correct?), but what about property taxes? I've read that Santa Fe is around 0.64%, is that correct? That seems incredible to me when we are currently paying almost 3.0% in prop taxes in TX. I keep thinking there is a catch...
3). Utilities - What are they like? What I can remember in Bernalillo, they seemed about average (coming from the PNW where there's an abundance of hydro-power and mild weather our electric bill was negligible; Texas not so much).
3.a). Water/Sewage - If you are not in SF proper, are you typically on a private well or with a small water company/co-op? Do you have private septic or are you on a 'sewage line'? If you are on public sewage is it part of your water bill? We've always been on private septic system so the public sewage thing is new to us.
3.b). Cell phone/Internet accessibility - I don't remember it being an issue in Bernalillo but we were in Bernalillo, not rural. Are there areas in/around SF that are lacking in that respect?
4). What do you love most about living (or having lived) there and what do you hate most about living there? (and if its crowds/tourists or the influx of transplants, I get it - I feel the same way where we are now. People moving in, driving up prices, destroying wildlife habitat, etc.)
5). What should I be asking/thinking about that I am not asking or thinking about?
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