Santa Fe, New Mexico

It’s kind of an obvious answer but the art scene here is world-class. In particular the locals, both Spanish and Native American are available in galleries year-round and via major market events that the city holds every year in the summer/fall in the center of downtown for artists to show and sell their art. This persistent and major event art culture creates a vibe that makes Santa Fe different from any other city in the U.S.

Transplants to Santa Fe note the oddity of the social interplay there. For starters, three dominant cultures tend to stick to themselves.
1) The Spanish culture, considers itself the original community and founders of Santa Fe.
2) The Native American culture, primarily the ancestral Pueblo, who mostly live north of the city in the Pueblos.
3) The transplanters tend to hang out together and act much as expats do in foreign countries.

In addition to the art culture which offers tons of galleries and museums, Santa Fe also has a growing brewery and music scene. Not exactly Nashville but decent for a city its size. The weather is excellent, with four seasons and none of them too harsh, which means outdoor activities can be enjoyed close to year-round. Santa Fe is at more than 7,000 feet and right in the southern Rocky Mountains so hiking is at your doorstep and is as good as anywhere in the country. The city experiences 320+ days of sunshine a year so in addition to hiking there are hundreds of bike trails, also river rafting, golfing, and when winter comes, plenty of snow and amazing skiing.

Check out the Santa Fe calendar of events to see what goes on here.

We highly recommend visiting Santa Fe and staying in the community in a VRBO rather than a hotel to get a feel for living among the locals. You can receive discounted fares on travel via our partnership with Expedia as well.

The job market is tough in Santa Fe. It is largely an art and tourism-based economy with plenty of people making money off of the services provided to visitors but not much local business beyond. It gets a lot of newcomers from empty nesters and retirees who don’t need to visit an office and growth during the pandemic indicates this trend will continue.