By Frank O'Mahony
Is it the warm climate with its crystalline blue skies, magical high desert light and four gorgeous, easy-to-live-with seasons?
Or the attractions of a cosmopolitan cultural life, including world class museums and galleries, the renowned Santa Fe Opera and other musical delights, over 200 restaurants and a year-round calendar chock-full of exhilarating cultural events like Indian and Spanish Markets?
Perhaps it's the genuine diversity of people here, a fascinating mix of Native American, traditional Hispanic and "Anglo" cultural traditions.
There are probably as many reasons as people who choose the exquisite natural beauty and cultural vibrancy of Santa Fe as their retirement destination city. Plenty of locals will tell you that sometimes it's just plain impossible to resist the spell created by your very first visit to the celebrated Land of Enchantment. Their stories share a common happy ending of traveling through Santa Fe on their way to somewhere else and never leaving.
Santa Fe provides access to all of the creature comforts with Albuquerque less than an hour away, while maintaining its own quaint personality outside of the larger city ramblings. Santa Fe has kept its charm through the architecture, culture and core roots in the original Santa Fe Plaza. Nestled against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains that offers a beautiful view, as well as world class skiing in the winter and fabulous hiking in the summer, making Santa Fe a retirement destination of choice.
As the city enters a yearlong celebration of its 400th anniversary, it continues a long tradition of charming newcomers from all over the world. From CNN's Money Magazine's "Best Places to Live" in 2008 to AARP Magazine's "One of the 15 Best Places in the Country to Re-Invent Yourself", Santa Fe routinely captures a spot on the lists of most desirable places to live.
Whether you're an artist or art aficionado, love to ride, hike, golf, ski or enjoy other outdoor pursuits, or prefer to simply putter around your own cozy hacienda, you'll soon discover why Santa Fe always lives up to its moniker, "The City Different." It's also the perfect location for those who seek a more holistic approach to wellness, with a first-rate regional medical center and an unrivalled range of modern facilities offering both traditional and alternative therapies.
You are only a day-trip away from all of the beauty and mystery of New Mexico, the state has a rich history of Native American and Spanish settlers that still live in the pueblos and mountains. Whether you choose to enjoy the serenity of Santa Fe or want to explore you will definitely find home here.
Santa Feans both old and new agree that life—of the mind, body and spirit-- is indeed much sweeter here.
It's a dream town that may just help you finally fulfill some of those long-held dreams of your own.
Whatever their original draw, people find that when they make the move here, they soon realize it was the best decision they ever made.
Frank O'Mahony; A Santa Fe Realtor with over twenty years marketing experience, ten of them as the owner of a highly successful Silicon Valley consultancy, I have brought my entrepreneurial, client-focused approach to Santa Fe real estate.
Source:www.isnare.com |
