Santa Fe is in sync with
the free spirit unleashed
in retirement.
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A lot of boomers are riding the age wave to their favorite travel destination,
Santa Fe, with thoughts of living here either permanently or as part time
residents. Retirement in the City Different, however, begs for a new
definition. As the proverbial door closes behind you, the newly retired,
another opens wide in Santa Fe, reinvigorating dreams and ideas that may
have been on hold. Retirement means more time to do what you want, when you
want—the benchmark of quality lifestyle for Santa Feans, retired or not.
Santa Fe is in sync with the free spirit unleashed in retirement. If you’ve
ever strolled on the Santa Fe Plaza and thought to yourself “What would it
be like to live here?” then this site is for you. Here, you’ll have a chance
to peer behind the curtain of chili ristras for a fresh, boomer perspective
on life in the City Different.
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Retire Different
It’s the ‘different’ that most people credit when asked why they chose to retire to Santa Fe.
Once you’ve navigated the plaza and the surrounding downtown you get the picture— Santa Fe at
its historic core is one of the most unique, postcard beautiful cities in the United States.
The human scale of the buildings circling the central plaza with cathedral bells chiming on
the hour is seductive enough. Santa Fe looks different. While other Western cities conjure
the past by trying to look old, Santa Fe is old. But, despite its reliance on tourism, there
is a town beneath the beauty that locals love and protect. Nobody is going to block the view
of Mt Baldy peering over the downtown rooftops without a big fight – at least not since the
Eldorado Hotel was built in the mid 1980’s.
Retire Culturally Rich
Retiring to a town that national and international travel magazines consistently rank as one
of the top 10 travel destinations in America has other advantages too. No need to fear not
seeing the family and friends left behind—they WILL come to visit. Why do you think so many
homes in Santa Fe have guesthouses? It’s all
here—art, a rich cultural tapestry, skiing,
hiking, spas, golf, a great walking environment, unique shopping, and yes, astrological readings.
It’s a multigenerational city too, not just multicultural. Your grandchildren will love it as
much as your nephew, the extreme sports dude, and your mother, the collector.
Retire Well
Living in a tourist destination offers distinct advantages to resident Santa Feans, especially
those with the freedom of being ‘retired’. Spas, restaurants and some hotels offer a locals’
discount, especially in the off-season. At any time of year the weekly entertainment guides
have listings for art events, music, literary readings, and movie selections that rival listings
in larger cities. The complaint during peak season (June-October) is scheduling conflicts—you
can’t do it all. During the summer there is music and dancing on the plaza –no charge. Locals
are known to take a vacation at home in Santa Fe, shopping, getting a massage, checking out one
of Santa Fe’s many museums, and even waiting in line like a tourist for breakfast at Café
Pasqual’s. The year-round mix of front-and-center tickets to the Santa Fe Opera, and free
community events means that Santa Feans are out and about, not just the tourists.
Retire Inspired
If the Santa Fe Opera got you to Santa Fe in the first place, you’ll appreciate the drama of
life that takes place here. It’s hard to say if Santa Feans invented Santa Fe Style or if it
was the other way around. Immersed in the creative spirit of the place, a fusion is at work
here as it has been for centuries. In 2005, Santa Fe was designated a UNESCO (United Nations
Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) ‘creative city’, which is to say a lot of
creative minds are at work here - many of whom opted to retire to Santa Fe to reinvent
themselves. The wildly successful but relatively new Santa Fe International Folk Art Market
is testament to the city’s world wide reputation as a crossroads of creativity. Let’s just
say that contemporary Santa Fe is marked by independent thinking, imagination, tolerance,
entrepreneurial savvy and a healthy dose of ‘carpe manana’ thrown in for good measure.
Those qualities alone set it apart from most American cities. Retiring to Santa Fe, at any
age, is saying Yes to your muse and No to the clock.
Retire in Style
Despite the usual influx of fast walkers and talkers that are inevitably attracted to Santa Fe,
the City Different is still ‘laid back’. There was once a lapel button seen frequently around
town that proclaimed “We don’t care how they do it in New York”. Ironically, transplanted New
Yorkers seemed most inclined to wear the button. To retire in style, Santa Fe style that is,
you’ll need to recalibrate. Leisure is in the air we breathe and the views we take in—all it
takes is to look up at the night sky to get your priorities realigned.
Retire Invigorated
The attraction for so many boomers now retiring to Santa Fe, lay not in the easy living Santa Fe
offers (go with the predictable ‘senior golf community’ if you want easy) but in the aliveness
of this place. It’s just edgy enough to keep us close to the elements and the questions of life
rather than the answers. There is confounding space all around, enough to get lost in-- the good
kind of lost that heightens gratitude for the freedom to email across the globe from a home office
while watching the sunset reflected on the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Call this retired? Hardly.
No wonder boomers love it!
Retire to Santa Fe
Yes, the sidewalks can be icy in winter, traffic signals are senseless, and many restaurants are
closed on Sundays. Santa Fe’s just enough of a hassle to keep the unsavory elements out, namely
those intent on making it the ‘City Same’. Retiring to Santa Fe makes you part of the postcard
you used to send home while visiting. Go to a city council meeting, read, or better yet, write
a letter to the editor of The New Mexican, our independently owned daily paper. Take action!
Retire to Santa Fe and you’re at the crossroads where walk meets talk. It’s a small city large
enough to be heard and valuable enough to speak up for. Viva la Santa Fe!
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