Although Santa Fe is in the continental United States, this location provides nesters with many of the aspects of an overseas nest. For example, the cultures – both indigenous and colonial Pain – have very long histories in the region. The Pueblo architecture also differs radically from typical USA buildings. And the climate plus ecosystem – high desert with mountains – is a departure from most of the USA. We chose to nest in Santa Fe because we paused nesting for 18 months and as the the Covid pandemic subsided, we decided to retart our nesting cautiously, staying in the country for the first time.
Nesting in the USA was easier in many ways. We knew the language, the currency, the shopping, and we traveled in our car. But we were worried that we’d lose the sense of adventure and fun of exploring an exotic location if we stayed in the US. We spent a long time researching to find a place within the country that was as different as possible from our home in Virginia. We settled on Santa Fe, New Mexico, and we both feel it was the perfect choice for the situation.
What we loved about Santa Fe
We were very surprised at the depth and breath of culture in Santa Fe. I don’t think we could have found a spot within the lower 48 states that could offer us such different, rich and unique traditions and customs than Santa Fe. The architecture, festivals, food and landscape were as exotic to our Virginian eyes as any spot we travelled overseas.
The old timers in Santa Fe were very welcoming. And because so many folks seeing culture, arts, and outdoors have moved to Santa Fe, they very eager to show us their new home city. We didn’t face the typical barriers of language or culture so we connected very quickly and had some wonderful experiences hiking, visiting peoples’ homes and doing community service.
As people who love the outdoors, the Northern New Mexico area offered amazing hiking and camping opportunities. The landscape is stunning. We especially liked exploring ancient Native American sites, and there are plenty to see there.
Lots of movies and TV shows are filmed in the area. A few times we stumbled across a set, and seeing directional signs for film shootings is very common here. It’s fun to have that as part of the day to day experience.
What we didn’t Love about Santa Fe
First, because it is in the US, the costs were much higher than most of our other nests. To stay on our self-imposed budget, we had to watch our expenses more closely.
Second, although we could walk to many things, a car was necessary as the city was spread out and public transportation less robust than our prior nests. We hadn’t need a car full-time at any prior nest. So, in this aspect Santa Fe was more like home, and less a nest .