New Mexico is My Lover in Disguise!

We arrived in New Mexico on December 12th and I had this overwhelming feeling that I was going to hate living here. I have seen the pictures, done the research, checked out the different cultures online and spoken to many people who have seen and experienced New Mexico first hand. There wasn’t a single person I spoke to who said “I hate New Mexico, and I wouldn’t go back there if you paid me all the money in the world!” I couldn’t understand what was so captivating to these people while listening to their words and stories…I pondered the word pictures they painted for me and tried to imagine the beauty they were explaining.

After leaving the Albuquerque Airport, I didn’t want to look around too much for fear of being even more disappointed than I had already set myself up to be and looking at the reaction from my children, my heart began to sink. We took a shuttle bus to pick up our rental car, and my eyes began to wander a little, taking little glances here and there at the landscape. I thought to myself, “Yup! That’s what I thought…dirt, flat plains, no life.” My heart was breaking in those moments and I did all I could to keep myself from crying. But something happened as we traveled north towards the city! We made a left turn and there staring us in the face was this huge imposing mountain! I saw pictures of the Sandia Mountains but nothing could have prepared me for seeing them in all their glory. I was speechless, awestruck and totally captivated by what I was witnessing. My son gasped with his jaw dropped wide, picked up his cell phone to call his friend in Maryland to tell him all about this enormous mountain. I still lack the proper words to describe this magnificent mountain.

I still wasn’t convinced this was a place I would fall in love with, but seeing the mountains gave me a glimmer of hope that I could enjoy my new state. I wasn’t ready to venture out and see the land yet, so we stuck with the major roads and checked out all the different neighborhoods. There was comfort in traveling the streets because the buildings and houses blocked my view of seeing flat desert land. As we drove north west towards our new home, we noticed that if we looked to our left on Route 40 all we saw was the desert BUT if we looked to the right we saw the mountains…of course I only looked to the right!

Today I decided that it was time to take the bull by the horns and just get out there and drive north to Santa Fe. Most of the early morning I was procrastinating and finding excuses of why we couldn’t take our first trip up to Santa Fe, but the kids were getting antsy so we jumped in the car and made our way north. My daughter Shoshie who is 13 years old kept making this same comment from the time we left the airport through today…she said “Mom, why is it so peaceful here? Do you feel it?” When she first made that statement, I did feel it amidst my inner turmoil, but she kept saying it everyday and as we left Albuquerque heading north, I let go of my fear and felt that peace, embracing it fully.

I’m sure that going south is a completely different experience, but what I noticed as we left Albuquerque traveling north, were all the hills and valleys. It wasn’t lifeless or barren, it was beautiful rich terrain with what looked like perfectly placed evergreen bushes that peppered the hills. Everywhere we looked we saw these lovely hills that dipped down and converged with other hills. It was simply surreal. I loved the way the light hit the hills, casting shadows and creating depth and movement. I loved the hues of browns and reds and how the light created purples and blues off in the distance. At times I could barely catch my breath and I was speechless…beside myself with wonderment.

I find myself becoming captivated and I am beginning to understand what so many tried to explain to me. Pictures can never do New Mexico justice…it is a place that must be experienced to be appreciated.

I never knew that the desert could produce such beauty. Delicate flowers growing wild and entertaining my senses.

New Mexico is also NOT all desert! The more north you go, the more trees there are. I think I’m falling in love!

So now that I have experienced one week in my new land, I have to say that my heart has softened. I do see beauty and life here. Have you ever met a person that at first “wasn’t your type” but as you got to know them you opened your heart and let them in to your world? It’s the person that you never expected to be the man/woman of your dreams and yet for some reason you are drawn to them? As you get to know the person and they open up and show you their world, they begin to ignite passion and feelings that you never felt before…well that is how I feel about this place! New Mexico is not what I expected, and although it is definitely not my type of land to live in, I feel a sense of peace and passion. It’s strange but true. I am discovering that New Mexico is erotic as well. I never thought a land could be sexy, but here I am strangely aroused. I think New Mexico is my Lover in disguise.

Santa Fe or Albuquerque?

Our family is relocating to New Mexico and we are having a hard time deciding where to move to. I see so many benefits to living in Albuquerque and yet I am drawn to Santa Fe.

We have heard mixed reviews about both places and the fact that we have children only makes it that much more difficult to make a decision. I have heard that ABQ has great schools and a great health care system and that Santa Fe does not. I would love opinions from those who live in both of these cities to let me know what you think of the school systems and health care system.

I have heard St. Vincent’s Hospital referred to as “St. Victim’s” and that doesn’t evoke much confidence in my mind. But I also don’t want to go on a few small opinions. Those people may have just had a bad experience. I have had bad experiences in very good hospitals before, so I need more opinions I guess. It was also said that in Santa Fe, the school system isn’t so hot either….what does that mean?

I really like the thought of living in Santa Fe because I have heard about all the art and the beautiful mixing of cultures…this appeals to me but it has been reported also that it costs more to live there. I have heard mixed reviews about ABQ too, and I am really not sure what to do. In searching for a place in ABQ, I found that it has been just as expensive there as it is in Santa Fe. It’s not like we can just stay somewhere and explore NM…my kids need to go to school, and I want to make the choice of where we are going to live so we can register them and not have to move again. In ABQ, the Public Academy of Performing Arts is there, and my children really want to attend that school. It is for students 6th-12th grade. It is already going to be a big adjustment moving to a new state that we know little to nothing about, and I want to be as informed as I can to make this transition as smooth as possible.