View Full Version : Who is in Santa Fe?
I'm excited. I lived in the Santa Fe area in '84. Have been back a few times, we'd always try to take a day and run up to Santa Fe when we did art shows in Albuquerque. Anyway, our oldest has applied for a short summer session at St John's College. I may be out there for a week by myself. Already looking at what is available on airbnb.com. Kind of curious if anyone local has any thoughts on the St John's College - DH's father was a graduate of the Annapolis campus but he passed before I married into the family and DH says that his dad never talked much about college, just mostly about his graduate/doctorate programs at other universities.
iris lilies
4-4-14, 1:17pm
PCooley knows a lot about that. Hope he jumps on the boards to see your message.
I love Santa Fe. The architecture, the history, the art, the jewelry, the food! Haven't been there for a few years but enjoy the whole area. I also like it around Taos (and the Taos Pueblo which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site) - especially in spring and summer with the millions of wildflowers everywhere - so if you DD (or you) get a chance to visit there I think you'll enjoy it.
Yes, I hung out in Taos quite a bit, had a really good friend from there (who I wish I could find again). My brother worked for the National Research Lab there for awhile, I don't think he traveled around much to visit the area when he was employed there - he missed out on a lot. I took advantage of spending every dime I made on having some wonderful experiences while there....and yes, eating lots of wonderful food.
awakenedsoul
4-4-14, 6:00pm
I lived in Santa Fe for three years and worked with several people from the college.
I love the Taos, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque area! That is where I went last summer and am planning to go back in early June to drop of new things at the Madrid, NM gallery. My plan is to camp around Madrid (I met some people there last summer so there is a possibility of camping on their land for a few days). Then I will head on up to Bandelier National Monument because I love campsite #27 and I must take a few days there to be in my happy place. From there I think I will go up towards Abique, then to Four Corners and eventually land in Moab for a few days before I have to head back east to Michigan.
Float On, when are you planning on going?
SiouzQ, I'll be there in early July, 6th-12th at least. Your plans sound great. We use to sell to several galleries in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
I graduated from St. John's in 1992 and went straight into the pilot program for the Eastern Classics. It was a non-degree program at the time, but when they received accreditation for being a master's program, they grandfathered us in, and I was able to write all my essays and receive my Master's degree. Currently, after twelve years of being at at-home-dad, I work in the Dean's Office at the college.
I believe it is one of the best educations in the country. I did two years at more conventional colleges before I came to St. John's, (and all transfers have to start over as freshmen). In that the program is centered solely around discussion of original works, it teaches students not only how to think independently, but how to listen and communicate about ideas. At the time I started as a freshman at the college, I was not particularly interested in the mathematics and sciences part of the curriculum -- I had tested out of all of that in conventional college through my AP exams -- but by my junior year, that had become my favorite part of the program. To work with a group of people struggling to come to grips with Heisenberg's writings on quantum physics or Einsteins General Theory of Relativity was incredible. I don't think St. John's is as fully recognized as a place for a unique grounding in math and science as it should be. I have to say that I came to St. John's because I was interested in capital T Truth, and really learning, as a human being, what it means to be a thinking human being. I did not have a particular career goal in mind. I am still pursuing the same interests. I do know, from friends, that graduates from St. John's who are driven in definite directions are more than well prepared to succeed in whatever they wish to accomplish. I have friends who are doctors, lawyers, permaculture activists, beekeepers (as am I, though not on such a large scale), writers, computer engineers, etc. I am sure that an argument might be made for more conventional educations. There are times when I wished I had continued on the track I was on before I came to St. John's to become an anthropologist and historian - and all of the other ten interests I had. But I think who I am as a person was better served by St. John's. The summer academy program is great and will give your oldest a good idea of what goes on at the college.
As for Santa Fe itself, we've been struggling with drought, but it's still a beautiful place. There is no other place I would really want to live. I've seen the networks of bicycle trails grow, and I've been involved in a lot of the bicycle activism. The city has moved up a notch in the League of American Bicyclists bicycle friendly cities list. We now have a "silver" rating. Dining is delicious, if a little expensive. There are still wonderful independent bookstores, great public radio, and wonderful people. Also plenty of sunshine, blue skies, and hiking.
Thank you pcooley. Everyone we've talked with that attended St John's in the late 80's have all raved about it, it's always good to get another positive. W is well-read and a deep thinker and loves to discuss ideas (he's good at listening too). He's a creative writer but I'm hoping he'd continue on to get a teaching certificate as well. Math is not his area at all, I'm hoping the different approach will be something that clicks with him because nothing else has.
DH's father was just finishing 10th grade when St John's did some recruiting of young men to keep the school open during WW II. He never rec'd a high school diploma but was a well regarded hydro geologist. I think he did 2 years at St John's, went to the Navy and did 2 years, then back to St John's to finish and then went on for a graduate and Doctorate program at other universities.
UPDATE: W is in. Looks like with our schedule he can only do the 3rd session. So I'll be taking him out there in July. I lived just outside Santa Fe in '85. I loved my time there. I secretly hope he chooses St John's for college just so I have a good excuse to get back there on a regular basis.
Congrats!! I love the Santa Fe area (although hot in July I imagine) and can't think of a better place to go to school. Lots of diversity, interesting culture, history and architecture.
He got a partial scholarship. I booked a little house through AirBnB last night. Need to get a car rented and that's it. Really looking forward to this trip. Our 2nd son has decided he wants to stay home, work, and see friends (he's not a party type but I'll still have the neighbors check on him) so it looks like a week of just me and my husband after we drop the older one off at St John's.
That sounds like fun!! I have never tried AirBnB yet - and probably can't unless some of them take dogs - but let us know how you like it. I think you mentioned you actually rent a place you own (or maybe it was just a room) on AirBnB and it's been really a good deal for you.
The weather has been fairly nice in Santa Fe lately. It's going down into the 50's at night, (though it can get colder than that if we get a rain). It's up into the eighties in the daytime. We've never found the need to install a swamp cooler on our house, (nor have I ever had one).
It can get very warm in the day, but there's little humidity, so 90 degrees here doesn't feel like 90 degrees in the Southeast. People are often unprepared for how cool it can get when the sun goes down. If we do happen to get our monsoon rains, it can get downright cold, but the rains have been very iffy for the past several years.
iris lilies
6-11-14, 10:36am
I occasionally look at Realtor.com for Santa Fe property and recently came across a most charming and wonderful 2 BR historic house in downtown SF for something like $150,000. I thought to my self that 'd buy that site unseen. Then, reading further into the description, I see that I would have been buying 1/4 of the property with rights to have it 14 weeks per year. So really it's a $600,000 property, more in line with what I know to be true for SF.
It's the first time I've seen a time share property on Realtor.com.
Way to bust your bubble, right IL? There are some local properties that show up on Realtor.com for the same sort of quarter or less year time share.
pcooley, that is one thing I remember about the year I lived out there. Days were warm but dry (not dripping humid) and I used a sweater almost every evening. I remember when I arrived at the resort I worked at they warned us right off to not lay out and tan longer than 15 minutes the first day and slowly work our way up to longer tans. The girls that didn't believe the warning and stayed out 2 hours like they were used to at home were burnt to a crisp.
spartana, I don't own a BnB rental, that's someone else on here but we have stayed in several and really had good experiences. I may consider adding our house to BnB when the boys are gone to college.
Iris Lilies - Not all the property out here is that expensive. We bought our home for $127,000, and it's in a pretty nice neighborhood, central to grocery stores, coffee shops, and restaurants that we enjoy and a short hop onto the bike trail network. (Santa Fe came up in the ranks in the League of American Bicyclists bicycle friendly cities. We're now at the silver level, and the bike-friendliest city in New Mexico.) We bought the house in 1998. Once you get close to the center of town, the prices skyrocket. The east side - along Canyon Road and Acequia Madre, and the area around St. John's College, the house prices are astronomical. But there are pockets here and there where it's affordable and the neighborhood is actually nice.
I occasionally look at Realtor.com for Santa Fe property and recently came across a most charming and wonderful 2 BR historic house in downtown SF for something like $150,000. I thought to my self that 'd buy that site unseen. Then, reading further into the description, I see that I would have been buying 1/4 of the property with rights to have it 14 weeks per year. So really it's a $600,000 property, more in line with what I know to be true for SF.
It's the first time I've seen a time share property on Realtor.com.I haven't looked at Santa Fe but occasionally look at houses in Taos which is probably a little more affordable. I also love the area and the architecture (similar to Santa Fe) but it's still out of my price. A 2bed/1bath seem to go for $300K or more. Condos are better - maybe $200K, but still higher then I would want to pay. And being that it's land locked, I'd probably opt for something more coastal if paying those kind of prices. Awesome (there's that word again!) place to visit though.
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