8 replies to this topic

[JackieO!]

  Please compare Santa Fe and Tucson and tell me which town you prefer, and why.
  I've been offered really excellent positons in both towns and need to make a decision and fast.
  Any info and/or opinions, as well as pictures, would be greatly appreciated.

  I'm especially interested in the cost of housing.
  Also the area (I love mountains), things to do, etc.

  Thanks.

[sd_urban]

Hmmm....I've been to both and although they are great to visit, I couldn't live in either (Just my opinion)

Santa Fe is nice and funky,  but it is too small for me.  It's location is beautiful, though. Mountains and wilderness are nearby.  Albuquerque isn't too far away if you need to be around more people.  I'm sure  there are also advantages to living in a small city.

Tuscon, well, it has the UofA.  Nicer setting and more charming than Phoenix.  Mt. Lemmon is nearby.  I just don't care for the extreme desert climate.  Pretty suburban, and a pretty poor city.

Have you been to either yet?  If not, you need to go.

[colin]

JackieO!, on Sep 26 2005, 08:14 AM, said:

Please compare Santa Fe and Tucson and tell me which town you prefer, and why.
  I've been offered really excellent positons in both towns and need to make a decision and fast.
  Any info and/or opinions, as well as pictures, would be greatly appreciated.

  I'm especially interested in the cost of housing.
  Also the area (I love mountains), things to do, etc.

  Thanks.

I live in Tucson and have been to Santa Fe many times. Tucson is actually more easily compared to Albuquerque, which is a very similar city.
What I especially like about Tucson is its outdoor opportunities. During the summer, when it's too hot to do anything in the valley, there are the "sky islands" all around the area: the Santa Ritas, the Rincons, the Huachucas, the Chiricahuas, the Santa Catalinas and others. You can go here and walk around without feeling too hot.
Also, it gets cold in Santa Fe, often snowing. It's snowed a couple of times in Tucson, but not in the past ten years or so. However, if you want snow, you can go into those same mountains where there is snow on the ground for about four months out of the year. I like that choice.

The big differences between the two cities are size and cost. Tucson is a much larger city (almost 10x the size of Santa Fe) and is very spread out, while Santa Fe is much more cramped and crowded together. Tucson is also much cheaper to live in. Even though the housing costs have been skyrocketing over the past few years, it's still more affordable than most cities in the West, including Santa Fe, and apartment rental rates have remained about the same.
Santa Fe also annoys me in that there seems to be too much money there. Very little else but expensive art galleries, fancy restaurants, resorts, and tourist-oriented shops. Tucson maintains a sort of cowboy mentality, but is still a very liberal, progressive town at heart, and the residents tend to reflect that. I've lived here for two years, and still love it.

Hope that helps.

[Mith242]

Yes both are in the southwest but as Colin has mentioned both are a bit different.  Tucson is nice to visit but I just can't take the summer heat personally.  But Santa Fe is a very expensive place to live.  Course I suppose you could always live outside the city.  Personally I really like the culture of New Mexico.  A very interesting blend of anglo, hispanic, and native american.  Santa Fe is also very interesting on a historical note.  There are still buildings around like the Palace of the Governors that was built in the early 1600's.  But the city has been somewhat overrun with the very rich.  Are there any preferences you have on what you want from a city?

[JackieO!]

Thanks for all replies!!!

[ZachariahDaMan]

From what people are saying about the cities I would choose Tuscon if I was you, you know which one you are going with yet?

[svs]

It depends, if you are rich, and prefer a small resort typr town, go for Santa Fe. If you are of average income or need a real city, I'd recommend Tucson. Both towns have State Universities and acess to the mountains. Santa Fe is closer to Skiing. Tuscon is hotter. Santa Fe has the Opera and the art galleries. Santa Fe is closer to the pueblos. Tuscon has better golfing, the zoo, dude ranches, and the Sagurao cacti. Actually both are pretty nice places. If you can't make up your mind, Albequerque splits the difference between the two. Good Luck.

[colin]

svs, on Apr 16 2006, 07:21 PM, said:

Both towns have State Universities and acess to the mountains.

What's the state university in Santa Fe?

[Mith242]

colin, on Apr 20 2006, 12:53 PM, said:

What's the state university in Santa Fe?

Yeah I'm pretty sure there's not any big university there.  The University of New Mexico is in Albuquerque and New Mexico State is in Las Cruces.  There's probably some small college in Santa Fe but I'm not so sure it's a state university though.