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For people who can work anywhere, Santa Fe is a great place to work! Santa Fe has business basics – the airport connections (Albuquerque and Santa Fe airports), the broadband capability and the highway infrastructure I-25 and I-40) – as well as the lifestyle that’s made Santa Fe such a magnet. Recently, I’ve helped two professionals relocate to Santa Fe – one is a software support engineer working for an Israel-based company. His ‘area’ is Central and South America, and he travels there from his Santa Fe home a couple of weeks every month, often taking the non-stop flight from Albuquerque to Mexico City. He moved here with his wife from San Diego, looking for a change of pace in a location that would still allow him to do his work. The other professional moved here from the Midwest with his young family. This guy manages properties throughout the South and Southwest for a large national retail chain. His team is based in the Midwest, and he’s within a few hours of most of his properties, which range from Louisiana to Arizona.
These relocations are the leading edge of the fastest-growing labor demographic in the US – the home-based professional. Whether working for a large corporation as an employee or consultant, or running an independent business, such people can choose to live pretty much anywhere there’s a fast broadband connection. They choose locations such as Bend, OR, Telluride, CO, Madison, WI, Tucson, AZ or Santa Fe, NM. Why, therefore, choose Santa Fe, all other things being equal. The answer tends to be a single word, lifestyle.
The oldest capital city in the US, Santa Fe recently celebrated its 400th birthday. Situated at around 7000 ft above sea level, it is blessed with clear blue skies 360 days of the year, and four wonderful seasons. It has a population of around 100,000, a mix of Native Americans whose pueblos surround the city, the descendants of the Hispanic communities that settled here when Santa Fe was the northern outpost of the Spanish Empire, and the “Anglos” who started arriving down the Santa Fe Trail just over 100 years ago. This blending of histories and experiences forms the basis for a kaleidoscope of culture, from the world famous Santa Fe Opera to incredible museums and of course Santa Fe’s art market, celebrated as the third largest in the US. We have great music venues that nurture local bands and attract touring artists year round – most especially during the summer’s Santa Fe Bandstand series.
Outdoors, as befits a town at the foot of the Rockies, the hiking, biking and rafting are magnificent, with trails starting minutes from downtown, and Pecos and Rio Grande rivers less than an hour away.
Life is more than an office, a desk and a phone. Today’s professionals are motivated to combine excellence in their job with a desire for balance, ‘authenticity’ and just plain fun. Santa Fe’s a great place to do all of that, in a uniquely rich, beautiful, welcoming and special environment.
