10 Great Quirky Places to Retire, Livable Communities – AARP

10 Great Quirky Places to Retire, Livable Communities – AARP
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AARP Home » Home & Family » Livable Communities »Great Quirky Places to...
Best Places to Retire 2012
Great Quirky Places to Retire
10 funky and artsy cities that free spirits will love
by: John Briley | from: AARP | April 25, 2012
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10 Great Quirky Places to Retire, Livable Communities – AARP
http://www.aarp.org/home-family/livable-communities/info-04-20...
Santa Fe holds firm to its southwestern roots, but is also home to
innovative restaurants, offbeat boutiques and dozens of art
galleries. — Photo by Michael Donnor/Aurora
Santa Fe, N.M.
For anyone who says Santa Fe’s quirkiest days are behind it, we offer Zozobra. The 50-foot-high marionette of
gloom, constructed anew annually and adorned with residents’ written details of their worries, goes up in flames
at the yearly Fiesta de Santa Fe, signifying the literal and figurative incineration of all that weighs on the locals.
Then again, it is unclear precisely what concerns one would have in this paradise in the foothills of the southern
Rocky Mountains. Santa Fe is home to innovative restaurants, offbeat boutiques, dozens of galleries (art and
otherwise), spectacular scenery and dry, sunny weather.
Santa Fe (population 67,947) is 55 miles northeast of Albuquerque. Half
of the metro area's population is Hispanic, some from families that have
lived here 10 generations or more.
The city is an epicenter for painting and sculpture. There's also a local
symphony, community orchestra, several chorales, the Santa Fe Opera,
and annual festivals for chamber music, folk and bluegrass, alternative
theater and more. Santa Fe is also a big foodie scene: Trattoria Nostrani
has won numerous awards, and other restaurants, including El Farol,
employ innovative chefs. You'll find them browsing the Tuesday and
Saturday farmer's market for native chilies, mountain apricots,
biscochitos (New Mexico's traditional cookie) and more.
On Sundays, walk the craft stalls in front of the city's old plaza, next to
the oldest public building in the United States, the Palace of the
Governors, built in the early 17th century. Or wander into the myriad
shops, galleries, cafes and bars, or the 96,000-square-foot New Mexico
History Museum. Gallery Row along Canyon Road was named one of
America’s Great Streets by the American Planning Association.
Santa Fe
Nearest major airport:
Santa Fe Municipal, 14
miles
Mean price for a singlefamily home: $311,300
Median household
income: $49,947
Population: 67,947
Percent of residents age
65 and older: 17.6
percent
Cost of living: Average
In the Sangre De Cristo Mountains surrounding the city, you can walk or
mountain bike for days. Need a hiking partner? Call the Trails of Santa Fe Stewardship Coalition. For skiing, hit
Ski Santa Fe, just 16 miles from town, or drive 2 1/2 hours to the world-class steeps of Taos Ski Valley.
The local economy is mixed — low unemployment, but a growing population and high housing prices that have
driven up the cost of living.
Santa Fe made AARP The Magazine’s list of the 10 healthiest places in the United States in 2008 due to
residents' high life expectancy. But the metro area is near the bottom of the United States in the number of
hospital beds per capita, so people often seek major treatments in Albuquerque. Santa Fe does have an ample
supply of doctors, so basic medical attention is readily available, as are all manner of alternative healing and
holistic medicine practices. Viva quirky!
Next: Port Townsend, Wash. »
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35 comments
smithjw
4:47 PM on May 20, 2012
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Oh boy. I live in Ulster County NY and I reJred 2 years ago. You can't reJre in NY.
The taxes and medical insurance are just too high. Both go way beyond my 30 yr.
pension. I had to go back to work, but I will be moving/reJring for real in Arizona,
where the weather is nice and taxes are much less than NY.
Chachacat
10:49 AM on May 15, 2012
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There's at least one outstanding quirky city missing: Asheville, NC. I moved here
because it's the perfect place for a aging hippie girl who is now 65. Eccentric,
eclecJc and progressive (a lot like Berkeley in the '60s). Music, arts, lots of learning
opps and great "spiritual energy" thanks to the ancient mountains we live on. It's
already on many lists. How did you miss us???
mrusso93
10:04 AM on May 15, 2012
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Providence RI! Really, I can't wait to get out of here! Cold, damp weather, corrupt
poliJcians thinking only of themselves, nothing to do except go to the beach and lay
around, eat and get fat, and go to a show that is overpriced. All the good things
have closed because no one can afford to keep them around. Providence a great
place to visit, (I spent a week there one day) and leave.
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