When we take photos of cities that we live in or love to visit, we have a tendency to show all that is positive or that which enhances the landscape. Not all neighborhoods in Santa Fe are graced with lovely old adobe homes. Reality dictates that housing must accommodate all income levels. New Mexico seems to have a plethora of mobile homes, particularly on the outskirts of the cities and in rural areas. Some trailers are shabby, and the yard may be littered with rusted-out cars and equipment that really mars the landscape, but this photo which I took while riding the Railrunner on the way to Albuquerque shows a neat and well-maintained mobile park. Just keep in mind that not all New Mexicans can afford to rent or own in a neighborhood of adobe homes. Nothing wrong with mobile homes; some are really quite luxurious.
A challenge for places like Santa Fe is that the qualities that make the places desirable as travel and resort destinations also make them desirable places to live, which makes housing expensive. The travel and resort industry, however, needs service sector workers that traditionally are not high paying jobs, and therefore the workers cannot afford the houses in the same communities that need them as workers.
ReplyDeleteAspen, Vail, Napa, all have the same problem.
Even Tamarindo, our resort town in Costa Rica, has the same issue, as the town has almost all international residents and few Costa Ricans because the prices of homes and condos is higher, priced for the international rather than the local market. I mention this in a few of the posts that I have scheduled on my site for the next week or so.
I have to agree with you here.
ReplyDeleteUff da! I'd rather live in an Adobe!
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Kate--a view of Santa Fe that few see unless they actually go there--and a reminder to me to take some reality shots!
ReplyDeleteA man's home is his castle. Doesn't matter what kind it is. I guess if you think about it owning your own home of any kind is an achievement nowadays.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kate. I often have the same thought that the dark side of our environments never make the photo blog. And it is true that "trailer parks" run the gamut from trashy to "low-cost suburban."
ReplyDeleteI've often thought trailer living would be an attractive alternative. Life would be simplified. Everything must be distilled down to what really matters to you. But I also realize that most people live in trailers not for philosophical reasons, but because they can't afford anything else. Good post, Kate.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately Uncle Sam lied to these people and told them to live the American dream.
ReplyDeleteWhat is sad about trailer living is that you have a "home/house" that is not built to last. The materials are not the best; it is not what we call a "stick-built" house that is well done and will last for many years. And the value of your trailer does not increase but decreases every year, despite what you have done to improve it. I know all this from having lived in a "trailer" home, a double wide at that! I live just to the north of Elkhart, Indiana, where so many of these are built.
ReplyDeleteThis does look like a quiet place to live. Many of the parks here have small, new modular homes that are vacation homes for people who live somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteHave you been to the "Pick-up Artist's" gallery off the plaza near The Shed? I love her work. She chooses to see beauty in those "old rusted out cars and equipment that mar the landscape." I've lived & worked in Santa Fe, and while I may be able to afford more than a mobile, I certainly couldn't afford one of the nicer adobes. I think you are right, many people only see one side of Santa fe... but there is nothing wrong with "the other side..." the people that live in the "shabby trailers" were likely there long before affluent people came in & prices were driven up. Something to think about.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's crazy man. They should really try to do something to fix that.
ReplyDeleteNice post, kind of drawn out though. Really good subject matter though.
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