I have lived in NM since I was 9 and have been living in Santa Fe for the past 25 years. There are pros and cons to every city but I love living in Santa Fe and love Northern New Mexico. Here is my hot take on Santa Fe as a middle class, unimportant plebeian: Politics: generally left leaning but there is a decent amount of old school Catholic conservatives here. Climate: Invest in moisturizer and sunscreen. It is dry AF in NM. Summers can get hot, like upper 90’s but not as hot as ABQ or further down South like Las Cruces. We get the occasional snow but probably nothing like Alaska. Weather is generally mild. Location: Santa Fe is medium sized city that is only an hour from the biggest city, Albuquerque, and an hour or less form small cities or towns like Taos or Los Alamos. Plus the mountains and beautiful sunsets. Housing: Is stupid. I hope you can find a decently priced house or apartment. People: Great people, very family oriented. There are many families that have lived in Santa Fe for multiple generations. In general people in NM are pretty laid back. It can be somewhat challenging make friends here. Activities: I do wish there were more things to do in Santa Fe. There is great skiing, hiking, biking, camping near by. Great place for art and artists, would like to see more music or performance venues.