Decision Time

If you missed it, we’ve decided on Taos, New Mexico. It’s a relief to have a single location to focus on, but until we sign a contract to buy a home, there’s always a chance for things to change. 

Everyone in my family is very on board with Taos, but that’s because they’ll live within driving distance from us for the first time in my adult life. Mom and Dad are even seriously considering moving to Santa Fe, so they will only be 1.5, rather than 6, hours away. We won’t be as accessible for Cameron’s side of the family, but I’m justifying it knowing that we will be up there fairly regularly for work and social reasons. Luckily there are direct flights from Albuquerque to Seattle, and the extra 3 hour drive to the airport is less time than waiting and taking a secondary flight somewhere. 

Overall, I feel really excited about Taos, but there’s some FOMO related to the other serious contenders. We even wrote in to a podcast asking for the hosts’ opinions on Taos, Wenatchee, Bend, Missoula, and Carson City. (They have yet to address it on the air.) We also had to make the decision to disregard the East Coast spots we originally had on the list. Taos is great, but is it the absolute best option for us?

Maybe, maybe not, but I am committed to being happy with our decision. I’m already fantasizing about joining a community theater group, biking to the farmers market, piling rocks into cairns in the front yard, and befriending some cool young shop owners. Plus there’s always the option to move in a free years if our happiness isn’t sustained.  

For now, the tentative plan is to either get a furnished monthly rental or pay for long-term hookups at an RV park. That will give us time to identify parts of town we’d most want to live in, and to see how day-to-day life is in Taos. We want to meet in-person with some real estate agencies to find someone who can guide us through our many (often conflicting) wish list items. Maybe during that process we’ll be underwhelmed and realize that small-town rural New Mexico is not what we want, but I’m hopeful it will be the opposite and we will fall more in love with Taos and the Land of Enchantment. 

As this plan solidifies in my mind, the costs are adding up. Moving is always expensive, but we’ve been downsizing for years so will need to purchase a lot more than most folks. There’s the cost of the house, potentially building/renovating costs, and the short term rental; those are all standard. Unlike most, we’ll need to but a car, figure out how to move our small storage stashes from multiple states, and furnish the house in full (we have next-to-nothing as far as furniture goes). Thinking about these forthcoming costs makes me want to delay indefinitely and keep living the rent-free vanlifer life style.

But that’s not a true deterrent. We are sold on Taos but aren’t heading back that way immediately. We have to make a trip back to Utah for dentist appointments and a pre-planned social visit, so the earliest we’ll return is early April. Until then, this blog will be on a short hiatus. 

Taos has been the topic for my journaling and doodling a lot lately


Starting the list of what we want included in our dream home. Casita and workshop are at the top of the list. 


I don’t have any new pics of Taos, but here are some other spots on New Mexico I’m excited to go back to. The Gila Wilderness has food potential for future backpacking trips. 


Attempting to go to some hot springs in the Gila, but we turned back because the river was too high. 


Catwalk Recreation Area will be another future backpacking trip spot.

Taos, NM – Round 2

If you remember, Taos was the first “yes” I felt sparkly-excited about. Our first trip was spontaneous and quick, but this time we returned for a family ski weekend. I wanted to see if that sparkly feeling was sustained during a holiday weekend during peak tourism season. 

In short, yes – I still love Taos. We had two very different but both very good ski days. Despite meeting people on the lifts from Colorado, Texas, and New York all visiting for Presidents Day, neither the slopes nor the town felt excessively crowded. We always found easy parking, we never had to wait for a restaurant (although we probably would have the first night at Taos Inn if we didn’t have a reservation), everyone was really friendly, and the town had a nice bustle to it.

Everything about our trip was great. The skiing was fun, everywhere we ate was tasty, and I had no problem shopping for a gift. Most importantly, I can picture my life here. Whether we live in a little adobe walking distance to town, or an Earthship on the other side of the Rio Grand Gorge, or we build a house en route to Taos Ski Valley, I have a mostly clear idea of my day-to-day. Regardless of which scenario we end up with, I’m happy about it!

Maybe I’m looking at Taos through rose-colored glasses, but I think this is it. We’ve spent the last two weeks perusing real estate apps and there have been at least three homes I’d categorize as my dream home. If Cameron weren’t insistent on waiting until after our taxes are dealt with, I’d be a Taos resident already. 

Taos Ski Valley is a well-renowned expert resort, and Cameron said it has a lot of favorable similarities to his childhood ski area in Canada. 

The ski area’s village is cute. It has a Spanish Colonial/Native American style and it’s carbon neutral!

We took the record-breaking Kachina lift up to 12,450 feet of elevation. The elevation was noticeable, but the skiing was excellent. 

Skiing day 2 was a different vibe. Visibility was minimal, but we had fresh powder all day. Cameron and I hiked up to the Highline and West Basin ridges and now are officially “ridge heads.”

Enough skiing pics! We had fun in town too. There was live music in the lobby of the Taos Inn on Friday night. 

I also had an excellent green chili margarita at the Taos Inn. In fact, I had multiple tasty green chili cocktails while in Taos. 

We had other yummy treats in town. Rather than ice cream, we opted for mousse cups at Chokola. 

Although I’m happy to report you can get year-round ice cream across the street at Manzanita Market. Fun flavors, too! Plus they sell my favorite Albuquerque-made deodorant. 

Cameron didn’t get to walk around town last time, but he finally did this time around and was impressed.

I just love the wood-and-adobe vibe of Taos. 

This is inside a restaurant, but I want this style of architecture in my house. One of the reasons Taos beats out other “yes” towns is because we probably can afford a home with charm and interesting architectural features. 

Anyways, Taos is great, and New Mexico is a great state that I’d be happy to move back to.