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.