The Goldilocks Project: Taos, NM

Our latest stint in Taos is twofold:

Make sure we still think Taos is our just right, and
Start house hunting.

We purposely elected to come in April since we had heard spring is the worst time of year here, mostly because of the wind. We figured we’d better verify we can handle Taos at its worst before committing to the town. Although I don’t even want to think about the next steps for us if Taos doesn’t work out, we are in agreement that either of us can veto Taos and we will continue with the Goldilocks Project.

Admittedly, I was worried for the first few days we were here. Everything felt a little more drab than during our last visits, and Cameron was complaining about the dryness and lack of trees. I kept reminding him that Taos borders the Carson National Forest and that things will green up as we transition from winter to spring, but I’ll admit I was also feeling less sure about Taos. We drove around various regions/neighborhoods and assessed the outside of homes we had seen listed online, but none of them were as inviting in person as they had seemed in their photos.

Nonetheless, we found a realtor to work with and have begun touring homes. Under her guidance we have narrowed our search to only heavily-vegetated parts of town and have found some promising options. I’ll talk about house hunting in more detail in a later post, but I bring it up here because seeing the first house (a quirky downtown adobe with two casitas and bordering Pueblo land) is what kicked Cameron out of his funk. The place wasn’t perfect, but it was a tangible manifestation of one of the versions of our could-be life here. We likely would have put an offer on that house if the owner hadn’t already accepted another one by the time we had made up our mind.

I am very much trying to prove to both of us how ideal our life will be once we move here by immersing us into Taos’ lifestyle. We enjoyed a surprisingly great closing ski weekend to cap off the season at Taos Ski Valley. I now have two BumbleBFF friends whom I expect to meet again, plus a friend who lives in Santa Fe who is going to meet us for a hike over the weekend. My bike is operational, and we’ve each used it to run solo errands. There are two lap pool options within a mile of us that I’m planning on visiting. I love Cid’s Food Market and the neighboring liquor store, both of which offer primarily local and regional goods. Cameron and I are getting back into running, and he wants to run the Ski Valley’s Bull of the Woods marathon in September. On Monday, Cameron set off on a bakery run and came back with three excellent pastries from KOKO. Given what routines we’re already developing, it’s easy to see how we will live a happy and healthy life.

And the wind? It’s there but it’s not constant. We’re experiencing the full spectrum of spring: sunny days up to 70°, overnight snow, cloudy overcast, … I’m honestly loving it. Plus the wildlife watching is excellent! I’ve seen multiple herds of bighorn sheep, gangs of turkeys, deer (of course), an abundance of prairie dogs, rabbits, a gopher, a garter snake, and countless unidentified birds.

Every day I am more and more assured that Taos is it. Every so often I get a wave of uncontainable giddiness and I have to skip a little or smile so wide it feels like my stomach is going to get sucked into my throat. When I asked Cameron for his current assessment he replied, “It’s positive. It’s pretty okay. I’m ready to move here.” He may not be as enthusiastic as me, but I’ll take it!

Views from a hike in Carson National Forest. You can see the distinction between the green and brown in the distance, and we are very much hoping to find a home on the green side.