Santa Fe Real Estate with Carol Allen

There is so much going on in Santa Fe. No matter what stage of life you’ve reached, you will find something to compliment or expand your current interests and hobbies, or something that will lead you in an entirely new direction.
 
As a long-standing center for arts and culture, Santa Fe now ranks as the country’s third largest art market with nearly 300 galleries and dealers. There are also more than a dozen major museums offering a wide variety of art, culture, history and traditions. And then there is the world-class Santa Fe Opera…

If fine dining is your preference, Santa Fe offers basic New Mexican food, creative Southwestern cuisine and many others. With over 200 restaurants to choose from, your taste buds will certainly find their niche in this beautiful city.

If you are new to the “idea” of Santa Fe, New Mexico, you may not realize that all four seasons define the weather here. Santa Fe averages 300 sunny days per year, with 14 inches of rain and 17 inches of snow annually. The hottest days arrive in June, when temperatures soar into the high 90’s. Because of the altitude, temperatures can change by 30 degrees in a single day, and sometimes all four seasons seem to pass through in a 24-hour time period. Expect sudden rain showers and cool evenings in summer and snow from November through April.

If you love the great outdoors you can hike, bike and horseback ride all year-round - and Ski Santa Fe is open from Thanksgiving through Easter. If that isn’t enough to get your cardio on the move, we also offer river rafting, hot air ballooning, fly-fishing, ice-skating and swimming - or you can work out in Pilates and yoga classes and fitness gyms around the city.

After working up a substantial sweat you’ll be ready to treat your body to something yummy. You can choose from a virtual buffet of spa services offering massage, facials, hot tubs and herbal wraps offered around the city. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?
 
Need I say more? With the real estate market offering such terrific deals to home buyers, why wouldn’t you seriously consider living in a city with so much going on?

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway was one of the largest railroads in the United States.

First chartered in 1859, the railway was named for the capital of New Mexico but its main line never reached there because the terrain made it too difficult to lay the necessary tracks. The Santa Fe’s first tracks reached the Kansas/Colorado state line in 1873, and connected to Pueblo, Colorado in 1876.

In order to help fuel the railroad’s profitability, the Santa Fe set up real estate offices and sold farm land from the land grants that the railroad was awarded by Congress. These new farms would create a demand for both the freight and passenger service that was, quite conveniently, offered by the Santa Fe railroad.

Ever the innovator, Santa Fe was one of the pioneers in intermodal freight service, an enterprise that (at one time or another) included a tugboat fleet and an airline (the short-lived Santa Fe Skyway). A bus line allowed the company to extend passenger transportation service to areas not accessible by rail, and ferry boats on the San Francisco Bay allowed travelers to complete their westward journeys all the way to the Pacific Ocean. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway officially ceased operations on December 31, 1996 when it merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad to form the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway remains the best-known railroad in the world. Since it’s beginning in 1860, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway quickly grew to become the premier transportation company in the US. Its hallmark was fast, high-quality freight and passenger service, including the famous Super Chief, El Capitan, and The Chief luxury passenger trains for those traveling between Los Angeles and Chicago.

For those of you who are old enough to remember the song “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe” (which won an Academy Award in 1945 after it was performed by Judy Garland in “The Harvey Girls”) the melody forever embedded this railroad in the hearts of music lovers and avid movie goers.

Even today, you can enjoy a Santa Fe Southern Railway day trip, night train, holiday or special events train, rambling along in vintage coaches through Santa Fe’s gorgeous High Desert scenery. The 129 year-old rail spur from Lamy to Santa Fe, the 1920s railcars, and the old Santa Fe Depot combine to create an irreplaceable link to our City’s colorful past. So, come aboard the railroad that once carried early tourists, adventurers, settlers, artists and scientists into the city!

Santa Fe is the City Different and its history, combined with today’s conveniences, makes this the perfect place to live!