E.J.

I loved your description there! Luckily, Santa Fe is the type of place where it is well within the norm for strangers to smile and say 'Hi' to each other on the streets. The only exception would be the tourists who can unfortunately be rude and obnoxious at times.

The majority of New Mexico is extremely poor (I'm pretty sure it's the poorest state in the U.S. if I am remembering correctly), however, Santa Fe is the exception to that. It is a wealthy little city because of the booming tourism and art world. There is definitely a bit of monetary disparity, though, between the Whites and Hispanics here. Although, the town does its best to make sure that people from all cultures can afford to live here. For example, a few years back the living wage was raised to $10.50/hour which is one of the highest I have ever heard of! Other than that, the economy here definitely took a hit with the rest of the country, especially the real estate, but it seems like that is slowly turning around and heading uphill again.

How about the economy in Kentucky? How long have you been living there; it sounds like your move was recent?

Ali