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One Couple's Small Town NM
Experience
Vacant Land Investment in the
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Buying Arizona Land With 100%
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Visit Northern Arizona: Land of
Cultural, Climatic and scenic
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5 Reasons to Buy Property in
Arizona
The Arizona Land Buying
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Laid-back, Comfortable and
Peaceful High Country Retreat
One Couple's Small Town NM
Experience
Vacant Land Investment in the
Southwest
Rapid Growth in the Southwest
Try Northern Arizona: Land of
Cultural, Climatic, and Scenic
Diversity
Arizona Land: a Great Place to
Raise Your Family
Buying Arizona Land With 100%
Satisfaction
Arizona Land: Sun in the
Southwest
Visit Northern Arizona: Land of
Cultural, Climatic and scenic
Diversity
Come to Arizona Land For That
Laid-Back Lifestyle
Return of the Arizona Land Real
Estate Market
5 Reasons to Buy Property in
Arizona
The Arizona Land Buying
Experience
Arizona Land: Come Live in This
Laid-back, Comfortable and
Peaceful High Country Retreat
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
One Couple's Small Town NM Experience
Excerpts from “Moving to Taos, Land of Cosmic Culture and
Construction Woes” by D. William Hoffmann.
......Clearly, for a couple like ourselves, looking for small-town
living, with sunshine, clean air, not much traffic, but still lots of
culture, Taos was perfect. The same magic that brought famous
painters like Georgia O'Keeffe and writers like D.H.Lawrence to
Taos, had cast its spell on us. The seduction was complete.
Our NM High Country Home
As seen from the west, the house is embraced by a meadow of
wild grasses and a row of Chinese elm trees in the foreground.
Newly planted aspen trees outside the bedroom window are
irrigated by rain water from the canales. The courtyard walls
serve to reduce the apparent height of the house, and to provide
privacy from the street.
Three months later we were back in Taos, looking at real estate.
We had told our agent we wanted a charming old adobe "fixer-
upper". Over the next three days we looked at maybe twenty old
adobe homes -- in town, out of town, up in the foothills, and down
by the river. Old adobes, we discovered, have a few traits in
common. In addition to unlimited charm, they often have five-foot
high doorways, seven-foot ceilings, small windows, and suspicious
plumbing and electrical systems. For a guy who is 6'-2" tall, a
5'-0" doorway is a deal-killer.
We asked our agent why the doorways were so narrow and short.
She said originally they were built that way so attacking Indians
would have to duck and fold in their arms as they came through
the door, leaving themselves momentarily vulnerable to the
defenders within. On the fourth day we looked for raw land,
having decided that to satisfy our need for high ceilings, lots of
light and space, and passable doorways, we would have to design
and build our own adobe. Shortly thereafter we found a beautiful
in-town lot surrounded by elm, cottonwood and willow trees, and
with an active acequia (irrigation ditch) running across the lower
edge. We made an immediate offer that was eventually accepted,
after some unsightly wrangling over water rights.
Having made the decision to eventually move to Taos, suddenly
the thought of actually waiting ten years for retirement felt
frustrating and seemed senseless. Could we move now, we
wondered? Could we sell our Mill Valley home for enough money
to retire early, or barring that, could we find gainful employment in
a small rural town? We did not know, but we were not going to
wait to find out. At 55 we had the good health, energy, sense of
adventure, and curiosity about the unknown to make such a leap.
At 65, we might not. Within six months we had sold our home, quit
our jobs, and moved to Taos to breathe the clean air, enjoy the
sunshine, and interview contractors.
Construction Woes and Woes be Gone
Building a home in Taos is a bit like building in a foreign country.
The tale of the English couple in Peter Mayle's A Year in
Provence comes to mind. One of the wonderful things about Taos
is that nearly everyone, be they Anglo, Hispanic or Indian, places
higher priority on personal activities and interests than on
business responsibility. Shopkeepers open their shops only after
the kids have been delivered to school, the cat has been taken
for its acupuncture session, and a hot meal prepared for the
ailing friend next door. Construction workers routinely disappear
from the construction site at the start of fishing or elk hunting
season, or when dry powder conditions promise good skiing at
the ski valley. It makes no difference that a concrete pour has
been scheduled for that day or the next. And if the high school
basketball team is playing in the finals in Albuquerque, half the
town will be missing for the duration.
As an architect, I was also dismayed to discover that most
construction workers do not know how to read blueprints, nor do
they think doing so is particularly important. Generally, they build
things the way they feel it should be done, or as convenience
dictates, or the way it was done in their grandfather's house. A
considerable amount of good-natured cajoling is needed to get
things built the way you had planned. Stomping your feet,
threatening, and yelling accomplishes little, other than to increase
your own frustration and blood pressure. Fortunately, building a
home out of adobe (i.e., sun dried bricks of mud and straw) is not
an exacting science. In fact, rooms that are not square, and walls
that are not straight add to the charm of an adobe building. I
frequently heard the construction worker's refrain, "Oh well, it
gives it character." Exact dimensions are not so important. In fact,
the original adobes were designed by marking the room layout in
the dirt with a stick, then building the walls over the marks.
Georgia and I decided early on that we wanted to work on the
construction site along with the general contractor's regular crew.
His pleasant but skeptical acceptance of this arrangement
confirmed in our minds that we had selected the right contractor,
although we hate to think what he said to his wife that evening
over dinner. Contributing our manual labor to the construction of
the house proved to be a salutary experience. The fresh air and
exercise were invigorating. The learning opportunity was
invaluable, especially for a California architect with no previous
experience in adobe, and the potential frustration of sitting and
waiting in a rental apartment wondering why construction took so
much time, was relieved by being on the job site every day and
seeing first hand the care and attention to detail that it takes to
build a custom home.
Georgia at work on our house
Georgia handles the ill-tempered concrete mixer with tender
loving care. At first, Bob, the field foreman, was unsure what to do
with us. As unskilled laborers, we qualified for only the worst jobs,
smoothing adobe walls, sanding beams, and hauling trash. For
the first couple of days, Bob was reluctant to assign these nasty
chores to the new homeowners, but he soon overcame his initial
hesitation, and began treating us with the same gruff indulgence
that he extended to the other workers.
Among themselves, the Hispanic crew members had bet that the
"gringo lady" would not last beyond the first week, working in the
mud, what with the approaching cold and snow of winter. But
Georgia has always been a tireless worker, with seemingly
unlimited energy (puts me to shame). Eight months later, as
construction came to an end, she was still on the job site. She
had gotten to know the workers well, becoming both a mother and
a child to them. A mother in the sense that she listened with real
interest to their individual stories of personal triumphs and
domestic woes, and a child in the sense that they took great care
to protect her from the types of accidents they knew could occur
on a construction site.
Adjusting to Cosmic Culture
Four years now since moving to Taos, and three years since
moving into our home, we still enjoy the town, and we are learning
more each day about our new environment and the three cultures
that surround us. Each of the cultures, we discovered, has distinct
interests and concerns. The Pueblo Indians, who have lived in
Taos for over 1000 years, are most deeply concerned with the
question of how to maintain their traditional culture while gaining
economic viability in this increasingly modern world. A heart-
wrenching decision that each bright young Indian teenager must
make is the choice between pursuing higher education, especially
in science or engineering, and probably leaving the reservation
forever, or embracing the traditional language and culture of his
parents and grandparents. The Tiwa language is a spoken
language, with no written component. If the young people don't
learn and use the language, it is lost forever, along with the
history of the tribe which is passed on from generation to
generation through stories told in Tiwa
The Hispanics arrived in Taos some 400 year ago, while
searching for the fabled City of Gold. Instead, they found a five-
story pueblo building constructed of mud and straw, but
nonetheless they decided to stay and settle down. As a
community, their primary concern is in maintaining their tightly-knit
family structures, their strong religious beliefs, and the rural
agrarian character of the town, which is being eroded by the
endless stream of newcomers.
Thoughts on Discovering New Pathways Through Life
As the moving van pulled away from our Mill Valley home with all
our earthly possessions, Georgia and I wondered if we were going
to enjoy the new life we had selected for ourselves as much as we
enjoyed living in the Bay Area. But it was not a question we
worried about a great deal. If a serious obstacle to moving had
presented itself, we might not have made the move, but none did.
What we discovered is that the venture of discarding old routines,
facing new challenges, and adapting to an unfamiliar environment
added a great deal of vitality and zest to life. We felt younger,
stronger and invigorated. For each old friend we left behind, we
found new ones in Taos, and in fact, the old friends were not
really lost. They are just seen less often (and in some cases more
often!). We did worry somewhat about the reaction of Georgia's
kids to their mom leaving California. The kids do not seem to have
minded, however, their mom moving to a place where skiing, snow
boarding, river rafting and hiking are just minutes away.
In Taos, Georgia and I have both established businesses of our
own, something we probably would have done in any case, but
which became a necessity when we discovered our savings were
not going to last very long. Georgia began making hand-painted
canvas pillows and dolls, and handcrafted flowers and napkin
rings from tin. Working with her hands and making use of her
creative talents is something she had always wanted to do, but
never quite had the time to pursue. Within a year, she has
become the top-selling craftsman at the "country furnishings"
store where she shows her work. Her products are also selling
well at gift stores in New Orleans, Tucson, and Texas; and
recently she began selling her crafts via the internet at taosfolk.
com
I have continued practicing architecture, designing custom homes
mostly for out-of-state couples moving to Taos…….. The
fascinating thing about designing homes in New Mexico is that the
locally popular technology is completely new and unfamiliar to me:
…….adobe, straw bale, pumice-crete, and steel……Of these,
adobe is my favorite. Its earthy, sculptural, energy-conserving
characteristics are perfect for this environment. I have also found
that in New Mexico, the interest in energy-conscious, sustainable
architecture exceeds that of even progressive, liberal California.
God and good health permitting, Georgia and I will continue
working, learning, gardening, and enjoying the glorious New
Mexico sunshine until they plant our ashes in the beautiful Sangre
de Cristo mountains. If you feel your life is bordering on boredom,
or needs a shot of adventure, come join us in New Mexico, the
"Land of Enchantment".
Excerpts from “Moving to Taos, Land of Cosmic Culture and
Construction Woes” by D. William Hoffmann.
......Clearly, for a couple like ourselves, looking for small-town
living, with sunshine, clean air, not much traffic, but still lots of
culture, Taos was perfect. The same magic that brought famous
painters like Georgia O'Keeffe and writers like D.H.Lawrence to
Taos, had cast its spell on us. The seduction was complete.
Our NM High Country Home
As seen from the west, the house is embraced by a meadow of
wild grasses and a row of Chinese elm trees in the foreground.
Newly planted aspen trees outside the bedroom window are
irrigated by rain water from the canales. The courtyard walls
serve to reduce the apparent height of the house, and to provide
privacy from the street.
Three months later we were back in Taos, looking at real estate.
We had told our agent we wanted a charming old adobe "fixer-
upper". Over the next three days we looked at maybe twenty old
adobe homes -- in town, out of town, up in the foothills, and down
by the river. Old adobes, we discovered, have a few traits in
common. In addition to unlimited charm, they often have five-foot
high doorways, seven-foot ceilings, small windows, and suspicious
plumbing and electrical systems. For a guy who is 6'-2" tall, a
5'-0" doorway is a deal-killer.
We asked our agent why the doorways were so narrow and short.
She said originally they were built that way so attacking Indians
would have to duck and fold in their arms as they came through
the door, leaving themselves momentarily vulnerable to the
defenders within. On the fourth day we looked for raw land,
having decided that to satisfy our need for high ceilings, lots of
light and space, and passable doorways, we would have to design
and build our own adobe. Shortly thereafter we found a beautiful
in-town lot surrounded by elm, cottonwood and willow trees, and
with an active acequia (irrigation ditch) running across the lower
edge. We made an immediate offer that was eventually accepted,
after some unsightly wrangling over water rights.
Having made the decision to eventually move to Taos, suddenly
the thought of actually waiting ten years for retirement felt
frustrating and seemed senseless. Could we move now, we
wondered? Could we sell our Mill Valley home for enough money
to retire early, or barring that, could we find gainful employment in
a small rural town? We did not know, but we were not going to
wait to find out. At 55 we had the good health, energy, sense of
adventure, and curiosity about the unknown to make such a leap.
At 65, we might not. Within six months we had sold our home, quit
our jobs, and moved to Taos to breathe the clean air, enjoy the
sunshine, and interview contractors.
Construction Woes and Woes be Gone
Building a home in Taos is a bit like building in a foreign country.
The tale of the English couple in Peter Mayle's A Year in
Provence comes to mind. One of the wonderful things about Taos
is that nearly everyone, be they Anglo, Hispanic or Indian, places
higher priority on personal activities and interests than on
business responsibility. Shopkeepers open their shops only after
the kids have been delivered to school, the cat has been taken
for its acupuncture session, and a hot meal prepared for the
ailing friend next door. Construction workers routinely disappear
from the construction site at the start of fishing or elk hunting
season, or when dry powder conditions promise good skiing at
the ski valley. It makes no difference that a concrete pour has
been scheduled for that day or the next. And if the high school
basketball team is playing in the finals in Albuquerque, half the
town will be missing for the duration.
As an architect, I was also dismayed to discover that most
construction workers do not know how to read blueprints, nor do
they think doing so is particularly important. Generally, they build
things the way they feel it should be done, or as convenience
dictates, or the way it was done in their grandfather's house. A
considerable amount of good-natured cajoling is needed to get
things built the way you had planned. Stomping your feet,
threatening, and yelling accomplishes little, other than to increase
your own frustration and blood pressure. Fortunately, building a
home out of adobe (i.e., sun dried bricks of mud and straw) is not
an exacting science. In fact, rooms that are not square, and walls
that are not straight add to the charm of an adobe building. I
frequently heard the construction worker's refrain, "Oh well, it
gives it character." Exact dimensions are not so important. In fact,
the original adobes were designed by marking the room layout in
the dirt with a stick, then building the walls over the marks.
Georgia and I decided early on that we wanted to work on the
construction site along with the general contractor's regular crew.
His pleasant but skeptical acceptance of this arrangement
confirmed in our minds that we had selected the right contractor,
although we hate to think what he said to his wife that evening
over dinner. Contributing our manual labor to the construction of
the house proved to be a salutary experience. The fresh air and
exercise were invigorating. The learning opportunity was
invaluable, especially for a California architect with no previous
experience in adobe, and the potential frustration of sitting and
waiting in a rental apartment wondering why construction took so
much time, was relieved by being on the job site every day and
seeing first hand the care and attention to detail that it takes to
build a custom home.
Georgia at work on our house
Georgia handles the ill-tempered concrete mixer with tender
loving care. At first, Bob, the field foreman, was unsure what to do
with us. As unskilled laborers, we qualified for only the worst jobs,
smoothing adobe walls, sanding beams, and hauling trash. For
the first couple of days, Bob was reluctant to assign these nasty
chores to the new homeowners, but he soon overcame his initial
hesitation, and began treating us with the same gruff indulgence
that he extended to the other workers.
Among themselves, the Hispanic crew members had bet that the
"gringo lady" would not last beyond the first week, working in the
mud, what with the approaching cold and snow of winter. But
Georgia has always been a tireless worker, with seemingly
unlimited energy (puts me to shame). Eight months later, as
construction came to an end, she was still on the job site. She
had gotten to know the workers well, becoming both a mother and
a child to them. A mother in the sense that she listened with real
interest to their individual stories of personal triumphs and
domestic woes, and a child in the sense that they took great care
to protect her from the types of accidents they knew could occur
on a construction site.
Adjusting to Cosmic Culture
Four years now since moving to Taos, and three years since
moving into our home, we still enjoy the town, and we are learning
more each day about our new environment and the three cultures
that surround us. Each of the cultures, we discovered, has distinct
interests and concerns. The Pueblo Indians, who have lived in
Taos for over 1000 years, are most deeply concerned with the
question of how to maintain their traditional culture while gaining
economic viability in this increasingly modern world. A heart-
wrenching decision that each bright young Indian teenager must
make is the choice between pursuing higher education, especially
in science or engineering, and probably leaving the reservation
forever, or embracing the traditional language and culture of his
parents and grandparents. The Tiwa language is a spoken
language, with no written component. If the young people don't
learn and use the language, it is lost forever, along with the
history of the tribe which is passed on from generation to
generation through stories told in Tiwa
The Hispanics arrived in Taos some 400 year ago, while
searching for the fabled City of Gold. Instead, they found a five-
story pueblo building constructed of mud and straw, but
nonetheless they decided to stay and settle down. As a
community, their primary concern is in maintaining their tightly-knit
family structures, their strong religious beliefs, and the rural
agrarian character of the town, which is being eroded by the
endless stream of newcomers.
Thoughts on Discovering New Pathways Through Life
As the moving van pulled away from our Mill Valley home with all
our earthly possessions, Georgia and I wondered if we were going
to enjoy the new life we had selected for ourselves as much as we
enjoyed living in the Bay Area. But it was not a question we
worried about a great deal. If a serious obstacle to moving had
presented itself, we might not have made the move, but none did.
What we discovered is that the venture of discarding old routines,
facing new challenges, and adapting to an unfamiliar environment
added a great deal of vitality and zest to life. We felt younger,
stronger and invigorated. For each old friend we left behind, we
found new ones in Taos, and in fact, the old friends were not
really lost. They are just seen less often (and in some cases more
often!). We did worry somewhat about the reaction of Georgia's
kids to their mom leaving California. The kids do not seem to have
minded, however, their mom moving to a place where skiing, snow
boarding, river rafting and hiking are just minutes away.
In Taos, Georgia and I have both established businesses of our
own, something we probably would have done in any case, but
which became a necessity when we discovered our savings were
not going to last very long. Georgia began making hand-painted
canvas pillows and dolls, and handcrafted flowers and napkin
rings from tin. Working with her hands and making use of her
creative talents is something she had always wanted to do, but
never quite had the time to pursue. Within a year, she has
become the top-selling craftsman at the "country furnishings"
store where she shows her work. Her products are also selling
well at gift stores in New Orleans, Tucson, and Texas; and
recently she began selling her crafts via the internet at taosfolk.
com
I have continued practicing architecture, designing custom homes
mostly for out-of-state couples moving to Taos…….. The
fascinating thing about designing homes in New Mexico is that the
locally popular technology is completely new and unfamiliar to me:
…….adobe, straw bale, pumice-crete, and steel……Of these,
adobe is my favorite. Its earthy, sculptural, energy-conserving
characteristics are perfect for this environment. I have also found
that in New Mexico, the interest in energy-conscious, sustainable
architecture exceeds that of even progressive, liberal California.
God and good health permitting, Georgia and I will continue
working, learning, gardening, and enjoying the glorious New
Mexico sunshine until they plant our ashes in the beautiful Sangre
de Cristo mountains. If you feel your life is bordering on boredom,
or needs a shot of adventure, come join us in New Mexico, the
"Land of Enchantment".
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