Sante Fe, New Mexico

3 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 9 Mexico for me’. And I think that is a feeling that a lot of people have here, whether they are transplants or whether they’ve been here for generations. I don’t even know how you define that. It’s just a feeling of home.” Known as the City Different, Santa Fe isn’t your typical urban sprawl. With a rich history, a mosaic of culture, a thriving art scene, and sprawling natural landscapes, the New Mexico capital is unlike any other. “Santa Fe has a 400-plus-year-old history in a very high desert location that offers the outdoors and offers culture. It also offers history, involvement of all sorts of community that has been making its way through many, many different regimes,” says Rich Brown, Santa Fe’s Economic Development Director. “Think about the indigenous people who live here. Think about the Spanish that have come here. Think about the Mexican population who came here. Think about the colony of the United States that grew here also. We have all these different types of culture and races and peoples who have come together and made the city shine.” All of that together has grown Santa Fe over the centuries into a city that has so much to offer. One that “punches above its weight,” according to Brown. And that makes it very attractive to tourists and people looking for someplace unique to settle down. “People come here for many reasons,” he suggests. “One of those is our history, our culture. We have a very AT A GLANCE SANTA FE, NEWMEXICO WHAT: A culturally rich city of 86,000; the capital of New Mexico WHERE: Located in Santa Fe County WEBSITE: www.santafenm.gov