Our Town
Taos, “place of red willows”, is a town in north central New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It is the county seat of Taos County, and the town encompasses approx. 5.4 miles and lies at 6,967 feet. Just north of Taos is the world-famous Taos Ski Valley; Wheeler Peak at 13,161 feet is the highest point in New Mexico.
Taos is blessed by many things, and particularly its temperate climate. Rainfall is low, and sunshine abundant. Cold nights bring winter snow, which often disappears in the morning sunshine. Every season brings a new color palette to Taos; fall is golden; winter blue; spring green and summer yellow and purple with wildflowers. Remarkably, air conditioning is practically non-existant, even in the most luxurious homes, as it is rarely, if ever, needed.
Taos is culturally rich, having been inhabited for over a millennium; Taos Pueblo is considered to be the oldest continuously residential community in the United States. Taos is home to more than twenty sites on the National Register of Historic Places. Long occupied as an art colony, it is currently home to artists of all stripes, several of whom now live and work at Valverde Commons.
Taos is a cultural mecca, with 7 museums and many art galleries. We have several local venues for the performing arts as well. The Taos Center for the Arts (TCA) draws nationally renowned performers and sponsors the well attended Pecha Kuchas, an event where folks get the opportunity to share their projects and ideas with the community. Writers and film afficiandos can enjoy our popular writing groups and conventions; and music lovers of all genres will find ample opportunities to enjoy concerts at many locales around town.
When it comes to recreation, the Taos valley, Rio Grande and Taos Ski Vallery provide many opportunities for outdoor activities including skiing, both downhill and cross country varieties, rafting, fly fishing, horseback riding, hot air ballooning, llama trekking, mountain biking and hiking. For those more inclined to intellectual pursuits, we have the wonderful Taos branch of the University of New Mexico where seniors may attend; a healthy roster of courses in many disciplines, including many studio art courses, is of particular interest to retirees.
We like to think that Taos is a small town that has everything you need and nothing more. We do have a hospital, and many excellent physicians in all specialties. We don't have any big box stores (with the exception of a small Walmart) but we're only an hour and 15 minutes away from Santa Fe, and can make those shopping trips when absolutely necessary.
What we have here is a chance to live the good life, to live in nature, to contemplate and meditate and study and just be. We have lots of stimulating things to do, and interesting people to do them with. It's amazing what you can get accomplished when you don't have the distractions of modern life, like traffic jams and crowds, to deal with. You can breathe and think and maybe finally take up some new pursuits you've been thinking of but never quite getting around to.
All in all, Taos is a terrific place to live and work and play. Here are some links to the great things in our wonderful little town with big ideas.
www.taosnews.com The Taos News, our local weekly
www.taos.org Info about our Town
www.harwoodmuseum.org The Harwood Museum of Art brings Taos arts to the world and the world to Taos: visual arts, films, Bolshoi Ballet and more.
www.unm.taos.edu University of New Mexico-Taos branch campus offers many career-technical, workforce training and lifelong learning courses and programs.
www.tcataos.org The Taos Community Auditorium sponsoring films and live events throughout the year.
www.somostaos.org Taos' literary society supporting the literary arts and sponsoring readings and events.
Upcoming in the Summer
Taos School of Music: www.taosschoolofmusic.com/June 16-August 4, 2013
Music from Angel Fire: www.musicfromangelfire.org/ August 16-September 1, 2013
NATIONAL NEWS!
The Wall Street Journal wrote about new retirement options including Cohousing: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303717304577277341462803340.html
The NBC Today Show had a segment on fun places to retire which led with photos and information about Valverde Commons. Be sure to also listen after the part on "tiny homes". http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/46891129#46891129
Smithsonian Magazine named Taos #2 of Best Small Towns in America: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/The-20-Best-Small-Towns-in-America.html?c=y&page=2 own