My Hometown: Santa Fe, NM

Editor’s note: this is the second post in “My Hometown,” a series of blog posts written by Zillow employees about the homes and towns where they grew up.

My Hometown: Santa Fe, NM
Zindex 10 years ago: Approximately $155,000
Current Zindex: Approximately $435,000

Although Seattle is now my home, that title once went to Santa Fe, NM – a place that is geographically, architecturally and, in some ways culturally quite opposite from my current location in the great Northwest.

My memories and visits to Santa Fe are quite nice. Highlights include skies that go on forever, a small-town feel (although growth is edging up every year), and an affinity for adobe buildings that didn’t seem so unique to me when I lived there, but has been a source of entertainment and curiosity for my out-of-town guests.

My mother is an artist, so the house I grew up in evolved in the most creative of ways. From the Cheshire Cat that was carved out of a willow tree stump to the hand-made stars covering the ceiling in the master bedroom (not all of them symmetrical, to the dismay of my physicist father), the home is alive with personality. There is a tree painted on one side of the house, with a real branch and bird feeder protruding from it; an iron gate with dancing horses surrounds the home (shown in photo); and a collection of hand sculptures from my parents’ travels are arranged around the living room window.

The Santa Fe-style homes are such a contrast to the bungalows, Tudors and Craftsman’s of Seattle. My Seattle house has brick and wood siding and a large finished basement, whereas my parents’ house — as is common in Santa Fe — has stucco siding and no basement. And, thanks to Seattle’s rain, we have more lush plants growing around our house than we know what to do with, whereas my parents rely heavily on their own well to keep their large yard looking beautiful year-round.

While I don’t think I would live in Santa Fe again, having become addicted to Seattle’s wonderful spot on Elliott Bay, I always love going back for visits. I enjoy seeing how much the town has grown and what new flair my parents have added to their house.