Official Luthiers Forum!

I lived in Bandelier for a year and I loved every single minute of it. That was in the 90's. The caldera was not yet a park but all the hot springs were wild and free. I loved the Jemez mountains. It's truly the nicest part of the country I've ever been in.

"Look in Jerome"

Where you can say hi to your neighbors by looking through the skylight of their 3 story home
That town is built straight up, never seen anything like it with a snakey road that switchbacks up the hill and a sidewalk that cantilevers off the side of the cliff.
The road will hold 2 cars or the FedEx truck and 1/2 a car.
I don't even like driving through there, but it is unique

My office is about 1 mile from Bandelier, some times we go there for green chili cheese burgers for lunch!

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

My wife's step father is native New Mexican and has a farm near but north of the Hatch area and grows green chili. His family used to supply a lot of restaurants in Albuquerque. When ever we visit, he live in Colorado now but still runs the farm, he sends us home with a bag of frozen green Chili. My local grocery actually sells NM red pods. It's the best cuisine in the whole country and so unique.

Man I get it. I live in a relatively low tax low regulatory location (Alabama). Huntsville. Where they make the rockets. But it has become quite the cosmopolitan location. Population explosion. So I moved my shop east to Mentone Al. (the mountains). I can do whatever I want. Love it. But please do not come here. Don't want the competition! Lol! Artsy community with endless supply of musicians and access corridors to Huntsville, Birmingham, Nashville, TN, Chattanooga, TN, Atlanta, GA. Wish you the best of luck!

Thanks for all the input... NC is seriously on the map. And maybe Huntsville AL! LOL

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

FWIW , my wife an I spent 10 yrs before we moved here to oK. We spent 25 yrs in Missouri, having left LA in 94. I have a suggestion .Get a pencil clean sheet of paper and make 2 columns the first one is a negative one detailing with all the things you do NOT want at your new location. The second column would be all the positives or things you like . Then do a nationwide search to find your ideal location. Preferrably more pluses than minuses, E<].G>. if you like a lot of sun find places that have your requirements . OTOH if you like rain an cloudy weather ? We felt that our research paid off, even though we made trips to multiple locations that did not pan out for us. Good luck in your search, And oh yes , no matter how hard you do your homework , there will be undiscovered problems at your new location. Best of LUCK!!!

Huntsville is a great place. Summers really hot, humid. A little less so in the mountains where I am now located. Come on over. NC is my home state. If I moved there, it would be Ashville. (mountains). A lot of folks have misgivings about Alabama. I'm a yankee as well. Huntsville is a cosmo place. Redstone Arsenal. Marshall Spaceflight Center. Very techy. But I no longer want to build in Huntsville.

Huntsville has a good old-time music scene too. I have friends down there, all NASA scientists/engineers who I used to go visit and there would always be a big bunch of fiddlers/banjo players, etc. But I've lived in or near the mountains almost all of my life and can't see that ever changing.

Dave