Newcomers celebrate city's positives

Betsy and Giulio Maestro |

6/29/2008 - 6/29/08

We were rather taken aback by the June 22 My View, "Santa Fe disappoints on so many levels," that Valerie Dryka wrote for the Opinions section. It is surprising to find someone who is so completely negative about the place they live. It is also the very opposite of what we have found in Santa Fe. Like Ms. Dryka, we moved here almost one year ago and so are new to New Mexico. Our impressions and reactions to our new home are very different from hers.

First of all, the annoying incidents that Ms. Dryka describes could happen anywhere, and they do. Billing glitches and computer errors are a common part of life no matter where you live. We don't think these problems are unique to New Mexico.

Secondly, the generalizations and stereotypes that characterize the rest of Ms. Dryka's letter are outrageous. From her remark about "the general stupidity in New Mexico" to her characterization of New Mexicans as people who "would rather get drunk, get pregnant, or go home and beat our families rather than to actually pursue some sort of goal in life," her views are inflammatory, racist and ridiculous.

I am sure there are many people like the ones she describes in both Santa Fe and in New Mexico, but they are most certainly the minority.

Every city and every state in the country have similar problems to deal with — again all of what is described is not unique to New Mexico.

However since our move here last fall, we have had nothing but positive impressions of our new home. We were both born and raised in New York City and were then residents of coastal Connecticut for more than 30 years, and we couldn't wait to begin our new lives in Santa Fe. Nothing here has disappointed us. We love the laid-back pace of life which is so relaxing compared to the East Coast. We love the friendly people we have encountered everywhere, and we have not had a single unpleasant incident. We love the lack of congestion, traffic, aggressive drivers, noise, rudeness and the hectic pace we left behind. We love the weather (except for the wind), the sunsets, the air, the culture and the food in Santa Fe.

It is sad that Ms. Dryka has found nothing to praise or appreciate in New Mexico. We don't know what she was looking for in her "adventure out West," and we don't know where she lived before that was so much better, but it does seem that her only solution now is to move on to some other place (that may or may not disappoint). Probably the sooner, the better.

Santa Feans Betsy and Giulio Maestro are an author/illustrator team of children's nonfiction.