The Taurus Who Won't Leave Santa Fe

Summary

The Nightly – "The Taurus Who Won't Leave Santa Fe"

Date: August 1, 2026
Hosts: Matt Bragg & Greta Johnsen (Episode hosted by Josh)
Guest: Jake, a caller from Santa Fe, NM

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Episode Overview

On this reflective Sunday edition of The Nightly, host Josh welcomes Jake, a long-time Santa Fe resident, to talk through a familiar yet emotionally complex crossroads: whether to uproot his family and move back east, or to maintain strong roots in Santa Fe. Their conversation explores what "home" feels like, the push and pull of personal history and family obligations, the quirks of local climate, and the subtle fears that come with change—mixing late-night intimacy with grounded humor about everyday decisions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rediscovering Home (00:01–03:34)

• Josh opens with a personal reflection about moving to a different part of his neighborhood. He observes how a new daily routine can change your perspective on familiar streets and businesses.
• He shares how neighborhood landmarks, even abandoned signs ("It's got magic in the name… it’s so distinctive. And even though it’s not an active business, really seeing it, I’m like, oh, this is like I’m home now." – Josh, 02:32), help cement a sense of belonging.

2. The Ups and Downs of Santa Fe’s Climate (03:34–07:20)

• Jake describes Santa Fe summers: warm but bearable thanks to the elevation (~7,000 ft).
  • "It's increasingly hot. It's probably less hot than you're picturing... in the low 90s at its worst, generally." – Jake, 03:48
• They discuss the surprising lack of air conditioning in Santa Fe, and the adaptation of homes as temperatures rise (04:33).
• Clothing choices: Jake notes that some attire suitable for Santa Fe’s dry climate becomes unwearable in the humid east. He notes how climate shapes daily routines and comfort and points out, "You can pull off pants during the day here, which is pretty awesome." – Jake, 05:30

3. Missing the East Coast "Sweat" (06:12–07:20)

• Jake playfully admits to missing the “really sweating” days of his Maryland upbringing.
  • "When I go back east and run in the humidity, you just, you really feel like you're in one of those Gatorade ads in the 90s." – Jake, 06:39
• Josh suggests that this desire for struggle while exercising might be an east coast attitude: wanting “to feel kind of bad afterwards.”

4. The Big Decision: Move Back East or Stay in Santa Fe? (07:20–09:46)

• Jake lays out his family’s dilemma: Should they move to Asheville, NC, to be nearer to extended family, or remain rooted in Santa Fe?
  • Asheville is "still pretty small," and the potential move relates to a family property built by his wife’s grandparents, carrying deep emotional weight (07:52).
• Their Santa Fe connections are strong—Jake’s lived there his whole adult life, his wife was born there, and they have a tight friend group.
  • "Santa Fe has a tendency... [for] people who move away for a couple years and then come back and it's almost like they were never gone." – Jake, 09:16
• Decision factors: children’s ages (young enough to adapt), fear of missing out on extended family, comfort versus adventure.

5. Rural Life and Fear of Eastern Hazards (09:46–end)

• Jake shares an unexpectedly practical consideration in the move: fear of poison ivy, ticks, and humid climate compared to the manageable “hazards” of the western outdoors.
  • "I really love the outdoors, but I've gotten so comfortable here in the west... people picture like rattlesnakes and cactuses and stuff, but it's actually scorpions. Throw on some shoes..." – Jake, 09:54
• Both laugh at the regional psych-outs and the comfort of western nature—how you can just “go outside without thinking about it” in Santa Fe.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Santa Fe’s Ties: “Santa Fe has a tendency to have a lot of people who move away for a couple years and then come back and it's almost like they were never gone.” – Jake, 09:16
• On Climate Habits: “You can pull off pants during the day here, which is pretty awesome.” – Jake, 05:30
• On East Coast Running: “When I go back east and run in the humidity, you just, you really feel like you're in one of those Gatorade ads in the 90s.” – Jake, 06:39
• On Neighborhood Landmarks: “It’s got magic in the name and I love walking past it... I’m like, oh, this is like I’m home now.” – Josh, 02:32
• On the Outdoors: “I feel like people picture like rattlesnakes and cactuses and stuff, but it's actually scorpions. Throw on some shoes… you can just kind of go outside without thinking about it." – Jake, 09:54

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Important Timestamps

• 00:01–03:34: Josh on settling into a new-but-familiar neighborhood; the meaning of home
• 03:34–05:38: Jake and Josh compare Santa Fe’s dry, elevation-cooled climate to other US regions
• 06:12–07:20: The “satisfaction” of sweating back east; Gatorade commercial reference
• 07:20–09:46: Jake's moving dilemma—deep roots vs. new beginnings, family, fear of leaving and coming back
• 09:46–end: Outdoor hazards—scorpions vs. ticks and poison ivy; ease of living outdoors in the west

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Summary Tone & Language

The conversation is gentle, thoughtful, and wryly humorous, capturing the sincere ambivalence people feel about change—especially at night, when doubts and dreams alike come to rest. Both Josh and Jake speak naturally and self-deprecatingly, offering a warm, reassuring listen for anyone reckoning with decisions about home.

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This summary covers the substantive caller segment and skips advertisements and non-content sections for clarity and focus.

Transcript

[A]

Audio for sleep by hatch. Hello and good evening everyone. I'm Josh. Welcome to the Nightly from Hatch, where your late night thoughts go to rest. I am happy to be here with you this evening. It's always such a pleasure to talk with you all. I have a caller calling in soon. I can't wait to hear what he has to say and wants to talk about. Always such a pleasure. What is on my mind tonight? Is that where I live again? I've talked so much about that I just moved, but everything feels a little new, even though I didn't move that far. So I'm like really having a nice time exploring my same or similar neighborhood from different angles. And there's just like so much little stuff that I'd never noticed before because, you know, it used to be, oh, I would walk by this business, or I would walk by this, like, kind of architecturally fascinating house once a week or once every couple months. But now it's truly on my daily commute. And so I'm like learning all these new little neighborhood landmarks and really getting to enjoy them. And it's also very funny to see what about this neighborhood my dog has latched onto. And I've just been walking around a lot when the weather has been nice. And we fortunately had like a bunch of nice days where there's some nice shade. And so I've like been exploring, which is exciting. You know, there's. It's like an interesting process of being like, oh, what's my new supermarket? Because I'm a little further from the old place we used to go, or where do I go if I need scotch tape? And I don't want to order it online because, you know, like, who needs that? Why wouldn't you just go out and get it? That's my strategy, at least when it's something little and feels like it should be abundant. So it's been really fascinating. And there's a bunch of weird signage. There's a sign that I pass most days a week now. It advertises itself as a restaurant and cocktail lounge. It seemed like a place I would really like to go. And then I looked it up and it doesn't exist anymore. It's closed. And they just kept up the sign forever. It's got magic in the name and I love walking past it. It's so distinctive. And even though it's not an active business, really seeing it, I'm like, oh, this is like I'm home now. So that's really, it's special, that feeling of settling in at home has been really on my mind. Late. Now it's time for me to talk to a listener. Can't wait to hear what he's been thinking about. Jake. Jake, thank you for being here.

[B]

Nice to talk to you, Josh.

[A]

Of course. Where are you calling in from, Jake?

[B]

I'm calling from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

[A]

Cool. What is the weather like in Santa Fe in the summer? Is it just hot, hot, Hot?

[B]

It's increasingly hot. It's probably less hot than you're picturing. You haven't spent time here. It's where we're at about 7,000ft, so we get the benefit of the elevation.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So it's, you know, in the low 90s at its worst, generally.

[A]

Okay. I. I spent a little time in the Phoenix area, which obviously is not New Mexico. But, like, I. That's so. You're so right that it's like I kind of lumped the southwestern desert together, knowing that even if they're culturally different, I was like, they're probably climatologically, meteorologically the same. But you're right, they're not at all because of that elevation. That's nice.

[B]

Yeah, totally. Even just an hour south in Albuquerque, it's quite a bit warmer. So, yeah, definitely benefiting from the heat. We don't have air conditioning, though, the side effect of being historically cold. And now it's getting warmer. So we're watching people add air conditioning, but generally we just open our windows and blast fans and try to, like, sweep air through the house, get the cold in, and then shut everything down as soon as the sun rises.

[A]

I think about this all the time, how much I love in the desert climate that, like, when the sun goes away, the heat goes away. And I, like, I find that so conducive not only to, like, a good night's sleep, but also to, like, maybe people who live there don't do this as much. Do you find that you're able to, if you're going out for the evening, once the sun has gone down, you're like, I'm going to put on an outfit instead of just dressing to accommodate the temperature.

[B]

Yeah, definitely. And I actually, you can pull off camps during the day here, which is pretty awesome.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Not bad as a. As a Sometimes pants person. Yeah, it's. And there are actually materials that I've found going back east. I grew up in Maryland, so quite a bit more humid, and there are clothes that I wear out here that I discover I just can't wear in the east. Because you just. You. Yeah, everything is just drier and you're. It's more about sort of protecting yourself from the sun, which is the main source of heat. Whereas in the humidity, the heat is kind of all around you and getting everywhere.

[A]

Yeah, it feels much closer to you. It does not feel like the heat on the east coast originates in the sky.

[B]

The ability to escape the heat is wonderful. Although sometimes I do, and people will probably hate me for saying this, but I do miss like really sweating, you know.

[A]

Wow, what do you like about it? What's the, what's the thing that keeps you like that? You're like, oh, I miss this element of like a hot, sweaty, like a muggy day.

[B]

I think probably it's just like the feeling that you've really worked out when you're working. Like, I like to run outside and it's, it's so pleasant here, aside from the elevation, making breathing a little bit harder. But yeah, when I go back east and run in the, in the humidity, you just, you really feel like you're in one of those Gatorade ads in the 90s.

[A]

Yeah, I guess there is something satisfying about like, ah, I've done it. Which like, not. I don't think that's just a weather phenomenon. I do think that's kind of an east coast attitude of like, when I work out, I want to feel kind of bad afterwards.

[B]

Yeah, totally. Yeah.

[A]

Well, Jake, I really have been interrogating you about the weather, which I'm sure is what listeners are tuning in for. But I want to know what's been on your mind. What have you been thinking of lately?

[B]

Well, it's actually kind of appropriate because I was considering asking you about a move, but feeling like there's maybe too much personal context wrapped up in that move back east. Okay, but maybe we should talk about that.

[A]

Let's talk about it. What are you thinking?

[B]

The decision is basically whether to kind of YOLO with my family and move back east towards North Carolina to Asheville with two young children and see about a just new and different life in that environment. There is a house, a family house that my wife's grandparents built. They were artists and hand built these two houses on an amazing 27 acre property that now my wife's sister owns. And we had lived there for a little bit and decided that we didn't want to live quite as remote as that house was. We're considering moving to the closest city, which is Asheville. Still pretty small.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And anyways, it's kind of a question of moving a family to be closer Ultimately to some extended family, we'd be within a day drive of Maryland. Like I said, I was growing up and you know where we go to the beach. They have a bunch of cousins in Maryland, my kids. But here in Santa Fe, we have such a tight friend group. My wife was born here. I lived here for 15 years my whole adult life. And it's very comfortable. But I guess, yeah, balancing the sort of go for it. The kids are young. Uproot yourself. We have a lot of friends. Santa Fe has a tendency to have a lot of people who move away for a couple years and then come back and it's almost like they were never gone.

[A]

Oh, really? Do you have friends in your friend group that have like kind of boomeranged out and back from Santa Fe?

[B]

Definitely a lot. Not with kids so much. That sort of changes the picture totally. And the other thing is, just speaking of the weather, I'm freaked out by poison ivy and tick. I really love the outdoors, but I've gotten so comfortable here in the west. It just, you know, I feel like people picture like rattlesnakes and cactuses and stuff, but it's actually scorpions. Throw on some shoes. Yeah, yeah, you can just kind of go outside without thinking about it. I mean, you put on a little sunscreen.

[A]

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