As someone who works in the “happily ever after business” I often think that if anyone ever got around to writing a 50-year epilogue to “The Three Bears,” they’d probably want to set it in Santa Fe where Goldilocks finally achieves her “just right” Zen. That’s the story of recent Santa Fe transplants Mark Malinowski and Will McDonald, who found Boston too bustling, Maine too remote, and are experiencing their own Goldilocks moment in The City Different where things seem to be just right.
Mark and Will’s story starts in the 2010s. “Will and I met probably around 10 years ago. I was married before Will to a man who died of ALS,” Mark told me. He was living in Boston, looking to make new connections, and met Will, a doctor, online. “He was moving from Ohio to Boston… We met and talked on the phone before he moved.” Things moved quickly. “When Will landed in Boston, we just had this connection and it just fostered from there,” Mark says.
Too Hot, Too Cold
Mark and Will built an idyllic life in New England, complete with a weekend house in Maine. But when the pandemic hit, it brought on a reexamination period that so many of us went through. Mark, who was the Vice President of Global Marketing for a major movie theater chain, found himself wondering if the industry he loved would even exist. Around this time, Mark shifted his focus from business to art and started studying painting with a local artist.
“As we emerged from the pandemic, I started getting my work in galleries across Massachusetts and Maine,” he told me. This new passion, combined with Will’s retirement, led them to make a big leap. They sold their house in South Shore and moved full-time to Maine. But they found year-round life there too isolating and harsh.
They began searching for a Goldilocks zone: not a small town, not a big city, but somewhere with a fun spirit and a kinder climate. Santa Fe was on their radar. Mark had lived in Colorado years ago and visited Santa Fe on business and then again for a painting workshop in 2024. After that visit, he talked to Will, and the couple came to see for themselves in the spring of 2025.
“We fell in love,” Mark says, simply. “The path was cleared for us. It felt like this was where we should land.
It Was ‘Meant to Be’
That’s when I entered the story. “I found Mark Banham online,” Mark told me. “I loved the fact that he was supportive of the LGBTQ community. Will and I talked to Mark and felt comfortable. He had this calmness and presence; he was patient and calm. One of the things he said that stood in my mind was, ‘If you are meant to be in Santa Fe, you will be in Santa Fe.’”
Their search was quick and smooth. “We really only went out with him for two days and saw this house in Eldorado,” Mark says. Of all the places they saw, this one was the winner. They loved the open space and the easy accessibility to downtown Santa Fe.
And the property itself? A stunner. “It’s just a beautiful house. It’s got warmth. It’s one level. It feels like its open to the view of Santa Fe,” Mark describes. The couple love the mountain views, the spectacular sunsets, and the established garden. The home is centered around a great room with beautiful vigas and has a newly renovated kitchen. Crucially for Mark, “it has a good-size studio off the garage.”
Adding to the charm is a garden wall that goes all around, and a master bedroom with French doors opening onto the garden. The entrance even has a courtyard with gardens.
Settling in for a Happily Ever After
Settling in has been a joy. Mark, eager to dive into the local art scene, now works part-time at a gallery on San Francisco Street. “I work there as a sales specialist and it’s really helped me integrate into the art world quickly,” he told me. I joked to him, “You’re really jumping in headfirst.” But that’s the energy he and Will have brought to this new chapter.
At home, they’re joined by their three cats Max, Molly, and Macy, and are discovering the joys of Santa Fe’s culinary scene. “We both love going to fun restaurants and discovering new ones,” Mark says “I also think being in a city that’s not overwhelming and has a warmth to it. I lived in New York City for 16 years. The size of Santa Fe was exactly what we wanted at this stage in our lives. It covers the things you’d want from a cosmopolitan city.”
It’s that “Goldilocks” quality—just right. And if I’m allowed to mix storybook metaphors, it was a joy playing Fairy Godmother to Mark and Will helping them find their perfect home and a happily ever after.
