Golden Eye

The Land of Enchantment isn’t just a nickname. It’s a way of life.

First and foremost, retirement savings go further in New Mexico, says Charles Lehman, director of Retire New Mexico, an organization devoted to promoting the state’s virtues to potential retirees. “The average cost of living is 5 percent below the national average and less than the surrounding states of Arizona, Texas, and Colorado, all of which have above-average costs of living and much higher average costs for housing,” he says.

Another draw is New Mexico’s exemption for most seniors from paying state income tax on Social Security benefits, available to individuals with annual income below $100,000 and couples with annual income under $150,000. Other tax benefits include property taxes that are among the lowest in the country and sales tax on most goods and services that ranges from 5 percent to 9 percent depending on the community.

If that’s not enough, here are five good reasons to consider New Mexico for some of the best years in life.

55-PLUS COMMUNITIES COME OF AGE

With housing costs that Lehman reports are 8 percent below the national average and as much as 43 percent lower than Arizona and 32 percent less than Colorado, New Mexico is hard to beat for retirees. Home prices vary by location, with a 2024 median sales price of $316,000. However, 55-plus communities throughout the state offer small-town lifestyles and home prices below the national retirement community average.

Bob Grassberger, a retired University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University professor, developed the state’s retiree attraction program with Lehman and a local home builder. He lives with his wife, Elaine, at Del Webb at Alegria, a 55-plus gated active adult community located on the Río Grande bosque near Bernalillo, just north of Albuquerque. “When we were working on the retiree attraction program from 2017 to 2019, there were only three 55-plus active adult communities: Alegria and Mirehaven, in Albuquerque, and Jubilee, about 25 miles south in Los Lunas,” Grassberger says. “Now there are a slew of them around the state.”

One of the many advantages of Alegria—where most of the Grassbergers’ neighbors hail from Washington, Colorado, South Carolina, and California—is that it’s small enough to have a sense of community. “People know each other here,” he says. “If we look at quality of life and health, socialization is a key factor. Having no close friends is the equivalent of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.”

He adds that Del Webb, the company that developed and built Alegria  and Mirehaven, has increasingly been building family communities nearby with the hope that retirees’ kids and grandkids will live there.

CLEAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

With its average of 320 days of sunshine per year, a rich culture and history, vibrant art and music scene, and standout regional cuisine, Las Cruces is regularly recognized as one of the best places in the country to retire. In 2016, local businesspeople and city representatives joined forces to form the Ranked the Best campaign to take advantage of national growth in retirement-age Americans looking to retire in milder, more affordable communities.

The committee points to multiple research findings that out-of-state retirement is a big win for local communities. “It’s clean economic development with little environmental impact,” says Jed Fanning, president and CEO of Citizens Bank of Las Cruces. “No manufacturing. No pollution. These people bring their retirement incomes to town, buy housing, and pay taxes.”

Rob Sharp of Wilson Binkley Advertising and Marketing in Las Cruces notes that currently the largest contingent of retirees moving to the area are from the West Coast: California, Washington, and, to a lesser degree, Oregon, while others come from cold weather states like the Dakotas and Minnesota. “They’re interested in our politics, our culture, and even our cuisine,” Sharp explains. “Everybody brings their own expectations and criteria to the hunt.”

OUTDOOR MECCAS BECKON

In San Juan County, there’s a boomerang effect happening among retirees.

Real estate associate broker Barry Digman represents many Farmington natives who left for employment opportunities elsewhere. “After having solid careers, often in large cities, they opt to retire back here,” says Digman, an associate broker at Keller Williams, who grew up in Farmington. “The pace is slower, but you have everything you need. And the outstanding natural beauty and blending of cultures is unmatched. Farmington and the Four Corners region is a fantastic area for active retirees who like to ski, hike, bike, fish, boat, and golf.”

That could be an understatement. The Four Corners area is home to the awe-inspiring 60-square-mile Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area, featuring otherworldly sandstone formations, carved ravines, and very little vegetation; the annual Road Apple Rally, the longest-running mountain bike race in the country; national-championship-level rock crawling events; and a host of off-roading locales that show off the area’s scenic beauty. Lower on the adventure scale but just as enticing are the award-winning Piñon Hills Golf Course and world-class trout waters along the San Juan River.

A major selling point for Farmington these days is the reestablishment of commercial air service after a seven-year drought. Beginning in May, SkyWest will offer daily service to and from the city’s Four Corners Regional Airport to Denver. The airline opened flight booking to passengers in late January. If the route is successful, SkyWest could add more flights.

FRIENDLY FOR ALL AGES

Home of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, the city of Carlsbad has proudly branded itself age-friendly since it was certified as such in 2014 by both the World Health Organization and AARP. “Carlsbad has long been known as a great place to retire because of the climate, small-town charm, and recreation options along the Pecos River and at Carlsbad Lake,” explains Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce retirement director J.W. Sutphin. “But we wanted to also recommit to our young people and our community as a whole who grew up in Carlsbad.”

A Carlsbad native, Sutphin served in the U.S. Air Force, settled in Albuquerque for a 40-year career in the insurance business, and returned to his hometown shortly after his retirement in 2015. He explains that the city’s popularity with retirees has supported the construction of new city parks and numerous amenities along the Pecos River, including an 18-hole golf course, a miniature golf course, pickleball courts, and a sand volleyball court.

“There are 66 free things to do along the river, including walking, swimming, fishing, Jet Skiing, kayaking, and canoeing,” he says. “We stock the river with bass and catfish every April to October. We have live music at the park’s gazebo every Saturday evening. I take my kayak and just sit and listen all night.”

Sutphin resides at River Bend, a 55-plus active adult community with some 250 homes. “It’s quiet and everybody knows each other,” he says. “We don’t have gates, but most people don’t work. On my street alone, there are 30 pairs of eyes watching over us.”

They may see Sutphin head out the door every morning to kick-start his day with a walk or kayak ride before he heads to his office to happily promote his city to potential neighbors. “I retired to be active,” he adds.

He helps others do the same. As retirement director for the Chamber, Sutphin coordinates the Age Friendly Committee, which hosts four to five events a year for, yes, people of all ages. Every April, the committee hosts a miniature golf tournament for retirees and players aged five to 18. An annual green chile cheeseburger cook-off for teens to senior adults will this year be held in conjunction with a local car show. Sutphin regularly leads retirees on hikes in the Guadalupe Mountains and day trips to the New Mexico Museum of Space History and White Sands National Park in Alamogordo and, of course, Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

IN PURSUIT OF LEARNING

Cultural and educational opportunities abound through universities and colleges that offer lifelong learning programs. The not-for-credit, nominally priced courses have something for just about anyone. Women at Los Alamos 1943–1946 at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque might scratch an itch generated from the blockbuster film Oppenheimer. Geology of Southern New Mexico, offered by Doña Ana Community College in Las Cruces, could be just what incoming retirees need to acclimate to their new environment. Meanwhile, Emerson’s Essays, part of St. John College’s 35-year-old Summer Classics seminars, might be just right for nature lovers looking to connect with their new surroundings in Santa Fe.

The benefits can be just as diverse as the course offerings, suggests Maralie Waterman, continuing education program manager at UNM’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. “Programming like that provided by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute is critical to maintaining brain health as we age, stimulating neural connections, enhancing cognitive function, and fostering a sense of community and belonging,” she says.

It also helps you to realize, as Elizabeth Garrett wrote more than a century ago, that New Mexico is the grandest state to know, no matter your age.