New Mexico
A Gen Xer who moved from Florida to New Mexico saves $1,000 a month and feels safer from climate disasters
- Chris Gates left Miami Beach for Santa Fe due to climate concerns and cost savings.
- Florida’s flood risks and rising insurance costs made Gates worry about retiring there.
- Gates saves $1,000 monthly in New Mexico in HOA fees and home insurance.
After living in Miami Beach for two decades, Chris Gates was fed up.
The 61-year-old pharmacist had met with city officials and sent letters advocating for Miami to invest more in climate solutions, only to watch Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis roll back state climate actions and scrub any mention of climate from many laws.
“I saw the writing on the wall,” Gates told Business Insider. “I’m five years away from planned retirement, and I was worried about the cost of living and my quality of life. I’ve been through flooding in South Beach and still see people posting pictures of the same problems.”
Gates said he considers himself a “climate mover” in deciding to relocate to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2023. Florida’s vulnerability to the climate crisis, combined with rising costs of living and being closer to his mom and brother, were the main reasons he left Miami Beach. Now Gates is saving about $1,000 a month on home insurance and HOA fees, according to documents shared with BI. He also feels safer knowing that New Mexico has a statewide climate plan.
Gates joins many older Americans who’ve moved in search of a lower cost of living for retirement, but is rare in that he left Florida — which still has a fast-growing population. While there’s little data indicating climate risks like hurricanes and wildfires are directly causing massive migration, Gates’s story suggests it may become more of a factor.
Saving $1,000 a month
Gates sold his condo at a luxury building in South Beach for $710,000 in December 2022, according to documents reviewed by BI, earning him about $415,000 in net profit. That year, his HOA fees were nearly $1,200 a month and covered amenities like a pool and gym. Condo insurance was about $190 a month.
He rented an apartment for a couple of years in Santa Fe before buying a $227,000 fixer-upper in February. The HOA fees are about $250 a month and insurance is $72. There aren’t many perks, like a gym, pool, or management office, Gates said, but he has more peace of mind.
“If I were to stay in Florida until I’m 90, chances are a lot of bad stuff will happen,” Gates said. “That’s just my opinion and climate scientists agree. I’m not a millionaire, so I’m not gonna put all my eggs in one basket down there.”
Rising risks and costs
While Miami is carrying out its own climate action strategy, Gates wanted faster progress on installing solar panels on government buildings and new infrastructure to protect properties from flooding as hurricanes become more destructive. The extreme weather, among other factors, is also making home insurance more expensive in Florida.
Miami’s average elevation is six feet, and scientists predict sea levels will rise by the same amount by the end of the century. Sea levels in Miami already rose about six inches between 1986 and 2016. Meanwhile, the frequency of flooding from high tides has increased by over 400% in Miami Beach since 2006.
The city has been investing in a climate resiliency strategy, including raising roads and installing water pumps. In February, local commissioners also unveiled plans for more than $1 billion in anti-flooding water and sewer projects, which will be paid in part by hiking residents’ utility rates every year through 2030, the Miami Herald reported. Residents said it would make the city less affordable at a time when rent, HOA fees, and insurance are all rising.
That cycle worried Gates, as well.
“Taxes and other bills will have to go up a lot to cover for these infrastructure projects,” he said. “I don’t want to be caught up in this cycle.”
Gates acknowledged that New Mexico comes with its own risks, including wildfires and extreme heat. But he feels better knowing that there’s a statewide plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to extreme weather led by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
“Moving to New Mexico made me feel like I’m part of the solution rather than part of the problem,” Gates said. “I know that every time I pay my electric bill, my utility is switching to renewables faster than many places in the country.”
Have you moved for financial, lifestyle, or climate reasons? Contact this reporter at cboudreau@businessinsider.com.
New Mexico
New Mexico (NMAA) High School Boys Basketball State Championship Brackets, Schedules – March 7, 2026
The 2026 New Mexico high school boys basketball state championships begin on Saturday, March 7, with 40 games in the first round of action.
High School on SI has brackets for every classification in the New Mexico high school basketball state brackets. The championship games begin on March 14 at the University of New Mexico – The Pit.
New Mexico (NMAA) High School Basketball State Championship Brackets, Schedule – March 7
No. 1 Volcano Vista vs. No. 16 Santa Fe – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 8 Las Cruces vs. No. 9 Albuquerque – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT
No. 5 Hobbs vs. No. 12 Organ Mountain – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 4 La Cueva vs. No. 13 Atrisco Heritage Academy – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 3 Rio Rancho vs. No. 14 Mayfield – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT
No. 6 Sandia vs. No. 11 Farmington – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 7 Centennial vs. No. 10 Carlsbad – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 2 Cleveland vs. No. 15 Alamogordo – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 1 Highland vs. No. 16 Grants – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 8 Belen vs. No. 9 Portales – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 5 Taos vs. No. 12 St. Pius X – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 4 Del Norte vs. No. 13 Valencia – 03/07, 7:00 PM MT
No. 3 Hope Christian vs. No. 14 Pojoaque Valley – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 6 Albuquerque Academy vs. No. 11 Goddard – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 7 Gallup vs. No. 10 Silver – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 2 Artesia vs. No. 15 Bloomfield – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 1 St. Michael’s vs. No. 16 Wingate – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT
No. 8 Tohatchi vs. No. 9 New Mexico Military Institute – 03/07, 3:00 PM MT
No. 5 Santa Fe Indian vs. No. 12 Sandia Prep – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT
No. 4 Navajo Prep vs. No. 13 Hot Springs – 03/07, 3:00 PM MT
No. 3 Cobre vs. No. 14 Ruidoso – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT
No. 6 Bosque vs. No. 11 Cottonwood Classical Prep – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 7 East Mountain vs. No. 10 Robertson – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 2 Tularosa vs. No. 15 West Las Vegas – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 1 Texico vs. No. 16 Clayton – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 8 Tucumcari vs. No. 9 Mora – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 5 Mesilla Valley Christian School vs. No. 12 Dulce – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT
No. 4 Santa Rosa vs. No. 13 Eunice – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT
No. 3 Mesa Vista vs. No. 14 Hozho Charter Academy – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 6 Rehoboth Christian vs. No. 11 Oak Grove Classical – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 7 Escalante vs. No. 10 Menaul – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 2 Pecos vs. No. 15 Mescalero Apache – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 1 Logan vs. No. 16 Quemado – 03/07, 4:00 PM MT
No. 8 Cliff vs. No. 9 To’hajiilee – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 5 Alamo Navajo vs. No. 12 Grady – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 4 Melrose vs. No. 13 Elida – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 3 Cimarron vs. No. 14 Pine Hill – 03/07, 5:00 PM MT
No. 6 Roy/Mosquero vs. No. 11 Mountainair – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
No. 7 Magdalena vs. No. 10 Springer – 03/07, 3:00 PM MT
No. 2 Fort Sumner/House vs. No. 15 Gateway Christian – 03/07, 6:00 PM MT
The number of confirmed measles cases in New Mexico increased to six after the state’s Department of Health confirmed Wednesday a new case inside a local jail in Las Cruces.
A federal inmate being held in the Doña Ana County Detention Center is the latest person to have tested positive for measles. The New Mexico Department of Health said others may have been exposed to the highly contagious disease from this confirmed case if they visited the U.S. District Court building in Las Cruces on Feb. 24.
State heath officials are now urging anyone who was at the courthouse that day to check their vaccination status and report any measles symptoms from now until March 17 to a health care provider.
“The New Mexico Department of Health continues to urge people to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination,” Dr. Chad Smelser, New Mexico’s deputy state epidemiologist, said in a statement. “Vaccine is the best tool to protect you from measles.”
Measles spreads through the air and people who contract the virus may experience symptoms such as runny nose, fever, cough, red eyes and a distinctive blotchy rash. These symptoms can develop between one and three weeks after exposure.
All of the six confirmed measles cases in New Mexico so far are federal detainees.
The first measles case was detected in the Hidalgo County Detention Center on Feb. 25, when a detainee, whose vaccination status was unknown, tested positive for the disease by the New Mexico Department of Health’s Scientific Laboratory.
Two days later, a second federal inmate in the same jail tested positive for the virus alongside two detainees in the Luna County Detention Center and another in the Doña Ana County Detention Center.
Both the Luna County and Doña Ana detention centers are local jails that also serve as holding facilities for federal immigration enforcement.
New Mexico health officials said they are the state’s first confirmed cases of this year, following a statewide outbreak in 2025 that sickened 100 people from mid-February to mid-September.
With two measles cases reported on each of the three local jails, Smelser said that the New Mexico Department of Health has sent vaccination teams to all three facilities.
State health officials are also “coordinating with all the facilities to assure all quarantine, isolation, testing and vaccination protocols are followed to minimize risk of measles spread.”
According to the NBC News measles tracker, more than 1,000 cases have been counted nationwide just in the first two months of this year. That’s nearly half the amount of cases confirmed in the United States in all of last year.
As 2026 already stands as one of the three worst years for measles infections in the country since 2000, another measles outbreak was confirmed this week in Texas inside the nation’s largest immigration detention facility.
On Wednesday, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson told NBC News that a least 14 cases of measles were confirmed inside Camp East Montana, which is located on the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso.
The people who tested positive for measles have been “cohorted and separated from the rest of the detained population to prevent further spread,” the ICE spokesperson said.
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