If you love green chile and Georgia O’Keeffe, and you’re thinking of relocating for retirement, consider the lovely state of New Mexico. It offers a lot of natural beauty and opportunities for outdoor recreation, such as hiking, fishing, and skiing. It also offers plenty of culture, with museums, festivals, art galleries, and even a famous annual hot air balloon fiesta in Albuquerque.

The climate is another plus. While it can get very cold or hot depending where you are, parts of New Mexico have a moderate climate that will suit many people more than the heat of Florida or Arizona.

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When it comes to taxes, New Mexico is not among the 41 states that do not tax Social Security benefits. But thanks to a recent law, it only taxes those with relatively high incomes — such as singles who earn more than $100,000. Meanwhile, withdrawals from 401(k) and IRA accounts and pension income are also taxable, though only partially. There’s no estate tax in New Mexico, either — although federal estate taxes still apply.

The quality, availability, and cost of healthcare should be a major concern for retirees and should be factored into your overall retirement plan. New Mexico scores fairly well on this count: MedicareGuide.com has rated it the 18th-best state in the nation for elderly healthcare.

New Mexico’s cost of living is only about 94% of the national average, per the World Population Review, which is a plus — especially if you move there from a high-cost region. The typical home price in New Mexico was recently only $306,434 — about 84% of the national average. Car insurance is also on the low side, recently averaging $2,438 annually, about $579 below average.

If you’re liking the idea of New Mexico, know that it does have some vulnerability to natural disasters, such as wildfires, flooding, and even earthquakes, and water isn’t as abundant as it is in many other places. It’s smart to spend at least a few months living in any place you’re thinking of moving to — to ensure it’s a good fit.

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NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – It’s been a long-debated topic pinning private landowners against people using New Mexico’s rivers recreationally.

Friday morning, New Mexico’s Department of Justice (DOJ) and two outdoor organizations pressured the state to crack down on illegal fencing on public waters.

“These are extremely dangerous to the public,” said Sherry Barrett with New Mexico Paddlers Coalition.

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Fencing across rivers and streams with hopes of keeping out trespassers on private property interferes with what the state law now deems legal.

“There had been barriers that had been allowed by certain regulation, and the New Mexico Supreme Court said that those regulations were unconstitutional,” said NMDOJ Chief Deputy Attorney General James Grayson.

The NMDOJ, New Mexico Wildlife Federation, and the New Mexico Paddlers Coalition went before legislators during the Water and Natural Resources Committee presenting the status on stream access enforcement.

“The waters belong to the public. The waters of New Mexico, whether they’re perennial or torrential belong to the public, and the public has a right to recreate and to fish on those waters,” said Grayson.

Some legislators asked: how far is too far? At what point do public rights become trespassing on private property?

“This is a balanced approach. The public does have the right to recreate. The public has the right to access those waters, but the public can’t trespass over private land to get to the water, and the public can’t exit the water onto private land,” said Grayson.

The DOJ shared how they reached out to property owners along the popular Pecos and Chama rivers with illegal fencing asking for barriers to be taken down. The next step was to send cease and desist letters.

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“We wanted to work with the landowners to let them know what their rights were and what the public’s rights were. We successfully managed to have a number of barriers removed from the Pecos River,” said Grayson.

In some cases, where owners refused to comply, further legal actions were taken. The state spoke to the severity of the dangers of having fencing along these rivers and streams.

“One of the problems is it’s a barbed wire fence, and these can be very difficult to see on rivers, especially in high flows, and again, these can ensnare people – boaters and anglers – and cause drowning,” said Barrett.

Some legislators wondered how landowners are supposed to exclude or contain livestock from entering or leaving their property without the barriers.

“We have to figure out a way to get these fences, if they’re necessary, to be paddler friendly,” said Barrett.

The discussion went back and forth as legislators fought to clarify what would be “reasonable;” some advocated for private landowners and asked for stricter guidelines on trespassing, and others were in support of the DOJ’s efforts to open the use of waterways to the public.

The New Mexico Paddlers Coalition and other outdoor groups have already volunteered time to install paddler-friendly fencing and hold regular trash cleanups along popular rivers.

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque Fire Rescue crews rescued a lost hiker who called them reporting he had no more food, water or additional warm clothing with him.

The call came in Thursday night at 8:17 p.m. The hiker reported he was off-trail and couldn’t move due to the tough terrain.

AFR dispatched a team to conduct a backcountry rescue. Then, AFR’s Heavy Technical Rescue team contacted New Mexico State Police’s Search and Rescue team and worked with open space teams from APD and BCSO.

Finally, around 12:30 a.m. Friday, they reached the hiker with food and water. Rescue members hiked out with him and found he wasn’t injured.

According to AFR, all units returned from the field by around 4 a.m.