NM's Doctor Count Plagues State

Smart Money - For decades, the 65-plus crowd has flocked to Arizona hotspots like Scottsdale and Flagstaff. But with prices in these retiree-friendly markets soaring, a growing number of retirees are looking east to what some call the next Arizona: New Mexico.
What many retirees are finding is better deals, say experts: The median home in New Mexico costs just $150,000 and the cost of living is 5% lower than the national average. And for those retirees set on living in the Southwest, the state can be far less expensive than much of Arizona. Santa Fe -- though not exactly cheap at 18% above the national average -- has a lower cost of living than Scottsdale (29% above average) or Sedona (37% above average). Plus, retirees like that taxes in New Mexico are relatively low -- income tax tops out at 4.9% and real estate taxes are below average.
But retirees can't just plunk down anywhere. The state is one of the least populous in the country with just over two million people. Large chunks of land are virtually uninhabited. In these stretches, when you do hit a town, it's bound to be tiny and remote. Furthermore, 18.4% of the state's residents live below the poverty line, compared to 13.8% for the nation as a whole, and the number of doctors per resident in the state is significantly lower than the U.S. average (197 physicians per 100,000 population in New Mexico compared to 221 nationwide, according to Sperling's Best Places). Read full story here: News New Mexico

NM's Doctor Count Plagues State