In 2006, Ken Wozniak moved from Chicago to Chapparal, New Mexico, a small town near the state's arid southern border.

Friends at the time thought he was crazy.

A retired U.S. Army veteran and the bearer of three purple hearts, Wozniak builds custom motorcycles and works as a security guard to pass the time. He lives for a fraction of the price he did in Chicago on 7 1/2 acres with his wife, nine dogs and assortment of other pets.

He wasn't too sad to leave behind the cold weather and traffic.

"It's a totally different lifestyle. You come from the hustle and bustle to laid-back and easy customs," he says. I would never go back."