Retirement in Boise (Meridian: sales, foreclosure, crime rate)

[motomac]

I looked back through a half dozen pages of threads and didn't see anything relating to retirement in Boise, so here goes.

Some background. I have been working for the U.S. government since the mid-60's and almost all of it has been overseas. Now that I'm ready to hang it up, I need to start investigating some place for my wife and I to retire. We don't own a house anywhere and don't really have any ties to any specific area. Both our parents are gone and siblings are spread out in CA, WA, and VA. We've narrowed our search down to affordable areas (dang, I should have planned better!!), and so far have ended up with southeastern TX, eastern TN, and Boise to look at. A few other things we need to consider are crime rate (Boise wins that hands down!), weather (TN probably wins that, but ID is close), and overall daily living expenses (don't really know anything about that for any of the 3 areas). We only get back to the States every 2 or 3 years, so I've got to do as much research as possible online. Our next trip back will probably be in August/September of next year. We are currently in the MIddle East and have found it to be most unpleasant...

One of the things I've noticed are great discrepancies on various websites concerning the cost of housing, average income, and taxes. I understand that taxes can vary frm one town to the next, so that is understandable. However, when I look at one website, the average Boise home supposedly sells for $185K, yet another site says $255K. (Note: We base our searches on a single story house, 3BR, 2BA, 2 car garage, >1800 sq ft, and enough yard that I don't have to listen to my neighbors TV. ) Along the same lines, I find that the average income is listed as anything from $39K to $85K, which is quite a spread! I figure my retirement income will be in the vicinity of $60-70K and need to know if that would be sufficient to live in Boise.

Neither my wife nor I are big fans of really cold weather (i.e. well below freezing), but do okay unless it lasts for a long time. I treated my body badly in my youth and it is paying me back with lots of creaks and groans and aches and pains...all of which are amplified by low temperatures! Heat doesn't bother us a bit (it's still Spring here and yesterday was 118 degrees, yet we still walked a ways to the grocery store and back), so that isn't a consideration.

I'm pretty sure that ID has a state income tax, but don't know if over-65's get any sort of break.....and ditto for property tax on your home. Are there any other taxes (i.e. personal property taxes on your car or things like that) that should be considered?

I was just browsing a news website for ID and see that power costs will soon increase around 10%. However, it didn't say how much the average home pays today. For the size house I listed above, assuming it was built in the last 10-15 years so it had some of the energy-saving items, what could I expect to pay for utilities?

Are there any smallish colleges or vocational schools around so I'd be able to take some courses? There are a few things I've always wanted to learn how to do, but just never had the chance. For example....I'd love to learn how to weld. I have no idea why, but just want to do it. There's a few others things like that also. Are adult educational activities available?

One final thing for now... If I can't stand doing basically nothing and want to get a job, are there things available for an old dude? I'm currently doing IT work, general communications, etc. I probably wouldn't be too good saying "Would you like fries with that?"....

Any input would be appreciated...

Cheers,

Mac

[Lacerta]

Well, I'm not retired, so I don't know the answers to everything, but I can touch a few things.

I ran a search in the local MLS, for 3 bdrm, 2 bath, 1800+ sqft, 2 car garage, single level built since 1990 in Boise / Meridian that sold in the last 6 months. There were only 16 that fit all those criteria, but the average price was about $260k. If you keep the same criteria, except go down to 1500+, it drops the average all the way down to $200k

As for utility costs, my house fits all those criteria except its smaller, only about 1300 sqft, so take that into consideration. These numbers are with 2 people. I pay about $150/month for gas/power combined (gas is more in the winter and power is more in the summer, but on average). I can't tell you for water, as mine is unmetered. My sewer/trash service is about $20-25/month. I pay about $40 for home phone service and $100 for cable TV and internet combined. There are a few posts floating around about utility costs on the forums. My property tax is about $1k per year, which is pretty low, I would say average would be half that again for your criteria.

Other cost of living expenses. For 2 people, I spend about $80 a week in groceries, and gas is right at $4 per gallon around town today.

I don't know the actual number for average income in the area, but I know it is lower than many other similar areas. That is one of the biggest complaints I hear from people coming here. For the most part, they have to take a pay cut, but they do it because quality of life is pretty good here. $60-70k should be sufficient for general cost of living, with a bit left over for some entertainment. My husband and I get by on about $55k (that's two incomes - You might be seeing that spread because some sites are quoting household income rather than individual job income, and many households are two income anymore.) We don't have a lot left for savings or entertainment, but we aren't in foreclosure either.

You can find the Idaho State Tax Commission website here: Idaho State Tax Commission - Home Page I don't know anything about over 65 tax breaks, so I can't help you there.
I don't know of any weird/unusual taxes. It is pretty inexpensive to register a car here compared to many other states. Sales tax is 6%

For schools, there is Boise State University, as well as several smaller schools in the area, but I don't know a lot about what they offer. As for employment, I can tell you that unemployment is pretty low, so jobs exist, if you are qualified, which it sounds like you would be. You'd have to look into individual companies to find out policies on working part time, etc.

[motomac]

Thanks Lacerta, that's exactly the sort of information that I need. A few days after I posted my note, I found out there are two people from Boise also assigned here in Kuwait, so I've been asking them questions too.

Again, thanks...