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Old 09-27-2012, 05:57 PM
 
Location: Spokane, WA
231 posts, read 587,664 times
Reputation: 242

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Quote:
Originally Posted by 370z View Post
I have thought about TN for many years now because of the cost of living. My uncle(retired) whom moved to Nashville from Westminster said his utilties were much less in CA and the over all COL doesn't seem much different to him. Other then homes being much cheaper in TN. So you just never know. Oh and the tax on food(groceries) in TN! So we are trying to decide if it really would be cheaper for us to move there!
I struggled with the same questions you are pondering. Your home is usually your biggest cost of living expense therefore if you can get a home for a lower price your cost of living should be lower. I agree with your statement about the other costs being similar and in some cases even more. It is a hard decision to make and as I have said in this thread before the cost of living should not be the only reason you choose to move. I also would not move without a job/income lined up. Good luck to you. Let me know if you have any other questions and I will try to help the best I can with my experiences having moved out of Orange, California to Spokane, Washington in 2010.

 
Old 09-27-2012, 09:21 PM
 
18,172 posts, read 16,229,736 times
Reputation: 9325
Quote:
Originally Posted by 370z View Post
I have thought about TN for many years now because of the cost of living. My uncle(retired) whom moved to Nashville from Westminster said his utilties were much less in CA and the over all COL doesn't seem much different to him. Other then homes being much cheaper in TN. So you just never know. Oh and the tax on food(groceries) in TN! So we are trying to decide if it really would be cheaper for us to move there!
Over all it is cheaper in TN. No State Income Tax, car fees about $30.00 per car, gas about $0.50 per gallon cheaper. Property tax is on 1/4 value and runs from about 1.6 to maybe 4% in the highest areas. A $250,000 home in say Riverside county, CA will be about $4000.00 and in Sevier County, TN about $1000.00 per year in taxes.

I have family who moved from CA to TN and love it. The cold of winter isn't that bad and the humidity in Summer isn't that bad either. Spring and Fall are drop dead gorgeous.

What ever works for a person. I love the beach and wish I lived there but I don't. However from Riverside County it is such a hassle to go that the trips have been fewer and fewer. I think I would prefer green and beautiful to brown and dry like Riverside County is.
 
Old 09-27-2012, 09:27 PM
 
Location: San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties
6,390 posts, read 9,624,497 times
Reputation: 2622
Total state and local tax burden in Tennessee, 7.6%
Total state and local tax burden in California 10.6%

A whopping 3% difference
 
Old 09-27-2012, 09:34 PM
 
7,150 posts, read 10,833,676 times
Reputation: 3806
Quote:
Originally Posted by OGTSO View Post
It is fairly simple. You said I did not read your posts carefully. The bold type is anything you posted toward me. The regular type is anything I have to say about your posts(bold type). Question marks at the end of a sentence usually indicate a question. Sorry if you do not understand.
Ah, yeah ... I got that part (about recognizing in bold what I had written) ... what is not clear is what you are trying to say about it all ... The one part I think I understand is that you are still claiming that I accused you of moving only to save on taxes ... as I wrote before: go back and read carefully ... I made a generic general statement ... aimed at anybody who might consider moving for tax reasons ... YOU were not identified in my statement, individually ... if you feel defensive, that is your interpretation, not what I wrote.

Other than that, you mumble something about my income being tax-free ... so what? Do you mean you think I therefore haven't been subject to taxation? Perhaps thus don't understand the situation? Uh, I paid taxes like you and everybody else for 35 years. In California and Washington (and other places before, during, and after). You don't know what my exemption is for either, I assume ... I do not pay taxes on veteran's disability compensation ... because compensation for damages is not considered earnings income ... I refused my compensation package and worked instead after I was creamed several times in service in Vietnam and permanently disabled in several respects -- but went on with life pretty much like anyone else until my wife died and left me with a houseful of kids to finish raising alone ... at which point I decided to retire early on the compensation (little as it is) and focus on family. Get it now? During all those 35 years I earned and paid taxes like anyone else. I also had employees in my companies for many of those years and paid taxes and benefits for them.

As for paying real estate taxes on my properties, I was only recently given a tax break on one property because of qualifying for the state's disabled veteran's rate ... and that only on one of my properties. The other properties carry the same taxation as everyone else. However, I also no longer pay income tax on rental revenues because I give away half my rentals to persons in need during these hard economic times -- thus my income is less than my expenses. Why do I do this? Because I can. I live minimally and am happy with my little compensation check from Uncle Sam. I am not a materialistic person.

I don't understand any other of your points, if you are making any.
 
Old 09-27-2012, 09:43 PM
 
7,150 posts, read 10,833,676 times
Reputation: 3806
Quote:
Originally Posted by expatCA View Post
Over all it is cheaper in TN. ... gas about $0.50 per gallon cheaper.
I get a kick out of the frequent references to gas price differences we read so often here on this forum.
Average miles driven annually is 12,500 per person, give or take a little.
12,500 miles, divided by say 20 miles to the gallon, ok? = 625 gallons of gas.
$0.50 more per gallon x 625 = $312.50 a year.
Good reason for moving?
That's a fraction of what most people spend at Starbucks for their caffeine ...
 
Old 09-27-2012, 11:32 PM
 
Location: Sacramento
14,044 posts, read 27,101,372 times
Reputation: 7373
I don't know...the thread question is if you decide to leave California where will you go and why...and then posters minimize and argue with the expressed sentiments.

Seems to me that if folks have a preference for elsewhere we ought to respect that sentiment, especially in a thread that is requesting those comments.

Just my point of view.
 
Old 09-27-2012, 11:52 PM
 
7,150 posts, read 10,833,676 times
Reputation: 3806
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewToCA View Post
I don't know...the thread question is if you decide to leave California where will you go and why...and then posters minimize and argue with the expressed sentiments.

Seems to me that if folks have a preference for elsewhere we ought to respect that sentiment, especially in a thread that is requesting those comments.

Just my point of view.
Actually, the thread title specifies "... when California finally taxes you out ..." etc.
I agree, 100%, if folks have a preference for elsewhere they should go ...
My sentiment is, however, that if the reason they go is taxes, they must be ill-informed on the issue ... because there aren't typically many dollars difference once total tax burden is analyzed ... and there are some pretty significant costs to relocating, as well.

The only reason this is worthy of correction is: it misinforms others who ponder the question based on taxes.

If a person prefers another place, absolutely: go ... but don't spread misinformation.
 
Old 09-28-2012, 12:01 AM
 
Location: Sacramento
14,044 posts, read 27,101,372 times
Reputation: 7373
Quote:
Originally Posted by nullgeo View Post
Actually, the thread title specifies "... when California finally taxes you out ..." etc.
I agree, 100%, if folks have a preference for elsewhere they should go ...
My sentiment is, however, that if the reason they go is taxes, they must be ill-informed on the issue ... because there aren't typically many dollars difference once total tax burden is analyzed ... and there are some pretty significant costs to relocating, as well.

The only reason this is worthy of correction is: it misinforms others who ponder the question based on taxes.

If a person prefers another place, absolutely: go ... but don't spread misinformation.
No...it could be that their personal situation is somewhat dictated by taxes. For example, quite a few states either have no income tax or have an exemption for retirement income, however in California it is quite easy to hit the upper income tax brackets with fairly moderate income. An individual with $48,942 in income hits the 9.3% tax bracket, and pays that rate on every single dollar above that income level. When comparing the impact to a state without that tax, including high tax states like PA, MA and NY, CA looks kind of high, significantly so. Add in the high real estate taxes linked to relatively high property values, and it makes the difference even more significant.

So no, I don't think a critical analysis would necessarily show that folks believing CA to be a high tax state are ill informed on the issue.
 
Old 09-28-2012, 12:29 AM
 
7,150 posts, read 10,833,676 times
Reputation: 3806
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewToCA View Post
No...it could be that their personal situation is somewhat dictated by taxes. For example, quite a few states either have no income tax or have an exemption for retirement income, however in California it is quite easy to hit the upper income tax brackets with fairly moderate income. An individual with $48,942 in income hits the 9.3% tax bracket, and pays that rate on every single dollar above that income level. When comparing the impact to a state without that tax, including high tax states like PA, MA and NY, CA looks kind of high, significantly so. Add in the high real estate taxes linked to relatively high property values, and it makes the difference even more significant.

So no, I don't think a critical analysis would necessarily show that folks believing CA to be a high tax state are ill informed on the issue.
While individual circumstances vary some, the average burden has been published for each state ... here's where you can study the criteria for the figures:
State and Local Tax Burdens: All States, One Year, 1977 - 2009 | Tax Foundation
The Tax Foundation is a very well known and respected source for research on the subject of taxes. I do trust their analysis. California is ranked high at #6 in the nation ... Alaska is ranked lowest. California's burden is 10.6% ... Alaska's is 6.3% ... 4.3% difference. Most differences run closer to the couple percent level at best.

I stick by my opinion that anyone who uproots themselves and pays the costs and goes through the many changes to move (new employment included) to save a couple percent -- or even 4.3% -- on taxes is living a sadly unfulfilled and misdirected existence that such a minor level of savings trumps quality of life.

That said, if other issues of personal preference are strongly present, then a bit of tax savings can be considered a bonus. But a prime motivation? Nuts. A clear example of confusing money with life.
 
Old 09-28-2012, 12:28 PM
 
1,045 posts, read 1,925,531 times
Reputation: 333
Quote:
Originally Posted by expatCA View Post
Over all it is cheaper in TN. No State Income Tax, car fees about $30.00 per car, gas about $0.50 per gallon cheaper. Property tax is on 1/4 value and runs from about 1.6 to maybe 4% in the highest areas. A $250,000 home in say Riverside county, CA will be about $4000.00 and in Sevier County, TN about $1000.00 per year in taxes.

I have family who moved from CA to TN and love it. The cold of winter isn't that bad and the humidity in Summer isn't that bad either. Spring and Fall are drop dead gorgeous.

What ever works for a person. I love the beach and wish I lived there but I don't. However from Riverside County it is such a hassle to go that the trips have been fewer and fewer. I think I would prefer green and beautiful to brown and dry like Riverside County is.
I also live in Riverside County and if I could afford to live at the beach I would stay in CA! Only if I win the lottery!!! But my cousin moved to Nashville from the beach & loves it. We've been looking at the Tri City area of TN.
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