I'm 48, worth $3.5 million, and I'm fed up with NYC. Where should I go? (pension, employment)
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Yes. State income-tax is assessed state-wide, regardless of whether one lives in the heart of the glamour-cities, or the humblest rural hamlet. For someone with $3.5M in assets, assuming that these are all in a taxable account, it's going to be income taxes - and not the housing costs - that pace the overall cost of living.
Another issue is healthcare. With $3.5M in an S&P 500 index fund, the dividends alone are going to be enough to kick the owner outside of the ACA subsidy range, assuming a single-filer with no dependents. At 48, those unsubsidized ACA premiums are going to be pricey!
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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If in good health, $3.5m will buy offshore medical care, or use a HC sharing network $150/ month for singles. Some in my family have use these networks for 15+ yrs. So far, so good. Including cancer and brain surgery.
For a person with such tastes, most of the American South would be palatable. Just move to Atlanta and be done with it. Decently low housing prices, big-city amenities, tolerable taxes, outstanding transportation-connections.
For me, "temperate" would be London (England, not Ohio). Yes, there is occasional snow; but only occasional. Much of the year, temperatures are ideal for wearing a business-suit, without either shivering or sweating. This is the sort of climate that's very hard to reproduce in North America, or really anywhere outside of Western Europe.
Well, that's an original, creative, personal and meaningful definition, I like it.
I have read that the capillaries in the human body can contract and expand in response to external temperature, with an effect on how a person feels about it and responds to it in turn.
In southern Florida, for example, when the temperature dips below 70 natives may start to shiver and will put on sweaters and even jackets. Then, after two or three days, that same 70 becomes shirt-sleeve temperature again.
When northerners come to visit in winter, around 70 degrees feels like bathing suit and swimming weather the second they step out of the airport and into the local air.
I would live in London too, if I had $60 million in assets, at a minimum, but not $3.5M.
Still, as mentioned by many posters, for a single person, $3.5M is doable in many cities around the US. An individual in that situation could move around and rent for several years until he gets used to one or two climates and more or less settles.
The biggest leash with big cities is the services can't be gotten elsewhere. If you're over 45 and you may think you're in good health but if you're not and health is slipping. By 50 it will show itself if you have underlying conditions.
That's when being in a big city helps, you can call a few places and have an appointment lined up within 1-2 weeks of a specialist. In many small cities you'll be fed up with not being able to find a good doctor especially pediatricians for kids if your child has issues. That's where being in a big cities has its benefits of having long list of doctors to choose.
That's been my experience.
My ex-girlfriend and mother have health issues. Those issues aren't easily treated around here. I've known numerous people referred to hospitals no shorter than two hours away - sometimes up to 300 miles away - for treatment. I live in a quasi-rural area.
If someone has significant health issues, I'd be living close to where I can get quality treatment.
What, exactly, do you mean by "less expensive"? AYsk me how I know you've never been to Sonoma or Paso Robles...
I have spent time in both those cities and they are far less expensive than NYC, where the OP now lives. I researched them both as possible retirement destinations.
I've been to Ventura, it's nice and not LA expensive, you can get a SFH for under well under $1M. Though as Ohio pointed out, the taxes will be the killer.
The taxes in NY are also killer. For 1M you can get a REALLY nice house. I was looking at 600-700K and there were many options. Train to LA. Good food and entertainment choices, beach, nearish to SB. The big negative are the fires.
Coming from NYC, and enjoying that lifestyle, Scottsdale would not be appealing. But to each their own.
A lot will depend on how his assets are setup. If it's in non dividend paying stocks, he can control his income some. Even coming from NoVA, I could not do the Phoenix area either. Cali prices aren't much of a shock coming from NoVA, though if you're from a lower COL area I can see how one might think $600k for a home is really expensive.
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