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Our experiences are similar to yours Dastar - my husband is a builder, and together we built our home in Idaho about 12 years ago. It took us a year on nights and weekends to complete it enough to live in. To me, it is like a huge piece of homemade furniture, it is beautifully made. It is 1800 sq feet on each floor (it has a full basement.) It is constructed of styrofoam blocks that are then filled with concrete. A lot of people use this system in Idaho. Our walls are a foot thick and our R factor is like 60. It is an amazingly efficient house. Sadly, it is not in our future plans. We are planning to sell it when the market gets a bit better and it is rented out right now.
Similarily, we have a cabin in the mountains of Idaho about 1 1/2 hours from our house and about 30 minutes from Yellowstone Natl. Park. We are in the same caldera as YNP; the township is called Island Park. We are surrounded by evergreens and we are a stones throw from the Buffalo River and we could see it if there weren't so many trees. We have two lakes; Henry's Lake (big trout fishing) and Island Park Reservoir (homes and water skiing) and quite a few other mountain rivers. We plan on living here in the summer months. In winter we get up to 10 ft of snow and it becomes snowmobile heaven with thousands of trails. Which I will miss but can do without because in the winter we will head for the Baja.
Similar with your view of Lake Superior, we have the same view of the Sea of Cortez (aka Gulf of California). We own an acre of sand with palo blanco trees and numerous cacti down on the southern tip of Baja of Mexico on the gulf side. The waters are caribbean blue and the beaches are warm and gorgeous. I'll put up some pictures when I get more time. Many (hundreds) of gringos come to our little town for the perfect kite surfing conditions. There is a lot of down home talent in that group and we have quite a few outdoor concerts on the beach. Ever heard of Leo Kottke or the Dave Matthews Band?
Right now we are in South Central Washington where the winters are milder and we live in our 5th wheel, (which will become our home in Baja when we retire.) We both work at the Hanford government site. We are making enough money to get completely out of debt and put aside for savings.
This is our plan and it will happen in about 5 years. We are both very healthy, very compatible, and have the same dreams. I am very thankful for our situation and for the man I have. We are both Christian and that has a lot to do with who we are and what we do.
JUST WONDERING IF THERE HAS ALREADY BEEN A DISCUSSION ON LOW TAX STATES TO RETIRE TO?
Below is a small snippet of very useful information if you are still trying to determine the best fit for your move.
"Low tax states in terms of income, sales, or property taxes We included here states that do not tax pensions or social security. States whose fiscal health is worse than the U.S. median were excluded. States with unusually low cost of living have an *. Alabama* Alaska Arkansas* Delaware Montana New Hampshire Oregon Pennsylvania South Dakota Tennessee* Texas*"
JUST WONDERING IF THERE HAS ALREADY BEEN A DISCUSSION ON LOW TAX STATES TO RETIRE TO?
Below is a small snippet of very useful information if you are still trying to determine the best fit for your move.
"Low tax states in terms of income, sales, or property taxes We included here states that do not tax pensions or social security. States whose fiscal health is worse than the U.S. median were excluded. States with unusually low cost of living have an *. Alabama* Alaska Arkansas* Delaware Montana New Hampshire Oregon Pennsylvania South Dakota Tennessee* Texas*"
I appreciate the link , but the study is bogus IMO. A blatant piece of misinformation is that New Hampshire has low property taxes. Not true, they have among the highest property taxes in the nation. My prop taxes would be double if I lived there, and my state didn't even make the lists.
I will most definitely agree with you, hands down, regarding New Hampshire.. however it does not mean all the other states are bogus too.
Doing a google search has Kiplingers saying the same thing...and several Pages of other sites agree.
Many states like Pennsylvania, Delaware, Texas...and others are NOT TAXING your retirement funds. I'm sorry if I didn't make myself clear.. but I do think its a nice thing to know about.
I cannot tell you how many of my nearing age 60 y/o friends did not know about this tax break.. a very great point to make about your thread!! BIG SMILE :^D
Please do not discount the idea because of the mention of New Hampshire..
Thank you for reading all of this
With appreciation,
CountrySwan
Our experiences are similar to yours Dastar - my husband is a builder, and together we built our home in Idaho about 12 years ago. It took us a year on nights and weekends to complete it enough to live in. To me, it is like a huge piece of homemade furniture, it is beautifully made. It is 1800 sq feet on each floor (it has a full basement.) It is constructed of styrofoam blocks that are then filled with concrete. A lot of people use this system in Idaho. Our walls are a foot thick and our R factor is like 60. It is an amazingly efficient house. Sadly, it is not in our future plans. We are planning to sell it when the market gets a bit better and it is rented out right now.
Similarily, we have a cabin in the mountains of Idaho about 1 1/2 hours from our house and about 30 minutes from Yellowstone Natl. Park. We are in the same caldera as YNP; the township is called Island Park. We are surrounded by evergreens and we are a stones throw from the Buffalo River and we could see it if there weren't so many trees. We have two lakes; Henry's Lake (big trout fishing) and Island Park Reservoir (homes and water skiing) and quite a few other mountain rivers. We plan on living here in the summer months. In winter we get up to 10 ft of snow and it becomes snowmobile heaven with thousands of trails. Which I will miss but can do without because in the winter we will head for the Baja.
Similar with your view of Lake Superior, we have the same view of the Sea of Cortez (aka Gulf of California). We own an acre of sand with palo blanco trees and numerous cacti down on the southern tip of Baja of Mexico on the gulf side. The waters are caribbean blue and the beaches are warm and gorgeous. I'll put up some pictures when I get more time. Many (hundreds) of gringos come to our little town for the perfect kite surfing conditions. There is a lot of down home talent in that group and we have quite a few outdoor concerts on the beach. Ever heard of Leo Kottke or the Dave Matthews Band?
Right now we are in South Central Washington where the winters are milder and we live in our 5th wheel, (which will become our home in Baja when we retire.) We both work at the Hanford government site. We are making enough money to get completely out of debt and put aside for savings.
This is our plan and it will happen in about 5 years. We are both very healthy, very compatible, and have the same dreams. I am very thankful for our situation and for the man I have. We are both Christian and that has a lot to do with who we are and what we do.
We have toyed with the idea of getting a 5th wheel.. They are very affordable used, and I have already the truck to pull it....yet, why,where would we go? We hate AZ ( no ocean), Done the Fl. thing. people say stay out of Texas border towns, so, other than Key West, ,and its so far away, I can't think of any winter place to go. WE have done the Motor home thing.all over NA. Those were fun years. Now its time to get serious , and plant some roots! We are loaners, and know very few people since we exited the old car hobby 6 years ago, just could not afford it anymore. WE love the UP.
We have toyed with the idea of getting a 5th wheel.. They are very affordable used, and I have already the truck to pull it....yet, why,where would we go? We hate AZ ( no ocean), Done the Fl. thing. people say stay out of Texas border towns, so, other than Key West, ,and its so far away, I can't think of any winter place to go. WE have done the Motor home thing.all over NA. Those were fun years. Now its time to get serious , and plant some roots! We are loaners, and know very few people since we exited the old car hobby 6 years ago, just could not afford it anymore. WE love the UP.
Mexico! Travel the Baja!
I'm like you - I love the ocean. Florida is too humid and so is Texas, California is too expensive - but the Baja - oh my, what a rare find that is. It is skinny enough to enjoy the Pacific Ocean side and the same day the Sea of Cortez side. It is glorious! I am tickled pink we found it.
We too have had many fun years - and many of the things we used to do, I miss, like floating the South Fork of the Snake River in Idaho. But our retirement goal is to slow down a little bit, but also get back into the fun things we love doing.
I will most definitely agree with you, hands down, regarding New Hampshire.. however it does not mean all the other states are bogus too.
Doing a google search has Kiplingers saying the same thing...and several Pages of other sites agree.
Many states like Pennsylvania, Delaware, Texas...and others are NOT TAXING your retirement funds. I'm sorry if I didn't make myself clear.. but I do think its a nice thing to know about.
I cannot tell you how many of my nearing age 60 y/o friends did not know about this tax break.. a very great point to make about your thread!! BIG SMILE :^D
Please do not discount the idea because of the mention of New Hampshire..
Thank you for reading all of this
With appreciation,
CountrySwan
In MA (my state), property tax is much higher than in the Midwest or South, but less than CT or VT, and much less than NH.
Maryland taxes pensions and military pensions, wonder how that state made the list. MA does not tax either, nor does it tax SS, and there is no sales tax on either food (groceries), or on clothing up to $175. And MA did not make the list!
I'm not sure how these tax resources gather their facts, but I've learned that you have to make phone calls to find out everything for yourself, esp the hidden costs (excise tax on vehicles, water & sewer costs, etc) that these resources do not tell you about. Also, some high property tax states offer significant breaks in taxes to qualifying seniors; you have to hunt for that info if that is of interest to you.
In MA (my state), property tax is much higher than in the Midwest or South, but less than CT or VT, and much less than NH.
Maryland taxes pensions and military pensions, wonder how that state made the list. MA does not tax either, nor does it tax SS, and there is no sales tax on either food (groceries), or on clothing up to $175. And MA did not make the list!
I'm not sure how these tax resources gather their facts, but I've learned that you have to make phone calls to find out everything for yourself, esp the hidden costs (excise tax on vehicles, water & sewer costs, etc) that these resources do not tell you about. Also, some high property tax states offer significant breaks in taxes to qualifying seniors; you have to hunt for that info if that is of interest to you.
STOP THE PRESSES>>> just to be certain, am I reading this right???
Are you saying that MA does not tax retirement monies?
OMG, if that's true.. I may just have to find those phone numbers you were referring to. My New England roots are calling me..and I've been torn about uprooting but this MA info might just unfurl some misconstrued info
that kept us at bay. Please DM for any instructive details.. and thank you!!
STOP THE PRESSES>>> just to be certain, am I reading this right???
Are you saying that MA does not tax retirement monies?
OMG, if that's true.. I may just have to find those phone numbers you were referring to. My New England roots are calling me..and I've been torn about uprooting but this MA info might just unfurl some misconstrued info
that kept us at bay. Please DM for any instructive details.. and thank you!!
STOP THE PRESSES>>> just to be certain, am I reading this right???
Are you saying that MA does not tax retirement monies?
OMG, if that's true.. I may just have to find those phone numbers you were referring to. My New England roots are calling me..and I've been torn about uprooting but this MA info might just unfurl some misconstrued info
that kept us at bay. Please DM for any instructive details.. and thank you!!
Google Taxes by state 2011--you will find the lowdown on each state's taxes in great detail--tax on all retirement income, property tax (including tax reductions for various reasons including senior cit, disabled, low income), excise tax (a "hidden" tax most folks don't realize till they get the bill), sales tax (MA does not tax clothing up to $175 or groceries), gas tax, etc.
My BIL's military pension is taxed quite a bit by the state of Maryland but would not be in Mass. So in many respects, though Mass. is considered expensive (it is, to buy a property), it is good for retirees. I must add though that from what I've researched, if you are thinking about a condo, the condo fees in New England are high (often $250-$350/mo) and that is on top of property taxes--so effectively, you can easily pay, with both of these, $6000+ per year in expenses for a condo. However, once in a rare while that condo fee can include hot water, and in rarer places, heat as well. (Electric is always separate). Everyone assumes that the condo fees just cover grounds maintenance, but but not always. The real estate listings sometimes go into detail, but other times not.
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, but the study is bogus IMO. A blatant piece of misinformation is that New Hampshire has low property taxes. Not true, they have among the highest property taxes in the nation. My prop taxes would be double if I lived there, and my state didn't even make the lists.
Yes, NH is getting me scolded
