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I don't know NE Pennsylvania well enough to recommend a town. But city-data has a forum for NEPA as well as one for Lehigh Valley, and someone there could tell you more.
Thanks again. I will visit the forum and begin some research. I really hadn't considered that area until you mentioned it. Thanks.
As I recall, NYS does tax pensions (private) but gives you a $20k exemption off that income. Not sure if this even applies to OP.
I was going to suggest Saratoga Springs too. The thing is there is no city that is going to compare to NYC because it is unique (in both good and bad ways) so if you have NYC in your blood, then nothing is really going to compare. But I would listen to your family, if they are discouraging you, then I would take that seriously because they live there and know what it's like today.
The $20,000 exemption applies to private pensions or private annuities if they are associated with your employment before retirement, but not to contributions made to an IRA after retirement, nor does the exemption apply to privately purchased annuities, or to an IRA acquired as the result of a divorce. See pages 9 & 10 in the link below. There are other restrictions.
Have you considered places like Westport, Stamford or Greenwich, CT...I know taxes in Ct are probably horrendous too but at least you are only a train ride away. But they are beautiful areas.
You might also like the Main Line towns outside Philadelphia....very nice, easy access to Philly and NYC. NEPA is very rural and small townish, very family oriented. Ithaca is beautiful college area but very isolated.
Have you considered places like Westport, Stamford or Greenwich, CT...I know taxes in Ct are probably horrendous too but at least you are only a train ride away. But they are beautiful areas.
You might also like the Main Line towns outside Philadelphia....very nice, easy access to Philly and NYC. NEPA is very rural and small townish, very family oriented. Ithaca is beautiful college area but very isolated.
We are considering Stamford and Greenwich and plan to visit them. However, from my preliminary research it seems like the overall cost-of-living and housing inventory is approx. the same as Westchester County so there didn't seem to be any reason for us to look too deeply into Ct. Maybe it deserves a relook?
Thanks for the info on NEPA and Ithaca. We would like to stay within arms reach of urban since we do like the lifestyle it offers. This is one of the challenges that we have. Thanks again for your help!
Please keep in mind that you've lived away from family for very long time now (40+ years) and, depending on how really close you are after all those years of being away, it might not be all that you are expecting. Just cruising in and expecting to fit in to the lives they have created without you might or might not work. I've tried it and I know others here have tried it and it is sometimes not worth it. Since you are retirement age, I think you need to do what's best for you and your wife for the years ahead of you. You say you want to be around the "children" but aren't they older by now? How much time are they really going to want to spend with relatives (they want to be with their friends)....things to think about. I'd say try to create an easier life for yourselves rather than move to a city that is very challenging to live in, especially as one ages. I mean, you remember it from when you were in your 20's which is very different than dealing with all that in your 60's.
An excellent post, and I heartily agree based on my own experience of moving "back home" here from the Midwest "to be with family." Things went downhill when we were forced to deal with family crises "back here." And the people we thought would have time for us had moved on and were involved in many other relationships. It was isolating and lonely dealing with just the family problems and not many benefits other than the great natural beauty of the area. If you are looking to strengthen family ties by moving closer to family, consider all the various scenarios that could happen, good and not so good. Not being negative, just being realistic, like loveautumn is, above.
Last edited by RiverBird; 05-21-2012 at 07:31 AM..
We are considering Stamford and Greenwich and plan to visit them. However, from my preliminary research it seems like the overall cost-of-living and housing inventory is approx. the same as Westchester County so there didn't seem to be any reason for us to look too deeply into Ct. Maybe it deserves a relook?
Thanks for the info on NEPA and Ithaca. We would like to stay within arms reach of urban since we do like the lifestyle it offers. This is one of the challenges that we have. Thanks again for your help!
You must be seriously well heeled to consider Stamford or Greenwich, Westchester, etc. Anywhere in Connecticut remotely nice or commutable to NYC is quite pricey, check out the RE taxes too. Have you done any on the ground real estate searches in these areas? If you are more limited in terms of budget, and want to be in Conn, go a bit north into the nicer areas of the Berkshires, which will put you close to NYState and all of New England including the coastal beaches of Mass, RI, Conn, and Maine.
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