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Bakersfield... That is probably one of the worst places in California. I have studied up on Pennsylvania and it is one of the few northern states that is really economical for seniors to go to retire. It is definitely on my list.
Your post illustrates what several of us are trying to tell you: States are too broad a measure to determine COL. You must consider specific localities, and as has been pointed out, there can be wide variances even then by neighborhood. Bakersfield is a much cheaper place to live than Center City Philadelphia. So which place is more expensive to live: Pennsylvania or California?
Also, don't forget when considering a place you find attractive, investigate all costs including utilities, insurance, transportation, private property taxes (some locales assess annual taxes on cars, boats, and RVs), etc. Some of these costs might surprise you - pleasantly or otherwise. Best of luck!
Cost of living and weather are huge factors for us, and we plan to relocate at least one more time. Not all low COL states are hot, humid and southern of course. And within states there can be a lot of variation. The OP mentioned PA for example, there are expensive areas (near Philly), and there are large parts of central PA that are much less expensive. There are many resources online to research same...
Cost of living and weather are huge factors for us, and we plan to relocate at least one more time. Not all low COL states are hot, humid and southern of course. And within states there can be a lot of variation. The OP mentioned PA for example, there are expensive areas (near Philly), and there are large parts of central PA that are much less expensive. There are many resources online to research same...
Good post, Midpack. Still, I have to agree with various posters here who have talked about variations within a state depending on various local factors. Those variations can be enormous, and I'd like to cite one example. Pennsylvania has been justifiably mentioned as a tax-friendly place for retirees. I have a friend who retired to a rural area in western PA which does not have natural gas, so he has to heat with propane, for which he pays an arm and a leg in the winter. (Well, yes, there are other ways to heat besides propane, but they are all more expensive than natural gas unless you have your own forest to cut wood from and that is a lot of time and work to cut the wood and feed it to your wood stoves).
So such a seemingly minor thing as the availability of natural gas in a given area can impact the cost of living much more than one would imagine if we are talking about any place with cold winters. In the case of my friend, I am talking about staggering costs for propane, like $400 and more per month in the winter.
I continue to think about car dependence. Where I live now, I have high RE taxes and humid summers (to me) as a liability. Most things I need are within three miles (supermarket, town things, vet, mechanic, farmstand, phrarmacy), my health care center is eight miles, hospital ten. I have watched the seniors in my life age and watch what happens to their needs and abilities.
If I had to move for financial reasons, I would certainly consider weather right up there for factors. But to move for the helluva it when I no longer need my job, well, I'm not sure I'm up for that, given that there are many advantages to where I live (love my house, above proximities, the fact that every single person I'm closely related to has died or or had cancer!). Also, I can pick up per diem at my hours until unable to stand upright- one co-worker is 80 and she still does that, as do many others. You don't have to make any time commitments and one quick phone call and a pick-up night shift can put some serious change into your pocket.
For me, the fascination with the Mountain West I think should remain a vacation/visit, certainly as I get older. I moved enough after age 18 into 30s to remember that places have upsides and downsides.
Maybe if I didn't love my house and its setting *so much*- the house of my dreams, in the woods, fenced yard for multiple dogs, and a mile away from highways and in a rural-like town, not a suburb.
If only it were a short drive to Colorado from here, or Utah! But then it wouldn't be Massachusetts. Hmmm.
To the person who DMd me, suggesting East Coast of Maine (I can't figure out how to respond to a rep note?) I did live in Bath and Brunswick one year, including a summer. The weather was fabulous, and I didn't mind the freezing winter (and I lived out on the end of Westport Island on an isolated property). The weather was fine with me. I have considered moving to Bath if I need to for financial reasons, as housing is cheap there, and there is "town" living, as opposed to out in the boonies/more car dependence. It would have New England ambiance, which I like (secular and not-ostentatious). I'd still be car-dependent, probably to Portland for medical, but I do consider it. Portland is likely too expensive for a non-car-dependent move, although I guess the weather would be a bit better (less humid). I used to visit Peak's Island and was always surprised by how chilly it was in the summer in Portland. It was great weather.
Our first priority was to find a place we would enjoy living. Once we found that, our only other priority was to ensure we could afford to live there in the manner we would enjoy. Once those two criteria were matched up, we gave no thought as to whether other places were more affordable, as there certainly are some. Life is about more than squeezing every last penny. At this stage in life, we want to enjoy ourselves as much as we can for as long as we can - provided it is affordable.
Good point. Brings to mind advice from my flight instructor when practicing engine out emergencies. She said it all boils down to "pick a place to land and maneuver to get there".
I already live in one of the lowest COL places I can imagine. Main cost problem is hot summers, cold winters, and few days not heating, cooling, or both! While important, cost won't be first priority if/when I move. It will be sense of place; heart home, if you will.
Those of you who get John Brady's newsletter probably saw this Best Cities for Successful Aging
It's yet another list of best places, but this one has some real surprises. He tells how rankings achieved, but still, Toledo outranks Pittsburgh????
We decided to retire to Maine, before either of us had visited Maine.
My Dw is from Ct, she wanted to be close to Ct. [though now we are here she does not visit Ct ever]
We have owned homes up and down the East Coast and the West Coast. We had no fears of moving to a place sight unseen.
We had decided a long time ago that we wanted:
rural,
low COL,
low taxes,
and no drought.
Though I can not say which of those was 'primary'.
Lack of micro-managing local government, an ability to build your own house, run a small farm, hunt, fish, maybe be off-grid; were also factors to a lesser degree.
Maine's biggest economy is tourism. We are not big into tourism. The region where we settled has no tourist draw.
There are parts of Maine with hills, though I grew up near Mountains. Maine has no high peaks. I see folks who visit Maine to climb 'mountains', but these hills do not do anything for me.
Ocean is nice, but we never go there. My career was largely spent at sea. I would not mind having a live-onboard sailboat, but it does not really draw me to the ocean.
Maine is 90% forest, and very little of it is state or Federal owned. It's culture is one of private land-ownership; that welcomes hikers, hunters, fishermen and sledding.
We like living out in the forest, rural. We can garden in the nude, or hunt, or build a shed and nobody cares.
For much of Maine the population-density is 10 people [or less] per-square-mile. So there is a lot of elbow room.
Our research had shown us that Maine's economy has been depressed for many decades. Coming here on pension, nothing is outside of my price range. We see a lot of adults who have multiple part-time jobs each at minimum-wage, and they are supporting children. It does not take much of a pension to be fit in, or to be slightly wealthier then average.
We have ~150 acres of forest with river frontage. I built our house, we have forest on all sides, lots of windows. We see deer, moose, bear, beaver, eagle and turkey pretty common here. Each year we increase the size of our garden.
I sell surplus produce and honey at market. We process our own meats and can our own veggies.
Southern Maine has a much higher COL, taxes and the whole bit. Northern Maine, not so much.
We have been very pleased with our decision to move here. Very surprised at how much lower taxes are too [as compared to the previous five states we had lived in].
I don't know if you can put a whole state on the measurement scale. We live in Massachusetts, formerly known as Taxachusetts, but for us it's anything but. Our federal pension is exempt from state taxes and our property taxes are low, half of what the rest of the state pays, because we live on Cape Cod where there are few schools and roads to support. We pay far less in taxes and fees than we did when we lived in Florida.
Mass is on the expensive side for many especially Eastern Mass. So I'm glad for you it is affordable. I will say it has the worst roads I have ever driven on. I honestly hate driving on them they are in such disrepair.
Such an enormous part of the cost of living comes down to housing. There is a real difference in housing costs from place to place, even within the same state. As for taxes, the differences are more apparent than real, unless you will have a high income in retirement, in which case you need to look at state income tax rates.
Certain high costs just go with the territory; if the summers are hot and humid you will have high electricity bills in the summer, and if the winters are cold you will have high heating bills in the winter.
Partly true. My state (Mass.) is considered very high cost and yet I can afford to live here on a shoestring, owning my home. I can live here because I've made compromises, like cutting my car travel in half saving the same amount in a year that I would save (compared with here) elsewhere on property tax alone.
I live in a humid state, yet the way I rig my house it is cool and comfortable without a.c. (I have central, but do not need it). That is a huge savings over living somewhere in the South where a.c. is mandatory or die.
I eat mostly vegetarian, which offsets the high costs of other things here. It's all in your lifestyle and choices. If I wanted to live in costly CA or NY, I'd figure out a way to do that.
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