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Just have to be careful even if the home is paid off. of you pay HIGH property taxes in your state like my friend did in NH. As the years pass, the taxes go up, and many people have lost their homes not being able to pay the TAXES on the home, even though their home was paid off. (Not rich people, but people who make average to lower retirements.)
Some people's property taxes are higher than my entire mortgage payment and I'm in CA too.
If people really want to live a simple, green lifestyle, vegan is the best for health and the planet.
That isn't true. If we all ate vegetables the land couldn't sustain it and we'd be killing so many species to keep the land pest free from eating the crops. Also, many people do NOT do well on vegan diets. they actually get sicker.
Brilliantly said!!! Does anyone think I ENJOY being on the ACA (for example)? I don't; I'm mortified by it. But juggling 4 part-time teaching jobs (no pension or benefits) that still doesn't get me to 20K left no other choice.
I guess I should have dumped my parents in a home instead of quitting a decent job to care for them; I guess I should have gone without health insurance instead of spending my life savings (150K) entirely on independent health care while I did so. I guess I should have known that my field wouldn't welcome back a then upper middle-aged person, regardless of experience. Guess I blew it, huh?
Some of us are doing the best we can WHILE ALSO trying to save others (various low-pay jobs with youth-at-risk - BECAUSE THEY MATTER). Would love to see how the complainers fare in that situation. Sorry to be such a burden.
Very true, and it is a scary downward spiral for so many people who have worked their whole lives. All it takes is one tragedy with no health insurance or taking care of your parents out of obligation and love or necessity to drive someone into homelessness. Ageism is VERY real. I read about so many women who are homeless or live in VANS/cars. They married, had children, raised the kids, then ended up in divorce where the husband finds a younger bride. The wives are usually out of the workforce for a number of years and lost their skills and have a gap where no one wants to hire them or at an age where no one wants to hire them. The same thing happens to men. They could lose their job due to ageism, or illness and never be able to gain another high-paying gig. Or how about the Veterans who struggle with mental or health issues? What about people with disabilities? You can have done all the right things, saved your whole life, and it can all be taken away with any of these variables. I commend you for doing the right thing. You are a gentleman.
I thought Maine was highly taxed? I know CT, MA and NY are pretty high having lived in both CT and MA. I also know VT is high and NH has high property taxes, which is why my best friend left (that and the rotten winters.)
Most articles I have seen focus on cities. The biggest city in Maine is Portland, and everyone I have known who has lived in Portland has complained about its high taxes.
I wanted to retire somewhere rural, and drought-free.
Undeveloped forest land was very low priced and the property taxes are low [$1.05 per acre per year]. I have built a large house and it is taxed $600/year.
I have a military pension. Which in this region is plenty enough to support a medium size family, we had five children living at home when I began building this house. Yet my pension income is not high enough to be taxed here.
People do complain that New England has high taxes. I pay no income taxes, and my property taxes are extremely low.
I have owned four homes previously, none of them had property taxes this low. Each of them were in areas with much higher Cost-of-living.
I owned a home in CT also.
I paid around $6,000/year in Ct for 0.25 acre of land. But here in Maine I have 150 acres with river frontage.
Maine has the highest average age among its population, as compared to the entire nation. This is the oldest state, with the highest percentage of retirees.
I haven't read through all the answers but I once considered moving to Vancouver Washington because Washington has no state income tax while Oregon has no sales tax. So I could just drive across the bridge over the Columbia River into Portland and by my merchandise tax free while living in Vancouver which doesn't have state tax on SS, pensions, and retirement accounts.
Most articles I have seen focus on cities. The biggest city in Maine is Portland, and everyone I have known who has lived in Portland has complained about its high taxes.
I wanted to retire somewhere rural, and drought-free.
Undeveloped forest land was very low priced and the property taxes are low [$1.05 per acre per year]. I have built a large house and it is taxed $600/year.
I have a military pension. Which in this region is plenty enough to support a medium size family, we had five children living at home when I began building this house. Yet my pension income is not high enough to be taxed here.
People do complain that New England has high taxes. I pay no income taxes, and my property taxes are extremely low.
I have owned four homes previously, none of them had property taxes this low. Each of them were in areas with much higher Cost-of-living.
I owned a home in CT also.
I paid around $6,000/year in Ct for 0.25 acre of land. But here in Maine I have 150 acres with river frontage.
Maine has the highest average age among its population, as compared to the entire nation. This is the oldest state, with the highest percentage of retirees.
I lived in East Granby, East Windsor, Enfield, Windsor Locks (CT), and Southwick, MA on Congamond Lake. Where in Maine do you live? I have extended family that live in Maine and they would never leave. (He is a 3 term Vietnam Vet).
CT is CRAZY high property taxes and taxes in general. MA is called Taxachusetts for a reason, and I never liked my car insurance being averaged out because of crappy drivers in the Boston area.
Loved living in New England, but grew weary of the winters and high taxes, but Maine and Vermont were always in my heart from skiing at Okemo, Stratton, and Sunday River. Also loved visiting Bar Harbor, Booth Bay, and all the other lovely parts. It was on my list as a possible retirement area, and in retrospect, as much as I love AZ, I hate the sprawl and the heat, which funnily enough, I was able to deal with in New England (Humid as hell as it was), seems to be deteriorating me, though I much prefer the dry heat. I am going to be 58 this year. Love the planned neighborhoods and ease of getting to and from places, but I worry about the heat in my long term health due to my personal health issues. I also worry about 20 years from now, the drought issues, even though AZ is way ahead better in water management than all of the surrounding states near us.
Some states partially or fully exempt common retirement income sources from their state income tax, or have tax brackets so low at low income levels that the person pays a negligible amount of state income tax. This could make a high income tax state, like Maine, much more reasonable than would originally be expected.
I was in Maine for vacation for a week last month - lovely place. Property prices and property tax rates are generally going to drop off dramatically the farther you get from the coast.
Each state extracts taxes a different way, but they all get their pound of flesh. Do thorough research before you jump. For example, Az has low property tax and income tax, but they really nail you on sales tax and license fees.
I think the best stategy is look for a state where the income taxes, if any, will be low impact. For example, some states do and some states dont tax SS benefits. Weve retired in Wis., whose taxes are higher than ave, but their sales taxes are low, and they dont tax my SS.
I'm not concerned with sales taxes. I'm not a big spender and whatever my sales tax is on the few things I buy every month is minimal and even negligible. You do have some control on sales tax by limiting what you spend every month on goods.
Property taxes on the other hand can make or break you and plays a big part in where you buy a home and also a big part in whether you can continue to afford a home if your property taxes are increasing at an alarming rate.
Each state extracts taxes a different way, but they all get their pound of flesh. Do thorough research before you jump. For example, Az has low property tax and income tax, but they really nail you on sales tax and license fees.
I think the best strategy is look for a state where the income taxes, if any, will be low impact. For example, some states do and some states dont tax SS benefits. Weve retired in Wis., whose taxes are higher than ave, but their sales taxes are low, and they dont tax my SS.
Sales tax in AZ varies as well depending on towns. It still would never equal the amount of the Tx burden in CT. Very crazy there and that's my home state. Had to get out if I wanted to retire on a meager income. I see a lot of CT, NJ, and NY transplants for the same reason.
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