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Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Originally Posted by Frihed89
I guess you can cross Paradise, CA off the list.
Actually, I just added that to my list (affordable properties for retirees), but it is certainly tragic to the community and area. Will never be the same, but will eventually be rebuilt. (differently).
Our 'wild fire' in Columbia River Gorge last yr means 40+ yr for recovery (of natural landscape / scenic views)
I would have thought that New Jersey or Connecticut would be the states that lost the most seniors due to the high tax rates, but they aren't. It's Rhode Island.
As a life long Rhode Islander I will give you my opinion for what it's worth why this is. When you have a state the size of R.I. that has insufficient industry to help fund the economy, along with that R.I. is very generous with it's expanded welfare programs where a single non working mother of two can tap into all these programs that's cash value is equivalent to an income of $36,000/year, and then add to that relatively high property taxes, and lastly you can't walk but more than a few feet without bumping into someone who works for the State who gets paid well and will retire with a pension, the cost burden for all this falls squarely on the taxpayers shoulders which includes retirees.
When I retire I am shooting for 80% income replacement of what my working income will be at retirement which for me comes out to a $23,000/year reduction in income. With that reduction and as a single filer my State income tax will only drop by about $1,200/year, and my property taxes with the senior discount will drop by $500/year which for me is a drop in the bucket when I am already paying >$6,000/year. As you can see R.I. is definitely not a retiree friendly state and very difficult for those with modest retirement incomes to afford to remain here.
Unlike most lists of states in retirement, I found this one very interesting. One thing that stands out to me, with the exception of Florida, is that states tend to have a peak and then reverse themselves as far as retirement affordability and desirability.
People will move to a state until that state becomes nearly saturated with retirees looking for a lower cost of living and then of course the cost of living becomes higher with more retirees moving there, resulting in people moving out at the same rate or more as people moving in. Colorado, Washington, Oregon are good examples. Other states like Texas have almost even amount moving to and moving out of at this point.
There are some surprises in that list but everyone has their own idea of the ideal spot. I'm surprised by the retirees flocking to cold and snowy states...but percentages are misleading if the total number is small.
I'm not. There is a lot to be said for living in places with immense scenic beauty, low COL, low traffic, and a perfect range of outdoor activities all year long.
Edit: I too found this article interesting due to the demographic stats. It was a nice change from click-bait articles covering the traditional regurgitations.
Friends from WA LOVE their retirement locations in Cochise Mtns (even in Summer). Too BROWN for me (as is Colorado (previous home). Evergreen State can spoil your expectations of NICE environment... but GREEN comes at a cost. Ths being 20 min from a great airport helps me to mitigate that cost! I can be off to TX / CA, CO in a couple hours be riding my motorcycles (I keep there). or strolling the San Diego waterfront. (Spirit Air was doing PDX to SAN for $19.90 OW. Down at 5 AM, home at midnight, perfect day in the sun... no car / hotel required! But... now I go and stay awhile! Great cheap flights SAN to TUS so I do that a lot too!
For AZ... (in addition to Cochise County) I have moved WA people to Prescott, and Cottonwood / Jerome, Flagstaff, Sedona, Tucson, Sierra Grande, Show Low...
PHX also, tho I cannot deal with the sq miles of pavement / roofs (traffic and water stress)
We have a winter house in Phoenix but if we are going to live year round in Arizona, I would rather go up (in elevation) to Sierra Vista, Bisbee, Sedona or Prescott....we'll take at look at these when we come down.
Frankly, I'm quite pleased that the state I plan to move to in about 3 years has twice as many retirees moving out than moving in. That means, housing prices will stay affordable and the COL will not skyrocket like it has in some other states. It's good news as far as I'm concerned.
Frankly, I'm quite pleased that the state I plan to move to in about 3 years has twice as many retirees moving out than moving in. That means, housing prices will stay affordable and the COL will not skyrocket like it has in some other states. It's good news as far as I'm concerned.
Frankly, I'm quite pleased that the state I plan to move to in about 3 years has twice as many retirees moving out than moving in. That means, housing prices will stay affordable and the COL will not skyrocket like it has in some other states. It's good news as far as I'm concerned.
That one surprised me. I never thought of KY as a state retirees were eager to leave.
The main problem with California is not taxes, which are, despite what conservatives want you to believe, not particularly high. It's real estate values. When you can sell your ordinary suburban tract home for almost a million dollars, you'll think hard about whether to stay in California or go for the windfall. Conversely, few from elsewhere can afford to buy a house, and of course rents are commensurate.
Speaking as a newly retired couple who sold our 1100 square foot 1 bath 2 bed California house on a steep shady mostly unusable half acre in CA, bought a 25 acre farm in a charming Western MA hill town with a new horse stable, a big gorgeous 1790 farmhouse with an upscale new kitchen and great room addition, and had $250K left over.
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