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I too am a Tennessee expat living in North Alabama because of the fabulous Tennessee River in my front yard. I've lived in Memphis, Nashville and Atlanta while traveling every inch of The South.
North Alabama is a really nice place, and real estate is extremely inexpensive here. My lake house is valued at $386K, and the property taxes are $1,100 a year. My main house in Huntsville has no property taxes because my wife is disabled. Cannot beat that. Defined pensions and social security income is not taxed here. With 450K people, Huntsville is about as thriving as there is, and the population is highly educated--rocket scientists and engineers.
I grew up in Nashville, and real estate there and the surrounding counties has skyrocketed. It's a happening place, however. I especially like East Tennessee with the mountains and lakes, and the people there are great. Johnson City/Jonesborough is nice, but so is Morristown. There are a number of nice cities and lake communtiiesjust outside of Knoxville too. Many people are moving to Cookeville, TN, 85 miles east of Nashville.
We keep a RV in North Georgia's Blue Ridge Mountains. The place has a great atmosphere, and it's just 1 hr. from the edge of Atlanta. It's a very livable region and I especially like the Young Harris, GA and Hiawassee where the mountains meet Lake Chatuge. Lake Burton is another great place if you need a 15,000 sq. ft. second home. There are many golf course communities in NE GA/NW South Carolina that are absolutely incredible. Georgia's kind to retirees tax wise.
Someone touched on the sleeper of retirement communities--Auburn/Opelika, Alabama. It too is a great retirement home with Auburn University to add enough culture to your life. Lake Martin is a premier lake, and it's just north of there. The interstate takes you to Atlanta within 2 hrs., and it's a straight shot south to the Gulf Coast too. There again, you've got Alabama's ridiculously low property taxes there.
South Carolina and North Carolina are not so favorable on property taxes and state income taxes. South Carolina eats boaters' pocketbooks on ad valorem taxes. But Beaufort, SC is an especially great city for a retiree. Many might bypass there and live in Savannah, GA area for lower taxes.
Can you please recommend a good neighborhood on the fringe of Huntsville, or some good big retirement towns in the area.
Like so many, I too am considering retirement to Tennessee (suburbs of Knoxville or Chattanooga) but am very intrigued by your recomendation for northern Alabama around Huntsville.
Good. That's the right mindset to have. So many people don't realize that and move to a cheaper place and wonder why there are no services and then start clamoring for them.
What services? I'm just curious because I'm trying to figure out what would be missing. Are we talking like police, fire, trash pickup, street lights, side walks? I'm moving from a high tax area to a low tax area and I struggle to see what services are missing in the low tax area.
What services? I'm just curious because I'm trying to figure out what would be missing. Are we talking like police, fire, trash pickup, street lights, side walks? I'm moving from a high tax area to a low tax area and I struggle to see what services are missing in the low tax area.
It is hard to think of them on the spot, but when miss them when they suddenly are not available.
Maybe it is recycling and your new local government only has a trash bin with no recycling
Maybe it is bicycle lanes in town and your new town makes you ride in the street.
It can be welfare services.
It can be assistance for people with disabilities. They will provide what is mandated by the Federal Government, but maybe your old state went above and beyond, and your new state does not.
Maybe it is financial assistance that your old state provided that your new states does not.
Maybe it is some form of business loan or matching funds.
Government subsidizes a lot so maybe it is low prices due to partial subsidies, while you have to pay the full price out of pocket in your new state.
Maybe some state provide free utility connections to your newly built custom home, while your new state makes you pay it all out of pocket.
Maybe your old city provided public dog parks while your new city has no dog parks.
I am having trouble listing series services I would miss if not provided by the government, because I don't want a nanny state government that provides everything after extorting my tax money. I am just trying to give you a flavor here.
It is hard to think of them on the spot, but when miss them when they suddenly are not available.
Maybe it is recycling and your new local government only has a trash bin with no recycling
Maybe it is bicycle lanes in town and your new town makes you ride in the street.
It can be welfare services.
It can be assistance for people with disabilities. They will provide what is mandated by the Federal Government, but maybe your old state went above and beyond, and your new state does not.
Maybe it is financial assistance that your old state provided that your new states does not.
Maybe it is some form of business loan or matching funds.
Government subsidizes a lot so maybe it is low prices due to partial subsidies, while you have to pay the full price out of pocket in your new state.
Maybe some state provide free utility connections to your newly built custom home, while your new state makes you pay it all out of pocket.
Maybe your old city provided public dog parks while your new city has no dog parks.
I am having trouble listing series services I would miss if not provided by the government, because I don't want a nanny state government that provides everything after extorting my tax money. I am just trying to give you a flavor here.
I know I'm in the minority, but I think access to good hospitals is a big deal only if you have an ongoing medical issue.
I've had two husbands die. Both went to the hospitals in this town in suburbia that have what should be decent hospitals. First husband was in the ICU for two weeks and nothing they did helped. Second husband died from liver disease that they didn't catch when he was in the hospital six months before on an unrelated issue. They could have just as well died at home.
And I'm still considering Mountain City, along with a few other East TN locations.
The biggest challenged within the USA would be the weather. It's a land of extremes, by which I mean extremely hot/humid summer, extremely cold/humid/wet/windy winter, or both (the Midwest). Places that are exceptions to this, are going to be crowded, costly or both.
I can't speak to "Tier 1" or "Tier 2" in any objective sense, but subjectively, "Tier 1" in America is NYC, LA, Chicago, and maybe Boston-DFW-Houston-DC... or are those "Tier 1.5"? "Tier 2" would be SF, Seattle, Philadelphia, Denver, San Diego, Miami and the like. Tier 3 would be St. Louis, Cleveland, Portland, Nashville, Pittsburgh,... Tier 4 would be Dayton (Ohio), Boise, Peoria. This suggests that cost-wise, the OP might find something in Tier 3, but almost certainly not Tier 2. Tier 4 offers plethora of options cost-wise, but likely not socially/culturally, except for college towns.
But this brings me to an actual actionable point. Prospective retirees used to major-cities don't necessarily have to move to a tiny town, to save money or to settle into a quieter life. A Tier-3 city (except possibly for its immediate core) will do. That could be a metro-area approaching 1M people. The main problem will be climate and economy. With the 21st century sorting of the economy, only the principal cities thrive. And did I mention the vagaries of climate?
I consider San Diego and San Francisco superior to NYC and L.A.
I know I'm in the minority, but I think access to good hospitals is a big deal only if you have an ongoing medical issue.
I've had two husbands die. Both went to the hospitals in this town in suburbia that have what should be decent hospitals. First husband was in the ICU for two weeks and nothing they did helped. Second husband died from liver disease that they didn't catch when he was in the hospital six months before on an unrelated issue. They could have just as well died at home.
And I'm still considering Mountain City, along with a few other East TN locations.
Mountain City was on our early list of places to retire. But one trip up there and we crossed it off the list. Too small and isolated for us even though we are not big city people. But if you are looking to get away from it all, that might be the place. Might be a lot of born there, live there, die there people so I'm not sure what the social scene might be for someone moving in from elsewhere.
The biggest challenged within the USA would be the weather. It's a land of extremes, by which I mean extremely hot/humid summer, extremely cold/humid/wet/windy winter, or both (the Midwest). Places that are exceptions to this, are going to be crowded, costly or both.
I can't speak to "Tier 1" or "Tier 2" in any objective sense, but subjectively, "Tier 1" in America is NYC, LA, Chicago, and maybe Boston-DFW-Houston-DC... or are those "Tier 1.5"? "Tier 2" would be SF, Seattle, Philadelphia, Denver, San Diego, Miami and the like. Tier 3 would be St. Louis, Cleveland, Portland, Nashville, Pittsburgh,... Tier 4 would be Dayton (Ohio), Boise, Peoria. This suggests that cost-wise, the OP might find something in Tier 3, but almost certainly not Tier 2. Tier 4 offers plethora of options cost-wise, but likely not socially/culturally, except for college towns.
But this brings me to an actual actionable point. Prospective retirees used to major-cities don't necessarily have to move to a tiny town, to save money or to settle into a quieter life. A Tier-3 city (except possibly for its immediate core) will do. That could be a metro-area approaching 1M people. The main problem will be climate and economy. With the 21st century sorting of the economy, only the principal cities thrive. And did I mention the vagaries of climate?
Regarding your Tier 1.5 and 2, you flipped Boston and San Francisco. SF is very expensive (high property prices and absolutely exorbitant property taxes/maintenance). Boston is not that expensive (huge property tax exemptions for primary home, extensive moderately priced residential suburbs all the way to Framingham, with excellent publuc transportation network), ie, it is possibly the least expensive city of the Tier 2. It is the city with the largest absolute number of students and university staff in the world, which in itself tells you that it cannot be as expensive as the cities whose claim of fame is finance (NYC), entertainment business (LA), or IT (SF, Seattle).
It appears that the virus will sort the economy (and life in general) in whole new ways. The push towards doing business online/remotely, and living/working more at home than in public, may become the way of the future. Many cities may change a lot in the next decade.
Can you please recommend a good neighborhood on the fringe of Huntsville, or some good big retirement towns in the area.
Like so many, I too am considering retirement to Tennessee (suburbs of Knoxville or Chattanooga) but am very intrigued by your recomendation for northern Alabama around Huntsville.
TN's state tax structure isn't as money saving for as many people as they might think at first.
Yes, no state income tax on earned income is great, but that largely benefits higher income, working people. If you're a lower income retiree, the no state income tax is not as beneficial as a country music star using Nashville as their legal residence. Many states also shelter at least some amount of some forms of common retirement income from state income taxes, rendering the no state income tax deal less beneficial than many people might think of first blush.
At least here in northeast TN, "napkin math" for property taxes is about 1% of the valuation of the property per year in the city, less so in the county. Sales tax approaches 10%.
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