SW VA or NE TN? (Danville, Christiansburg: transplants, sales, homes)

[MyCitySearchName]

I want to move soon, but I am not having much luck making a decision. I'm thinking heavily about Floyd, VA. or the Tri City TN area.

I have been looking at NCent. AR, NE AL, N GA, E TN, and SW VA mostly, but cut out the others for various reasons.

But I'm still in a quandary.

I am finding quite a bit more bang for the buck in Tennessee (property wise), but until I can drive over there and have a look around I don't think I'll be able to make up my mind. I don't think any of the communities in TN have the appeal of Floyd, VA. We'll see. I also heard Giles, Franklin, and Patrick counties were nice. Any thoughts? How are Hillsville, Wytheville, Abingdon, Dublin or Christiansburg? Are they even worth considering?

I can't find any reliable info on property taxes either. This is one of my biggest concerns. Is it possible to give me a generic idea of what that might run, for say a $100,000 property? (just to make it simple) I want to stay put after this move and I don't want to get stuck with a lot of taxes and cost-of-living increases.

In Arkansas, I'm seeing between $50-$150 per year in property tax, depending on whether you get a homestead exemption or not. Is a homestead exemption even available in Virginia?

In Tennessee, for a $100,000 property, taxes are roughly $220 in Cookeville (which had the only property tax calculator I could find) and they have no income tax.

In Virginia, the sales tax is 5% and the income tax is 5.75%, so in essence I'm paying 10.75%, and as far as I can tell, the property taxes are close to $1000. Does this sound accurate? I LOVE the idea of Floyd, but if this is accurate, I don't think I'll make it.

I want my next move to be permanent, and I'd like to have my ducks in a row.

I'm self employed and won't have to look for work, but I do need to be fairly close (within 20-30min) of a decent (30-100k pop.) sized town.

Thanks for any help you're willing to provide.

[williamsburgfan]

of course you can't make a decision until you visit a place - more than once. if you want reliable info on property taxes call the assesment office of the jurisdiction in which you are considering if they don't have a website. almost all jurisdictions do have websites with tax info.

[theburro]

Originally Posted by MyCitySearchName

I want to move soon, but I am not having much luck making a decision. I'm thinking heavily about Floyd, VA. or the Tri City TN area.

I am finding quite a bit more bang for the buck in Tennessee (property wise), but until I can drive over there and have a look around I don't think I'll be able to make up my mind. I can't find any reliable info on property taxes either. This is one of my biggest concerns. Is it possible to give me a generic idea of what that might run, for say a $100,000 property? (just to make it simple) Is a homestead exemption even available in Virginia?

In Tennessee, for a $100,000 property, taxes are roughly $220 in Cookeville (which had the only property tax calculator I could find) and they have no income tax.

In Virginia, the sales tax is 5% and the income tax is 5.75%, so in essence I'm paying 10.75%, and as far as I can tell, the property taxes are close to $1000. Does this sound accurate?

I lived in Tennessee with their $0 income tax. You get what you pay for in public services.

Most of the rural counties seem to be up-and-down around the .80/$100 RE tax rate; i.e., $800/year on a $100,000 parcel. There's no homestead exemption I know of, not even sure what that means.

The income tax may seem high, but the exemptions are generous and you're not going to pay a straight 5% of income. Oh yeah, don't forget the "car tax," you will pay that on top of everything else. The sales taxes on food and medications is being phased-out. You would need to compare Virginia's to TN, which I imagine is pretty high these days.

[MyCitySearchName]

Originally Posted by theburro

I lived in Tennessee with their $0 income tax. You get what you pay for in public services.

Most of the rural counties seem to be up-and-down around the .80/$100 RE tax rate; i.e., $800/year on a $100,000 parcel. There's no homestead exemption I know of, not even sure what that means.

The income tax may seem high, but the exemptions are generous and you're not going to pay a straight 5% of income. Oh yeah, don't forget the "car tax," you will pay that on top of everything else. The sales taxes on food and medications is being phased-out. You would need to compare Virginia's to TN, which I imagine is pretty high these days.

Thank you for being so in depth, thats the kind of info I was looking for. I had a little trouble following you though, maybe I'm a little dense. Did you prefer TN or VA?

If the income tax is not a straight 5%, how do they figure it? What are some of the exemptions?

Its nice to hear that they are phasing out the food and medication tax. Again, was this TN or VA? I presume you meant VA.

It looks like you said that VA was about $800 a year and TN was $220 a year.
That would be score TN.

I don't particularly care about public services. They can keep their stupid services if it means lowering taxes. I'm a rural person who keeps to myself. The less people find the area appealing for development, the more it will stay rural and peaceful. No blacktop jungles for me thanks.

Is the car tax bad?...I presume this one was VA also, is that right?

[MyCitySearchName]

Originally Posted by williamsburgfan

of course you can't make a decision until you visit a place - more than once. if you want reliable info on property taxes call the assesment office of the jurisdiction in which you are considering if they don't have a website. almost all jurisdictions do have websites with tax info.

I fully intend to take a trip or several to my chosen destination, talk with the locals and scour the countryside, but I had several areas of interest and I don't have a bottomless wallet, so I was trying to narrow down my options before I leave, so I don't waste my time.

Whats on the books is a little difficult to follow sometimes...we ARE talking taxes here, so I want to hear from people who actually have lived in these areas and dealt with the situation first hand. Thank you for your input though.

[silverwing]

Anyone looking at Floyd might want to check the progress of the gas pipeline being built thru there. I can't find much updated material; I know people in the area were fighting it; I assume the project was never halted

http://www.floydart.com/brc/

Also, potential SW Virginia transplants, keep a gimlet eye on US58. It is eventually to be a 4-lane corridor across much of the state (I know it is already from at least Danville to the east coast).
http://www.expresswaysite.com/virginia_58.htm (broken link)

[MyCitySearchName]

Originally Posted by silverwing

Anyone looking at Floyd might want to check the progress of the gas pipeline being built thru there. I can't find much updated material; I know people in the area were fighting it; I assume the project was never halted

http://www.floydart.com/brc/

Also, potential SW Virginia transplants, keep a gimlet eye on US58. It is eventually to be a 4-lane corridor across much of the state (I know it is already from at least Danville to the east coast).
http://www.expresswaysite.com/virginia_58.htm (broken link)

hmmmm, thanks for that. I'll look into that. I also read that they were trying to stick a prison near Independence. Do you have any idea how that's going?

I'm also open to looking at other locations in the area, if you have any ideas, they'd be appreciated.

The main thing I'm trying to determine is whether TN or VA is the "better" place overall, so I can narrow my search further.

[silverwing]

Originally Posted by MyCitySearchName

hmmmm, thanks for that. I'll look into that. I also read that they were trying to stick a prison near Independence. Do you have any idea how that's going?

I'm also open to looking at other locations in the area, if you have any ideas, they'd be appreciated.

The main thing I'm trying to determine is whether TN or VA is the "better" place overall, so I can narrow my search further.

Look for posts Amjb initiates or participates in. Rather than repeat info, I think you'll find a lot of answers in those threads. You two seem to have similar goals.

[KewGee]

Hey MyCitySearchName:

I began gathering information on the mountainous regions of 5 states, KY, WV, NC, TN, and VA but have decided that the only area I will check out in person will be SW VA. I've come to that conclusion after much information gained from this forum as well as other web sites.

Anyway, silverwing has helped me greatly as have many others. Another that comes to mind is Steven2149. He used to live in either Grayson or Carroll County, can't remember which off hand.

So as silverwing stated, look for my threads and their posts. Also, I'll PM to you one of the PMs silverwing sent me. It's great!!

Good luck!!

[theburro]

[quote=MyCitySearchName;273254]

Originally Posted by theburro

Thank you for being so in depth, thats the kind of info I was looking for. I had a little trouble following you though, maybe I'm a little dense. Did you prefer TN or VA?

If the income tax is not a straight 5%, how do they figure it? What are some of the exemptions?

Its nice to hear that they are phasing out the food and medication tax. Again, was this TN or VA? I presume you meant VA.

I don't particularly care about public services. They can keep their stupid services if it means lowering taxes. Is the car tax bad?...I presume this one was VA also, is that right?

My preference between the 2 is Virginia. For you personally, it depends on your bottom line - if cost of living is the prime consideration, TN has a slight edge. You mentioned Cookeville - that's not northeast, but "Middle Tennessee."

I agree w what you said about public services. When I lived in TN, I didnt have children in the public school system and I'm a quiet person who doesn't need the deputy Sheriffs out every weekend, nor the fire and rescue (thank God). Virginia has better public services, but if you dont need them, so what?

Taxes - VA has generous exemptions for you and your family members; tax brackets are progressive so if your income in low-moderate you just don't pay that much. Food and drug phase-out is in VA. I don't know the situation in TN.

One more thing- will you have retirement income or a pension? States are wildly different in how they treat retirees. I think VA exempts the first $20,000 or so from income tax.
Hope this helps.