[Famalam]

Originally Posted by wizrap

Florida is popular because it doesn't have a state income tax.

WTH does state income tax have to do with retirees in GA? GA offers a retirement exclusion.

North GA would be cheaper when you factor in auto, home insurance as well as other taxes but it wouldnt be THAT much, its really all about preference in this instance OP.

[SmokeyCat]

Hi:
We also have kaiser permanente and love it too. What parts of GA did you find Kaiser facilities? I only found affiliates but not the actual full Kaiser Medical Centers unless you go to the bigger cities.

Originally Posted by USAcafe

Thanks again ya'all. I wanted to point out also, since I am a newbie to CD, I had actually responded to the first page replies earlier today & had not yet read the 2nd page replies. Now I have read through this second page, and will follow through to the last reply pages before responding in the future.

So, in response: Again all great additional info re healthcare and hospitals etc. My husband and I had actually gravitated toward Georgia originally due to the healthcare offerings there. We have had Kaiser Permanente coverage and have used Kaiser hospitals, here in California, for decades. We have always been very pleased with the level of healthcare, expertise, variety of Kaiser hospitals, variety of doctors we can choose from, and how quickly we continue to be able to get in for appointments & procedures when we need to. Another benefit we have had is that we were grandfathered in under our old existing plans, and did not have to go to healthcare.gov and do what we felt might be "taking our chances". Readers may have comments on that and how successful, etc., they have been in light of the new healthcare law. But we had read stories of how some, who had gone onto the website, ended up with higher healthcare costs & longer waits for care. Perhaps some of us who have worked hard all our lives & saved, are now forced to subsidize others who may not have worked as hard (shall we say). They teach us to be very PC, here in CA, so I am doing my best in that respect. So, yes, deciding where you want to relocate in retirement is a major issue revolving around several factors - including the important topic of adequate & available & affordable healthcare. So, some of you may have additional comments & we certainly welcome any and all input!

"Your home will be reassessed to values based on the sale price, so the base will go up." This is a question we had as well, so thank you for mentioning that. In N. CA where we are (Napa Valley area), you cannot get much for one million dollars and it may not be large, it may not have a view, it may not be nice, and it may need updating & repairs. And then, to add insult to injury, you have to pay about $13k per year in property taxes + any high HOA dues + high gas prices, and the list of bills goes on.. A Northern Georgia property we were viewing online, shows a history of property tax payments that reflect the assessed value which increases minimally over time, and the tax base appears not to be affected by the purchase price (and subsequent purchase prices). Again, that is one example of one particular nice home, in one particular area about an hour North of Atlanta. But, we still need to verify how the taxes are actually calculated there.

We did visit GA and noticed that apparently the houses tend to be nicer and less than half the price of CA, some even approach one third to one quarter the price of CA. That is, if you can even find the lovely manor style homes here in CA, that are also all trimmed out (four sided brick, wainscotting, chandeliers, gorgeous view, etc.). Let's just put it this way: We do not see this caliber of homes here in California and I think if we did see them, only movie stars and politicians may be able to afford them. Certainly not common folk like us!

We also checked out the medical facilities in Georgia while we were there - plentiful options & nice newer facilities. Kaiser has a growing presence in GA, and new or newer large Northside Hospitals are very impressive indeed.

We have not had the chance to view homes in Florida as of yet. I wonder what types, conditions, quality of neighborhoods & hospitals we will see when we do finally make the trip to Florida. We seek to make our retirement dollars go much further than they can in CA, and live in a very nice safe place too. This is our ultimate goal. So, keep the valuable responses and comments coming, as we surely do appreciate your input - any & all!