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I love the obsession with low income tax states. They either get it from you some other way, or the amenities suck. I mean taxes are actually for things usually.
True, a favorite they use is to charge all sorts of fees and add lots of toll roads to stick it to the average guy by shifting revenue from the wealthy to regular folks.
Left Bend Oregon recently after suffering through long and cold winters. Had never lived that far north and discovered I had SADS and Reynaud's Syndrome. Was living in Yunnan China for 13 years before that. I am self employed and my income went up quite alot in the few years I lived in Oregon. I didn't like writing big checks for Oregon's egregious 9.9% income tax.
Did some research and thought of Wimberley/Dripping Springs area of Texas, and headed out here after visiting the Las Vegas/Henderson area (which I was pretty mediocre on). My wife arrived from China last week (I've been here a month) and she's been plagued with mosquitoes and now we've found she's hyper-allergic to the mosquitoes here in Texas. She ended up in the hospital after three bites because she could not breathe and her face was all puffy. It was a nightmare. Now she's feeling better but literally won't go outside without hustling about and swatting here and there. We are 30 and 42 and used to being outside quite a bit and very active. We have a big dog who loves to run so we need an acre or two wherever we end up. I am sad to see my wife so miserable and afraid. She's not willing to put deet on every day and I don't blame her.
Luckily we do online business and so we are not dependent on the local economy for employment. We would like to live within 15-30 minutes of a decent sized town we could buy some fresh natural foods, take in a movie, go to an asian market. We don't need to live in town and don't mind a drive now and then.
Right now considering El Paso TX, and re-considering Henderson area, even though it seems to be impossible find a place there on an acre or two. Once you leave LV area it's just desert (federal lands). I am not enamored with Reno because it's pretty damn cold for quite a few months a year.
Should I just give up on finding a suitable place amongst the 0% state income tax states?
If you can get past your tax issue I would recommend Las Cruces, New Mexico. It's a cultured, active college town with plenty of amenities and the climate you're after.
I lived in Alpine, TX for several years and LOVED it. I have no memory of mosquitoes there. Roaches and tarantulas though, yes. It snows just a few days a year. El Paso seemed pretty seedy to me, but that was a long time ago and maybe that city has improved greatly over time. You could look at Lubbock, too.
OP, I don't know if you've seen this gadget, but I bought one last year and it's amazing. It only works when you are stationary - like if you were to hang out in your backyard, but it creates a bubble of a fog that keeps the mosquitos away. I took it into the woods and I could sit and write in my journal, and I could see the mosquitos around me hit the forcefield and fly the other way. It really is amazing. There's a bit of an odor, but for me, that was not a problem and was really worth it.
In case the link doesn't work, it's called Thermacell Mosquito Repellent:
If you can get past your tax issue I would recommend Las Cruces, New Mexico. It's a cultured, active college town with plenty of amenities and the climate you're after.
I have not been to Las Cruces but it looks great. NM state income taxes are not ZERO, but 4.9% is reasonable. I enjoyed Santa Fe, but I think it's pretty darn cold. Las Cruces seems like a better climate for me.
I have not been to Las Cruces but it looks great. NM state income taxes are not ZERO, but 4.9% is reasonable. I enjoyed Santa Fe, but I think it's pretty darn cold. Las Cruces seems like a better climate for me.
I second Las Cruces.
It has what you're looking for except the no state income taxes.
Only about 40 miles north of El Paso with a really good climate,
can get hot but summer temps average around ten degrees cooler than Phoenix.
I am inclined to agree with you. We need to figure out if the root of the allergies is something else. She is stubborn and won't use the deet on her face but maybe if we mixed some into the wash. Dog is already using Frontline for the fleas. I tried some natural stuff for a few days and what a failure that was. I can't even tell if I've been bitten by a mosquito. When we lived in Oregon I was depressed and miserable and she was totally fine. Go figure.
Self diagnosis when it comes to allergies can be misleading. Desensitation may be covered by your health insurance.
The thing about mosquitoes is that even here in the desert... they LOVE pools. And I always manage to get bit by them lately (they must love me for some reason). Vegas is plagued by freshwater pools just like Phoenix and to an extent Tucson. I know Arizona isn't on your list but it's something to consider. If you lived in a TRUE untouched desert area, then hypothetically mosquitoes would be miniscule. They couldn't breed very easily. But it's no longer the case when people get any freshwater feature for their house and for the parks and golf courses and so on. So I do believe that a true, nearly untouched desert area, is the only way you will ever truly get away from mosquitoes. Unless you want to live in Fairbanks or something.
With the allergy to mosquitoes, which is really weird I have never heard of that, the thing is is that there are several different breeds of them which I'm sure that not all mosquitoes cause the allergy. Aedes aegypti are the most common here in Arizona (I'm sure this is similar for the rest of the Southwest) and they also happen to carry nearly every deadly infectious disease known to man. The other types of mosquitoes, not nearly as much. I guess what you should try to find out is what breed is causing the allergy and then look at which areas have the least amount of that particular mosquito.
The thing about mosquitoes is that even here in the desert... they LOVE pools. And I always manage to get bit by them lately (they must love me for some reason). Vegas is plagued by freshwater pools just like Phoenix and to an extent Tucson. I know Arizona isn't on your list but it's something to consider. If you lived in a TRUE untouched desert area, then hypothetically mosquitoes would be miniscule. They couldn't breed very easily. But it's no longer the case when people get any freshwater feature for their house and for the parks and golf courses and so on. So I do believe that a true, nearly untouched desert area, is the only way you will ever truly get away from mosquitoes. Unless you want to live in Fairbanks or something.
This is a good point and I do want to live in a remote area not a suburb. Fairbanks is not on the list. ;-)
With the allergy to mosquitoes, which is really weird I have never heard of that, the thing is is that there are several different breeds of them which I'm sure that not all mosquitoes cause the allergy. Aedes aegypti are the most common here in Arizona (I'm sure this is similar for the rest of the Southwest) and they also happen to carry nearly every deadly infectious disease known to man. The other types of mosquitoes, not nearly as much. I guess what you should try to find out is what breed is causing the allergy and then look at which areas have the least amount of that particular mosquito.
There are so many types of mosquitoes here. The mosquitoes in Oregon cause a reaction but not as severe. She is not allergic to the mosquitoes in Yunnan (where she grew up). We need to figure out which particular breed that's causing such a horrific reaction. It seems doing de-sensitization therapy could be hard given the complexity of the causes.
Thanks everyone for your thoughtful responses.
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