Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I wanted to finish my career here (which I did almost three years ago), but then got caught up in family issues (I've still got to finish action as Executor on my aunt's estate, in process), and Covid has prevented finding a new home for the last year. Funding is not unlimited, and I don't want to have to move twice, I want to do it right the first time. So anyway, thanks for your concern, and it is going to happen as soon as I can get 'r done.
To Jasper, you must have varying interests yourself? I've never looked at your posting history, but I'm sure you didn't join C-D exclusively for one forum.
Yes I do have varied interests and post on forums that pertain to them.
Article in today's news feed stated there is a bill proposed to require fingerprints for Illinois FOID cards, a doubling of fees, and the renewal time cut in half. Just one more reason to Abandon Ship.
At the same time, local news had a carjacking occur in a local resident's driveway, by a guy with a lengthy criminal record. It is obvious that Illinois cares less about the victims of crimes than it does the criminals themselves. My advice is to Run Away, taking your tax revenue with you, to a friendlier and more responsible state.
Crime happens everywhere. When I lived in Brookline, an upscale suburb in Massachusetts, my car was broken into twice. Where I grew up in California, there was just a mass shooting, as in Colorado which has had so many. Illinois as far as combined crime is low on the list of dangerous areas. Nashville, the current hot spot, in the last six months has had tornadoes, a downtown bombing, 9 inches of rain, an ice storm where people couldn't drive, but I bet no FOID card problems. Chicago is a great metro area, and this forum is one of the worst for people who blame their problems on a state.
Crime happens everywhere. When I lived in Brookline, an upscale suburb in Massachusetts, my car was broken into twice. Where I grew up in California, there was just a mass shooting, as in Colorado which has had so many. Illinois as far as combined crime is low on the list of dangerous areas. Nashville, the current hot spot, in the last six months has had tornadoes, a downtown bombing, 9 inches of rain, an ice storm where people couldn't drive, but I bet no FOID card problems. Chicago is a great metro area, and this forum is one of the worst for people who blame their problems on a state.
Agree for the most part. Crime in most of the Chicagoland area is either negligible or on par with other, similarly populated areas in other metros.
Where Chicago in particular is a gold medalist in crime, especially violent crime, has to do with about a half dozen or so neighborhoods on the South and West side who have rates of crime not that far removed from friggin Somalia. The question as to how how to address these neighborhoods has been posed for decades, with solutions basically involving writing more checks to one degree or another. None of this has been effective.
You also have to factor in that we are dealing with mostly Black people in these neighborhoods, which makes it a politically delicate issue in a place like Chicago. Even so much as talking about it publicly could land you on the cover of the Trib calling you a racist. The result of this impasse is that nothing ever improves. The Black people who are able flee the city entirely (as evidenced by outmigration patterns) and those that remain suffer the consequences of the gang bangers.
It is my contention that these are not problems which money alone can solve. The city has gone this route for decades and it has been an abject failure. There are deeply entrenched cultural issues at play which need to be addressed, no mater how uncomfortable that might be for some people to talk about.
Crime happens everywhere. When I lived in Brookline, an upscale suburb in Massachusetts, my car was broken into twice. Where I grew up in California, there was just a mass shooting, as in Colorado which has had so many. Illinois as far as combined crime is low on the list of dangerous areas. Nashville, the current hot spot, in the last six months has had tornadoes, a downtown bombing, 9 inches of rain, an ice storm where people couldn't drive, but I bet no FOID card problems. Chicago is a great metro area, and this forum is one of the worst for people who blame their problems on a state.
And yet, people are fleeing Illinois, and are flocking to Tennessee (especially Nashville), where housing values have shot up dramatically in the past several years. No income tax in TN, very low property taxes, and sales tax about equal to IL's. Nashville winters are a walk in the park compared to Chicago's. Excellent environment for gun owners, but their gun crime is MUCH less than Chicago's. Bit too much rain and humidity for me personally, but different strokes and all. "Crime happens everywhere", but only Cook County is committed to a revolving-door justice system.
Illinois' problems are all self-inflicted (politically, and admittedly over a long time). But it has no sense of urgency to correct said problems, again, because the people in power would be disenfranchised by doing so. So, many, many people who have the means to Escape from New York (er, Chicago), are doing so. Hey, if someone can move here and make a better standard of living than they can somewhere else, they should do so, there is a lot of money to be made here. But if you can't? Run Away. As a retiree, having already made my Bones, have no more reason to stay. I'll miss the variety of food, lake and the forest preserves, but not the crime, Kim Foxx, the vilification of 2A, the BLM riots (and the appeasements provided by city government), the outrageous property taxes, and the Sword of Damocles pension debt hanging over our heads. I see the Good Things decreasing over time, and the Bad Things proliferating in Illinois going forward. Hey, if I'm wrong, I can always move back, right?
And yet, people are fleeing Illinois, and are flocking to Tennessee (especially Nashville), where housing values have shot up dramatically in the past several years. No income tax in TN, very low property taxes, and sales tax about equal to IL's. Nashville winters are a walk in the park compared to Chicago's. Excellent environment for gun owners, but their gun crime is MUCH less than Chicago's. Bit too much rain and humidity for me personally, but different strokes and all. "Crime happens everywhere", but only Cook County is committed to a revolving-door justice system.
Illinois' problems are all self-inflicted (politically, and admittedly over a long time). But it has no sense of urgency to correct said problems, again, because the people in power would be disenfranchised by doing so. So, many, many people who have the means to Escape from New York (er, Chicago), are doing so. Hey, if someone can move here and make a better standard of living than they can somewhere else, they should do so, there is a lot of money to be made here. But if you can't? Run Away. As a retiree, having already made my Bones, have no more reason to stay. I'll miss the variety of food, lake and the forest preserves, but not the crime, Kim Foxx, the vilification of 2A, the BLM riots (and the appeasements provided by city government), the outrageous property taxes, and the Sword of Damocles pension debt hanging over our heads. I see the Good Things decreasing over time, and the Bad Things proliferating in Illinois going forward. Hey, if I'm wrong, I can always move back, right?
I have about 5 years until retirement and will most likely be moving to another state with a milder climate and lower property taxes. Tennessee is one of my choices. I am hoping to find a smaller retirement home under 200K but who knows what home prices will be like in 5 years. Another state I like is Nevada but wow house prices are high there. Northwest Arkansas is an area where homes are still reasonable but even hotter than Tennessee.
Also own some property in Iowa and originally hoped to build a retirement home there and snow bird at least January and February. Property taxes in Iowa are not super low like the south though. Building cost might make that prohibitive. It seems to me, you would have more cost with a building a new home, than you could sell it for.
I have 5 years to figure it out.
Last edited by jasperhobbs; 04-05-2021 at 04:18 PM..
I have about 5 years until retirement and will most likely be moving to another state with a milder climate and lower property taxes. Tennessee is one of my choices. I am hoping to find a smaller retirement home under 200K but who knows what home prices will be like in 5 years. Another state I like is Nevada but wow house pries are high there. Northwest Arkansas is an area where homes are still reasonable but even hotter than Tennessee.
Also own some property in Iowa and originally hoped to build a retirement home there and snow bird at least January and February. Property taxes in Iowa are not super low like the south though. Building cost might make that prohibitive. It seems to me, you would have more cost with a building a new home, than you could sell it for.
I have 5 years to figure it out.
A buddy of mine is a big fan of Tennessee, and he also has a few years to go. He's a fisherman, and the ~46" of annual rainfall they get across the state is a plus for his major hobby (fishing). He's thinking somewhere around Knoxville, and is lobbying for me to join him. I've never even visited, the closest I got was Atlanta, I got off a plane once coming back from Dizzyland, and was amazed that people living there could stand the humidity, it felt worse than Orlando. I guess you can get used to anything, though. Except Kim Foxx and Mayor Lightfoot.
A buddy of mine is a big fan of Tennessee, and he also has a few years to go. He's a fisherman, and the ~46" of annual rainfall they get across the state is a plus for his major hobby (fishing). He's thinking somewhere around Knoxville, and is lobbying for me to join him. I've never even visited, the closest I got was Atlanta, I got off a plane once coming back from Dizzyland, and was amazed that people living there could stand the humidity, it felt worse than Orlando. I guess you can get used to anything, though. Except Kim Foxx and Mayor Lightfoot.
My parents now semi-permanently reside in Florida in Clearwater, which is near Tampa. I say semi-permanently because they basically stay long enough to be able to claim Florida residency for tax purposes, but still come back home a few months a year because that is where all their friends are. They also come home for Xmas and Thanksgiving on account of and my brothers and I throwing a fit over not spending the holidays in the home of our childhood, but that whole saga is a story for another time.
I do not think I would be happy living in Florida full time. Brushing aside the punishing temps, the crazy humidity, mosquitos the size of birds, etc. culturally Florida just does not suit me personally.
My only personal experience with Tennessee is going to Nashville for CMA fest every year (minus last year, naturally) as my wife is huge country music fan. Downtown Nashville on or near Broadway is very Las Vegas like in many respects. Growing more so with each passing year according to the locals.
One thing I will say is that Tennessee was a VERY popular destination when my employer went all remote last year. I would estimate that about 30% of our workforce now reside somewhere in the state of Tennessee. Nashville and the surrounding suburbs was the most popular choice, followed by the Knoxville and Chattanooga area. While the benefits of living in the state are pretty obvious, I must say that I was a bit taken aback by the magnet like appeal among our staff. They always proudly proclaim they now reside in Tennessee during all staff meetings on Zoom, which was kind of cute at first. Now it is somewhat annoying.
If you want a similar climate to Illinois just move to Indiana.
If you want warmer weather go Southeast or Southwest. Tennessee is great, I lived in NE Georgia for a year and enjoyed it, A lot of my friends like Arizona and the Carolinas. Texas has a problem with local governments and the blank check that is property tax levies that I won't tolerate.
Basically all I would want is a place with decent bicycling, decent climate, and a government that I don't have to think about much ie that doesn't tax residents out of their home, that doesn't regulate everything like a bad HOA, in short not run by leftist Democrats. I've said this before, govt should be like plumbing, you should rarely have to think or do anything with it. It should just be in the background and function well as opposed to Illinois where it geysers raw sewage all over everything.
A buddy of mine is a big fan of Tennessee, and he also has a few years to go. He's a fisherman, and the ~46" of annual rainfall they get across the state is a plus for his major hobby (fishing). He's thinking somewhere around Knoxville, and is lobbying for me to join him. I've never even visited, the closest I got was Atlanta, I got off a plane once coming back from Dizzyland, and was amazed that people living there could stand the humidity, it felt worse than Orlando. I guess you can get used to anything, though. Except Kim Foxx and Mayor Lightfoot.
I will be looking at TN and likely Knoxville as well...as with the Carolinas around the mountains. The low taxes, lakes, mountains and mild weather are very appealing. My friend just moved to Nashville before his kids hit school cause he knows ever-increasing taxes in Illinois are coming and will simply delay his retirement as he works longer simply to pay the govt. Bought a house worth twice as much with half the taxes as his one in Elmhurst. When you get to suburb life any benefits of a big city are a wash....so a suburb of Nashville is a million times better than that of Chicago with low taxes, no income tax, milder weather, etc.
One thing I notice is most of the posters on this forum are from the Chicago area where I knows property taxes are very high. I am near Galena and really don't consider my taxes to be outrageous well at least not yet. It seems taxes in most northern state are a lot higher than southern states. Not sure the reason for that.
Migration to southern states for retirees has always been popular mostly for weather reasons and is one of the things I desire in retirement. Winters are way too long in the north. Then again a lot of Californians are fleeing the state due to similar reasons to Illinois and they already have fantastic weather. I wonder how much the south and extreme humidity is a surprise.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
