Like he** I'm going to pay these prices! (Boston, Lawrence: home, transfer)

[masssachoicetts]

RI is kind of a disaster right now. They should market a certain demographic to grow it's economy a little.

Retirees and cutting SSI, Pension tax.. while retirement Property Tax reimbursement like MA NH do would be smart. RIs location is ideal.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

In some ways maybe. Retirees are starting (more than before) to want accessibility, walkability and trains. I'm seeing that with a loot of older people. Sure not the majority... But an increasing amount. Most retirees never cross state lines, families are getting smaller so they want to stay close to family/children. In addition to working later in life, part time employment opportunities is a factor as well.

If the housing market came back down to where it should be, MA could be a great place to retire. Taxes are very low and there's so much to do for a retiree. But until then, oh well.

The taxes aren't "very low" just lower than the highest tax places in the US. It all hinges on weather and real estate prices. MA is an environment you move to specifically for work. YOu can find more than adequate healthcare in slightly cheaper warmer states. If anything retirees will continue their movement out of MA because retirees move where native-born Americans move-which is out of MA and towards Phoneix.

Recent trends around walkability and trains would still more likely favor DC/VA/MD and Philly/PA over MA.

Just consider that many of us on this forum/thread have moved out of Boston or MA entirely, often due to price...

RI does indeed make a more practical location for a retiree IMO.

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

The taxes aren't "very low" just lower than the highest tax places in the US. It all hinges on weather and real estate prices. MA is an environment you move to specifically for work. YOu can find more than adequate healthcare in slightly cheaper warmer states. If anything retirees will continue their movement out of MA because retirees move where native-born Americans move-which is out of MA and towards Phoneix.

Recent trends around walkability and trains would still more likely favor DC/VA/MD and Philly/PA over MA.

Just consider that many of us on this forum/thread have moved out of Boston or MA entirely, often due to price...

RI does indeed make a more practical location for a retiree IMO.

Depends really on the person. It still can be a place where retirees settle because atleast 12 of my parents 15 siblings are staying in MA or moving to MA to retire...

People really do want to stay close to their family and MA has an opportunity or even RI. Somewhere.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Still, its a bad place to retire when compared to NH and ME. It's a bad state to retire because of the pace of life, congestion, COL, weather. ME and NH have those things but much less congestion, lower down payments, and an older more conservative populace.

MA is the youngest state in New England with the smallest share of those 65+

There are plenty of retirees that do don't want to live in a conservative area and rather live surrounded by young-ish people . The dream of moving in a gated community in FL isn't really the dream of everyone.

[bizcuit]

Originally Posted by Lampert

There are plenty of retirees that do don't want to live in a conservative area and rather live surrounded by young-ish people . The dream of moving in a gated community in FL isn't really the dream of everyone.

Not every retiree wants the hot weather (and especially the hot & humid weather) either.

I am getting close to retirement and if I don't stay in MA, it's because I'll be moving to NH or ME. I would hate Florida.

[msRB311]

I never really understood the draw to Florida for old people myself.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by Lampert

There are plenty of retirees that do don't want to live in a conservative area and rather live surrounded by young-ish people . The dream of moving in a gated community in FL isn't really the dream of everyone.

this just doesn't bear out in the numbers, that's all. You're putting too much weight on small idiosyncratic anecdotes. It's not a viable path forward for MA aside from the fact that old folks are naturally becoming more populous and a larger share of any given state population. Relative to other NE states (let alone non-NE states) MA doesn't perform in this regard... it best to accept it and plot a reasonable path forward.

In order to make effective change, you cant only focus on the best case (unlikely) scenario and it's highly unlikely MA ever becomes a retirement destination. It's not practical, full stop. There are very many other states with more retirees than MA that arent Florida lol.

MA residents have a delusion that almost every group has sufficient reasons to move to MA when in reality this has been disproven and debunked for decades, many times over. I attribute it to the poor performance of our neighboring states economically that provides this sorely inflated sense of self-importance and allure...


Its genuinely disappointing when I see MA residents slip to abusrd extremist arguments to make a point. Its like when folks say "racism isnt that bad-you could be in MS!" ignoring indicators that say otherwise...or the "price isn't that bad it isn't SF!" ignoring a few hundred MSAs or equally competitive MSAs with lower housing costs or "why would someone want to move to hot muggy FL! and not MA!" as though there aren't dozens of cheaper warmer states between here and Flrodia. It's intellectually lazy and dishonest and goes against what MA residents proclaim to be about which is a thoughtful conversation and an ability to deal with reality...

There's a kneejerk reaction in MA to fighting objectivity that doesn't favor MA no matter how small the issue is. And there an equally strong reaction to argue in favor of the exception rather than the rule. Knowing full well, it's largely invalid if not irrelevant..

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

this just doesn't bear out in the numbers, that's all. You're putting too much weight on small idiosyncratic anecdotes. It's not a viable path forward for MA aside from the fact that old folks are naturally becoming more populous and a larger share of any given state population. Relative to other NE states (let alone non-NE states) MA doesn't perform in this regard... it best to accept it and plot a reasonable path forward.

In order to make effective change, you cant only focus on the best case (unlikely) scenario and it's highly unlikely MA ever becomes a retirement destination. It's not practical, full stop. There are very many other states with more retirees than MA that arent Florida lol.

MA residents have a delusion that almost every group has sufficient reasons to move to MA when in reality this has been disproven and debunked for decades, many times over. I attribute it to the poor performance of our neighboring states economically that provides this sorely inflated sense of self-importance and allure...


Its genuinely disappointing when I see MA residents slip to abusrd extremist arguments to make a point. Its like when folks say "racism isnt that bad-you could be in MS!" ignoring indicators that say otherwise...or the "price isn't that bad it isn't SF!" ignoring a few hundred MSAs or equally competitive MSAs with lower housing costs or "why would someone want to move to hot muggy FL! and not MA!" as though there aren't dozens of cheaper warmer states between here and Flrodia. It's intellectually lazy and dishonest and goes against what MA residents proclaim to be about which is a thoughtful conversation and an ability to deal with reality...

There's a kneejerk reaction in MA to fighting objectivity that doesn't favor MA no matter how small the issue is. And there an equally strong reaction to argue in favor of the exception rather than the rule. Knowing full well, it's largely invalid if not irrelevant..

None is saying that MA is the best state to retire, you made a generalization in your previous post. People are just pointing out that there are plenty of reasons to move to a state or another that aren't weather or taxes.

Namely family, but also access to great healthcare and the general vibe of the place. There are plenty of people that grew up here that wouldn't want to move from a quaint town to an anonymous project in the outskirts of Phoenix or Orlando. Doesn't mean MA is a magnet for older folks.
How is this extremist?

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I never really understood the draw to Florida for old people myself.

Weather and taxes. Housing costs are lower.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by Lampert

None is saying that MA is the best state to retire, you made a generalization in your previous post. People are just pointing out that there are plenty of reasons to move to a state or another that aren't weather or taxes.

Namely family, but also access to great healthcare and the general vibe of the place. There are plenty of people that grew up here that wouldn't want to move from a quaint town to an anonymous project in the outskirts of Phoenix or Orlando. Doesn't mean MA is a magnet for older folks.
How is this extremist?

generalizations are important though, it's the only way we can really have a conversation about statewide trends, and it's what many important folks are tasked with doing. oftentimes it's just a better way to deal with reality. If we got bogged down on the exceptions and anecdotes we wouldn't see the forest for the trees. All that's extreme is by comparing MA to FL or AZ.

My thing is in general folks make up for MA shortcomings by resorting to extremist arguments that highlight places or governments that are the polar opposite of us rather than exercising the fortitude to deal with nuance.

Obviously, MA's expense is prohibitively expensive to all but the high earners, dual-income highly educated couples, the subsidized underclass and group quarters folks (immigrants/students). Sure some local old people (meaning New England) will move to a town in MA and settle but what does that amount to?