True-REAL-cost of living In MIssouri (California, Florida: buy, bankruptcy, tax)

[Nu2pomona]

Originally Posted by kshe95girl

Hmmmmmmm, I wish I had your property taxes!
Do you mind if I ask how much property you have?

A smidge over 3 acres with a new (2007) 1500 sq ft 3 bd/2 ba single story with walkout lower level that has a 4th bd, 3rd ba and another 1000 square feet of living space.

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by Nu2pomona

A smidge over 3 acres with a new (2007) 1500 sq ft 3 bd/2 ba single story with walkout lower level that has a 4th bd, 3rd ba and another 1000 square feet of living space.

Wow, thats cheap! We have 5 acres down here, with a 1200sf single story house, we are paying right around 3k for property taxes, and everything is much more expensive down here, with the exception of the satellite, we have directv, its about the same cost as yours.
Cant wait to come home!!!!

[Nu2pomona]

Originally Posted by kshe95girl

Wow, thats cheap! We have 5 acres down here, with a 1200sf single story house, we are paying right around 3k for property taxes, and everything is much more expensive down here, with the exception of the satellite, we have directv, its about the same cost as yours.
Cant wait to come home!!!!

Back in Wisconsin we had a 30-year old, 1500 square foot 3bd/2ba home on 1/2 acre and paid $3300 a year. And we provided our own water and paid for garbage pickup.

Misssouri and Arkansas are much more forgiving where property taxes are concerned.

[GraniteStater]

MO and AR will be more affordable in the rural areas due to the wage scale being so very low. It is no coincidence that the median household income has risen little in large chunks of rural MO given the job loses and other factors. I would say your taxes in southern MO are about average. It is a pretty good area for retirees given the cost of living.

My parents are looking for a permanent year round retirement home in the Lakes and White Mountains region of NH. NH is a state with fairly high property taxes, but with extreme variability in the rates from town to town. In the lowest tax town, Moultonboro, you can get a 2500sqft split entry for less than $1600 in property taxes. A house with pleasant views of mountains can have $3000+ in taxes. Not horribly unreasonable in my opinion.

[Nu2pomona]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

It is a pretty good area for retirees given the cost of living.

That's what we are and why we're here. I would wager population growth in our area is 99% retirees from cold weather, high tax states. It's really good for the area. We pay into school systems we do not use. We don't take up jobs. We eat out, support local stores (because we don't like to drive in the bigger cities), volunteer, etc.

[marmac]

I didn't notice any difference in grocery prices between Walmart in MO and Walmart here in rural Minnesota.

Yes, the huge price jump in gas hit us in Minnesota,also.
It pushed our gas price tp $2.85

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by marmac

I didn't notice any difference in grocery prices between Walmart in MO and Walmart here in rural Minnesota.

Yes, the huge price jump in gas hit us in Minnesota,also.
It pushed our gas price tp $2.85

Oh no you had to mention Wal Mart
Don't even get me started on the Wal Mart's in the Louisville region.
I will gladly pay a slight preimum to never deal with that nonsense.

[marmac]

I like our Walmart ( and the ones I shopped at while on my trip to Branson in March )

[swmo]

in SW MO you do not have to report the sale price of real estate purchased for property taxe purposes and the personal property tax system is more of an honor system (other than licensed vehicles). I don not list tractors as they are used as lawn mowers, not for an Ag business.

[SpanielGirl]

I love it that my original thread has gathered so much info! Some changes from California:
1-you can now ask the county tax assessor to re-assess your house. We are the land of foreclosure after all.
2-Some new housing permits have been re"thunk" by the royals in office. I believe El Dorado County dropped them by $10,000: simply because no one can afford to build a house now.
3-Gas is still $2.99 to $3.50 a gallon, depending where you buy it.
4-We continue to teeter on bankruptcy-it is a toss up who goes first; California or the US. Even so, California politicians continue to spend public money freely. Like Nancy Pelosi, they think it is 1966 with full employment and lozza cash flowing around.
5-California is so broke, everyone is jumping on the legalization of marijuana bandwagon. All the politicians can see is tax money galore. Soon, you can get stoned in this state legally but they will arrest you if you light up a cigarette in a bar.(Second hand smoke is dangerous!!).
6-All states are in the same bind-we need jobs, jobs, and more jobs.
All we need is an oil spill for Obama to "help" us with!