Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Retirement
 [Register]
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.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-05-2007, 08:49 PM
 
1,323 posts, read 4,691,113 times
Reputation: 1083

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by katie45 View Post
I have read many informative posts on this Board about where to retire in the U.S. What I am seeing are retirees who already own a home (mortgage paid off), have either a dual pension income (married couple) or a huge pension as a single person, have health insurance provided by a former employer....and, these individuals are financially able to relocate and purchase another home or live in a retirement community that runs around $2-3k/month, or they are in a position that they can travel a lot, play golf, etc.

I am not in any of the situations listed above. I will be on a very limited income, I do not own a home (have never owned a home), will not have health insurance other than Medicare and whatever supplemental health insurance I can afford to purchase.

I will have to continue to work after starting to collect s/s when I turn 66, either part time or full time for as long as I am able to work. I would love to start collecting s/s prior to age 66...BUT, I cannot survive financially on the lower monthly benefit...and with the rules about what I can earn annually (prior to age 66)...I would not make it.

Therefore...I am looking for areas to relocate to (other than KS where I am now...terrible winter weather and HIGH taxes, etc.)...that would offer me as mild a climate as possible (am thru having to drive in the winter on ice/snow)...and looking for housing (apartment to rent) that is below $600/month. At my stage of life and looking at my finances, purchasing a home would not be feasible, it would be better to just rent. Mainly because it is better to use the money to eat, etc., than have to put out a huge down payment and have to worry about the cost of maintenance on a home.

Anyone out there have any ideas where a single woman can live safely, in a weather climate better than KS, where the rents are in the $600/month or lower range?

I am not a 'party' person, not into traveling a lot, nor do I need to be on the go all the time. Also am not materialistic or into the night life scene. I am not into shopping and only buy clothes when they are really needed. I'm a person who is content and just looking for a place to "hang my hat" and be able to buy food, be safe and find full or part-time office work.

Maybe I'm just dreaming of the impossible. But there has to be others in a similar situation as I am. Not everyone has big bucks when the retirement age arrives.
Consider places where the tax burden will be less such as Tennessee. The state of Tennessee has no income tax and they do not tax retirement pensions or social security. The cost of living in many places in Tennessee is lower than the national average.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-05-2007, 09:11 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,333 posts, read 61,161,924 times
Reputation: 30256
Quote:
Originally Posted by jguillot View Post
Consider places where the tax burden will be less such as Tennessee. The state of Tennessee has no income tax and they do not tax retirement pensions or social security. The cost of living in many places in Tennessee is lower than the national average.
I agree that we should look at living in areas where we do not pay income taxes, or at the very least where we pay minimal income taxes. This is one reason why we love Maine.

Paying a third of your income to taxes is a huge waste, when you do not have to.

How are you finding the property taxes in Tenn? How much do you pay per acre?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2007, 09:27 PM
 
4,948 posts, read 18,664,186 times
Reputation: 2907
in Chattanooga, alexian brothers has housing if you are 62 which is in the down town
area. you can check out a ling which was posted on that board. they also have retirement on signal mt which is somewhat more but pays for long term care if you need it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2007, 10:27 PM
 
Location: in drifts of snow wherever you go
2,493 posts, read 4,384,925 times
Reputation: 692
Quote:
Originally Posted by katie45 View Post
I have read many informative posts on this Board about where to retire in the U.S. What I am seeing are retirees who already own a home (mortgage paid off), have either a dual pension income (married couple) or a huge pension as a single person, have health insurance provided by a former employer....and, these individuals are financially able to relocate and purchase another home or live in a retirement community that runs around $2-3k/month, or they are in a position that they can travel a lot, play golf, etc.

I am not in any of the situations listed above. I will be on a very limited income, I do not own a home (have never owned a home), will not have health insurance other than Medicare and whatever supplemental health insurance I can afford to purchase.

I will have to continue to work after starting to collect s/s when I turn 66, either part time or full time for as long as I am able to work. I would love to start collecting s/s prior to age 66...BUT, I cannot survive financially on the lower monthly benefit...and with the rules about what I can earn annually (prior to age 66)...I would not make it.

Therefore...I am looking for areas to relocate to (other than KS where I am now...terrible winter weather and HIGH taxes, etc.)...that would offer me as mild a climate as possible (am thru having to drive in the winter on ice/snow)...and looking for housing (apartment to rent) that is below $600/month. At my stage of life and looking at my finances, purchasing a home would not be feasible, it would be better to just rent. Mainly because it is better to use the money to eat, etc., than have to put out a huge down payment and have to worry about the cost of maintenance on a home.

Anyone out there have any ideas where a single woman can live safely, in a weather climate better than KS, where the rents are in the $600/month or lower range?

I am not a 'party' person, not into traveling a lot, nor do I need to be on the go all the time. Also am not materialistic or into the night life scene. I am not into shopping and only buy clothes when they are really needed. I'm a person who is content and just looking for a place to "hang my hat" and be able to buy food, be safe and find full or part-time office work.

Maybe I'm just dreaming of the impossible. But there has to be others in a similar situation as I am. Not everyone has big bucks when the retirement age arrives.
How about Pittsburgh area or Illinois? I'm sure you can find something. New Mexico?

Greenie
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2007, 10:34 PM
 
Location: Oregon Coast
1,845 posts, read 6,844,172 times
Reputation: 1437
There are a few states that are often in the lists for most affordable; Places Like Texas,OHio,PA and WV. These states will have a lot of inexpensive cities in them.

You need to check them out to find a city that is the size that you'd like. You most likely have other things you'd want in a city besides being affordable. It's worth the time to check out some places before you decide to move. Good Luck!

Last edited by Waterlily; 10-05-2007 at 10:45 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2007, 10:35 PM
 
Location: southern california
61,289 posts, read 87,260,493 times
Reputation: 55556
Quote:
Originally Posted by katie45 View Post
I have read many informative posts on this Board about where to retire in the U.S. What I am seeing are retirees who already own a home (mortgage paid off), have either a dual pension income (married couple) or a huge pension as a single person, have health insurance provided by a former employer....and, these individuals are financially able to relocate and purchase another home or live in a retirement community that runs around $2-3k/month, or they are in a position that they can travel a lot, play golf, etc.

I am not in any of the situations listed above. I will be on a very limited income, I do not own a home (have never owned a home), will not have health insurance other than Medicare and whatever supplemental health insurance I can afford to purchase.

I will have to continue to work after starting to collect s/s when I turn 66, either part time or full time for as long as I am able to work. I would love to start collecting s/s prior to age 66...BUT, I cannot survive financially on the lower monthly benefit...and with the rules about what I can earn annually (prior to age 66)...I would not make it.

Therefore...I am looking for areas to relocate to (other than KS where I am now...terrible winter weather and HIGH taxes, etc.)...that would offer me as mild a climate as possible (am thru having to drive in the winter on ice/snow)...and looking for housing (apartment to rent) that is below $600/month. At my stage of life and looking at my finances, purchasing a home would not be feasible, it would be better to just rent. Mainly because it is better to use the money to eat, etc., than have to put out a huge down payment and have to worry about the cost of maintenance on a home.

Anyone out there have any ideas where a single woman can live safely, in a weather climate better than KS, where the rents are in the $600/month or lower range?

I am not a 'party' person, not into traveling a lot, nor do I need to be on the go all the time. Also am not materialistic or into the night life scene. I am not into shopping and only buy clothes when they are really needed. I'm a person who is content and just looking for a place to "hang my hat" and be able to buy food, be safe and find full or part-time office work.

Maybe I'm just dreaming of the impossible. But there has to be others in a similar situation as I am. Not everyone has big bucks when the retirement age arrives.
lake chapala in mexico?
stephen s
san diego ca
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2007, 10:45 PM
NCN
 
Location: NC/SC Border Patrol
21,662 posts, read 25,569,421 times
Reputation: 24373
Default City elevations

Quote:
Originally Posted by North Carolina Native View Post
North Carolina Cities by Senior Households

I found this on another thread. You can go to this website and find out all kinds of statistics about different states. Maybe it will have the information you need. I love statistics.

Top 100 Cities with Oldest Residents (pop. 5000+)

Some of the same information is on city-data.

The top website has the most elevated citys in a state. I don't remember seeing this information before. There is a typo in the North Carolina list. One city has an extra 0. The highest point in Eastern America is Mt. Mitchell at 6,684 feet, so 9 thousand has to be wrong. It is always good to recheck any information with other sources. I did not realize that North Carolina has so many more cities at higher elevations than the surrounding states. To get this elevation information, you have to click back to the states and choose NC then choose elevation of cities as a choice.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-06-2007, 01:27 AM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 28,893,285 times
Reputation: 19090
Cost of living is such a tricky thing to determine. The more I look into it, the more confused I get. States that have no income tax often sock it to you in other ways. Sometimes taxes can be low, but the general cost of living is higher.

Right now, the state I'm most interested in (Georgia) has a proposal for eliminating property tax, but increasing sales tax. I can't decide if that would be a good thing or a bad thing for a person like me. I would be a property owner, and that would be my biggest asset. OTOH I would be small potatoes compared to other property owners who would conceivably be contributing much more to the services I would be using.

What do you guys think? We are a married couple who would own a small house (probably in a 55+ community). We won't be working--our income will be our investments (mostly stocks/mutual funds). We won't be buying too many big ticket items anymore. And... being seniors we will need services such as good hospitals. We don't need schools, however.

So, knowing this, what do you think would be the best tax set up? No income tax? No property tax? Or, higher taxes because we would be be paying a relatively small piece of the pie and benefiting from better services?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-06-2007, 02:19 AM
 
Location: Knoxville, TN
2,171 posts, read 7,647,094 times
Reputation: 1537
It's not an easy equation to work out. It's not just income tax, but sales tax, property tax, personal property tax on your car, utility costs, food costs, gasoline costs, travel, medical, etc.
You've got to figure out what you would have to spend money on and where can you get the best value for that. When you quit working, spending needs change dramatically.
Property taxes in Tennessee are very, very low compared to the D.C. suburb where I owned a house: about 75% less for the same price home. Same for insurance. Both my car and house are much, much cheaper to insure.
My annual car registration in Georgia was $250. When I moved to Tennessee, the same car cost me $35 a year.
Electricity is very cheap here thanks to a lot of hydroelectric power. It's 7 cents a KWH and the milder climate means I don't have to run it as much.
I spend $60 a month for cooling/heating that cost me $200 in Georgia.
No income tax. But we have a high sales tax. I don't feel too affected by that since I don't buy a lot and I shop on the internet where I can get no tax because they don't operate in Tennessee.
We have good medical care. Knoxville has served as a regional medical center for many years and we have the University of Tennessee's hospital here. Also things like the Patricia Neal Rehab Center.
An excellent library system. In fact, it was cited by the New York Times as one of the top 10 in the country.
Flying places can get expensive. But that's not important to me. It's very easy to drive to places from Knoxville.
I really like the people in Knoxville and East Tennessee. People are willing to lend a hand if you need one, whether it's pushing a stalled car or helping haul home one of my auction finds. It makes life nice. I find I'm a much nicer, much friendlier person for living here.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-06-2007, 09:10 AM
NCN
 
Location: NC/SC Border Patrol
21,662 posts, read 25,569,421 times
Reputation: 24373
Knoxgarden,
You are so right! There are a lot of things in life that money can't buy. I remember working around people who had come from another part of the country I don't choose to mention here and wondering how someone came to act like they did. I wouldn't want to live in a place like that. It was sort of "dog eat dog." I love the people of Tennessee and the natives of North Carolina. I exercise with a couple of ladies from McMinnville, TN, and they are so well bred and sometimes funny. I have always been told that North Carolina is taxed very heavily. When you get retired there will not be a lot of concern about income taxes. Those sales taxes will really get the poor though. The last time I went to Fairfield Glade, I don't think I saw more than 4 Tennessee natives. Very different place than the last time we were there in 1998. I don't think you could pay me to live there now and I had been thinking about the possibility of moving there since my niece lives in Knoxville and she is more like my little sister.

The websites I posted above have been really interesting for me. I found places in North Carolina I did not know existed. There is a very small town on a lake in Southwestern North Carolina that must be a gated community. If you have to ask, I bet you can't afford to live there, but there were still homes there at $125,000? I think this will be our next adventure trip. I found another place near Raleigh that has "Oreo" cows. I just had to look that one up. I love city-data!

Last edited by NCN; 10-06-2007 at 09:24 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
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.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Retirement

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:18 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top