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OK - I live in St. Johns County Florida - and the City of St. Augustine is our county seat.
St. Augustine is winding up on a lot of these "best retirement" lists these days. But that's a bunch of nonsense. The city of St. Augustine is very small - and consists mostly of some super high priced not what it's worth housing in the architectural preservation district - and some lower priced slum areas. Don't think most retired people want to deal with historically correct restorations - or slums either. Guess all these people writing about St. Augustine are sitting in publication offices in NJ and pulling it out of their a holes .
OTOH - our general geographical area is not at all unattractive for retirees. It's not the cheapest - but not the most expensive either when you take everything into account. Doesn't have the best weather - but it's not the worst either. Doesn't have the best in terms of amenities - but again not the worst. E.g., great medical facilities but no Bloomingdales.
Anyway - this neck of the woods is my turf - and I would be glad to answer questions about it. Robyn
What would you say in your opinion are the top 5 best spots to retire in Florida
I would definitely say Maryville TN area meets most of your criteria. Lots of nice homes at reasonable prices on small acreages (1-5 acres), crime is not a big issue, close to Knoxville but still has a country feel, good shopping options, few tornados on this end of the state. It's a very pretty area with low taxes and low utilities and is close to the lakes and mountains.
Perhaps the Roanoke, VA area might suit you. There is plenty of property that is rural in Roanoke county and several surrounding counties as well but not very far from the city.
There is a VA hospital in Salem, which is next to Roanoke City, but I don't know how large a facility it is.
Low incidence of natural disasters and winters are not overly long or bad.
Best wishes for finding just the right place to retire.
What would you say in your opinion are the top 5 best spots to retire in Florida
That is impossible to say - because there are so many people who want so many different kinds of things. I mean there are people like MMOB who loves his condo on Miami Beach - and other people who love The Villages. And I'm sure each thinks the other is nuts . OTOH - I wouldn't care for either living situation. And prefer my pretty suburban SFH in a relatively uncrowded part of Florida. On the third hand - I'm not fond of the winter weather here (too cool/cold for my taste). But - then again - I moved here from Miami and like tropical weather. So I'd need to know more about what someone was looking for before I made any recommendations. Robyn
Perhaps the Roanoke, VA area might suit you. There is plenty of property that is rural in Roanoke county and several surrounding counties as well but not very far from the city.
There is a VA hospital in Salem, which is next to Roanoke City, but I don't know how large a facility it is.
Low incidence of natural disasters and winters are not overly long or bad.
Best wishes for finding just the right place to retire.
I've liked Roanoke the times I've been there, but he would also have to pay for personal property tax on his vehicle, VA inspection, income tax, and possibly higher property tax. The same situation also applies to KY. That's not even mentioning the severe traffic enforcement and police presence in VA.
There are a lot of gorgeous areas in KY/VA, but the taxes are higher than TN, and TN will likely be cheaper, all things equal.
Arkansas would give me a 100 percent property tax exemption, plus no personal property tax on cars, and low utility rates....on paper, it nearly looks the best on paper, plus its beautiful in NWA, trouble is the tornadoes.
I am have read that TN gets hit pretty hard with tornadoes, most of the state, and I been to Knoxville, and that place looked like a dump, to be frank, but Oakridge was nice.
I was in New England in March and loved it. The heating bills give me pause as they can be as much as one's property taxes. ...
I wish our heating costs were as low as property taxes.
As I said heating costs stay around $1,000/year here. Obviously our property taxes are much lower. I do not pay any income taxes.
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