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Escort sums it up pretty good. I can't figure out why anyone would want to use these rankings as a basis for retirement, unless you want to retire in a place that has a lot less of "those kinds of people". Besides, the weather in those high ranking states, like MN stinks most of the year. Who wants to spend retirement waiting for the weather to warm up and stop raining or snowing.
The weather where I live, In Vermont, is not terrible most of the year. Besides, some of us actually enjoy winter sports more than golf :-) It's a rare day in winter when I don't get out to either hike, cross-country ski, or snowshoe.
AZ works for us. Carry a gun pretty much any way you want to and live outside of the hot/crowded areas of Tucson and Phoenix area and stay happy.
We don't care about politics one way or the other.
We get 4 seasons at 5000' but little snow and we don't have the heat of the lower valley.
So many think AZ is Phoenix or Tucson and just don't have a clue.
Grew up very near the very nice climate of Napa, CA. I don't care for extremes having lived in many areas.
Do you really want to spend Winter in NH when you are 80 years old?
Most people have no experience of living in NH when 80 years old. So they move there, then grow older till they're 80, and then it's too late to move away, because of money issues and needing more help moving because of how old they are. But if 80-year-olds tell them they shouldn't retire there, how are they supposed to know whether to take that advice seriously? For all they know, those 80-year-olds might have other reasons than age to want to move away.
It's the tragedy of life: You have to be an expert at living to live well. But you have to live badly to become an expert. And then it's too late.
Do you really want to spend Winter in NH when you are 80 years old?
My parents did and my dad always claimed that all the physical work in winter kept him fit. I see an awful lot of old geezers out and about in Vermont in winter doing chores; if nothing else, it keeps you moving. Sure, people complain about the cold but most wouldn't live anywhere else. For many, moving away from family, friends and community is not enough reason to live in a warmer climate.
I spent the past two years in Massachusetts and then six months in Oregon, and am happy to be back home in Vermont. I hated finding new doctors (not easy, most not taking new patients), new dentist, new vet, new friends, and trying to navigate new cities. Sometimes the devil you know is preferable to the one you don't. But I am alone, and that makes it much more difficult. Maybe if I had a significant other to help with all the challenges that moving to a new state entails, I would feel differently.
Yeah, I hope people in New Hampshire earn a lot more money because they are going to need it.
New Hampshire comes in at #49 out of 51 in property taxes just behind New Jersey and Illinois with an average real estate tax of only $3,649!
You would think with an average of $304/month out of a social security check would really be an attraction to folks looking to retire on a fixed income!
I think the way they calculated the real estate tax was bogus, and some of the commenters to that story agree with me. "Real estate property tax rates were calculated by dividing the median real estate tax payment by the median home price. We than used the rates in order to obtain the dollar amount paid as real estate tax for a house worth $173,200 – the median value for a home in U.S."
They list NJ's average real estate tax as $3,971. Just about everyone I know in NJ would sell their soul to have such a low real estate tax! According to nj.com, "the average taxpayer forked over $8,354" in property tax in 2015.
Rankings based on education, health and wealth. As a retiree this listing IMO is useless. If someone is considering a place to move they should visit it for an extended period.
I agree it's useless for picking out a place to retire.
And, since you don't typically circulate all over a state, consider TN for a minute. OK, maybe overall it has some problems, but the area around Oak Ridge has plenty of well-educated, healthy, wealthy people.
I think the way they calculated the real estate tax was bogus, and some of the commenters to that story agree with me. "Real estate property tax rates were calculated by dividing the median real estate tax payment by the median home price. We than used the rates in order to obtain the dollar amount paid as real estate tax for a house worth $173,200 – the median value for a home in U.S."
They list NJ's average real estate tax as $3,971. Just about everyone I know in NJ would sell their soul to have such a low real estate tax! According to nj.com, "the average taxpayer forked over $8,354" in property tax in 2015.
In northern NJ, where I hail from originally, an annual property tax bill of $10-12,000 is pathetically common.
#1 reason we will not be retiring in NJ: Property Taxes
#2 reason we will not be retiring in NJ: Weather!
When our NoNJ taxes topped 10K/yr (in 2006) we moved. I can't even imagine what they would be now, ten years later. And we didn't even have a grand house. .06 acres, 1800 sq ft house, build 75 years prior to our purchase, one car garage (it BARELY fit our small sedan).
Our #1 and #2 reasons to not move back to NoNJ are the same as yours!
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