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.
Re: Pennsylvania - is there a nice-sized town on the northeast side of PA that offers good shopping, small town activities (festivals, farmers market) and near a good medical center? My son lives in Liverpool NY and I would love to be within a couple of hours of him but would also love the low taxes of PA.
Look at Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, and (especially) the Lehigh Valley region.
This reminds me of a House Hunters episode on HGTV....
All of the "perfect" places will exceed your budget or distance to towns and healthcare.
Something has to give here.
I am guessing if you move your budget to closer to all in at $200k you can probably find something more realistic or plan on living at least 1.5 hours away from strong medical facilities and 25k+ populations
This reminds me of a House Hunters episode on HGTV....
All of the "perfect" places will exceed your budget or distance to towns and healthcare.
Something has to give here.
I am guessing if you move your budget to closer to all in at $200k you can probably find something more realistic or plan on living at least 1.5 hours away from strong medical facilities and 25k+ populations
Absolutely.
I can't tell you the number of posts I've read over the last couple of months where someone from outside the area (and almost always from outside the South, and from an expensive, wealthy state like CA/IL/NY etc.) wants to move to somewhere CHEAP (that's always number one, and always capitalized) and throws Tennessee in the mix, often having never even seen the state outside the tourist areas, if they've been at all.
Folks, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You're going to be hard-pressed to find any land in east TN for under $1,000/acre in even the most rural of areas, and that will usually be nearly unbuildable mountain/hill land, with no water or electricity near the land. Bottom or pasture acreage is going to run $2,000 - $3,000/acre, even in the rural counties, and often more if you have direct street access without needing a right-of-way/easement. Obviously the closer you get to larger towns, the more the price goes up still.
This is what you're going to be living in if you want to be in for several acres at under $75,000 and not be in a trailer in Tennessee. It's not going to be pretty and your life will probably suck. Compromises will have to be made - amount of land, your budget, type of home, etc. The #1 thing is that if you are coming from a place where you should be equity-rich (at least compared to Tennessee) and you STILL cannot afford a house in a "normal" price range in an area like this, you aren't financially ready to retire. Period. The least little thing will sink you.
People get the idea that just because an area has low taxes, that it is automatically low cost of living. Tennessee often gets mentioned due to its low taxes. While property taxes are very low and there is no tax on earned income, not everything is cheap.
Groceries, particularly in areas that do not have a lot of agriculture (like here), are likely to be more expensive in rural areas (particularly if they are not "en route" to a more major area) than in metropolitan areas of the same general region. That is largely due to increased transport costs and a lack of competition. Many staple items I buy - frozen chicken, milk, bread, eggs, etc. - are often at least 30% more than what I paid in suburban Indianapolis. Some items, like milk, are double or more. I took a grocery list to Knoxville, TN a few weeks ago, and most items on that list were at least 20% cheaper there than here. My car insurance nearly tripled coming back to TN from IN. When I asked my insurance agent about the disparity, he said it was most likely due to increased crime and claims, largely from drugged drivers, in this area vs. where I was in Indiana.
Overall, I think it's going to be quite a bit cheaper to live somewhere rural in Indiana or Ohio than Tennessee. While taxes may be higher, other items are likely to be substantially less expensive, resulting in a lower overall cost of living.
That house I linked has an IGA (budget/low end grocer) probably ten to fifteen minutes away. That's it. The nearest Walmart is probably in Rogersville and that's close to a half hour away. Doctor's appointments? You're going back to Kingsport, which is at least an hour away. Need a hospital? Well, there is a community hospital in that county, but anything serious is going back to Kingsport. Want cell service? It's basically unavailable from Mooresburg/Bean Station all the way to the KY line, even with Verizon.
A lot of folks seem to be completely unfamiliar with small town/rural living and asinine requirements get posted over and over.
We have a friend who is a retired nurse, he wanted to make goat cheese. They found an 80 acre farm with a huge farmhouse and barn, pretty much all setup for a small dairy operation, for $80k. They are a big hit at one local Farmer's Market. They have received a lot of awards for organic artisan cheeses.
Taxes can be higher in “conservative” areas too. It largely depends on the tax-base. If the prevailing wages and property-values are low, tax-rates must be high, to generate the revenue to keep the kids in school, the snow-plows and the fire-trucks going. The more-affluent retiree moving to a less-affluent area is going to become a source of revenue for the overall community. Thus there’s merit to selecting one’s eventual locale, where one is part of the proverbial bottom-half, and not the top-half. That $75K house may well cost $2500 in annual property taxes.
As for the political/philosophical side of things, rural areas overwhelmingly tend to be conservative, regardless of the state, or area of the country. Rural California is more conservative than urban Alabama. But in a truly rural area, such things are comparatively less important, since the whole idea is to engage in fewer social interactions, keeping maximally to one’s self, and so, even potentially fractious disagreements would matter less. Much more problematic is settling within a town, where maybe the overall town is small in population, but frequent casual interactions are inevitable.
My wife and I are planning to retire, on a budget... Can anyone suggest any good low cost states to retire? Also where can I get the information about sales tax rates, property tax rates, etc?
Thank you for any help and/or advice.
Don't underestimate the value of weather. If you're used to California weather, it's going to be challenging to get used to a continental humid climate.
Other than that, your cost structure is the most limiting factor. If you build in compromise on what you're expecting, you may be better off. For example, you could put yourself into a single-level condo almost anywhere except the coasts, and be happy as a clam. At $75k for home and property, you're even priced out of moderately-priced metros like Phoenix.
You might consider Spokane, WA. It's in the more conservative eastern part of the state, has a snowy winter (but nothing like the hard winter you get in MPLS), no state income tax, and has a VA hospital. No idea on property costs, but there might be something for you.
You could also consider Reno. It has a VA hospital, moderate year-round climate, hotter summers. No state income tax. I don't particularly like the area, but it might work for you.
Or maybe the suburban margins of Jacksonville FL? Depending on your timeline, that might work. No state tax, moderate cost of living, reasonable weather, possible fit for property cost. They just funded a new VA clinic there that will be ready for patients in 5 years. However, the Veterans Choice program would let you seek out care outside of the VA system.
Good luck with your retirement, and here's hoping you find a good solution.
Taxes can be higher in “conservative” areas too. It largely depends on the tax-base. If the prevailing wages and property-values are low, tax-rates must be high, to generate the revenue to keep the kids in school, the snow-plows and the fire-trucks going.
It is all about the tax-base, though the tax-base is dependent on the population.
The town to our immediate West [Alton] has a volunteer FD, no PD, contributes to a multi-town school district, they provide snow plowing and garbage pickup. That is about all the town provides, so their tax mill-rate is low.
The town to our South [Old Town] has a paid FD and PD, along with snow plowing and garbage pickup. Their residents have also demanded a riverside park with a children's water feature [sprinklers set to motion sensors]. They have a library and a Rec department. Their highschool has a competition rifle marksmanship team and the pool has a professional diving team coach. They also have an extensive track and field program. This town's tax mill-rate is significantly higher. It is higher because the voters there have demanded that their town provide a selection of extra services.
As of the 2000 census Alton's median income for a household was $35,263. The per capita income for the town was $14,204.
Old Town's median income for a household was $29,886. The per capita income was $16,100.
I do not think that tax mill-rates are driven by wages. They are driven instead by people attending town council meetings demanding higher taxes to provide more services.
Quote:
... The more-affluent retiree moving to a less-affluent area is going to become a source of revenue for the overall community. Thus there’s merit to selecting one’s eventual locale, where one is part of the proverbial bottom-half, and not the top-half. That $75K house may well cost $2500 in annual property taxes.
An affluent retiree is no more targeted for property tax revenue than anyone else.
If you bought the most expensive house in town, obviously you would be paying the most in taxes for that house.
If your town's average house price is $80k, and you buy a $80k house, then you will be paying an average amount of taxes for that house. You could just as easily have bought a $40k house instead.
We have a friend who is a retired nurse, he wanted to make goat cheese. They found an 80 acre farm with a huge farmhouse and barn, pretty much all setup for a small dairy operation, for $80k. They are a big hit at one local Farmer's Market. They have received a lot of awards for organic artisan cheeses.
All that is going to depend on local land values. Land in rural Maine is probably going to be in less demand than mountain land in TN. The prices you quoted are not going to be achievable in the vast majority of areas.
I've heard this story before. I'd suggest Shangri-La or Utopia.
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.
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.
