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No sales tax might be great, but see how that's being made up for in other taxes...Remember, too, that for some people, it's best not to move to a new place for retirement. Consider where your loved ones are and be sure you won't end up feeling isolated and far from friends or family.
Right; that's why I specified ALL things considered (not just sales tax, but local and state taxes, taxes on pensions and SS, etc.).
I often wonder how many retirees who either stayed somewhere or moved somewhere "to be near family" live to regret that decision, especially if their family doesn't particularly want them nearby and/or have no intention of lending support when needed...
I pay $600 a year property taxes for my 2400sq ft house, and no income taxes.
Exactly, don't be fooled by the notion that Texas does not have an income tax... where else does any government entity get their money from? From you via confiscatory tax schemes, they just transfer it from your income to your home. A shell game. Plus my sales tax is 8.25%, not sure how that compares to other states, but I think it is high as well, though it varies by county. Some are really low, but not Houston. Plus we have Third World roads where I live. Or what do they say now, 'Developing Countries'?
I thought the M/D Line was in NJ which is where I lived for over 60 years. Now live in NC and from where I sit it is not the Bible Belt at least any longer. While I do see quite a few Thank You Jesus signs in the front yards it is not the Old South any more.
The Mason Dixon line originally divided Pennsylvania, West Virginia (then part of Virginia), Delaware and Maryland. New Jersey doesn't come into play. The Ohio River is traditionally thought of as an extension of that line since it divides the Northern and Southern states.
Here's one I just googled...the cheapest states in America 2020. Mississippi usually comes in 1st place.
Mississippi
Arkansas
West Virginia
Tennessee
South Dakota
Alabama
Kentucky
Ohio
South Carolina
Indiana
Yikes! That list is most of the states I would not live in. I spent summers in western Kentucky and that was an okay visit but not a place I would live. I will stay where I am: average or lower COL, taxes are slightly higher but there are services that go along with that. No personal property tax and RE tax is much lower than some places. Everything else appeals to me. Unless you are destitute, try to find a place that you really like and figure out how to afford it.
I'm quite frugal but shopping for a retirement location never began with the cheapest location. They are cheap for a reason.
Agreed. I start with a list of places that interest me, and then read about each one. Only if none of those "penciled out" would I start looking elsewhere.
I live in extreme northeast TN, about a mile from the VA state line.
Property prices are rising here, but still less than much of the rest of the country. Property tax rates are very reasonable. There is no state income tax. TN state sales tax is high - pushing 10% - but I do most of my shopping in VA. Outdoor pursuits are excellent. I have gig internet, 5G cell service, and all city utilities.
The big problem? The local culture is just extremely insular and conservative. The vast majority of people here haven't lived anywhere else or even traveled much. Perspectives are very limited. I'm a moderate Republican, and even I find the politics here to be quite extreme. I've lived in other areas and traveled a lot, and just have to shake my head at a lot of the things I hear locally.
The area is geographically isolated. With one exception, it's about an hour and a half from this area to any other metro of any significance. An international airport is a half day's drive away. Pro sports are the same. Medical care for anything sophisticated is questionable.
It's hard to even paint a region with a broad brush. There's a major difference, even in the local area, between Johnson City, which has the university, VA, and regional health system headquarters, and Kingsport, which is just a much more conservative "mill town." Johnson City is more progressive, more affluent, and has "suburban nice" qualities. Kingsport continues to trend downward. Johnson City is within an hour of much more progressive Asheville, NC - Kingsport is close to declining coal country communities in extreme western VA.
I think a lot of retirees from other places would be comfortable with Johnson City, but would be turned off by Kingsport.
For myself, I found property taxes to be much more important than sales taxes. You can control sales taxes to some extent by controlling your spending. I'm still in CA for another month and the sales tax here is somewhere between 9 and 10 percent. I still pay very little because I don't buy much. I'd have to spend $100,000 a year to pay $9000 in sales taxes.
Property taxes are a whole other animal. Once you buy your house, those taxes are out of your control and if you're not careful you can end up paying tens of thousands every year in property taxes just for a simple little house.
Some states control real estate taxes for seniors, veterans, and others, I'll quote Florida since I am very familiar after 40 years but don't live there now. When you buy and register as one of the protected classes your assessed value for taxes is locked down and will only rise a low % annually so that low-income elders can afford to continue living in their home even if the value goes up and therefore taxes increase.
Real estate tax increases need to be looked at for each state. Florida has a high percentage of oldsters and had to control this as widows were cutting RX pills to afford their taxes. Yes some millionaires take advantage since it is age-controlled but I think there's a cap on the amount.
Yikes! That list is most of the states I would not live in. I spent summers in western Kentucky and that was an okay visit but not a place I would live. I will stay where I am: average or lower COL, taxes are slightly higher but there are services that go along with that. No personal property tax and RE tax is much lower than some places. Everything else appeals to me. Unless you are destitute, try to find a place that you really like and figure out how to afford it.
To be fair there are many millions of people who live in these states and like living there. Some even have chosen to live there and could afford to live somewhere else. Our personal likes, needs and dislikes are all different. I'd never move to New Mexico for example but I don't tell other people not to move there. I know an entire family that lived in San Diego, moved to Arkansas and love it. They could have afforded to live almost anywhere.
Yikes! That list is most of the states I would not live in. I spent summers in western Kentucky and that was an okay visit but not a place I would live. I will stay where I am: average or lower COL, taxes are slightly higher but there are services that go along with that. No personal property tax and RE tax is much lower than some places. Everything else appeals to me. Unless you are destitute, try to find a place that you really like and figure out how to afford it.
My job has now gone fully remote.
I'm looking into other areas. Whether a city votes "red" or "blue" isn't so much an issue to me vs. whether or not the area is growing and progressing economically.
Greenville, SC is on my shortlist of cities. It's a mostly "red" area - a bit less so than here, but the difference is that the area is growing economically, and attracting new businesses and transplants, which brings fresh perspectives. The dining scene is excellent. Greenville has one of the nicest downtowns for any metro around that size anywhere in the country. New businesses and jobs are coming to the metro. It has the "middle class suburban shopping," like Costco, that I got used to living away from here, but which I do not have in east TN due to "unfavorable demographics."
There are many areas in "blue" VA I could live in - Richmond and its suburbs, Shenandoah valley, Charlottesville.
The bottom line is that I want some level of "movement of people," and not stagnancy. Unless the politics are truly extreme either way, it's not that huge of an issue.
Taxes are one thing to look into, but certainly not everything. Aside from the outdoor opportunities and the city of Johnson City itself, most of east TN east of Knoxville is a complete economic and cultural backwater. Sure, the taxes are low, but you get what you pay for, to an extent.
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Yes!
