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Having not quite yet retired I did not realize until last night that Oregon does not tax Social Security. Maybe another good reason to max it out.
There is an initiative on the ballot for 2024 to Freeze Property Taxes on people 65 and older.
I live just minutes from Washington State that does not tax income, but, does have a sales tax. Washington tends to have a higher cost of living than Oregon. It may not be worth making that move; but, if you are downsizing it may be worth considering. Maybe when RMD's kick in (for me at 75) when I am also ready to downsize.
No state income tax in Texas so no taxes on social security.
OK, I fully understand, so you plan to keep a MA domicile. and you plan to sell your CA property due to the culture / personal safety issues that were unexpected, but are not getting resolved.
so... as mentioned... IF your concern is to reduce your massive capital gains hit on selling your CA property... you figure out how to mitigte that.
one solution for that I have used in 'Installment sale', and I incrementally stretch out my gains over many yrs, not significantly affecting my income taxes or my IRMAA. But... there are downsides to doing that (You don't have that huge capital asset to burn up and pay 30+ % tax on!).
It is but one of many solutions.
You determine which solution best meets your objectives. (and have a plan B and C).
I'm sure my 'financial guru' son would have a very simple solution. And I bet it would be...;
"Hey, you're done with that place, what's its best use value to your future plans?" He would then say... "Hire a property management company, and take your checks and FORGET about it. Your heirs (or charities) will get a 'step-up-basis' and can chose to keep it, or sell it, or exchange it. If you want some equity out of it... put a mortgage on it that will still cash flow positive. Mortgages are deductible, so a real benefit to keep your income low "
Such is the way with kids... definitely don't pull the same bonehead decisions as their parents, just set the objectives and execute.
I too am having to leave areas in the USA have have enjoyed for 50+ yrs. They've irreversibly changed, and so have I.
I have a few properties tied up in self directed IRA held LLC's, which will take some complicated manipulations. But I have just resolved those today (no tax hit, no direct / individual RMD required).
I am not firmly planning to sell, but I will need to sell if things don't change for better, and am preparing for that possibility. I should have a good idea by the end of the next year
No, I am not concerned about any massive capital gains hit. The capital gains would be modest, and I wouldn't have a problem paying the capital gains tax. It would be a cash sale (the same way I bought it for cash; the condo is small), and very straight-forward.
I am just bracing to process the emotional loss. And one more thing, showing how ridiculous things have become in San Francisco. I would have to move about 40 medium-sized boxes to the East Coast, mostly books, no furniture. I have found a reasonably priced small-load mover with good reviews..... but the problem is that moving trucks regularly get robbed in San Francisco now! I am basically scared to load a moving truck, with boxes of books! Because of the likelihood someone will show up with the gun, take the truck, and then dump my books somewhere (after realizing there is nothing valuable in the boxes), and demolish the truck. And the police will ignore it because it is so common, and the robbers would likely get off with only some counseling even if the police bothers to arrest them (which they frankly no longer bother with). That is what has been happening.
You could try writing "BOOKS" on the sides of the boxes.
That would be pointless. San Francisco thieves first take, then look through what they have taken, for anything of interest. That is why the city streets are full of discarded personal items from people's backpacks and suitcases.
I am not firmly planning to sell, but I will need to sell if things don't change for better, and am preparing for that possibility. I should have a good idea by the end of the next year
No, I am not concerned about any massive capital gains hit. The capital gains would be modest, and I wouldn't have a problem paying the capital gains tax. It would be a cash sale (the same way I bought it for cash; the condo is small), and very straight-forward.
I am just bracing to process the emotional loss. And one more thing, showing how ridiculous things have become in San Francisco. I would have to move about 40 medium-sized boxes to the East Coast, mostly books, no furniture. I have found a reasonably priced small-load mover with good reviews..... but the problem is that moving trucks regularly get robbed in San Francisco now! I am basically scared to load a moving truck, with boxes of books! Because of the likelihood someone will show up with the gun, take the truck, and then dump my books somewhere (after realizing there is nothing valuable in the boxes), and demolish the truck. And the police will ignore it because it is so common, and the robbers would likely get off with only some counseling even if the police bothers to arrest them (which they frankly no longer bother with). That is what has been happening.
I am not firmly planning to sell, but I will need to sell if things don't change for better, and am preparing for that possibility. I should have a good idea by the end of the next year
No, I am not concerned about any massive capital gains hit. The capital gains would be modest, and I wouldn't have a problem paying the capital gains tax. It would be a cash sale (the same way I bought it for cash; the condo is small), and very straight-forward.
I am just bracing to process the emotional loss. And one more thing, showing how ridiculous things have become in San Francisco. I would have to move about 40 medium-sized boxes to the East Coast, mostly books, no furniture. I have found a reasonably priced small-load mover with good reviews..... but the problem is that moving trucks regularly get robbed in San Francisco now! I am basically scared to load a moving truck, with boxes of books! Because of the likelihood someone will show up with the gun, take the truck, and then dump my books somewhere (after realizing there is nothing valuable in the boxes), and demolish the truck. And the police will ignore it because it is so common, and the robbers would likely get off with only some counseling even if the police bothers to arrest them (which they frankly no longer bother with). That is what has been happening.
FWIW, have you priced out sending your books by USPS?
One box at a time while you prepare for sale and during a selling/closing periods?
Ask someone/hire to pickup them and place in your home in BOS while you are in CA sending them? Or just store them for you for a bit at there place?
If the mail is on hold - the usps might just store it for you at their facility for 30 days
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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If it's the emotional aspect, one has to face the new reality... and make necessary choices. While I long for 'Colorful Colorado's, as it was for Ralph Moody (Little Britches & Home Ranch) and also for my ranch based childhood.... it's no more. It's Gone (acquired by fleeing Texans and Californians). We still are able to enjoy SF and SD by staying with locals friends in safe neighborhoods. But I do find Europe to be more peaceful and safe because there is not such a caustic, polarized society. Or, it's just less acted out, probably because they've been warring for centuries. Emotionally, leaving great friends will be the tough part. Places can be replicated, and I'll enjoy exploring and finding new friends and adventures. 2024 being a USA election year, means I'm out of USA, as much as possible, enjoying and learning from non-Americans. (Who know and care more about USA politics, than your USA neighbor.)
For your books... I have had great success on Craigslist, asked my for less than full moving trucks to haul my random items. Or I use U-ship.com or similar. Used books are very easy to replace. Most bookstores are currently offering; buy one - get 2 free.
As I depart one home this coming year, I will donate or sell nearly everything, and replace at my next destination. I will only keep art, antiques, tools that are inherited family heirlooms, and replace the rest. Eventually... it's all gonna burn, no one wants our stuff.
No, my Boston condo is nice enough, and I am a city type so not sure what I could be doing for longer blocks of time in Maine :-). It's all about travel, and SF is (was?) just another anchor for travels away from home on the other side of the country. Library sales of used books in SF used to be excellent too (the origin of the 40 boxes of books over 15 years :-), but even that has dried up and is now actually better in Boston.
If I sell SF, and decide to take my chance again with a secondary travel anchor in the US, it would be a desert city. If things go badly with California tax vote in Nov 2024, I'll have to redraw my mental map of the US to simply delete the West Coast. I'm alternatively thinking about Bangkok - the only downside of it is that Asia is so darn FAR... it takes forever to get there, which is really inconvenient if one wants to go back and forth throughout the year.
FWIW, have you priced out sending your books by USPS?
One box at a time while you prepare for sale and during a selling/closing periods?
Ask someone/hire to pickup them and place in your home in BOS while you are in CA sending them? Or just store them for you for a bit at there place?
If the mail is on hold - the usps might just store it for you at their facility for 30 days
It would not be a problem to pick up books in Boston, since I could simply mail the boxes one day before I return to Boston, and I would get to Boston before the books (I had done that a couple of times in the past with a single box of books). But I was told that USPS often loses books if many packages of them are sent at the same time, and I have every reason to believe that, particularly if something is sent from San Francisco where it is far more reliable to send mail by a homing pigeon than through the post office (which in SF is a black hole where things disappear without trace - you would not believe the degree of disorder and theft in the city, including postal theft or just plain total negligence).
Oy... it seems I can check out anytime I like but I can never leave....
If it's the emotional aspect, one has to face the new reality... and make necessary choices. While I long for 'Colorful Colorado's, as it was for Ralph Moody (Little Britches & Home Ranch) and also for my ranch based childhood.... it's no more. It's Gone (acquired by fleeing Texans and Californians). We still are able to enjoy SF and SD by staying with locals friends in safe neighborhoods. But I do find Europe to be more peaceful and safe because there is not such a caustic, polarized society. Or, it's just less acted out, probably because they've been warring for centuries. Emotionally, leaving great friends will be the tough part. Places can be replicated, and I'll enjoy exploring and finding new friends and adventures. 2024 being a USA election year, means I'm out of USA, as much as possible, enjoying and learning from non-Americans. (Who know and care more about USA politics, than your USA neighbor.)
For your books... I have had great success on Craigslist, asked my for less than full moving trucks to haul my random items. Or I use U-ship.com or similar. Used books are very easy to replace. Most bookstores are currently offering; buy one - get 2 free.
As I depart one home this coming year, I will donate or sell nearly everything, and replace at my next destination. I will only keep art, antiques, tools that are inherited family heirlooms, and replace the rest. Eventually... it's all gonna burn, no one wants our stuff.
MY used books are not easy to replace. It is a big collection of mostly travel books, mostly old and obscure, selected over a long time from donations to public library sales out of home libraries of old eccentric travelers that evidently used to live in San Francisco in large numbers, but evidently have been dying out (and/or leaving San Francisco). My kind of books don't have any market value in today's society, but it would be very difficult to replace them.
I am not firmly planning to sell, but I will need to sell if things don't change for better, and am preparing for that possibility. I should have a good idea by the end of the next year
No, I am not concerned about any massive capital gains hit. The capital gains would be modest, and I wouldn't have a problem paying the capital gains tax. It would be a cash sale (the same way I bought it for cash; the condo is small), and very straight-forward.
I am just bracing to process the emotional loss. And one more thing, showing how ridiculous things have become in San Francisco. I would have to move about 40 medium-sized boxes to the East Coast, mostly books, no furniture. I have found a reasonably priced small-load mover with good reviews..... but the problem is that moving trucks regularly get robbed in San Francisco now! I am basically scared to load a moving truck, with boxes of books! Because of the likelihood someone will show up with the gun, take the truck, and then dump my books somewhere (after realizing there is nothing valuable in the boxes), and demolish the truck. And the police will ignore it because it is so common, and the robbers would likely get off with only some counseling even if the police bothers to arrest them (which they frankly no longer bother with). That is what has been happening.
It has been years since I have done it, but it was substantially less expensive when I did use it.
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Maybe another good reason to max it out.
