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Old 03-19-2012, 01:35 PM
 
Location: Shelby Township, Michigan
3 posts, read 4,770 times
Reputation: 14

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Hi all, My husband and I are heading into retirement in two years and we are looking for a place that has moderate to low humidity and much warmer than Michigan winter temperatures. We have a daughter who lives in the Dallas area and don't know if Texas would be the place for us to retire. My husband has sever arthritis and needs the warmth and lower humidity. We are also looking into Arizona and the New Mexico region although I think New Mexico is a little to cool in the winter. Any suggestions out there? Thank you.
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Old 03-19-2012, 02:39 PM
 
Location: West Texas
2,449 posts, read 5,929,744 times
Reputation: 3125
Pat,

I lived in a town called San Angelo. It's in west Texas (about 3 hours east-southeast from Midland/Odessa, 4 hours west-southwest of Dallas, and 3 1/2 hours north-northwest of San Antonio).

There's a population of only about 90,000, but we have most things you would want for immediate needs (2 hospitals, several clinics, 2 super Walmarts, Lowes, 15 screen movie theater, etc.).

There are a lot of retirees (mostly from east Texas (Dallas, Houston, Austin) and oil money retirees) that come here to retire. Housing costs are less than most any place in Michigan, and there are some retirement communities specifically for the senior population.

The weather here is normally dry and hot. Last year we had a particularly warm year. Since we're not near any coast, there's no real humidity except for that which you'd expect from rainy/overcast when it does rain here.

If you have any specific questions, I'd be glad to answer. Give me a hollar and good luck on your search!
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Old 03-19-2012, 02:39 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
1,825 posts, read 2,810,079 times
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I'll tell you what everybody in Austin says, which is that Austin is just as hot but not as humid as Houston or Dallas (with Dallas being less humid than Houston).

Then I'll tell you what everybody in Dallas and Houston inevitably adds: it doesn't make a tremendous difference, Texas is hot!

Some things about TX make it a good retirement state -- low cost of living usually tops the list. But the property taxes are some of the highest in the country (to make up for lack of an income tax) and while you do get certain exemptions for being over 65 -- I think it's something like the appreciation on your property doesn't get applied to your taxes but the difference between what you paid and what you would have paid is taken out of your estate when you're, uh, done retirement.

My in-laws moved to Austin to retire and love it but they did a pretty good job saving throughout their lives. If you're anticipating living on a fixed income ... TX may not be the way to go.
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Old 03-19-2012, 02:57 PM
 
Location: West Texas
2,449 posts, read 5,929,744 times
Reputation: 3125
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aquitaine View Post
My in-laws moved to Austin to retire and love it but they did a pretty good job saving throughout their lives. If you're anticipating living on a fixed income ... TX may not be the way to go.
I'm not saying anything against Aquitaine, because he/she is correct about property taxes being higher. But, as he/she also stated, there is no state income tax.

Additionally, in response to his/her statement quoted above, remember he/she is also talking about a major city in Texas. Things are always more expensive when you live in a large city.

There is quite a large retirement community here in San Angelo (and I'm sure other smaller cities), and the cost of living is quite affordable. Don't want you to be scared away from a good possibility based on financial inputs from one of the most expensive cities in Texas.

We (one of the smaller cities, or Texas in general) may not be the fit you are looking for. But I hope you take the time to look at all we have to offer as a state before you make decisions based on one or two cities/towns.

Again... good luck!

~Rath
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Old 03-19-2012, 03:00 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
1,825 posts, read 2,810,079 times
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They're not just higher, they're the second highest in the country after New Jersey, last I looked. Housing prices themselves are very reasonable, though (particularly outside the major cities as Rathagos pointed out)

But I would hope that wouldn't scare anyone away as there are more than a few reciprocal perks. Really, property taxes are the only strike against TX as a retirement state that I can think of without getting into personal preferences like climate.
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Old 03-19-2012, 05:49 PM
 
Location: Central Texas
578 posts, read 1,220,662 times
Reputation: 776
I'd second Rathagos, San Angelo is a good town. Know many people that have retired there.
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Old 03-19-2012, 07:56 PM
 
Location: Kaufman County, Texas
11,816 posts, read 26,657,615 times
Reputation: 10537
I will also add a recommendation for San Angelo. When I went to ASU, there were a lot of retirees in town, and they really enjoyed going to the university's concerts, theatre programs, etc. The climate is pretty dry out there, too. San Angelo also has the Baptist Memorial Hospital, which is one of the nation's best geriatric medical centers.
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Old 03-19-2012, 09:47 PM
 
Location: Pflugerville
2,211 posts, read 4,828,505 times
Reputation: 2242
What Aquitane is mentioning above is something you really need to consider. A lot of people DO retire to Texas, but Texas has some real cons for retirees.

Yes, Texas does NOT have a state income tax. As you will be retired and have no income, what do you care? This does not effect you.

Texas has a HUGE property tax rate. As you will probably own a house, this DOES effect you. And when I say huge, I mean like 3.8%. In case you think I am exaggerating, just know that a $200,000 house (probably modest by Michigan standards) will cost you $7,600 a year in JUST taxes, not upkeep. And that will be for the rest of your life, and will only increase as your house appreciates. Factor in only 2% of the houses value that you will need to do in upkeep each year (try to keep a lawn alive down here...) and you can easily push $10,000 a year in JUST TAXES and upkeep on your home, for the rest of your life...and that number only gets higher every year, it never really gets lower. When you are 85 will you have a spare $1000 a month to set aside only for taxes? Not counting medicine, insurance, groceries, going out....Does your budget allow for this?

Texas is also a very low service state. There are not many state programs that help retirees with medical expenses or anything along those lines. This may not affect you, but it is something you should consider, especially considering your husband has a chronic condition. You will need to purchase or have private insurance thru some source. You never want to be in a position to have to rely on the state or government programs. This is something that may not affect you now, but what happens if one of you passes on, and the other lives another 20 years?

In a PERFECT world, you spend your 18-58 years in Texas working and building up your wealth where there is no state income tax on your earnings and you can get a nice house for cheap and you don't have to go to the doctor much....then you retire somewhere nice; where you can afford an expensive house because you have been saving all your life, and also not get charged an arm and a leg in property taxes, and that also has a lot of government programs designed to help new retirees (and eventually elderly residents that might not be able to take care of themselves).

It sounds to me like you have gone about this backwards.

Not that you can really control that now, but it is something you NEED to think about when you are going to retire. There are many lovely places in Texas that already have a lot of retirees, so you will be able to establish a social circle, but that is true elsewhere as well, and in places that don't have the cons that I am outlining above.

I wish you the best of luck!

Last edited by JayBrown80; 03-19-2012 at 09:56 PM..
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Old 03-20-2012, 12:35 AM
 
74 posts, read 236,855 times
Reputation: 71
May I suggest you look at Fredericksburg, TX, maybe Marble Falls, TX.
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Old 03-20-2012, 07:18 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
1,825 posts, read 2,810,079 times
Reputation: 1627
FYI, 3.8 must be the very highest end - the range is from around 1.9 up (with most of Austin 'proper' at around 2.13). Tough to get a good picture because it can vary from one block to the next, though usually you can see what the range is within a particular county.
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