may retire to texas (Houston, San Antonio: rentals, house insurance, coop)

[MDTAZ]

Hi -my wife and I are retired and are thinking of retiring to Texas from Va.

How is the medical care ,cost of living etc.
I hear there is not state tax but insurance fees are high

Things I like to do
Bass Fishing
Golf
RVing
Motorcycle riding
leather working
BBQ and cooking
Photography
It`s not like I`m gone a lot because I take care of my disabled wife so I stay home a lot too.

For fishing I`ve heard the Tyler-Longview area would be good-also good medical care there.
Also hear west Texas area is good too-North west of San Antonio.

Any suggestions on other areas?

thanks

[Mark Senior]

As you can tell by my "handle". Tyler should be good for you, drive in most any direction and it's scenic, not high hills like the Hill Country except to the South toward Jacksonville or a two or three hour trip to the mountains of Southeast Oklahoma and Arkansas. Bass fishing is "aplenty" and nearby. A big consideration for retires is Medical Care, the only Level I Truma Center in East Texas is in Tyler as well as the other medical center is Level II as well as many, many specialists and the city property tax rate is the lowest of any city over 15,000 pop in Texas. A debt free city. All types of housing, large selection, and one of the most beautiful areas in Texas hands down, Azaleas, Dogwoods, Tulip and Wisteria etc in the Spring and Rose in late Spring and Fall the largest municipal l rose garden in the country. A really nice Zoo very wheelchair accessible. Maybe a little like beautifull Virginia. Four or Five Golf Courses several three inside the city limits. One new, The Cascades where there is one of the three Jack Nicklaus Academy's, home of Texas State Open and HollyTree, and Willowbrook Golf Courses all about 4 miles apart. Anymore? Come visit !!

[MDTAZ]

Thanks for reply Mark-

I hope to visit later this year have family in Waco and Texas City, but they have never been to Tyler.

[rwr]

MDTAZ, the Hill Country north-west of San Antonio is a great place to retire. All the things you like to do are readily available in Texas. Check out Kerrville-Fredricksburg area ,all the way west to Leakey-Camp Wood area. All are an easy 1 to 2 hr. drive to San Antonio that has 1st class medical facilities, the river walk, Sea World, Fiesta Texas, a top-rated zoo, lots of golf courses, tons of historic sites,etc.
You might want to brush-up on your BBQ skills because we Texans are mighty proud of our BBQ. Welcome to Texas, truly God's country.

[MDTAZ]

Thanks rwr--only need to talk the wife into it--all her family is here in Va.

I have family in Waco,Texas City and have been there a few times and loved it also when I was little my step dad was stationed in San antonio,

I was at lackland Afb and Sheppard Afb back in the 70s.
So I know Texas--it`s just been awhile..

[jtur88]

If retiring in Texas, buyinbg a home is punitive.

Many retires are on a lower income than they had before, so much lower that it is likely that they have very little income tax liability. People only on Social Security probaby have no income tax liability at all, in most states. So you save nothing by moving to Texas and going from zero to zero tax liability.

However, in Texas, property taxes are very high, making up for the revenue shortfall in income taxes. If you buy a home here, you WILL have to pay that high tax in property taxes, while you did not save anything by paying no income taxes.

This has discouraged me from even thinking about buying here. I'm happy enough to rent, and outside the major cities, rentals are quite inexpensive here.

[MDTAZ]

jtur88--
I`ll rent for a year or so to feel out the areas and like the flexibility of moving if the area goes in the crapper.

[texdav]

You might also like it in the toledo bend/sam rayburn lake area. It has great bass fishng;golf;alot of trail riding motorcycles. The taxes are not high there and its really nice near the lakes.Plus no state income tax. Of course its in Texas so good barbeque.Beaumont about a hour away and Jasper even closer.Houston ;one of the top medical centers in the country is about 2 hrs 15 minutes away by car.Good Luck

[jtur88]

Originally Posted by texdav

Of course its in Texas so good barbeque.

Even more important, its close to Louisiana, so good crawfish nearby.

[bhicks]

groups.yahoo.com/group/LakeOPines is our place. We have been here for four years. Taxes are low in Marion County. Our house insurance (190k coverage) is 1000 a year and so is our 2 auto ins coverage. Property taxes are less than 600. The electric company out here is a coop and rates are less then 10 cents a kwh. The phone/140 channel tv and 1.5 meg internet is 100 a month.

We are looking to trade for something closer to NC where family is located.