[Aville239]

I don't know where others are going but I would look at the western part of Hampshire county, all of Franklin county (other than Greenfield), or the less touristy parts of Berkshire county if you want a Vermont like rural area.

[in_newengland]

A lot of retirees are going to the Northampton MA area but it's on the expensive side. What you do get is lots of free entertainment due to the 5 colleges being located there--free lectures, concerts, all sorts of things. You can take classes. There is a thriving downtown area and a lot of things to do. Best part is that you are not isolated because everything is right there, compact.

Excise tax on cars but social security income is not taxed and there is no tax on food and clothing. I think the sales tax is 6% but the property taxes are relatively low, relatively compared to a place like NH.

[Eastvillage]

Very interesting to reward this forum as I have a 2nd home in Rutland area. Now we get the Heroin scourge.
Vermont has the worst economic policies. The state does everything to kill business. There is no opportunity for kids, hence the drugs. This is liberal economic policies imploding.
It's real pretty though, and love that 2nd Amendment!

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by Eastvillage

Very interesting to reward this forum as I have a 2nd home in Rutland area. Now we get the Heroin scourge.
Vermont has the worst economic policies. The state does everything to kill business. There is no opportunity for kids, hence the drugs. This is liberal economic policies imploding.
It's real pretty though, and love that 2nd Amendment!

Watch out, the progressives in Burlington, and parts of the Upper Valley, are trying hard to kill the second amendment here.

[cgregor]

I'm doing quite well in Vermont on a retirement income of $30,000 a year. What you ought to do is look up "livable wage Vermont." There's an MIT study that breaks it down by counties and household size. In my county a single person can get by on a wage of $9 per hour. (Burlington or Woodstock might be the most expensive.) This includes EVERYTHING EXCEPT health care. As you are probably a former union member as well as a public sector employee, health care expenses should not be a problem for you. In addition, if you weren't, in 2017 we will be starting a universal, affordable health care system, so it wouldn't be a problem for you then.

Median household income in my town is $38,000, for what it's worth. It might be like moving to Albania, where your income would raise you to the level of near-royalty.

As I advise everybody who's thinking of moving to Vermont, you can try to adjust to a community or you can move to a community you'd like to change to fit your expectations. The latter are much more affordable.

[cgregor]

Now,as for taxes:

This is what the richest woman in England has said about taxes:

"The fact remains that the first time I ever met my recently retired accountant, he put it to me point-blank: would I organise my money around my life, or my life around my money? If the latter, it was time to relocate to Ireland, Monaco, or possibly Belize.

"I chose to remain a domiciled taxpayer for a couple of reasons. The main one was that I wanted my children to grow up where I grew up, to have proper roots in a culture as old and magnificent as Britain’s; to be citizens, with everything that implies, of a real country, not free-floating ex-pats, living in the limbo of some tax haven and associating only with the children of similarly greedy tax exiles.

"A second reason, however, was that I am indebted to the British welfare state; the very one that Mr Cameron would like to replace with charity handouts. When my life hit rock bottom, that safety net, threadbare though it had become under John Major’s Government, was there to break the fall. I cannot help feeling, therefore, that it would have been contemptible to scamper for the West Indies at the first sniff of a seven-figure royalty cheque. This, if you like, is my notion of patriotism."

J.K. Rowling
As I pointed out, I do very well in Vermont paying taxes on a camp with 12 acres of forest as well as a home in the heart of town, on only $30,000 a year. Have you considered that maybe you're worrying about the wrong thing?

If saving on taxes is that important to you, then you don't really want to live in a state where we believe that taxes are an investment in clean air and water, great public schools, good (well, not so much in mud season) roads, good health for those who couldn't otherwise afford it, terrific libraries and innumerable programs of benefit to the elderly, school kids, infants, pre-schoolers, those looking for work, and entrepreneurs scraping to break even in only a couple more years.

We care about the old, the sick, the unlearned, the weak and the needy because either we've been there or we know someday we'll be there.

We can't do it all by ourselves, and we willingly vote funds upon funds every Town Meeting Day for the Humane Society, the Parent-Child Centers, the town orchestra, the Senior Centers, the Meals on Wheels, the hospices, the Parks and Recreation Department special budgets, the Reparative Justice programs, the after-school programs-- everything but the school budget (we need to vent somehow). We moved here because we don't believe he who dies with the most money wins.

Maybe New Hampshire would be better for you.

You'll probably find that you can really avoid taxes if you move to Texas. Okay, I'm just trying to punish you with that crack...

[FrugalYankee]

Originally Posted by cgregor

Now,as for taxes:

<snip>

As I pointed out, I do very well in Vermont paying taxes on a camp with 12 acres of forest as well as a home in the heart of town, on only $30,000 a year. Have you considered that maybe you're worrying about the wrong thing?

<snip>

We can't do it all by ourselves, and we willingly vote funds upon funds every Town Meeting Day for the Humane Society, the Parent-Child Centers, the town orchestra, the Senior Centers, the Meals on Wheels, the hospices, the Parks and Recreation Department special budgets, the Reparative Justice programs, the after-school programs-- everything but the school budget (we need to vent somehow).

Really? You have an income of less than $30,000 and you willingly vote for all the full services that a town budget can provide? And you "do it all" without outside help? Or are you making use of the relief programs available to low-income [sic] Vermonters whose income isn't exorbitantly higher than average and thus relying on others to finance these goodies?

"As explained in the Vermont Property Owners Report, homeowners with household income of less than $90,000 can qualify for reduced school taxes on their homestead, which is their primary residence and up to two acres of land. Due to a phase-out, some homeowners with household income up to $106,000 can get a partial property tax reduction. And Vermont homeowners with household incomes of less than $47,000 can qualify for a reduction in their property tax assessment and/or a rebate of property taxes."
Vermont Tax Breaks for Homeowners and Renters - Yahoo Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Originally Posted by cgregor

We moved here because we don't believe he who dies with the most money wins.

That would appear to be obvious. The attitude appears to be more in line with he who obtains gold-plated services from a town by using other people's money to do so is the one who "wins."

[CatwomanofV]

Originally Posted by RobSg

I posted on here before and got a couple of positive responses, but after reading severeal other posts on different threads, semi-retiring in Vermont has me a little nervous. I'm a retiring teacher.

Is retirement income taxed the same as if it were a salary? I have my own private retirement plan with TIAA-CREF, and will be receiving money every month after I retire. I know it's taxed at the federal level, but how much of that is taxed at the state level. I'm single and no house there yet.

My full retirement is more than $62,000/year with a 2% COLA, but will opt for $50,000/year instead so that my income in the future will be more substantial. I read a lot of complaints about taxes and cost of utilities, and that has me a little worried.

Where will I settle? I like to be close to Canada as possible- most likely St. Albans or Swanton area. I'm also hoping to get some part time work to keep myself busy, but many people here say that jobs are scarce. I would love to be a paraeducator and help out at schools with weaker students. I am a science teacher, by the way.

Thanks for any comments, positive or negative. Much appreciated.

Regards, Rob

I don't know if you are still around since you wrote this a few years ago. My husband also has a TIAA-CREF account. The thing is with TIAA-CREF, if there is anything left when you die, it reverts back to TIAA-CREF. My husband is in the process of rolling over his into another plan. It is a 10-year process which at this point is more than half-way there. After it is complete, if there is anything left over when he dies, he can will it to his heirs.

Just something to think about and you might want to talk to your financial adviser about it.



Cat

[DauntlessDan]

Something else to consider when moving to Vermont....

Vermont House Passes School Tax Increases - The Caledonian-Record - St. Johnsbury, VT

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by DauntlessDan

Something else to consider when moving to Vermont....

Vermont House Passes School Tax Increases - The Caledonian-Record - St. Johnsbury, VT

I will say it time and again: residents need to stay on top of the teacher and administrator contracts like hawks, or they will end up paying out ridiculous sums down the road. School taxes in my area in NYS have become so high that they have started to affect housing values. My total taxes in VT (Town and School) are under $5,000. Here in NYS, I am in the $10,000 range and increasing. Of that, about 70% is school tax!

Now with the push for the Common Core (Don't drink the Koolaid) schools will find themselves spending even more money on teacher training and materials.

There's only so much people will bear before they say enough's enough. People are leaving Long Island, and sure enough, if VT school taxes continue to go as they are, VT 2nd homeowners will look elsewhere.