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04-25-2015, 07:07 AM
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#1
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 1,867
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Where to retire II
I've started a new topic because we've come to far afield. The Knoxville area seems to be a viable option, we vacationed in an incredible cabin in the hills near pigeon forge a few years back. We took a wrong turn on the way home and was a bit disturbed By some of the of poverty we observed. Same thing happened in Florida oh my those shacks...sad.
My kids and relatives are will be on the East coast so let's forget loverly California for a bit. I've focused my wish list a bit..
1. Single floor living - prefer if I didn't have neighbors too close but if there is a clubhouse I'm flexible.
2. Crime - obviously I don't want to move to a war zone gated community might be nice.
3. Don't want to continue pay $9k in property taxes
4. My wife needs some kind of shopping within 1/2 hour (Home Depot/ Lowes for me)
5. Some kind of entertainment/culture venues within 45 minutes. We seen over the past two years - Billy Joel, Jersey boys...Jack and the dream catcher...
6. Fishing.. Not to far - I gave that up to get my kids in a great school district. Yeah It paid off.
7. Friendly people... My two next door neighbor finally met after living across from each other for 15 years. That to me is sad.
8. Better climate ..looks like Knoxville averages 7 degrees warmer every month in the winter then here in SE Penn. This morning my gas stoves are keeping it toasty inside; we shut the main heat off - now that seems a bit optimistic (home my tomatoes don't freeze in the green house) - it's 40 outside. I note it is 54 in Knoxville. I studied the monthly average temperatures and it Seems like winter is considerably shorter there. Hey one thing to consider there are no right and wrong answers ... Personal Preference is way too diverse.
Lots to consider thanks to all who made suggestions... Now how to I get the Mrs to make a 9 hour drive to Knoxville area. For a more serious look see.
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04-25-2015, 07:15 AM
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#2
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,019
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Duluth, MN meets all of your criteria, with the caveat that to me, "better climate" means coolish-summers without stifling humidity, and I enjoy winter.
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04-25-2015, 07:23 AM
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#3
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 1,867
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Where to retire II
Minnesota? With all due respect- Dude are you crazy? I hate the cold. Very often the weatherman says its minus whatever in international falls ...
I don't want to go anywhere where the car needs an electric blanket...Sweet Moses No!
Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum
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04-25-2015, 07:43 AM
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#4
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,204
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I found these sites very helpful for narrowing the options, especially the first two, the third is more helpful for subsequent research. You can enter your specific wants & needs and the sites will give you places to consider.
Find Your Spot | Find Your Spot
Best Places to Live | Compare cost of living, crime, cities, schools and more. Sperling's BestPlaces
City-Data.com - Stats about all US cities - real estate, relocation info, crime, house prices, cost of living, races, home value estimator, recent sales, income, photos, schools, maps, weather, neighborhoods, and more
I don't find the periodic web/magazine article/lists to be very useful, because they're unlikely to be based on wants & needs of the reader, and often those criteria are not even disclosed.
Best of luck...
__________________
No one agrees with other people's opinions; they merely agree with their own opinions -- expressed by somebody else. Sydney Tremayne
Retired Jun 2011 at age 57
Target AA: 50% equity funds / 45% bonds / 5% cash
Target WR: Approx 1.5% Approx 20% SI (secure income, SS only)
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04-25-2015, 07:52 AM
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#5
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Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 22,973
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Midpack
I found these sites very helpful for narrowing the options, especially the first two, the third is more helpful for subsequent research. You can enter your specific wants & needs and the sites will give you places to consider.
Find Your Spot | Find Your Spot
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You should be aware that you will need to "join" Find Your Spot by creating an account and giving them information. You don't find out about this requirement until after you have run through their multi-question survey.
__________________
Living an analog life in the Digital Age.
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04-25-2015, 08:02 AM
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#6
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,473
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rayinpenn
Lots to consider thanks to all who made suggestions... Now how to I get the Mrs to make a 9 hour drive to Knoxville area. For a more serious look see.
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Maybe ask her about her dreams for a new retirement house, if she has any? Get her involved. Oh, and also make it seem more like a vacation than a chore to go there. Think of some things she might like to do there. Use the words "explore" and "adventure" a lot.
At least, that is what would work for me.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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04-25-2015, 08:09 AM
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#7
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 1,867
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Where to retire II
Manipulation! How do you live with yourself?
I'll do it. Thanks
Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum
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04-25-2015, 09:04 AM
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#8
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 12,597
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This is an issue in NC also...developers acquire a parcel of land and build a couple dozen beautiful houses, conveniently adjacent to those who are bound to resent them and/or see them as treasure boxes for burglary.
Come to think of it, the same thing is found in western PA where we were looking for a while.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rayinpenn
I've started a new topic because we've come to far afield. The Knoxville area seems to be a viable option, we vacationed in an incredible cabin in the hills near pigeon forge a few years back. We took a wrong turn on the way home and was a bit disturbed By some of the of poverty we observed. Same thing happened in Florida oh my those shacks...sad.rum
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__________________
If you understood everything I say, you'd be me ~ Miles Davis
'There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.’ Christopher Morley.
Even a blind clock finds an acorn twice a day.
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04-25-2015, 09:41 AM
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#9
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Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 11,447
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I would look at Venice , Fl. It has tons of friendly people . A historic downtown with outdoor restaurants , shops and a nice theater . It has recently been discovered and is building up which is the only downside otherwise it is perfect . Your wife will be in shopping heaven with the local stores & a nearby mall . You will be in fishing heaven & home depot is there.
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04-25-2015, 09:59 AM
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#10
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Syracuse
Posts: 3,501
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I saw a nice ranch in gated golf course community in Myrtle Beach last trip that meets everything on your list. I am going to continue looking. Seems the whole town revolves around golf though - Not my sport.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app
__________________
“No, not rich. I am a poor man with money, which is not the same thing"
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04-25-2015, 10:03 AM
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#11
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 355
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For mild, four seasons of weather, I look where latitude meets altitude--towns in the edge of mountains, perhaps an hour or two from a larger city with urban amenities. Some of them have more expensive real estate in a cheaper state, so the cost is not high, just above the state-wide average.
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04-25-2015, 11:12 AM
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#12
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,204
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gumby
You should be aware that you will need to "join" Find Your Spot by creating an account and giving them information. You don't find out about this requirement until after you have run through their multi-question survey.
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True, thanks I'd forgotten, though all they asked for was an email address IIRC.
__________________
No one agrees with other people's opinions; they merely agree with their own opinions -- expressed by somebody else. Sydney Tremayne
Retired Jun 2011 at age 57
Target AA: 50% equity funds / 45% bonds / 5% cash
Target WR: Approx 1.5% Approx 20% SI (secure income, SS only)
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04-25-2015, 11:29 AM
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#13
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,581
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Trying to leave SE PA? Do they have winters there? Just kidding, but move up to NW PA and you'll get to know real winters. The daffodils are finally out and my sugar maples have just a hint of green on the end of the branches. And Lake Erie lost it's last ice today!
During my "career" job, spent 20 years in Huntsville, AL and grew to love it. About 200K folks, many who moved there supporting the space program. Fishing & boating nearby at Lake Guntersville, went on a lot of backpacks in Tennessee (Big South Fork, Smokies, AT, property taxes were 30% of what I pay in PA. (but they collect other ways). Real winter measured in a few weeks at most. Two hours to Nashville, Chattanooga, or Birmingham. Per capita income very high for Alabama as standard for newcomers they were either software specialists or engineers. DW and I have talked of , once boys out of HS, spending like two months of winter in Huntsville. It's far enough from the gulf that humidity is not bad, would rather spend a summer in Huntsville than in steaming DC.
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04-25-2015, 11:45 AM
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#14
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,473
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Midpack
True, thanks I'd forgotten, though all they asked for was an email address IIRC.
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Surely it is more than that. I don't actually remember what they required, but I do know that I wouldn't mind giving out an e-mail address. Even this forum has that from me. But I did mind their requirements and therefore have not joined despite filling out their survey numerous times. I am so forgetful.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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04-25-2015, 11:57 AM
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#15
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: San Diego
Posts: 712
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I read through the last thread, but didn't comment. Someone mentioned culture as an important variable to consider and I think that was spot on. The thread deteriorated into a lot of California bashing and defending, but if you know the players, it was red view vs. blue view respectively. I have lived in Alabama and Georgia briefly and was not comfortable in either. I could, however, happily live in any of the cities between San Diego and Vancouver, BC. You really need to take those cultural issues into account when you make your decision as well as weather issues, etc.
My parents were shocked when they moved from "high tax" California to a "lower tax" state and discovered that the taxation of SS and other increased taxes and expenses (MC supplement, car insurance and reg) actually increased their total outgo, despite the lower top income tax bracket (which they don't pay, anyway). Trying to project total expenses can be difficult and articles like the Forbes (IIRC) article about tax-friendly states for retirees often distort the real situation along the usual red-blue divide. I saw an article by some academic economists a few years ago that rated "high tax" California as the 17th highest tax state for the average person, but you would never get that impression from Forbes and certainly if you are very high income then Forbes is accurate.
If I couldn't afford to live in San Diego, San Francisco, Portland or Seattle, then I would probably give Albuquerque serious consideration, but that reflects my cultural bias. Happily, I can afford to live anywhere I darn well please!
P.S. The headline on this Thursday's (far-right owned and editorially opinioned) San Diego U-T was "Crime in County Hits 35-Year Low" which should tell you about the "rampant crime" in SD.
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04-25-2015, 12:02 PM
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#16
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,204
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As I thought, all that's actually required is an email address, to receive your personalized list. The other "required" info can be pure fiction (no way they can verify), and would have been when I did the quiz (made up name, address, etc.). And of course optional can be ignored.
Since I have a second "throwaway" email address just for things like this, I didn't give any personal information. FWIW, I didn't get any spam/solicitation that I know of, though one can never know for sure...
__________________
No one agrees with other people's opinions; they merely agree with their own opinions -- expressed by somebody else. Sydney Tremayne
Retired Jun 2011 at age 57
Target AA: 50% equity funds / 45% bonds / 5% cash
Target WR: Approx 1.5% Approx 20% SI (secure income, SS only)
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04-25-2015, 12:06 PM
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#17
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,473
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Midpack
As I thought, all that's actually required is an email address, to receive your personalized list. The other "required" info can be pure fiction (no way they can verify), and would have been when I did the quiz. And of course optional can be ignored...
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Oh! You are more devious than me. Your attachment shows it asks for first name, last name, street address, city, state, and zip code, and all of these have asterisks denoting that they are required fields to complete. That was probably what stopped me in my tracks.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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04-25-2015, 12:09 PM
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#18
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,204
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Quote:
Originally Posted by W2R
Oh! You are more devious than me. Your attachment shows it asks for first name, last name, street address, city, state, and zip code, and all of these have asterisks denoting that they are required fields to complete. That was probably what stopped me in my tracks.
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Only as counter-devious as any devious site I encounter...
__________________
No one agrees with other people's opinions; they merely agree with their own opinions -- expressed by somebody else. Sydney Tremayne
Retired Jun 2011 at age 57
Target AA: 50% equity funds / 45% bonds / 5% cash
Target WR: Approx 1.5% Approx 20% SI (secure income, SS only)
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04-25-2015, 12:23 PM
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#19
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 9,343
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AllDone
I read through the last thread, but didn't comment. Someone mentioned culture as an important variable to consider and I think that was spot on. The thread deteriorated into a lot of California bashing and defending, but if you know the players, it was red view vs. blue view respectively. I have lived in Alabama and Georgia briefly and was not comfortable in either. I could, however, happily live in any of the cities between San Diego and Vancouver, BC. You really need to take those cultural issues into account when you make your decision as well as weather issues, etc.
My parents were shocked when they moved from "high tax" California to a "lower tax" state and discovered that the taxation of SS and other increased taxes and expenses (MC supplement, car insurance and reg) actually increased their total outgo, despite the lower top income tax bracket (which they don't pay, anyway). Trying to project total expenses can be difficult and articles like the Forbes (IIRC) article about tax-friendly states for retirees often distort the real situation along the usual red-blue divide. I saw an article by some academic economists a few years ago that rated "high tax" California as the 17th highest tax state for the average person, but you would never get that impression from Forbes and certainly if you are very high income then Forbes is accurate.
If I couldn't afford to live in San Diego, San Francisco, Portland or Seattle, then I would probably give Albuquerque serious consideration, but that reflects my cultural bias. Happily, I can afford to live anywhere I darn well please!
P.S. The headline on this Thursday's (far-right owned and editorially opinioned) San Diego U-T was "Crime in County Hits 35-Year Low" which should tell you about the "rampant crime" in SD.
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I have come to the conclusion its often more rural vs city as opposed to red and blue states. An interesting look is a heat map of presidential elections county by county. If a person thought each county was equally populated, you would reach a conclusion the US was 85% red!
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/201...nty-by-county/
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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04-25-2015, 12:46 PM
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#20
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AllDone
I read through the last thread, but didn't comment. Someone mentioned culture as an important variable to consider and I think that was spot on. The thread deteriorated into a lot of California bashing and defending, but if you know the players, it was red view vs. blue view respectively. I have lived in Alabama and Georgia briefly and was not comfortable in either. I could, however, happily live in any of the cities between San Diego and Vancouver, BC. You really need to take those cultural issues into account when you make your decision as well as weather issues, etc.
My parents were shocked when they moved from "high tax" California to a "lower tax" state and discovered that the taxation of SS and other increased taxes and expenses (MC supplement, car insurance and reg) actually increased their total outgo, despite the lower top income tax bracket (which they don't pay, anyway). Trying to project total expenses can be difficult and articles like the Forbes (IIRC) article about tax-friendly states for retirees often distort the real situation along the usual red-blue divide. I saw an article by some academic economists a few years ago that rated "high tax" California as the 17th highest tax state for the average person, but you would never get that impression from Forbes and certainly if you are very high income then Forbes is accurate.
If I couldn't afford to live in San Diego, San Francisco, Portland or Seattle, then I would probably give Albuquerque serious consideration, but that reflects my cultural bias. Happily, I can afford to live anywhere I darn well please!
P.S. The headline on this Thursday's (far-right owned and editorially opinioned) San Diego U-T was "Crime in County Hits 35-Year Low" which should tell you about the "rampant crime" in SD.
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Good post. For the past ~50 years I have lived in several large cities, all within at most 10 miles of Pacific salt, except for a year in Eastern WA.
I am what is today called a fiscal conservative, but a social liberal. In spite of always living in extremely Dem districts, it has never bothered me, because if I don't talk about politics who would know my ideas on spending, taxation, etc? What people notice is your social style, and how comfortable or uncomfortable you are with those who have different lifestyles. And red and blues, they are pretty much all similarly prejudiced against the other. Different feelings about what is proper will always lead to conflict. That is why there is a lot more political and social conflict in USA than there is in Switzerland.
Ha
__________________
"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
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