Choosing new warm, lower cost-of-living, place to move

[Katiek]

One caution about moving to a place as a single is that some communities are more open to newcomers and others are more closed and it's harder to get close to people if you're new. That's one advantage to renting or living in a place for some time before planning a full move. This can be an issue for a couple as well, but at least you have some built in support when you move.

 

[OrcasIslandBound]

I'm born and raised in the San Diego area and I'm still here. My only request for the DW was anywhere but Southern California.

We did a multistate trip through Oregon, Washington, Idaho and then flew to North Carolina to try to figure out where we wanted to live. We kind of decided on Orcas island about 10 years ago, then got priced out, then found it affordable in 2012 and bought there with the intention of retiring there in a few years. Don't know for sure whether Orcas Island is our final choice, but the house has significantly increased in value since 2012 and so if we decide to liquidate it, should be no problem.

 

[kneehigh]

-One thing is clear. Everyone has their favorite spot in the world. I truly enjoy reading every post and perspective.

-That's the beauty of this country. I'm free to be what I want to be and go where I want to go. It's a testament to the writer/signers of a marvelous DoI giving us the freedom to pursue our own individual reality of "happiness" without the hindrance of another entity. Not perfect, but if you consider the regimes and economic distress that other people in the world have to live under, I marvel and am grateful as an immigrant who once lived in a hut.

-My happiness at the moment is here in Kaneohe @ 73*F visiting with the grandkids and having a ball under a slightly overcast sky.

 

[FlaGator]

On a plane going back home from Arizona once I sat next to a woman and we began chatting about how much we enjoyed Sedona and Scottsdale. I asked her if she would consider living there, since her hometown was Detroit. She responded that she definitely would not want to live there. Surprised, I asked why and she said, "Because then it would no longer be special". She said she would rather visit each year and have something to look forward to rather than living there full-time and everything becoming routine like it is at her current home.

I never forgot those words and I keep them in mind when I think about retirement.

After a stint in Western N. Dakota in the early 80's, I was done with cold weather. The next 30 years were living and working in Phoenix, San Diego, Orange County and South Florida. Now retired to the "sugar sand" beaches of the FL Panhandle.

Life in those areas did become routine, as it must when making your way, but I never forgot I was living every day in places that other people spent money to visit a week or two a year.

I enjoy walking on the beach at 10 a.m. and being surrounded by tourists

Yes, I agree you should keep that in mind when you think about retirement

 

[pb4uski]

.....But steadily as we kept going back to our timeshare in Vermont, I fell in love with the state and I would love to move there- I really think my place is by the lake- but learned of the taxes on Social Security income. What a downer!....

Don't forget to look at the total picture. New Hampshire has one of the highest property tax rates.

It is true that SS is not exempted so there is a cost of 3.55% for most people (it could be more in higher income brackets but I assume that if you are in one of those higher income brackets presumably taxes on SS would not be a stumbling block).

So for example, if your SS is $24k a year then the tax cost is $852. However, I would suggest that other things are much cheaper than elsewhere (house and car insurance, health insurance, housing in some cases) so the $852 of additional tax cost is not a big deal and is offset by other lower costs.

We'll be staying there until we are 65 because health insurance costs are reasonable... we pay $230/month each for a catastrophic plan and a bronze plan would be about $400/month each... which is a good deal compared to many areas of the US. As another example, I pay $4 for a movie at my local rural movie theater.

 

[34rlsa]

I, believe it or not, always wanted to move to Alaska until I took a trip there and realized how primitive it was.

Hi Meleana,

I'm curious... what did you find primitive about AK?

 

[meleana]

Hi Meleana,

I'm curious... what did you find primitive about AK?

Well- ummm...it's Alaska! It was the "feel" of the place- the vastness, the wildness, the cool dampness- I could feel those glaciers in my bones even when we were somewhat far away from them.

I loved it- don't get me wrong- such an incredible place. But, I just got the feeling it was more "wild" than I would want to live in as I age.

I would have liked the opportunity to visit more small towns, but it is not easy to get around the state- another drawback.

I wasn't crazy about Anchorage, but then I don't care for cities anyway

 

[meleana]

It is true that SS is not exempted so there is a cost of 3.55% for most people (it could be more in higher income brackets but I assume that if you are in one of those higher income brackets presumably taxes on SS would not be a stumbling block).

So for example, if your SS is $24k a year then the tax cost is $852. However, I would suggest that other things are much cheaper than elsewhere (house and car insurance, health insurance, housing in some cases) so the $852 of additional tax cost is not a big deal and is offset by other lower costs.

We'll be staying there until we are 65 because health insurance costs are reasonable... we pay $230/month each for a catastrophic plan and a bronze plan would be about $400/month each... which is a good deal compared to many areas of the US. As another example, I pay $4 for a movie at my local rural movie theater.

So, you live in Vermont but are going to leave when you retire? Why?

I don't know- $852 seems like a lot of money to give the state every year when you are retired. Housing is not that cheap in VT from what I have seen. The health insurance you quote doesn't seem cheap to me either. Kind of on par with my husband's employer plan. But- would be on Medicare anyway by the time we move.

One thing- the property taxes are less in VT than in NY overall which is a good thing. I like the idea of living by the lake, but I can't seem to get information regarding homeowners insurance when you live near the water, which I assume could be an issue.

 

[Bamaman]

This posting is meandering, but there's been some interesting reading.

She's wanting a warm place with a reasonable cost of living which excludes the west coast across the board.

Warm means going to the southern half of the country, as does a low cost of living.

Let us know what areas/states of the U.S. you're interested in, and more specific relocation information is forthcoming.

 

[Big_Hitter]

It gets pretty cold in Central Texas in the winter and brutally hot in the summer. We are headed for a warmer climate year-round now.

I can't imagine anything warmer than central Texas in the summer.

Brownsville maybe?

 

[Nemo2]

I can't imagine anything warmer than central Texas in the summer.

Try Riyadh.

 

[W2R]

Try Riyadh.

I've never been to Riyadh!! I'll bet you are right.

But Central Texas is too hot for me. I actually like the weather here in New Orleans, but when I lived in College Station the heat really got to me. It lasted forever, and the vegetation turned brown. At least here we have high humidity and rains to keep the vegetation green and break the heat now and then.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Try Riyadh.

well here in the states....I just think it's funny that someone thinks central texas is "cold" in the winter

 

[W2R]

well here in the states....I just think it's funny that someone thinks central texas is "cold" in the winter

It is!! At least for me, it was. It SNOWED about 6" or something in College Station, the first week I was there back in 1984.


The weather here is not as hot and not as cold, but we get a huge amount of rainfall, hurricanes, and so on.

 

[Big_Hitter]

It is!! At least for me, it was. It SNOWED about 6" or something in College Station, the first week I was there back in 1984.


The weather here is not as hot and not as cold, but we get a huge amount of rainfall, hurricanes, and so on.

Lived in Houston for 40 years....I can't recall ever being "cold"

unbearably hot, yes; cold, no.

 

[Big_Hitter]

You can't have everything perfect. No such thing.

San Diego...but then you have to live there

We get a ton of people moving here from SD...then they freeze in the winter

 

[Big_Hitter]

My friend moved here to the Austin area from NYC not knowing anyone but me. She moved to a suburb 45 minutes away and was not well-suited to it. Her house is now up for sale.

Cedar Park, Round Rock, Georgetown really isn't Austin

I have a friend who is a realtor in ATX and there is a huge housing bubble there right now. If I were looking into retiring to Texas, I'd look at San Antonio or the surrounding area - San Mucus, Wimberley, NB, Boerne, etc.

 

[NW-Bound]

I heard from my best friend recently. I was shocked when he told me that he had bought another home in SoCal, about 15 miles south of Newport Beach, in a coastal location on Insterstate 5 running down to San Diego.

I was surprised because I would never expect him to move from the DC area, where he lived nearly his entire adult life and still has family there. He said they were escaping the cold. The price he paid for the small 1,000-sq.ft. place is close to 1/2-M, not a lot less than his very nice and much larger home in MD.

I will pay him a visit in a few months. I would never thought of living in coastal CA, the prime reason being the horrible traffic. Where his new home is, I guess the local traffic may not be bad, but to go anywhere would take you to the crowded freeway, and it would drive me nuts. But I guess my friend is used to traffic around the Beltway. It is all about what you are accustomed to.

 

[OrcasIslandBound]

It's been driving me crazy nuts for 20+ years. Stayed in SoCal because of the job, but looking forward to being on orcas island starting in September.

By the way, in 2014 I bought a 4500 lb SUV just because it was 4500 lbs and has about 9 different airbags. Now I feel much better driving on the roads here in San Diego. Now I simply ignore the tailgaters

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[AllDone]

I heard from my best friend recently. I was shocked when he told me that he had bought another home in SoCal, about 15 miles south of Newport Beach, in a coastal location on Insterstate 5 running down to San Diego.

I was surprised because I would never expect him to move from the DC area, where he lived nearly his entire adult life and still has family there. He said they were escaping the cold. The price he paid for the small 1,000-sq.ft. place is close to 1/2-M, not a lot less than his very nice and much larger home in MD.

I will pay him a visit in a few months. I would never thought of living in coastal CA, the prime reason being the horrible traffic. Where his new home is, I guess the local traffic may not be bad, but to go anywhere would take you to the crowded freeway, and it would drive me nuts. But I guess my friend is used to traffic around the Beltway. It is all about what you are accustomed to.

As Yogi Berra said, "Nobody goes there any more. It's too crowded."

 

[friar1610]

We live in MA also and DW doesn't like the snow and the cold weather. We discussed relocating to a warmer area in retirement but we love the area, the amenities and the close proximity to Boston, Providence and Cape Cod then we decided to sell our house and purchased a new townhome where they plow the snow and even shovel our deck and front steps.

The nice things about being retired is that we don't have to leave the house if it's too cold and snowy outside....

As another MA resident in a similar situation, I tend to agree. Plus, with no State income tax on SS or military pension, the "Taxachusetts" effect is somewhat moderated.


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[Sunset]

Yes, we do know that, but better than New York from what we have seen so far.

Here is a consideration.
The cost is low and it seemed pretty nice. One of the fellas on this forum has had a place there for approx 15 yrs.

We took a tour of it while we were in FL.
You can buy a park model home, and we toured a few and they are much better than what I recall as a trailer home. The cost varies but we looked at a few for 15K-20K, then you would have to pay the monthly fee ~ $600 and your own utilities.

55+ Community Leesburg FL | Retirement Homes

 

[friar1610]

But steadily as we kept going back to our timeshare in Vermont, I fell in love with the state and I would love to move there- I really think my place is by the lake- but learned of the taxes on Social Security income. What a downer!

My heart is there, but my head says it would be crazy. Even my home state of NY doesn't tax SS benefits.

So- thinking of New Hampshire where we vacation frequently as well and where our only child lives...
.

We lived in VT in retirement for 8 years and then decided to relocate to MA. VT, like anywhere, has its advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes I miss it (like when I'm caught in Boston-area rush hour traffic) but mostly I'm glad we made the move. I understand (but have no first-hand experience with) property taxes in NH are very high. They were not low in VT (unless your income is below a certain level) and they certainly aren't in MA.


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[meleana]

Here is a consideration.
The cost is low and it seemed pretty nice. One of the fellas on this forum has had a place there for approx 15 yrs.

We took a tour of it while we were in FL.
You can buy a park model home, and we toured a few and they are much better than what I recall as a trailer home. The cost varies but we looked at a few for 15K-20K, then you would have to pay the monthly fee ~ $600 and your own utilities.

55+ Community Leesburg FL | Retirement Homes

Not sure what you are referring to.

 

[meleana]

We lived in VT in retirement for 8 years and then decided to relocate to MA. VT, like anywhere, has its advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes I miss it (like when I'm caught in Boston-area rush hour traffic) but mostly I'm glad we made the move. I understand (but have no first-hand experience with) property taxes in NH are very high. They were not low in VT (unless your income is below a certain level) and they certainly aren't in MA.


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What do you like about MA compared with VT?

Property taxes in NH are high- but not any higher than here in NY.
In NH, at least there is no income tax or sales tax. And- they only tax interest and dividends over $5000. Overall- better than NY and VT- especially adding in the political atmosphere where we feel we fit more. (we have joined the FREE State Project).

Again, I can't deal with the fact that VT taxes SS.
I love Vermont, but just like most Vermonters that are leaving in droves, I don't think it makes financial sense to live there. Plus, the politics in the state does not align with ours- except for maybe the northern areas.