Looking for Ideas on Where to Live in Retirement

[MoneyChic]

Looking for ideas and suggestions on places to live in retirement in the US.



Criteria:


United States (but not Hawaii)

Low population area
Low property/income taxes
Low or Average home/property prices
Trees

Enough average rainfall to sustain a vegetable garden without having to water more than once a week for the most part. (I like to garden, but don't want to attempt it in the desert.)



We have no interest in going to Florida. We like to have snow in the winter. Zero interest in being near a big city - we'd much prefer small towns. We'd like to have a decent amount of land (10+ acres) if possible.



Anyone living in an area that could fit this description?



Thanks in advance!

 

[REWahoo]

Anyone living in an area that could fit this description?

Nope, but I'd suggest you look at southern Missouri or northern Arkansas.

 

[NYEXPAT]

Nope, sounds like the midwest!

 

[MissMolly]

Definitely the Midwest. Rural Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois - something like that.

 

[Bamaman]

North Alabama, Northeast Georgia mountains,.East Tennessee. Great atmosphere, highly educated population and very low house prices and property taxes.

I also like NW AR and SW MO.

i would include parts of VA, NC and SC but taxes are too high.

 

[Midpack]

Definitely the Midwest. Rural Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois - something like that.

These all seem to meet the OP’s criteria, but why not let the internet do the work

https://www.bestplaces.net/fybp/

https://www.areavibes.com/best-places/america/

And then narrow it further with

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

 

[street]

These all seem to meet the OP’s criteria, but why not let the internet do the work

https://www.bestplaces.net/fybp/

https://www.areavibes.com/best-places/america/

And then narrow it further with

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

If we let the internet do all the work there would be no need to have this site. A good discussion on topics is what these site are for.


Good information though for the OP

 

[CowgirlUp]

I’m living in an area exactly like that in North Cental Wisconsin(on 20 acres)....but planning to sell in the spring and move out west where it’s warmer. I’ve come to hate the snow.

 

[ER Eddie]

If these are your criteria...

- US
- Low population
- Low property/income taxes
- Low or Average home/property prices
- Trees
- Enough rain for a garden

There are thousands of places that could fit.

Looking at that list, I think "low home/property prices" and "low property/income taxes" are the place to begin, because those are what will help narrow things down the most. Those are correlated with the overall concept of "cost of living."

I would start my search there. I'd get a rank ordered list of US states by cost of living, then narrow my list of states down to the ones with below-average costs of living. Then you could dig further into the average home price and property tax issue, for each of those states. I'm not sure where your cutoff would be; that would be personal to you. But I think you could whittle the list down to maybe 15 states.

You can find "low population" areas and trees in most states, so those aren't going to help narrow down the choices much.

I would think more about your selection criteria, to help you narrow things down further. You said trees and some rain, but are other parts of nature also important? For instance, hills and mountains, lakes? How about the climate in general? How important is that? What about nearness to relatives? What about access to healthcare, adult education opportunities, cultural opportunities, social opportunities, etc.? Try to come up with more "musts" that you really think are important for you.

I'm going through the same process myself, trying to figure out where I want to live next. Good luck!

 

[RunningBum]

Definitely the Midwest. Rural Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois - something like that.

LOL, Georgia is in the midwest? I've never considered TN or KY there either. Anyway, that seems like the right area. Throw northern MS and AL, and AR in there as well. You can find trees in IA, KS, NE, etc, especially closer to rivers, but you have to look harder. Taxes may throw some states out but look at overall costs. If you pay $1K/yr more in taxes but $50K less for the house/land you want, you come out ahead.

 

[street]

^ LOL! my thinking also.

 

[Ronstar]

Petosky, Michigan
Fish creek, Wisconsin
Carroll, Iowa,
Galena, Illinois
Bridgeton, Indiana

These should meet most of your criteria.

 

[capjak]

Central Illinois

 

[imoldernu]

Central Illinois

+1

We love it here...
Peru, Illinois (IL 61354) profile: population, maps, real estate, averages, homes, statistics, relocation, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, moving, houses, news, sex offenders

Buy a very nice home for100K to 150K. A mansion for $275.
Good people, polite light traffic, all (complete) shopping within 5 miles, low cost of living, good schools, community college... your choice, regular streets or country... 3 miles apart. For seniors, home tax freeze and homestead exemption. Illinois River in town, Starved Rock State park 15 minutes. Our Liberty Village CCRC, for later when you get older. Two excellent hospitals less than a five minute drive for us. One and a half hours to Chicago. Town services A+ and the city is well run.

Housing:
https://www.zillow.com/peru-il/
Median taxes for Peru, $1,800.

Country and acreage starts 1/2 mile out of town.

When we moved from Lisle, near Naperville, (High COL) we figure we saved about $5K to $7K in cost of living Gas, food, insurance, entertainment and general shopping.

When we moved to the Chicago area, many years ago, we thought we'd hate it. Peru, isn't like Chicago... for us it's perfect.

 

[COcheesehead]

I’m living in an area exactly like that in North Cental Wisconsin(on 20 acres)....but planning to sell in the spring and move out west where it’s warmer. I’ve come to hate the snow.

Having lived in Wisconsin, I can say the taxes are some of the highest in the country.

 

[COcheesehead]

Petosky, Michigan
Fish creek, Wisconsin
Carroll, Iowa,
Galena, Illinois
Bridgeton, Indiana

These should meet most of your criteria.

10 acres in Fish Creek = $$$$

 

[braumeister]

For an easy way to look at average property taxes on a county basis, I like this page:
https://money.cnn.com/interactive/real-estate/property-tax/

 

[imoldernu]

Here's a place I picked out for you...

https://www.landandfarm.com/property/8_49_Acres_in_LaSalle_County-8368153/

 

[Bamaman]

I worked in Central Illinois upon getting out of college, and lived 20 miles east in Indiana. The Midwest is a beautiful place if you're a farmer. But I remember those winter nights when I was out on the road, and I couldn't see the ground in front of me for those frozen fogs. My wife and I were simply bored to death living there. And after we never saw temperatures get above freezing for a month, I swore off snow. Cabin fever is real, and it brings on serious depression.

I still prefer a place with mountains and rivers. And a cheaper cost of living. It's nice to have 3 big cities within 2 hrs. and a huge city 4 hours away--for weekend travels.

 

[38Chevy454]

I agree midwest seems to meet what you are looking for. Do you not like colder winters? Or not like real hot summers? That will determine how far north or south you go. No matter what with the need for mother nature rain, you will have summer humidity levels. I have lived over several states in the US (CA, NM, TX, KY, OH), and it seems no matter where you live there are a few months of bad weather to deal with. Whether that is cold of winter or heat of summer, choose your area with that in mind. Also look at other taxes and how that might affect you like sales tax, vehicle taxes, deductibility of pensions/SS, as examples. Unfortunately it seems no matter where you live the gov't finds a way to get their money out of you.


I would concentrate on the housing and prop taxes as priority in the search. Then the other factors following. The links Midpack gave are a good starting point. Once narrowed down some, go take a visit, both winter and summer, hopefully long enough to get better idea of the weather and familiarity of the place. Is being near a larger airport for travel a goal? Or want to have certain outdoor recreation availability another goal? Lots of things to consider.

 

[Car-Guy]

No, nothing like you described here in Texas.

 

[street]

Here's a place I picked out for you...

https://www.landandfarm.com/property/8_49_Acres_in_LaSalle_County-8368153/

Beautiful estates. Good prices also for what you are getting.

 

[Midpack]

If we let the internet do all the work there would be no need to have this site. A good discussion on topics is what these site are for.


Good information though for the OP

I don't disagree. But there are literally thousands of places that fit the broad criteria the OP led with. The answers he/she gets would be random at best without more criteria.

 

[street]

^ true.

 

[ER Eddie]

Midwesterners are nice people, I am one of them myself, originally. I need the mountains at this point, though. I love hiking. I'm looking at east Tennessee. I think home prices are reasonable there.

The southern states (AR, LA, MS, GA, TN) are very friendly. Good cost of living, too.

So, think more about your criteria. If you have any questions, we're here to help.