Sweet Spot, Living Where Low Taxes

[johncasey37]

the property tax on that property in Georgia / gwinnett county would be about 3,200....

 

[johncasey37]

KOA is too expensive. First look for state and federal, then private campgrounds. We only stay in a KOA (always near the expressway) out of necessity not choice.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

IIRC, you lost your last house in a wildfire. Living in that area, do you fear another fire? I have never been to the Shenandoah Valley area, but it is very pretty. Looks very peaceful, except for the traffic. No idea it was full of wineries. What about the distance to services? Hospital? Grocery stores?

You might want to checkout the crime rate, since that seems to be a priority for you (Placerville is around average for the state):


California Crime Index City Rank

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

But isn't there a significant amount of "voting with their feet?" Especially by retirees?

That is pretty much what I did.

 

[Walt34]

But isn't there a significant amount of "voting with their feet?" Especially by retirees?

That's exactly what we did, moving from near the Washington, D.C. area to WV. The idiots in the state and county legislatures kept allowing more building without adequate infrastructure to support it so traffic was getting worse and worse. And we thought the area was starting to generally decline. I retired July 1, 2002 and by mid-September we were in WV.

About six weeks later I had to take DW for a doctor's appointment on the other side of town and we got out about 5:00 PM on a Friday afternoon. Not yet knowing all the back roads, I took a route straight through downtown. All the traffic lights were green (okay, that was a fluke, doesn't happen often) and we were home in 10-15 minutes. I thought "I have died and gone to heaven!" The same distance drive at the same time near D.C. would take 45 minutes to an hour.

 

[Another Reader]

You might want to checkout the crime rate, since that seems to be a priority for you (Placerville is around average for the state):


California Crime Index City Rank

My questions was directed to skipro, and was not about crime.

Relying on statistics can be dangerous. I prefer to talk to people that live in the area, check the security measures taken by residents and look at the shopping centers and the cars in the lots to get a good idea of the local issues.

 

[Teacher Terry]

John, we use public campgrounds when camping but private ones on vacation where we don’t want to be dirty. Maltese have hair so the dirt gets in their hair and then we are all dirty. The private ones have grass or cement usually.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Plus they have pool, hot tub, store and cheap breakfast on the weekend)

 

[retired1]

Can't hide from Taxes... they get you one way or another. In northern IL/WI border, you can go to WI for shopping & pay ~2-3% lower sales tax. Many live in WI and work in IL to save $s.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Many people work in Chicago and live in Kenosha due to the lower cost of housing.

 

[RobbieB]

I live in the central valley and worked in the bay area, brutal commute!

But now I'm retired with a free house, close to the delta, the gun club, sporting clays, Reno and still only a half hour from the "Bay Area" which is Livermore as the realtors sold it -

 

[audreyh1]

When we go to Placerville we leave on Wednesday and return home on Monday to avoid the traffic. We have a motor home and a very nice KOA is there. They are getting expensive as well with us paying between 63-73/night depending on the day of the week.

Whoa! No wonder you were complaining about campground prices! Although KOAs have always been way more expensive than most RV Parks.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Since the area is so popular in October the prices are higher every year.

 

[RobbieB]

I looked. For a hundred fifty I can stay at a B&B with an excellent breakfast.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I can’t do that with 2 Maltese and a 80lb shedding machine)

 

[Sunset]

I’ve lived in several states. You get what you pay for.

Nope, not always, certainly not here in IL.

They raised the State Income tax from 3.75% to 5% to pay down the debt, for a period of a few years, when it reverted back to 3.75% the debt was higher than when they started. !!
So now they raised it again to 4.95% (so they could say it's less than 5%).

I have no faith they will act responsibly with the money.

 

[VanWinkle]

I pay lots of taxes, last year sixteen grand to the feds and eleven grand to the state. I vote for tax increases. I like paying taxes to help my country and my state.

What's your problem?

? California Dreamin

 

[brucethebroker]

I've lived in Alaska for 35 years, which is the lowest taxed state by a very wide margin.
It is a common misconception that the overall cost of living in Alaska is high. Not really true. Groceries and gas are high, but real estate is moderate and taxes are very low. Then there is the annual Permanent fund dividend, $1600 this year, which defrays the COL even more. I would say the COL in road connected Alaska is at least as low as AZ, which is a MCOL state.

And, low A/C costs.......

 

[albireo13]

New Hampshire: no income tax, no sales tax .... no services!
high property taxes though

 

[haha]

In many places services are a one way flow-if you have income or assets, you pay, if you mostly apply your energies to making problems for others, you may receive services.

Ha

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

We have been in Maine for 13 years. We meet a lot of people who left Maine when they were in their 20s and returned as retirees.

Websites that try to compare states by Cost-of-living or taxes all claim that Maine is expensive.

But in my experience, all my previous homes had much higher property taxes, and our current home is much larger.

 

[lakehawk]

Wyoming

And snakes and fireants...

Anyone on here from Wyoming?
I like the Tetons and Medicine Bow areas. How does Wyoming 'get ya'?

Wyoming has no income tax and low property tax and great hunting and fishing. The Teton area is more expensive than most areas, but the Medicine Bow mountain area is a great place to live (the wind in open areas can be a problem at times).

 

[Oakster]

Wyoming has low taxes, including property taxes. No state income tax. They also have no fresh sea food. We do have plenty of snow to keep you busy though. Its actually a great place to retire if you can handle colder winters. Cheyenne is a bigger community only 1.5 hours from Denver so medical facilities are close. The rest of the state is fairly remote from large communities though. Casper and Gillette have good populations. Buffalo and Sheridan are beautiful as are many other communities near the mountains. Cody, Worland etc are a bit hotter in the summer and a bit more mild in the winter, being in a basin between mtn ranges. Wyoming is great but does not cater to retirees like a Florida etc.

 

[Oakster]

We live on the weather side so we have trade winds blowing all the time. When it is 90+ in Kihei it is 80 at our house, which for me is just right.

Holy Smokes! I like my house at 68. I guess I would need air!

 

[cnocmmz]

In NV there is no state income tax. Our home is worth 400k and property taxes are 700/year. They use the age of your home when figuring your taxes. Our house was built in 1950. Sales tax is over 8%.

My son retired from air force and retired in NV near Nellis AF base....He loves it but the home prices are at a high 400k or much more