Cheap land. Year-round motorcycling.

[LeatherneckPA]

Searching for the fairy-tale retirement spot in Podunk. Probably somewhere in the TN-GA-NC-SC corner. Possibly MO or AR, unless you can intrigue me with someplace else. No scarey desert posts, please. I don't want city water or sewer. But I'm not going to truck in my water either. I'm not sure if I'm willing to be off the grid or not. Probably not.

Podunk should have a grocery store in town. The hospital and Wal-Mart should not be more than an hour away.

Land should be cheap, because I'm looking for 5-10 acres or more. And I want to be able to ride my motorcycles 90% of the time or more. Snow is a problem, cold is not.

No kids, so I don't care what the schools are like.

Want to avoid touristy places (like Gatlinburg and Branson) and "bedroom communities" (like around the DC-B'mo metro-plex).

And it has to be in the good ol' US of A.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

What about the other end of the Tail of the Dragon: here.

Probably one of the prettiest places I ever took my motorcycle to.

 

[Trek]

I'd guess somewhere near Greenville, SC might be up your alley.

 

[brewer12345]

I guess I would be tempted by southern CO or northern NM, but you might have to put u with occasional bouts of snow. Usually doesn't stick around for too long, though.

 

[dex]

I like your criteria. Please keep us posted on what you find.

 

[teejayevans]

regarding: NC
if you like mountains, look west, if you like ocean, look east, pick a county that doesn't
have a large city to have lower land prices and taxes.
You don't say where you are now?
I think you need to narrow down your criteria; ocean or mountains? Flat land or rolling
hills? is income tax rate an issue? Do mind the heat (90s with humidity)?
FYI: Myrtle Beach,SC has 2 bike weeks, 1 for crotch rockets, 1 for harleys and other cruisers,
make sure you pick the right week.
Tom

 

[LeatherneckPA]

regarding: NC if you like mountains, look west, if you like ocean, look east, pick a county that doesn't have a large city to have lower land prices and taxes. You don't say where you are now? I think you need to narrow down your criteria; ocean or mountains? Flat land or rolling hills? is income tax rate an issue? Do mind the heat (90s with humidity)? Tom

Great help Tom. I love both mountains and the ocean, but HATE sand. Maine's beaches are nicer, but too much snow. In Central PA (Williamsport) right now. So far I would have been able to ride locally every day this winter. Rolling hills are cool. Prefere a state that isn't going to tax my pension, but agree with a thread somehwere else (the DE thread) around here that said all states are going to get you, one way or another. Heat's ok, humidity sucks! That's the big reason FL is not really an option yet. Plus it seems like everyone is going there. I figure that has to impact land prces. Cheap land is the biggest point here, as I am going to build our retirement home myself when we get there.

 

[frayne]

Ringgold Georgia area is not too bad. Some cheap land in the country but close enough to stores and interstates so you can do what you need. Great roads for the scooter, low taxes, and fairly decent weather year round.

Check out the area just to the east !
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Ringgold,+GA

Just my two cents.

 

[teejayevans]

Great help Tom. I love both mountains and the ocean, but HATE sand. Maine's beaches are nicer, but too much snow. In Central PA (Williamsport) right now. So far I would have been able to ride locally every day this winter. Rolling hills are cool. Prefere a state that isn't going to tax my pension, but agree with a thread somehwere else (the DE thread) around here that said all states are going to get you, one way or another. Heat's ok, humidity sucks! That's the big reason FL is not really an option yet. Plus it seems like everyone is going there. I figure that has to impact land prces. Cheap land is the biggest point here, as I am going to build our retirement home myself when we get there.

Given that, then you want to go to the western part of the GA, SC, and NC or eastern part
of TN. Look for something in the foothills of the mountains, but not too high of elevation, otherwise
you'll get snow, probably no higher than 2000ft. I would find each state's tax web site and do some
rough calculations, too complicated to simplify. For example NC low tax rate is 6%, SC is 2.5%, SC
sounds like the better deal, but SC starts taxing at $2350, NC starts at $12750, so if your taxable
income is less than 13K then NC probably is the better deal, but then NC has personal property
tax, etc etc Best to run through some sample calculations...there probably is a thread somewhere
where people already discussed state taxes. State and property taxes can be significant, I would
check it out first, as that might help narrow down you choices further.
Tom

 

[Goonie]

Prefere a state that isn't going to tax my pension

I have a bookmark for a website that breaks down all the taxes for all of the states....unfortunately it's on my 'puter @ home, and I'm on the rockpile today. When I get home I'll look it up and post it.

I checked out the states around that area (NC-SC-TN-GA-AL-FL-etc) of those TN & FL don't tax gov't pensions (nor does MS). I don't recall about AL. I had it narrowed down to TN, FL, or NV.....IF I'd decide to move after FIRE. Was leaning very heavy to far southeast TN.

 

[OkieTexan]

Texas has all the things you favor and no state income tax.
The economy is strong and land & housing are still relatively cheap.
You could probably wear out several motorcycles trying to see all of it!

 

[lets-retire]

I was looking at SE TN also. I was scouting out land to purchase, but could see it rising month to month. I then started to think about it and realized, many people are looking to buy land in SE TN/west NC/NW SC/NE GA area and figured by the time I was ready to retire the area would be too crowded.

 

[Texas Proud]

And there is always Texas.... there are lots of places that are cheap...

West Texas is dry and mountains... central Texas is the hill country... East Texas is forests and Gulf Coast...

It snows in North Texas.... stays warm in South Texas... and did I say if you buy land outside of the metro areas it can be cheap

 

[REWahoo]

Texas has all the things you favor and no state income tax.
The economy is strong and land & housing are still relatively cheap.

And there is always Texas.... there are lots of places that are cheap...

Good Grief! The state population grew last year by 580,000. At that rate, you won't be able to leave your driveway without ending up in a traffic jam!

What's the matter with you people? Haven't you heard about the rattlesnakes, scorpions, fire ants, budget-killing property taxes, ....

 

[Texas Proud]

Good Grief! The state population grew last year by 580,000. At that rate, you won't be able to leave your driveway without ending up in a traffic jam!

What's the matter with you people? Haven't you heard about the rattlesnakes, scorpions, fire ants, budget-killing property taxes, ....

Hey REW.... I agree if he was moving to Houston or Dallas etc.... but he can go out to West Texas and there are 1,000s of acres that is going unused... now, there REALLY are rattlesnakes, scorpions, fire ants out there... but who cares??

Now, for the people that hear how good Texas is in the cities... well, we have the worst air, traffic jams, high taxes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and that is the GOOD stuff...

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

florida north of orlando gets some nice rolling hills. prices go down up towards the panhandle and even south of jacksonville. though the land flattens out towards shore, daytona has it's yearly www.bikeweek.com

humidity here is really only at its very worst in august & september. just think of it as a savings on skin lotion & chapstick.

 

[heyyou]

The rural part of Northwest Arkansas looked attractive to me, but I'm staying here with my spouse who isn't moving. Jasper in Newton County is where an acquaintence moved. They drive to Harrison for a taste of suburban living. Cost of living there is quite low with no local economy to speak of, and with rugged country full of lakes and streams and insects. River front or lakefront property costs more. Higher elevations have less humidity than along the major rivers that are developed for commerce.
Joe

 

[Goonie]

I have a bookmark for a website that breaks down all the taxes for all of the states....unfortunately it's on my 'puter @ home, and I'm on the rockpile today. When I get home I'll look it up and post it.

Well, I'm home and I found the link, so here it is:

http://www.retirementliving.com/RLtaxes.html

Hope this is of some help.

 

[LeatherneckPA]

Goonie, GREAT SITE! Thank you.

 

[Tekward]

Good news for NC Military retirees:

Retired Military Pay: If an individual had five years of creditable service as of August 12, 1989, all military retired pay is exempt from taxes. Otherwise, a deduction of up to $4,000 is allowed for military pay or survivor's benefits.

Great site, thanks. Now I may not move when I ER (someday...).

 

[sgeeeee]

You might want to consider Southern Illinois. Anything south of Mt. Vernon is further south than much of Kentucky so Winters are mild. There are no cities in Southern Illinois so water and air quality is very good. Land is also cheap. Plenty of small towns with grocery stores. Wal-Marts are scattered around the region -- easily within an hour of anywhere. The glacier that flattened much of the mid-West stopped before it got there, so the landscape is hilly with lots of lakes and streams. Shawnee National Forest is filled with interesting sites. There are some really interesting cities along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

 

[Goonie]

You might want to consider Southern Illinois.

And we have very interesting convicted felons politicians!

 

[sgeeeee]

And we have very interesting convicted felons politicians!

Hi Goonie,

Yeah. I grew up in Illinois but haven't lived there in over 30 years. They seemed to have more than their share of political corruption even then. But as I've moved around the country (California, North Carolina, Iowa, Arizona) I've figured out that every State seems to have plenty of political corruption. We've had some real doozies in Arizona.

 

[Nords]

I grew up in Illinois but haven't lived there in over 30 years. They seemed to have more than their share of political corruption even then. But as I've moved around the country (California, North Carolina, Iowa, Arizona) I've figured out that every State seems to have plenty of political corruption. We've had some real doozies in Arizona.

I grew up in Pittsburgh and learned from my folks that PA was one of the most politically corrupt states on the face of the planet... except for Cleveland.

Then I hung around Washington, DC for a few years and had my eyes opened. The high-quality professional standards and sustained effort of political corruption left me breathless. Maybe it's the higher per capita population of politicians or maybe it's their innate competitiveness, but it's not something easily duplicated in Dubuque... or even Cleveland.

Since then I've lived all over the world and, with the possible exception of Bangkok, nothing can touch the big-league concentrated corruption seen in Washington. However I'm consistently impressed with the rest of our nation's entrepreneurial spirit, small-business initiative, minority opportunities, and strong growth. Only in America!

 

[Texas Proud]

I grew up in Pittsburgh and learned from my folks that PA was one of the most politically corrupt states on the face of the planet... except for Cleveland.

Then I hung around Washington, DC for a few years and had my eyes opened. The high-quality professional standards and sustained effort of political corruption left me breathless. Maybe it's the higher per capita population of politicians or maybe it's their innate competitiveness, but it's not something easily duplicated in Dubuque... or even Cleveland.

Since then I've lived all over the world and, with the possible exception of Bangkok, nothing can touch the big-league concentrated corruption seen in Washington. However I'm consistently impressed with the rest of our nation's entrepreneurial spirit, small-business initiative, minority opportunities, and strong growth. Only in America!

The ametuers play in the state an local arenas....

If you are a REAL PRO and want to have some competition... you have to go where the pros go... that is Washington...

BTW... the rules are different in other countries.... seems that in Russia you just kill off the people that get in your way... I am sure it is the same for other countries..