Researching a Move to Another State--What Resources are Avaliable?

[Big_Hitter]

have you looked at idaho?

 

[Qs Laptop]

We fell in love with the SE region and NC in particular. Short, tolerable winter. Moderate tax rate and COL. Jaw dropping scenery in the mountains and on the coast. It was on a weekend road trip that we made the decision to just Get Here. And yes, you'll be well served by investing in travel, and not those ranking sites, etc.

PS - the south isn't a bunch of redneck racists that we get portrayed as by our darling media. I grew up in the Midwest as well and don't miss it. We go up and visit sibs during the summer. They're down here in the winter.

I've got a friend that lives in Wake Forest, NC, and he's urging me to look at his area. He loves it. He grew up in Minnesota and left because of the weather. Moved to NC in 2013. My wife is hesitant because of humidity and hurricanes.

 

[Qs Laptop]

have you looked at idaho?

I really haven't. I will take a look. First reaction is it might be too cold in the winters.

 

[Qs Laptop]

My cousin retired to Santa Barbara and she is definitely not wealthy, in fact I think they do a lot of scrimping to make it work. But they seem to be very happy. They retired there, from Texas, 20 years ago. They went to UCSB and always wanted to return.

When I was much younger I had a job interview in Santa Barbara. I fell in love with the city. My plan was to "slum it" in Goleta, a the city next door with a marginally lower cost of living. I didn't get the job.

 

[Cessna152]

You may find this web site for the National Climate Data Center useful.
https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/climate-information

That's a good site, though I recommend https://weatherspark.com/ because it can present relevant climate data for several locations simultaneously in a concise graphical manner. The relevant data being things like typical temperature ranges every hour of the day for a year, average chance of clear skies during the year, average monthly snow and rainfall, and some other stats. The site is https://weatherspark.com/

For example, this next link happens to compare Minneapolis (the OP's locale) with two places that are sunnier and less snowy in locations with no income taxes and allegedly lower cost of living:
https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/...eather-in-Rapid-City-Minneapolis-and-Cheyenne

 

[Big_Hitter]

dude rapid city and cheyenne and he's looking to move somewhere with better weather

you win the internet today!

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

Any interest in being a snowbird instead? Lots of Minnesota people come to Florida for the winter.

 

[Cessna152]

I'm just starting out with the planning of my retirement. One thing I know right now--I want to get out of Minnesota. (It snowed on Sunday, about an inch.)

I was born in St. Paul and spent the first 37 years of my life in the Twin Cities area. So I can relate some. Then moved to California (Folsom) and then in and around East SF Bay (Pleasanton), South SF Bay (San Jose,) and Monterey Bay (Aptos.) Spent about 9 years there. Moved to Eugene/Springfield area of Oregon and been here 12 years. We're planning to move yet again, now that we too are retired. Also looking for sun, minimal snow, not too hot, not too cold, and of course affordable. Will have to settle on less-than-perfect of course!

I'd like to use the internet to winnow down some choices before I actually visit potential areas.
What other resources did you find to be helpful if/when you planned your move?

I already posted a climate comparison tool in an earlier post.

"Number one for me is climate. I need sunny days. No snow, or very little snow. Moderate to low humidity. This criteria cuts down a lot of territory."

Indeed - driest and sunniest areas of the country are west of about the 100th longitude and east of about 120th longitude. Given your preferences, in that area probably no farther north than Rapid City, SD and no farther south than, say, San Antonio TX (humidity may become an unpleasant factor much south of the Hill area of TX.)

This guy has put together a bunch of climate comparison maps:
Brian B's Climate Blog: Dreary Weather
Here's one example:

Financial comparisons:
Since property taxes are set at the city and county level, it is surprising that that a single tool exists at all that seems to allow one to estimate them:
https://smartasset.com/taxes/property-taxes

Of course if you intend to own a home (or even rent) you'll need tools to compare the costs of the single largest non-liquid asset you are likely to own, so a site like https://www.zillow.com/home-values/ helps.

With respect to income taxes, sunny, dry, snow that doesn't stick around, and avoidance of high humidity (I personally have no issue with cold so long as there is plenty of sun) you may want to check out Rapid City, Cheyenne, and northern areas of Texas.
Wife and I took a driving tour from Oregon through Evanston WY, Cody, Sheridan, Casper, Cheyenne and Rapid City areas in June to see what we thought of them as places to move to. The only one that stayed on our list was Rapid City (the Black Hills act as a barrier to the prevailing winds that put Rapid City in a banana belt - i.e. averaging slightly warmer than places around them.) However, our elimination of WY places had more to do with limited scheduled air carrier access to hubs of future interest than anything else - Wyoming is a great place to find isolation. Other issue is winters last longer due to most of WY at a higher plain of existence (lapse rate and all that means.)
In August we flew from Oregon down to San Antonio, rented a car, and spent a couple weeks touring the "Hill" country of Texas. Stopped in at a few open houses of places meeting some of our preferences to get a feel for the housing market (otherwise too soon for us - we were up-front with the agents about our time frame.) Definitely warmer climes and housing prices were reasonable. Property taxes are definitely higher, though of course Texas has no income tax

Kerrville TX and Rapid City SD may not seem to have much in common, but at the moment they both are on our short list. But we're in no hurry and they both may vanish to be replaced with something else.

 

[Cessna152]

dude rapid city and cheyenne and he's looking to move somewhere with better weather

you win the internet today!

Hey man - Rapid City simply has a better climate than Minneapolis. Admittedly, he could head east, south, and west and find a better climate to live in than Minneapolis. It's the great thing about growing up there - most any place you move to is an improvement!

 

[MRG]

dude rapid city and cheyenne and he's looking to move somewhere with better weather

you win the internet today! [emoji23]

It's a dry cold.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Hey man - Rapid City simply has a better climate than Minneapolis. Admittedly, he could head east, south, and west and find a better climate to live in than Minneapolis. It's the great thing about growing up there - most any place you move to is an improvement!

good point!

same thing I said about leaving houston 7 years ago lol

 

[ivinsfan]

Hey man - Rapid City simply has a better climate than Minneapolis. Admittedly, he could head east, south, and west and find a better climate to live in than Minneapolis. It's the great thing about growing up there - most any place you move to is an improvement!

It's not always about or else MN would be empty

 

[bloom2708]

Just a stab in the dark. NW corner of Phoenix. Anthem/New River.

Just far enough "out". Houses still somewhat reasonable. Amenities. Part way to Sedona/Grand Canyon.

35 minutes to downtown in non-rush hour.

Good luck with your search.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I really haven't. I will take a look. First reaction is it might be too cold in the winters.

Surprise, surprise, surprise. Boise is not that bad in the winters (relative to Minneapolis.) Interesting...

 

[Qs Laptop]

Any interest in being a snowbird instead? Lots of Minnesota people come to Florida for the winter.

I know several people that do exactly that. I shall consider it, but I really don't want the expense of two places to live.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I was born in St. Paul and spent the first 37 years of my life in the Twin Cities area. So I can relate some. Then moved to California (Folsom) and then in and around East SF Bay (Pleasanton), South SF Bay (San Jose,) and Monterey Bay (Aptos.) Spent about 9 years there. Moved to Eugene/Springfield area of Oregon and been here 12 years. We're planning to move yet again, now that we too are retired. Also looking for sun, minimal snow, not too hot, not too cold, and of course affordable. Will have to settle on less-than-perfect of course!

I already posted a climate comparison tool in an earlier post.

"Number one for me is climate. I need sunny days. No snow, or very little snow. Moderate to low humidity. This criteria cuts down a lot of territory."

Indeed - driest and sunniest areas of the country are west of about the 100th longitude and east of about 120th longitude. Given your preferences, in that area probably no farther north than Rapid City, SD and no farther south than, say, San Antonio TX (humidity may become an unpleasant factor much south of the Hill area of TX.)

Financial comparisons:
Since property taxes are set at the city and county level, it is surprising that that a single tool exists at all that seems to allow one to estimate them:
https://smartasset.com/taxes/property-taxes

Of course if you intend to own a home (or even rent) you'll need tools to compare the costs of the single largest non-liquid asset you are likely to own, so a site like https://www.zillow.com/home-values/ helps.

With respect to income taxes, sunny, dry, snow that doesn't stick around, and avoidance of high humidity (I personally have no issue with cold so long as there is plenty of sun) you may want to check out Rapid City, Cheyenne, and northern areas of Texas.
Wife and I took a driving tour from Oregon through Evanston WY, Cody, Sheridan, Casper, Cheyenne and Rapid City areas in June to see what we thought of them as places to move to. The only one that stayed on our list was Rapid City (the Black Hills act as a barrier to the prevailing winds that put Rapid City in a banana belt - i.e. averaging slightly warmer than places around them.) However, our elimination of WY places had more to do with limited scheduled air carrier access to hubs of future interest than anything else - Wyoming is a great place to find isolation. Other issue is winters last longer due to most of WY at a higher plain of existence (lapse rate and all that means.)
In August we flew from Oregon down to San Antonio, rented a car, and spent a couple weeks touring the "Hill" country of Texas. Stopped in at a few open houses of places meeting some of our preferences to get a feel for the housing market (otherwise too soon for us - we were up-front with the agents about our time frame.) Definitely warmer climes and housing prices were reasonable. Property taxes are definitely higher, though of course Texas has no income tax

Kerrville TX and Rapid City SD may not seem to have much in common, but at the moment they both are on our short list. But we're in no hurry and they both may vanish to be replaced with something else.

Thank you so much for that property tax site. Very helpful.

I knew about Zillow. I've been using it recently. Another site like Zillow is Trulia.

My sister lived in Rapid City for three years back in the 80's. She loved it. Lot more sunshine than in Minneapolis. Summers were about the same temp, but a lot drier, less humidity. She said it was a lot milder in the winter than she expected with less snow. (But when it came, it came in big.) She also lived in Austin, TX for a while. Didn't like that too much. Hot and humid.

 

[Souschef]

Yes, I learned that when Minneapolis was ranked in the top ten cities to retire to. Actually #2 on Sperling's. The climate is terrible. The taxes are high. The cost of living in moderately high. These are some of the main things I want to escape.

Number one for me is climate. I need sunny days. No snow, or very little snow. Moderate to low humidity. This criteria cuts down a lot of territory.

Number two would be low to moderate cost of living. That eliminates another big chunk. (California.)


If money were no object I would move to Santa Barbara, CA.

Come a little bit further south to Ventura County.
In my +55 park, they are installing 2 brand new manufactured homes. I think they will ask about $200--250K for them.
We get the ocean influence, but not too much of the fog.
If you want details, PM me. I love it here
Also SBA is only 45 miles from here.

 

[ocean view]

OP-can you be more specific on your ideal temperature/humidity? When you dismiss a town as too hot are you considering the difference in humidity that may exist between MN and the new town? For example I’m in CA where humidity doesn’t really exist, so 80-85 is quite nice. My SIL in Michigan says 80 is horrible, but that’s due to the humidity. Just something to keep in mind.

Btw, the eastern parts of CA are more conservative and relatively lower COL than the coastal regions.

 

[Qs Laptop]

OP-can you be more specific on your ideal temperature/humidity? When you dismiss a town as too hot are you considering the difference in humidity that may exist between MN and the new town? For example I’m in CA where humidity doesn’t really exist, so 80-85 is quite nice. My SIL in Michigan says 80 is horrible, but that’s due to the humidity. Just something to keep in mind.

Yes, I am taking humidity into account. Actually, dewpoint is a better indicator of overall comfort at hotter temperatures.

Generally speaking I would like summers, June, July, August to be in the upper 80's, lower-mid 90's with humidity levels no more than 40%. I think this would be dewpoints in the 50's. I could stand temps around 100 for a week or two if it were not humid. Winters need to have very few days (or nights) that get below freezing (32 degrees F) I would like a change of season, even snow once in a while if it didn't stay on the ground.

Btw, the eastern parts of CA are more conservative and relatively lower COL than the coastal regions.

Any suggested towns or cities?

 

[Fedup]

I live in Coastal regions of California and it’s been known to be conservative. Turning a little less, but still conservative. It depends on your budget. But some people from our area sold their condo and bought in Temecula. I don’t know whether it’s more conservative or not, but it’s wine country so it’s cool enough for grapes. Maybe dry heat, no humidity.

 

[Souschef]

Y



Any suggested towns or cities?

Ventura, Santa Paula, Camarillo

 

[Bamaman]

I notice you don't mention availably of public services and/or political climate of the new area? Is this at all important to you? I'm in MN too and we do have higher taxes but great public services and programs. I can tell you right off that many low tax states can't hold a candle to our programs. In NM ranks at the bottom of public services for a lot of areas.

One thing that made me move to Alabama is a lack of public services and programs. We have all we need without getting the state government involved in any "programs."

The low price of real estate has allowed me to have a 5200 square foot home in a luxury neighborhood (7000 to 10,500 square foot homes) for under $300K. We also have a lake house across town. The property taxes on our main residence are waived due to my wife being disabled. The property taxes on $400K for the lake house are $1,147 per year. We have 2 colleges in town bringing culture, and a very active music scene. Two Robert Trent Jones golf courses are down the street from us at the lake.

But there are many, many great places to live for different reasons. I especially like small to medium size cities with major universities for retirement. Like Oxford, MS, Columbia, MO, Springfield, MO, Clemson, SC Auburn, AL and many others.

 

[ocean view]

Any suggested towns or cities?

The Sacramento/San Joaquin Valley will be too hot, but the foothill communities that run east of the valley might work. Minor league baseball may be an option in some of these areas.

-Paradise CA which is east of Chico (college town)
-any community along Hwy 80 or Hwy 50 between Sac and Reno/Tahoe
-Any community in the foothills around Yosemite and Sequoia NP (Robbie B’s neck of the woods)

 

[ivinsfan]

Yes, I am taking humidity into account. Actually, dewpoint is a better indicator of overall comfort at hotter temperatures.

Generally speaking I would like summers, June, July, August to be in the upper 80's, lower-mid 90's with humidity levels no more than 40%. I think this would be dewpoints in the 50's. I could stand temps around 100 for a week or two if it were not humid. Winters need to have very few days (or nights) that get below freezing (32 degrees F) I would like a change of season, even snow once in a while if it didn't stay on the ground.



Any suggested towns or cities?

Good luck on your hunt you are starting to sound a little bit like Goldilocks and the 3 Bears ...not too hot and not too cold. Fair enough but area that fit your desires and usually pretty darn expensive...as someone who lives in your state try not to get too hung up on the weather, it's important but so far weather is really the only thing you are talking about.

Since we still farm we leave for a month or two from Jan to March or so. My main concern is that my area doesn't get blizzards and that there is never ice on the ground so we don't need to worry about falling on the ice.

You'll find in areas like St George during the worst of the summertime people stay inside or go visit family in other areas just like we Snowbird.

 

[ivinsfan]

One thing that made me move to Alabama is a lack of public services and programs. We have all we need without getting the state government involved in any "programs."

The low price of real estate has allowed me to have a 5200 square foot home in a luxury neighborhood (7000 to 10,500 square foot homes) for under $300K. We also have a lake house across town. The property taxes on our main residence are waived due to my wife being disabled. The property taxes on $400K for the lake house are $1,147 per year. We have 2 colleges in town bringing culture, and a very active music scene. Two Robert Trent Jones golf courses are down the street from us at the lake.

But there are many, many great places to live for different reasons. I especially like small to medium size cities with major universities for retirement. Like Oxford, MS, Columbia, MO, Springfield, MO, Clemson, SC Auburn, AL and many others.

I think you are misunderstanding my comments about public services. It's a fine line between making your community safe and healthy and improving the life of taxpayers with government money and giving everyone a free Cadillac. You are fine without the services because you don't need them, but providing the basics for everyone improves the whole community. You don't think that the two colleges are government services? This is the stuff I'm talking about.