Retirement home in Vermont or New Hampshire

[Al in Ohio]

Born in New England (Needham, Ma) but spent my entire *orking life in Ohio. Still in Central Ohio, where my wife grew up. I have been retired 5 years so far, she still *orking for another 2-3 years. Initially was thinking of moving to Asheville NC for cooler summers and lots of active retirees nearby, but now wondering about Vermont or New Hampshire. Anyone out there who’s done this would you please share your thoughts? Pros and cons?

 

[bolt]

Born in New England (Needham, Ma) but spent my entire *orking life in Ohio. Initially was thinking of moving to Asheville NC for cooler summers and lots of active retirees nearby, but now wondering about Vermont or New Hampshire.

I know Needham. VT is paying some people 10k to move there, to work remotely, iirc.
Start advising people online

I'd certainly "rent" somewhere 8-12mo. before going all in!
Things change as you well know.
Good Luck & Best wishes.....

 

[pb4uski]

We were born and raised in Vermont, went to Boston area for about 6 years for school/work and have lived in Vermont since. Moved into our lakefront home in 2011 and retired soon thereafter.

When I was working and living here I used to say that the great summers here are our dividend for tolerating winter.... but now I don't stay here for winters but still get the great summers.

 

[jabbahop]

We raised our kids in Vermont and now are snowbirds - Southern Utah winters and Vermont summers.

Pros:
glorious summers
beautiful rural areas
lots of outdoor opportunities
nice people
great schools (doesn’t matter if you are retired)
Has done a good job with covid
Some nice smaller cities/towns - Burlington, middlebury, Montpelier, etc.
Good ACA insurance options - good coverage and no age based pricing
lots of interesting people from all over end up in vermont - from somalia to wall street

Cons
Winters are long, cold and gray
it is expensive - COL and taxes are high (see good schools)
large airport are typically a couple hours or more away (Montreal - if border is open, Boston)
lack a robust job market

Another factor is political climate which may or may not be your cup of tea.

Rent and spend a year here and decide. Good luck with your search.

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

I often here that taxes are much higher in both NH and Vermont.

We migrated to Maine after I retired, so obviously we do not pay income taxes, and our property taxes are fairly low. [2400 sq ft house on 150-acre farm We have been paying around $800/year in taxes. Though right now with COVID-19 spending our state is broke and our governor may need to raise our property taxes to get through the rest of this pandemic].

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

We migrated to Maine after I retired, so obviously we do not pay income taxes

Why would that be obvious? IIRC, you have military pension, and IIRC Maine does not levy tax on those? But Maine does have a normal tax on other income, right?

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

Why would that be obvious? IIRC, you have military pension, and IIRC Maine does not levy tax on those? But Maine does have a normal tax on other income, right?

I personally would not wish to settle anywhere that taxed my income.

My other income streams I am able to keep sheltered from taxation.

 

[albireo13]

We are retiring in Exeter, NH. It is a relatively small town but, vibrant with some colonial history to it. And don't forget the Aliens !! (Incident at Exeter)
Property tax is high but, otherwise great area to live. Near the seacoast. (7mi to ocean), Portsmouth and Maine are close, and the White Mountains are reachable for day trips.

 

[friar1610]

We raised our kids in Vermont and now are snowbirds - Southern Utah winters and Vermont summers.

Pros:
glorious summers
beautiful rural areas
lots of outdoor opportunities
nice people
great schools (doesn’t matter if you are retired)
Has done a good job with covid
Some nice smaller cities/towns - Burlington, middlebury, Montpelier, etc.
Good ACA insurance options - good coverage and no age based pricing
lots of interesting people from all over end up in vermont - from somalia to wall street

Cons
Winters are long, cold and gray
it is expensive - COL and taxes are high (see good schools)
large airport are typically a couple hours or more away (Montreal - if border is open, Boston)
lack a robust job market

Another factor is political climate which may or may not be your cup of tea.

Rent and spend a year here and decide. Good luck with your search.

We lived (as retirees) in VT for 8 years. I generally agree with all the points above (at least those that applied to us.) In retrospect, we probably selected a too rural area with too much land to care for. So when we decided to relocate we also decided to leave VT to come back to MA. (A large part of that decision was to be closer to family in MA.) We have many fond memories of our time in VT. Often wonder if we would have stayed there if we'd originally bought closer to Burlington or Montpelier (we weren't too far from

Feel free to PM me with any specific Qs.

 

[RAE]

NH/Vermont have great summer weather, but the winters are very long. Make sure you give that a lot of thought before you retire in a place like that. I'm in Michigan, and the summers are great here too, but as I got older, the winters became harder and harder to tolerate. So now we snowbird to the South for 5 months, which works for us. I would not want to spend the whole winter in Michigan anymore, but I don't want to spend summers in the deep South, either.

 

[Al in Ohio]

We were born and raised in Vermont, went to Boston area for about 6 years for school/work and have lived in Vermont since. Moved into our lakefront home in 2011 and retired soon thereafter.

When I was working and living here I used to say that the great summers here are our dividend for tolerating winter.... but now I don't stay here for winters but still get the great summers.

That’s what I remember about growing up. Great summers with clear skies. I wonder if we could stand the winters or would need to snowbird.

 

[finnski1]

Live in SW NH. moved here in 1988 from MA.

We love it here and still enjoy winter activities. September is my favorite month cool nights, warm days, no bugs etc.
Overall we have fared very well here financially.
20 years plus of no income or sales tax has saved us over $200,000 in state taxes. There are taxes on dividends to consider (5% after the first $2400) Our real estate taxes in this town have been slightly over comparable MA towns but not much. NH RE taxes are known to be high but it varies considerably from town to town. We have been lucky.
Having said that if you don't like winter you would have to snowbird or own a second home in a warm locale.
So far we both love winter but it could change when we get into our 70's and beyond. I hope not but we would still stay here 8 or 9 months a year and snowbird the rest.

 

[Al in Ohio]

I often here that taxes are much higher in both NH and Vermont.

We migrated to Maine after I retired, so obviously we do not pay income taxes, and our property taxes are fairly low. [2400 sq ft house on 150-acre farm We have been paying around $800/year in taxes. Though right now with COVID-19 spending our state is broke and our governor may need to raise our property taxes to get through the rest of this pandemic].

Interesting. Pethaps we should also consider Maine.

 

[Al in Ohio]

Live in SW NH. moved here in 1988 from MA.

We love it here and still enjoy winter activities. September is my favorite month cool nights, warm days, no bugs etc.
Overall we have fared very well here financially.
20 years plus of no income or sales tax has saved us over $200,000 in state taxes. There are taxes on dividends to consider (5% after the first $2400) Our real estate taxes in this town have been slightly over comparable MA towns but not much. NH RE taxes are known to be high but it varies considerably from town to town. We have been lucky.
Having said that if you don't like winter you would have to snowbird or own a second home in a warm locale.
So far we both love winter but it could change when we get into our 70's and beyond. I hope not but we would still stay here 8 or 9 months a year and snowbird the rest.

Living in Ohio and remembering winters in Mass I’d say our winters are both milder and a month shorter. I have found I still prefer to escape February and March by driving to FL and stay with snowbirds in a condo each year the last 3 years. I don’t mind a small amount of winter, but it’s nice to escape most of it.

 

[DrRoy]

I'd certainly "rent" somewhere 8-12mo. before going all in!

+1

 

[finnski1]

Living in Ohio and remembering winters in Mass I’d say our winters are both milder and a month shorter. I have found I still prefer to escape February and March by driving to FL and stay with snowbirds in a condo each year the last 3 years. I don’t mind a small amount of winter, but it’s nice to escape most of it.

Sounds like a plan.


We lived in MA growing up in the 60's and 70's (and 80's) were you there in the infamous blizzard 0f '78? it was certainly interesting.

 

[pb4uski]

Interesting. Pethaps we should also consider Maine.

We have some friends who moved from Vermont to Maine and they say that Maine taxes are brutal.

 

[BeachOrCity]

I wouldn’t let taxes be a primary factor in where I retired.

If you are subject to any significant income tax it means you have some money and the taxes alone won’t make or break your retirement financially

What will make or break it is retiring in a location that offers the people, activities , weather and amenities that allows you to have a fulfilling retirement

 

[finnski1]

We have some friends who moved from Vermont to Maine and they say that Maine taxes are brutal.

Yes and in NH the total would only be the $16334. No state income tax.
Also no state sales tax. 6% in VT and 5.5% in Maine.
When your income is double that you double the savings (obviously).

Of course in retirement the advantage could be less as you most likely would have much lower taxable income and may have income sources that receive favorable treatment.

 

[Al in Ohio]

I wouldn’t let taxes be a primary factor in where I retired.

If you are subject to any significant income tax it means you have some money and the taxes alone won’t make or break your retirement financially

What will make or break it is retiring in a location that offers the people, activities , weather and amenities that allows you to have a fulfilling retirement

Good point. Thanks

 

[Al in Ohio]

Yes and in NH the total would only be the $16334. No state income tax.
Also no state sales tax. 6% in VT and 5.5% in Maine.
When your income is double that you double the savings (obviously).

Of course in retirement the advantage could be less as you most likely would have much lower taxable income and may have income sources that receive favorable treatment.

Thanks for running these number comparisons. So living in NH rather than Maine nets me a nice extra trip or cruise somewhere each year!

 

[doneat54]

Lived in MA since '88, retired in '17. DW still working until '22. Bought a 2nd house on a lake in south central NH last summer, very rural area, but only 30 mins from larger cities (Portsmouth and Concord). I also LOVE Vermont.


NH is definitely cheaper than MA. Taxes, utilities, groceries (by a bit) gas, etc. Our electric bills this summer at the lakehouse, running some window ACs, have been about the same as our MA house when we are basically never there!



Can't speak for VT, but many years ago I saw an interesting article on aggregate taxation by state. EVERY tax was considered, and much to my surprise, VT was the highest. Over NY, over CA. Never been able to find that article since.


I concur on the winter. They suck. Summer and fall (and spring, if we have one) are great. But we are long term trying to figure out a way to escape them. Having spent my childhood in SC, I will tell you that summers here are fantastic. We have central air in our primary home and maybe run it 2-3 weeks total out of the summer.


We have decided to sell out primary home in MA in '23. Whether we keep the lakehouse and live there remains to be seen. I am kind of on the fence..... but loving it now.

Good luck with your decision. I for one love New England .......... 8-9 months out of the year.

 

[Al in Ohio]

NH/Vermont have great summer weather, but the winters are very long. Make sure you give that a lot of thought before you retire in a place like that. I'm in Michigan, and the summers are great here too, but as I got older, the winters became harder and harder to tolerate. So now we snowbird to the South for 5 months, which works for us. I would not want to spend the whole winter in Michigan anymore, but I don't want to spend summers in the deep South, either.

That is my initial thought. One thing for sure is I wouldn’t tolerate summers in the south.

 

[Al in Ohio]

Sounds like a plan.


We lived in MA growing up in the 60's and 70's (and 80's) were you there in the infamous blizzard 0f '78? it was certainly interesting.

We moved to Ohio just months before the blizzard so we experienced the blizzard in Ohio our first winter here.

 

[anony mouse]

We summer in VT at a remote cabin, and spend the winter in Asheville. It's a great way to live. Amazing summer weather and great community in VT, then a delicate taste of mild winter and lovely flowering spring in Asheville.

It's like having two different lives, the back and forth is a little tiring driving and leaving friends is hard, but worth it. Property taxes are steep in VT compared to Asheville.

Winter in VT would be too harsh for us.