fire to NC, SC or FLA.

[killingme]

Hey all. Been trying to decide between a few states to move to, leaving Connecticut behind. In our travels the coastal regions of NC, SC and Florida all have their appeals. We want to be near water but in a more temperate climate. Florida can be downright oppressive though it seems to have the best tax structure and plenty to do (looking at the panhandle or St Augustine area. The Carolina;s are trickier...talking with folks there those from NC say SC is bad and vice versa. I noticed huge growth in planned communities in North Myrtle Beach area. It seems taxes would be higher in NC but much of it still has a small town feel which we like.

I've researched six ways to Sunday and have only gotten more turned around.
Would love to hear from folks living in any of these areas for their take. From quality of life, people and cost of living. thanks.

 

[Bamaman]

Let me just say that it's a long way out to coastal NC, and Eastern NC is pretty flat and quiet. The mountains in Western NC are what is attractive to me, and places like Highlands/Cashiers are incredible.
Myrtle Beach is a very busy resort town reminiscent of Florida resort cities, however it gets cold there in winters. Myrtle Beach is an especially great place for golfers, however.
There are other southeastern states with much more favorable taxation than NC/SC. For retirees, Georgia is better on the pocketbook and they have coastal areas in the Savannah far south just north of the Florida state line.
Florida is very kind to high income earners with no state income taxes. Relatively high property taxes, homeowners insurance and homeowners associations often run up the cost of living. St. Augustine home prices are relatively low. And the panhandle has lower property taxes, but home prices closer to the beach are pricey.
Many people have found Alabama's Gulf Coast to offer a much cheaper taxation and kinder place to retire to--Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area.
The internet has made it easy to research communities anywhere. But there is no substitute to feet on the ground. When making such an important life decision, you really should make trips to various regions to see communities and get the feel for the atmosphere.
We knew Megacorp was changing, and we moved to an ultra low cost of living city in Alabama with a major river/lake in our front yard. As an alternative to salt water, just about every major city in the southeast has lakes close by with a very high standard of living at affordable prices.

 

[killingme]

Thank you for the information. Our visits have been to coastal North and South Carolina, though we have covered more of Fla.
We are in a coastal area now but also have acreage. My concern is all the communities we looked at would be noise and light pollution as well as all the home being on a tenth of an acre. And while nothing beats boots on the ground, I find others people's perspectives just as telling.

 

[Ginny]

We moved this year from SOCAL to SC. We bought a home on the river with an acre on a dead end street. We love it! I feel like I live in a park. A few minutes drive to the beach. Water and air quality is so much better. (No rationing the water) We live in a quiet place. The heat and humidity are as bad as we expected, but hey, we have two air conditioners, one for each floor. People are friendly, love southern hospitality. Our formerly city dogs have adjusted well also, they do not run away even though we have no fence.

 

[Dtail]

We live 1 hour from the beach in FLA in a gated non retirement community. Our community pool is like a resort and has few people during the week. Taxes run about 2% of actual home value. Home insurance is typically around 1500. No state taxes still more than offsets other "higher costs".
Coming from Conn, you would probably find most things cheaper besides the water bill and groceries.
You have to love the heat to live in FLA full time. It is ~90 degrees 6 months a year with 4-5 of those months with high humidity.

 

[killingme]

Thanks for the comments. CT has become a place you can not FIRE easily (and I am tired of clearing a long driveway every time it snows). I am from NY originally and loved when we moved to CT (pre- income tax)...the state offers many conveniences but at a steep price tag. Wamrth, water, and tax savings are how we are looking to enjoy this stage of life, and all the first hand I can get from folks is incredibly helpful!

 

[thepalmersinking]

Sunset Beach NC. On the NC/SC border best place. Close enough to Myrle Beach and NC cities but very small town from FL. This week that retired there. Said it was too hot, too crowded and too dangerous in FL. They were from west coast.

 

[Gumby]

. . . the state offers many conveniences but at a steep price tag.

Yes, it does. IMHO, quality of life plays a large role in determining why some places are cheap and others are expensive. We have included the cost to continue living in CT in our retirement budget, so we're staying.

 

[sengsational]

Unless you're stash is after tax, NC or SC is going to be expensive, tax-wise compared to FL. Looking at $ for one year, it doesn't look too bad, but in a spreadsheet with 35 years, it's a big chunk of cash.

 

[Huston55]

I love the Low Country of the Carolinas near the beach...in the Spring & Fall. But, it is muggy & buggy 3+ mos/yr, and fairly cold 2+ mos/yr. We’ve lived in & visited a number of places in Florida (all 3 coasts) and, if you’re looking for warmth, water & tax saving (without it being oppressively hot in summer), I recommend the Florida east coast btwn Jacksonville & Vero Beach. If you live on the beach, it’s cooler than inland, the breeze makes it seem even cooler yet; and, if you choose to live in a beachfront mid-high rise condo 6+ stories up, you will avoid the bugs (even skeeters).

 

[imoldernu]

Harris Chain of Lakes Florida

15 mi.So.of The Villages... half the price twice the fun. Ours was LGH. Best time of our lives.

 

[aaronc879]

I think the Carolinas have almost as bad of Summers and far worse winters than Florida so I would choose Florida. Ideally you could afford to spend just the worst 3-5 winter months in Florida and stay up north the rest of the year.

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

I had an apartment building in Connecticut when I retired. No way I could afford to live there on my pension. We decided to move North.

I wish you the best luck

 

[Ready2Save]

I grew up in FL and always thought the NE part (Jax/St Augustine) was underrated. Nice beaches and being near a good size city (Jax) for the airport, medical, shopping has its benefits. All that said, I love, love, love Hilton Head Island...

 

[JoeWras]

I think the Carolinas have almost as bad of Summers and far worse winters than Florida so I would choose Florida. Ideally you could afford to spend just the worst 3-5 winter months in Florida and stay up north the rest of the year.

Yes. They are terrible. Please stay away.



We have a lot of Halfbacks living in the Carolinas. Your typical NEastener moves to FL then decides to move half way back. It is getting crowded.

 

[harllee]

Check out Southport NC. Small, quaint beautiful coastal town. Great fishing and boating, great restaurants. Close to excellent beaches, close to Wilmington NC, another nice NC coastal town. I would not move to the Myrtle Beach area, too touristy, too crowded, too much traffic but I do like Hilton Head and Charleston, SC.

 

[Midpack]

I’m not sure what others can tell you. We lived in central FL for 3 years, hated it and we’d never go back regardless, but I realize many/most would disagree. As much as we love being on/near the water, we’ve ruled out coastal options (within 100 miles) due to hurricanes, we can visit the coast often- no desire to start over if our house is ruined. We need to live in a large metro area, it can be much harder to fit in a small town or rural area coming from another state/region - true in most of the US. We’ve looked at all the same states as the OP and others and odds are we’ll end up in NC. NC is not as tax friendly as some states, but quality of life trumps taxes for us. Personal finance is important indeed, but it’s one of several factors...

 

[JoeWras]

I’m not sure what others can tell you. We lived in central FL for 3 years, hated it and we’d never go back regardless, but I realize many/most would disagree. As much as we love being on/near the water, we’ve ruled out coastal options (within 100 miles) due to hurricanes, we can visit the coast often- no desire to start over if our house is ruined. We need to live in a large metro area, it can be much harder to fit in a small town or rural area coming from another state/region - true in most of the US. We’ve looked at all the same states as the OP and others and odds are we’ll end up in NC. NC is not as tax friendly as some states, but quality of life trumps taxes for us. Personal finance is important indeed, but it’s one of several factors...

I lived in FL for 3 years too. The tax situation was nice.


I live in NC now. You may be my neighbor soon! I am now retired. I could move. I won't. Best place I've lived when all things are considered. Although the taxes are not optimal, there is more to like, although the population growth does hold some concerns.

 

[treeofpain]

Temperature, beach, and taxes are good qualifiers, but you will probably need to dial it in a bit more. Specifically, what sort of culture are you looking for? Living in SC, there is a dramatic difference in cultures among Grebville/Spartanburg, Columbia, Myrtle, Charleston, and Hilton Head, for example.


If you want better weather with more seasons than you get in most of Florida, the mountains of NC are great. Most of FL is hot/muggy/buggy with not much seasonality. SC is not a lot different, but it is a few degrees cooler in general. NC mountains actually has nice seasons.

 

[JoeWras]

Temperature, beach, and taxes are good qualifiers, but you will probably need to dial it in a bit more. Specifically, what sort of culture are you looking for? Living in SC, there is a dramatic difference in cultures among Grebville/Spartanburg, Columbia, Myrtle, Charleston, and Hilton Head, for example.

If you want better weather with more seasons than you get in most of Florida, the mountains of NC are great. Most of FL is hot/muggy/buggy with not much seasonality. SC is not a lot different, but it is a few degrees cooler in general. NC mountains actually has nice seasons.

I think the point about culture applies everywhere. FL is hugely different culturally. East and West coast, same latitude are very different, especially South. Parts of N. FL are are more Southern than anything in NC, for example. My first meal of proper cornbread, hoppin' john and fried chicken was in a small town near Gainesville. I really haven't had any meal so Southern in NC. And The Villages is, well, their own thing.

Much of the war between NC and SC is in fun, although there are distinct differences in state vibe. And treeofpain is correct, each region in those states are quite different.

Pro tip: learn how to pronounce "Beaufort" correctly before visiting each state. Hint: SC pronounces it wrong.

 

[treeofpain]

It's Byoo-fert.......y'all....

 

[JoeWras]

It's Byoo-fert.......y'all....

Bo called in and disagrees with you.

 

[JoeWras]

In the event this is required (pay attention, Midpack), this is the best pronunciation guide for NC I've seen: https://www.wral.com/nc-pronunciation-guide/10331495/

My favorite is the town of Conetoe, NC. No, it is not CONE - TOE. It is ka-NEE-tuh, of course.

Seems like all states have these tests to smoke out the visitors.

 

[bearkeley]

It would help to learn more about your interests and priorities. We live on the Chesapeake Bay at the VA / MD line and spent 7 months exploring the ICW to the Keys this past winter. We saw a lot of great spots in all states but we really liked Florida’s Hutchinson Island in Ft Pierce and bought a condo on the beach. As boaters, it gave us a lot of options, with the River and ocean / Bahamas access. Scuba, fishing, surfing, biking and with the island being surrounded by State Parks, it was great. Of course having multiple airports and only a few hours drive to Miami and the Fl west coast helps too. Anything south of it was too crowded for us, and anything north was too cold.

With that said, St Augustine was also a very nice area. We spent two months just south of it in Palm Coast (amazing marina /spa resort) and found it very pleasant.

If you can, I would suggest you consider renting before settling down. There are a lot of of wonderful areas to explore....if you don’t go during snowbird season, you can find amazing deals on monthly or weekly rentals...make it fun...it could be part of your FIRE adventure!

 

[JoeWras]

If you plan to be full time in FL, then it takes a year to fully appreciate most places in FL.

Off season you'll experience the undesirable weather, which is why it is off season. I didn't mind it that much.

On season, you'll experience what it is like to suddenly have a 50% population explosion of highly demanding neighbors. This doesn't apply to some areas that are truly not seasonal. Anything coastal, it applies. As a full time resident, I found The Season (as it is called) to be maddening.

Of course if you plan to snowbird, then the primary thing that matters is weather. You'll be one of the highly demanding neighbors telling all the full timers how to run the place in your absence.