Illinois ???

[Gumby]

My wife grew up in Trumball. Her father commuted daily into Manhattan for work. They lived in CT because it was cheaper than living in NY but CT has been one of the highest cost of living states in the country for years. Plus......it snows there!

Mike

The cost of groceries, clothes, garden supplies, etc. is the same as almost everywhere else. With the exemptions for pensions, SS and tIRA withdrawals, the income taxes on a retiree are quite reasonable. My property tax is about 2% of the market value of my house (taxes are based on assessed value, which is 70% of appraised value; my mill rate is 26.5). Sales tax is 6.35%, with food exempted. The major contributor to the cost of living here is the relatively high cost of housing. But if you're retired and don't need to be close to work or easy commuting (by train or car), you can still find something quite reasonable.


And the snow is not that bad, particularly on the shoreline of Long Island Sound, where I live. It's not too cold in the winter and not too hot in the summer. If you grow plants, the shoreline is USDA Hardiness Zone 7a and inland is 6b, except in the northwest hills.

Thanks -- I will check CT out! Interested in what exactly their prop tax exemption would equate to.

"All veterans with a disability rating of 75 percent or more in Connecticut may receive a property tax exemption of $3,000 from the total assessed value of his/her property if the veteran served at least 90 days of active duty during wartime and are honorably discharged."

I would qualify for that criteria but does $3000 mean $3k OFF the tax BILL or just a Assessed value coming down from say 200K to 197K

It means $3k off the assessed value. So if you lived in my town, which has a mill rate of 26.5, it would save you $79.50 per year. Not much, but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

 

[W2R]

I'm 74, and I have noticed that the older I get, the more I despise cold weather and snow. Other people my age often seem to experience the same.

It's possible that you might decide in 10 years that you wished you had retired to a warmer state than Illinois or Connecticut.

Or not! Some people are happily retired to snowy, icy, miserably cold places. I don't see how they can bear it, but it is what it is.

Personally I'd happily pay state taxes to avoid the cold, ice, snow, etc.

 

[GenXguy]

I'm working now, so I have to get out in the winter no matter how cold or snowy it might be. I figured when I retire, I'll have a lot more flexibility to stay in on the worst days and that it won't bother me as much.

 

[Ronstar]

...It's possible that you might decide in 10 years that you wished you had retired to a warmer state than Illinois or Connecticut.....

The part of Illinois that OP is considering is near St. Louis and is not even close to having Chicago-like winters. Winters down there are mild. Winters up here near Chicago can be nasty.

 

[Bamaman]

I used to live on the Indiana state line but my office was in Illinois. Never could get used to living and working in different time zones 6 months out of the year.

But retiring is not always dollars and cents. It's the quality of life that really means the most to me. Illinois (and the Midwest in general) is a really beautiful place--if you're a farmer. But I'm not a farmer.

Southwest Missouri, northwest Arkansas and the lakes region of MO/AR state lines are incredibly nice places to live. Springfield, MO and Fayetteville/Bentonville, AR are the dominant cities in the region. They're big enough but not too big. And much of the area is actually a relatively new society with newer homes.

The lakes like Norfolk Lake, Bull Shoals Lake, Lake of the Ozarks and Table Rock Lake provide a very nice quality of life, and recreation abounds. But what's the best thing is the quality of the people that live in these areas.

That's where I'd be very happy to move.

 

[militaryman]

The part of Illinois that OP is considering is near St. Louis and is not even close to having Chicago-like winters. Winters down there are mild. Winters up here near Chicago can be nasty.

Definitely looking towards the southern part to avoid the Chicago Winters, wanting to be near Air Force Base (within an hour) in order to further take advantage of alot of the benefits we have available to us. Also St Louis has the Intl. Airport that would allow us to take advantage of the increase in budget that no Prop tax, & State tax would afford us

 

[Gumby]

Definitely looking towards the southern part to avoid the Chicago Winters, wanting to be near Air Force Base (within an hour) in order to further take advantage of alot of the benefits we have available to us. Also St Louis has the Intl. Airport that would allow us to take advantage of the increase in budget that no Prop tax, & State tax would afford us

I forgot to mention that we also have a Navy base in CT (Groton Sub Base), with a commissary and exchange, a VA hospital and 31 other full service hospitals within a 50 x 100 mile area, and plenty of airports. Think about it.

 

[GenXguy]

Illinois (and the Midwest in general) is a really beautiful place--if you're a farmer. But I'm not a farmer.

Come on, there's plenty to see and do in Illinois that has nothing to do with farming.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I can deal with cold better than heat. In 2019 we went to New Orleans in the beginning of March and I got sick from the heat at 11am walking the 2 miles from our Airbnb to the French quarter. We looked for a restaurant with AC and I looked so bad when I walked in that the host ran to get me a cloth napkin and told me to feel free to wipe my face and neck and then ran to get a pitcher of cold water. The manager even stopped at our table to see if I was okay.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I'm 74, and I have noticed that the older I get, the more I despise cold weather and snow. Other people my age often seem to experience the same.

It's possible that you might decide in 10 years that you wished you had retired to a warmer state than Illinois or Connecticut.

Or not! Some people are happily retired to snowy, icy, miserably cold places. I don't see how they can bear it, but it is what it is.

Personally I'd happily pay state taxes to avoid the cold, ice, snow, etc.

Here in Wisconsin, I've known a number of people who moved north after they retired.

 

[aja8888]

Here in Wisconsin, I've known a number of people who moved north after they retired.

My retired sister-in-law and her husband live in Tomahawk, WI and have been in the state 90% of their lives. Beautiful area!

Both worked in Eau-Claire, WI before moving north. Each winter they come to visit us and other family members down south here. They go back in the Spring.

I've lived in many states during my life; CT, FL, MI, WI, MO, PA, CA, TX...I think that's it. My last living friend from my early years lives outside of Joplin, MO. That is one very nice area and the climate is very livable. Arkansas is quite nice, too.

Many new retirees are heading to the south in states like Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, etc as those areas have not been run over with bad politics and area still very affordable.

As far as Illinois, I would suggest somewhere near the Missouri state line as St. Louis is not too far away.

 

[rk911]

I'm 74, and I have noticed that the older I get, the more I despise cold weather and snow. Other people my age often seem to experience the same.

It's possible that you might decide in 10 years that you wished you had retired to a warmer state than Illinois or Connecticut.

Or not! Some people are happily retired to snowy, icy, miserably cold places. I don't see how they can bear it, but it is what it is.

Personally I'd happily pay state taxes to avoid the cold, ice, snow, etc.

my wife and i are 72 and 71 and lifellong residents of illinois. we often talked about moving out of state and i interviewed with 9-1-1 centers in MO and CO but was not offered the position. not sure i would've accepted if I had been offered. we are essentially alone. childless by choice and neither of us has any extended family but I do have one sister and a nephew in Chicago. i am caregiver to my wife and if i get seriously ill or injured she'd be up the creek were it not for my sister and nephew. so, here we stay. we're not angry about it, it's just the way it is. we have a very comfortable life, a nice home and want for nothiing.

but this state is the very definition of corruption. the "Illinois Combine", a group of politicians from both parties, business leaders and other influential persons, pull the strings to suit themselves. the state's fiscal health is poor and in my judgment it won't be getting better anytime soon. if i were contemplating a move it would not be to Illinois.

 

[OldShooter]

Yea, Looks pretty bad fiscally. Wonder what the logic would be in "we are already a high tax state so let's "fix" our fiscal problems by raising taxes further and driving more tax payers away

They are running out of options. Don't count on rational behavior. A chunk of that tax free income you smile about is likely to get whacked. Stay away.

 

[Sunset]

The part of Illinois that OP is considering is near St. Louis and is not even close to having Chicago-like winters. Winters down there are mild. Winters up here near Chicago can be nasty.

I moved from much farther up North, and consider the Winters here mostly pretty mild. There is often 1 week where it's COLD, but the rest is ok.

I haven't used my snowblower in easily 5 years, I just shovel our 6 car driveway.

Maybe we are going through a warm spell

 

[Sunset]

I can deal with cold better than heat. In 2019 we went to New Orleans in the beginning of March and I got sick from the heat at 11am walking the 2 miles from our Airbnb to the French quarter. We looked for a restaurant with AC and I looked so bad when I walked in that the host ran to get me a cloth napkin and told me to feel free to wipe my face and neck and then ran to get a pitcher of cold water. The manager even stopped at our table to see if I was okay.

I've noticed the same thing, our recent 85->90 degree days were just brutal. Making me rethink about Florida.

 

[Time2]

I was born and raised in Chicago and both my wife and I are retired, disabled vets. My entire family lives in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. I'm 62 and my wife is 60. NO WAY IN H^LL would I put up with those winters again. I wish you well and thank you for your service.

Mike

Ditto this! I was born and raised in Michigan, moved to Fl when I was 39, now at 67 I still don't miss the snow. I like to say, "You don't have to brush the sunshine off your windshield"

I also don't care to repeat the time I did a 360* spin on ice and just kept going straight down the road. I would like to have been the guy behind me though!

 

[Midpack]

Illinois has long been reportedly one of the least fiscally sound states, this report says Illinois has the worst fiscal stability. I know they have one of the worst unfunded pension liability situations. We just left the area, don’t miss it at all, partly due to fiscal challenges - I wouldn’t trust my retirement to state that already can’t pay its bills…

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/fiscal-stability

https://www.mercatus.org/publications/urban-economics/state-fiscal-rankings

The bottom five states in terms of fiscal solvency are Kentucky (#46), Massachusetts (#47), New Jersey (#48), Connecticut (#49), and Illinois (#50).

Cash solvency is a measure of whether a state can meet its short-term spending obligations. A state can do that by drawing from cash reserves or by liquidating assets (typically invested funds). Ideally, a state has enough supply of ready cash—the cash ratio—to make its payments, or at least enough liquidity in the so-called quick ratio, the indicator of liquid current assets that can be converted and accessed quickly. If a state has a large current ratio (a broader measure of liquidity), however, it’s not necessarily the best policy to hold all reserves as cash. However, the Mercatus paper implicitly rewards such an approach by summing the cash ratio, quick ratio, and current ratio (the first two being subsets of the latter) to yield a ranking.

It’s undoubtedly a very bad thing that Illinois’ cash ratio is 0.49, meaning that its actual cash reserves are less than half the value of the next two months’ anticipated payments, and it’s deeply troubling that its current ratio is a mere 1.26. That’s a state that literally cannot pay its bills. But is it praiseworthy that Montana, with a current ratio of 5.4, has a 4.09 cash ratio, or might it make sense to invest more of it? For that matter, is the highest possible current ratio always the best thing, or might that sometimes be an indication that the state is bringing in more revenue than it needs?

 

[CRLLS]

I have lived in Illinois for most of my life. As a retiree, the current tax situation is good for us. ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶c̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶t̶a̶x̶ ̶I̶ ̶p̶a̶y̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶R̶o̶t̶h̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶v̶e̶r̶s̶i̶o̶n̶s̶ I hate Winters too. I would move somewhere warm in a heartbeat. But family is here, so here I will stay. Most places I have casually considered moving to have other "problems" such as wildfires, access to drinkable water (now or soon), hurricanes, sink holes and the list goes on. Not to mention taxes (in all forms). I do not believe that there is any retirement location that checks all the boxes. Of course, if the Illinois tax situation changes significantly, I will reevaluate our options.

 

[militaryman]

This is all great food for thought! Still very tempting to have the possibility of $700/mo more in our discretionary budget. Right now I'm paying $5400 in property tax and when I retire I would be saving about $3k more in Illinois due to no taxing of pensions and 401k withdraws.

Trying to retire before 57 when we'd still be able to travel allot and do things and having the extra margin money would suit those needs fine. After all these responses I am thinking perhaps a much simpler home that cost about half what I currently have (and invest the equity) so upkeep & maintenance are simple so we can feel good to "arm, lock and leave" for our next adventure whenever. Also having a small amount invested in Illinois real estate would limit my exposure to any loss if we did need tho exit the state for any reason. Of course if we're not going to invest much in a home then the property tax exemption is not AS big a deal. Maybe there are several other states that have no tax on pensions and 401k withdraws.

 

[militaryman]

I have lived in Illinois for most of my life. As a retiree, the current tax situation is good for us. The only state income tax I pay is for Roth conversions. I hate Winters too. I would move somewhere warm in a heartbeat. But family is here, so here I will stay. Most places I have casually considered moving to have other "problems" such as wildfires, access to drinkable water (now or soon), hurricanes, sink holes and the list goes on. Not to mention taxes (in all forms). I do not believe that there is any retirement location that checks all the boxes. Of course, if the Illinois tax situation changes significantly, I will reevaluate our options.

Very true, every state will have some drawback and with the property tax exemption already "on the books" and no tax on pensions or 401k withdraws in place already all the main negatives are for "potential" future changes.... The snow issue is a non issue for me as I want to be far south in the state and have always enjoyed 4 seasons anyways.

So shall I operate out of fear of what they #might do to the elderly and disabled veterans or roll the dice that it's going to be hard to swallow politically to take from the veterans and seniors to fix fiscal woes?

 

[JoeWras]

Chicago kid here.

The cold doesn't bother me that much, I'd move back. What bothers me is trudging in all the crap with you in the winter. The dirt soaked slush. The salt-eating slush on the cars. The "tire cheese" that drops off in the garage.

Then there is slipping and falling on ice/snow, a risk as we age.

Otherwise, I love the climate. Summers in Chicago are the best. I spent a summer in Champaign, 1983, one of the hotest. No air conditioning. It was a summer of hell. Didn't help that I was in engineering summer school (no jobs, deep recession, decided to stay in school). Chicago has the lake as a natural air conditioner. It is very unique, and makes for really one of the best summer climates around. The rest of the state is very different in summer. Southern IL qualifies to me as a true southern summer climate.

 

[street]

I can deal with cold better than heat. In 2019 we went to New Orleans in the beginning of March and I got sick from the heat at 11am walking the 2 miles from our Airbnb to the French quarter. We looked for a restaurant with AC and I looked so bad when I walked in that the host ran to get me a cloth napkin and told me to feel free to wipe my face and neck and then ran to get a pitcher of cold water. The manager even stopped at our table to see if I was okay.

OHHH so can I! Heat/humidity is miserable, winter/cold is refreshing and actually has health benefits.

 

[braumeister]

OHHH so can I! Heat/humidity is miserable, winter/cold is refreshing and actually has health benefits.

This just illustrates to me that there are three types of people.

Many retirees head south to get away from the cold.

Some, like me, avoid the south to get away from the heat.

And the rest just deal with what they have.

I suppose you could add a fourth type, the snowbirds who migrate seasonally.

 

[CRLLS]

Very true, every state will have some drawback and with the property tax exemption already "on the books" and no tax on pensions or 401k withdraws in place already all the main negatives are for "potential" future changes.... The snow issue is a non issue for me as I want to be far south in the state and have always enjoyed 4 seasons anyways.

So shall I operate out of fear of what they #might do to the elderly and disabled veterans or roll the dice that it's going to be hard to swallow politically to take from the veterans and seniors to fix fiscal woes?

Snow is a tolerable issue for me, it is not any issue for DW. Truth is, we just bought our 1st AWD car to mitigate this issue. In the balance, DW's family and 1/2 of our kids/grandkids are here. The other half move every 3-4 years(military) so chasing them is not in our plans. I agree with you about changing locations now due to "potential" changes. Politicians are, well, politicians. They want to get reelected. As such, the high percentage of seniors that vote is a formidable voting block to piss off. I will, however, reevaluate if and when the taxation actually changes.

 

[ERD50]

I have lived in Illinois for most of my life. As a retiree, the current tax situation is good for us. The only state income tax I pay is for Roth conversions. ... .

I suggest you check your tax returns. I was pretty sure my Roth conversions are not taxed by the state of IL, but I'm only on my second cup, so decided to check:

https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/1999/jul/stevens.html

Furthermore, Illinois does not follow the federal tax law on taxing the conversion of a traditional to a Roth IRA. The amount included in an individual’s federal AGI from a conversion is excluded from Illinois taxable income.

I'll PM you a routing number that you can send a 10% finders fee to!


-ERD50