Where to live after ER Why?

[davismills]

Warner Robins, GA 31 ... 36 ... 45K ... 115K Property tax 3100.

 

[Nightcap]

After considering everywhere from Maui to Maine to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, we retired in Brewster, in the crook of the elbow of the Strong Right Arm of Massachusetts. One of the major considerations was community. Retiring often means losing most of your social circle, and we wanted to be around People Like Us.

City Median age - State Median age- HH Med income - Med house value
59 - 39 - $57,174 - $406,300

(NB: the median home price is higher than the median household income can support because we have many expensive second homes. The plus side is that these fine people pay a disproportionate amount of taxes for the services they receive, and they're only here during the summer months.)

 

[Music Lover]

What's important to you? Make your list... Culture? Family? City? Country? Cost of living? Shopping/Restaurants/Entertainment? Distance from....? Healthcare/Retirement facilities? Neighbors -young, old, wealthy, average...? and how you'll fit in when you're 10 or 20 years older? Big house, small house, condo, country, in town, closed community? Social life?

I chose to remain in the same city that I've lived in my entire life because most of my family and friends are here. The city is large enough to have everything that I need, but not so big that it takes 2 hours to go anywhere. The only downside is the winters but technology and winter trips somewhere warm make it a lot more bearable.

 

[FI_RElater]

City Median age - State Median age- HH Med income - Med house value

Peru,Il.................... 45...38....47K....128K
Boulder Co............. 29...36....5kK....584K
San Francisco CA.....38...36....92K....941K
Austin TX.................32...34...56K....235K
Tampa FL.................35....42...44K...190K
Seattle WA..............36....38...80K...530K
Raleigh NC...............33...38....57K...227K
Chicago IL...............34...37...51K....239K
Nashville TN............34...38...51K....185K
Las Cruces NM.........33...37...41k....154K
Boise ID..................35...37...55K.....209K
Des Moines IA..........35...38...49K....119K
Carson City, NV.........43...38...42K...237K
New Orleans, LA.......36...36...39K...316K
Albuquerque, NM....36...37...48K...183K
Bend, OR...............37...39...53K...331K
Redmond, OR.........35...39...45K...198K

I added my current city, the city where I want to retire, and the nearby less expensive city where I might actually retire. I agree that having a younger population is not always an advantage - I suspect it leads to higher taxes for schools and other institutions and possibly more crime unless a major college town. For consistency I used the CD data but median home prices in Bend and Redmond are now closer to $376K an $260K respectively. But I have family in that area and have wanted to retire there for more than 20 years.
I'm always skeptical of CD home prices and sometimes the data is several years old and home prices can increase fast in a hot market.

ABQ

Yes, indeed, home prices have gone up considerably in the last few years-- probably up to 40% for the better stick built DFH with any view in both the Bend and Redmond areas-- if you can even find one that you might want. We're not in the city but rather have a stick built SFH with acreage-- with an unobstructed panoramic view of the Cascades from Bachelor to past Mt Jefferson. Can't really find too many like ours, and those with smaller acreage and worse views are going (sales prices) for about $400 k in Redmond to who knows how much in Bend; homes in Bend are on postage stamp sized lots, while those in Redmond can be 1/2 acre at best.
(One can expect with the upcoming crowds coming for the eclipse, that the realtors are going to make a push for some to come to the area further driving up demand and prices. Since you've been here, you know what the views can be; but I can easily see others drawn to the area, but only for retirement as the few jobs available don't pay that well, especially if you still need to pay for housing)

 

[Teacher Terry]

I moved to Northern NV for a job 20 years ago and love it here. The weather is awesome, etc. However, it is the most expensive place I have ever lived.

 

[FI_RElater]

I moved to Northern NV for a job 20 years ago and love it here. The weather is awesome, etc. However, it is the most expensive place I have ever lived.

Carson City, Reno? Or Gardiner/ Minden? Or are you around Tahoe at say Incline Village?

We'd looked at the area but didn't like the more desert like feel in the lower area nor the probable difficulties in the winter around Lake Tahoe. I saw the Tahoe area being expensive but not so much the other areas.

 

[rodi]

Here's my info for San Diego

CA state median age: 36.2
San Diego median age: 34.5
SD Median household income: $67,871
Median value of owner occupied home unit: $526,900

source: https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US0666000-san-diego-ca/

edited to add: I put where I live - because I have no plans to change cities. My house is paid for and my prop taxes are kept low by prop13. I live in paradise (to me) and see no reason to move.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Rodi: We used to live in CA when home prices were sensible. Our RE Taxes were acceptable in the mid 80's. Now we could not afford to buy our own home back. NOT the home price itself, but the $13k in property taxes. I am so surprised this does not impair home prices. Unless I misunderstand prop 13.

 

[haha]

Maybe Boulder has more single family and Seattle more condos (which I believe are less expensive and would bring the median home value down)?

Seattle home values have gone up 12.2% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 5.1% within the next year. The median list price per square foot in Seattle is $447, which is higher than the Seattle Metro average of $220. The median price of homes currently listed in Seattle is $619,950.
Seattle WA Home Prices & Home Values | Zillow.

Seattle is moderately expensive for it's employment and amenities. If I were early thirties again I would not leave SoCal Beach and come here. It worked out fine for me, but continental America's only year round good weather is Southern California beach.

Ha

 

[2soon2tell]

My zip code in Texas. 42.1 34.4 111 288

 

[friar1610]

After considering everywhere from Maui to Maine to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, we retired in Brewster, in the crook of the elbow of the Strong Right Arm of Massachusetts. One of the major considerations was community. Retiring often means losing most of your social circle, and we wanted to be around People Like Us.

City Median age - State Median age- HH Med income - Med house value
59 - 39 - $57,174 - $406,300

(NB: the median home price is higher than the median household income can support because we have many expensive second homes. The plus side is that these fine people pay a disproportionate amount of taxes for the services they receive, and they're only here during the summer months.)

I always thought I would retire on the Cape (as my parents did in the mid-1960's) but ended up first in VT and am now on the MA South Shore. The area around Lake Champlain had the same situation as you did with "summah people" picking up a nice chunk of the tax burden. And skiers in the winter. There's even a higher property tax rate for non-residents.

 

[explanade]

Here's my info for San Diego

CA state median age: 36.2
San Diego median age: 34.5
SD Median household income: $67,871
Median value of owner occupied home unit: $526,900

source: https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US0666000-san-diego-ca/

edited to add: I put where I live - because I have no plans to change cities. My house is paid for and my prop taxes are kept low by prop13. I live in paradise (to me) and see no reason to move.

Median age seems surprisingly low.

Even for CA too.

 

[Out of Steam]

We are pretty satisfied with the mid-Atlantic in terms of climate and things to do, and don't plan on going out of the region. We don't need to pay the costs of living in suburban DC in retirement or deal with the pace of living here. To end up in places where we already know people and have good access to medical care, our choices are more urban than what most people would consider for retirement.

We've staked out several places within 3 hours of here in Pennsylvania and Virginia, but I'd like to look around one or two in Delaware and Maryland. It wouldn't be hard to reduce the size of our mortgage by two-thirds by moving.

 

[foxfirev5]

I would personally go out and live where you think you want to go. Statistics can not begin to cover the vibe.
I though I wanted to live in Florida until I experienced it on a day by day basis. Nice to visit but not my cup of tea.
Maybe it was nearly 40 years on the road but I'm very content in Michigan (not my native state or region). Everyone really needs to figure it out for themselves..

 

[dixonge]

City Median age - State Median age- HH Med income - Med house value

Peru,Il.................... 45...38....47K....128K
Boulder Co............. 29...36....5kK....584K
San Francisco CA.....38...36....92K....941K
Austin TX.................32...34...56K....235K

Let's adjust those Austin numbers a bit...

In the city of Austin, median price increased 4.1 percent to $370,600 during the same time frame.

Greater Austin Housing Market Update | Austin real estate | Homes for Sale Austin | Austin Homes

One of many reasons we won't retire here.

 

[Dawg52]

I'll take all the high earning neighbors I can get. They are much less like to do home invasions, street muggings or random shootings. Some rich person shoots somebody it is usually a wife or husband, and since I am not nor ever will be married, not my problem.

Ha

Agree.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I think Texas Home prices are so low because RE Taxes are so high. At least in the Houston area, the last time I looked. There may be other reasons also..... .

 

[REWahoo]

I think Texas Home prices are so low...

Maybe your thinker needs recalibrating.

The Great Texas Real Estate Boom
Booming Texas housing market not letting up | 2016-11-02 | HousingWire

 

[SilentWalker]

Intriguing comparison. A bit late in, but here are my home town numbers. South central MN. Tiny town 20 minutes from a regional hub city.

City median age 52.8
State median age 37.9
HH med income $57k
Med house value $86k

I don't see much reason to complain. My house is very close to median but our hh income is not. The current plan is to retire in the area when time is ripe 1 month or 5 years from now or something in between.

 

[explanade]

Intriguing comparison. A bit late in, but here are my home town numbers. South central MN. Tiny town 20 minutes from a regional hub city.

City median age 52.8
State median age 37.9
HH med income $57k
Med house value $86k

I don't see much reason to complain. My house is very close to median but our hh income is not. The current plan is to retire in the area when time is ripe 1 month or 5 years from now or something in between.

Sounds like a place out of Fargo TV series.

This season, the action is based in St. Cloud, MN.

 

[evilanne]

San Antonio TX . . . . 33. .34…49K. .126K - Current Home
Cheyenne WY . . . . . 35. .37…58K. .197K - Previous Home

Property Taxes are outrageous in Texas. Still have home in Wyoming (Rental), both homes approximately same value, SATX 3X Cheyenne Property Tax, Both have no State Income Taxes & SATX Sales Tax is 3.25% higher. I prefer state without Income Tax but not a fan of heat & humidity in FL & TX

I think the median home value is deceptive like some have said...there are plenty of homes <100K & >$1M; median home sale price is at least $50K higher

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I've used city-data.com to pull some comparisons of a few arbitrary cities to look at some age and money factors. Make of it what you will. No conclusions but just a few different place to look at. My town is at the top, so I used it to try to figure out why so many folks here seem to think that housing prices of 500K are normal.

Too many words... again.

City Median age - State Median age- HH Med income - Med house value

Peru,Il.................... 45...38....47K....128K
Boulder Co............. 29...36....5kK....584K
San Francisco CA.....38...36....92K....941K
Austin TX.................32...34...56K....235K
Tampa FL.................35....42...44K...190K
Seattle WA..............36....38...80K...530K
Raleigh NC...............33...38....57K...227K
Chicago IL...............34...37...51K....239K
Nashville TN............34...38...51K....185K
Las Cruces NM.........33...37...41k....154K
Boise ID..................35...37...55K.....209K
Des Moines IA..........35...38...49K....119K
Carson City, NV.........43...38...42K...237K
New Orleans, LA.......36...36...39K...316K

I don't think the Bay Area prices are normal but they are what they are. The median home price in the city is $1.275M on Redfin. We bought a long time ago and Prop 13 keeps our property taxes low so it doesn't impact us too much. If there is another tech or stock market crash in the future some of those home prices could drop like 2008.

 

[explanade]

I don't think the Bay Area prices are normal but they are what they are. The median home price in the city is $1.275M on Redfin. We bought a long time ago and Prop 13 keeps our property taxes low so it doesn't impact us too much. If there is another tech or stock market crash in the future some of those home prices could drop like 2008.

They really didn't drop that much in 2008 in the "best" areas.

I did a refinance in 2009 or 2010. Home was appraised higher than it was previously.

Maybe price would have rose faster without the financial crisis.

Now prices are just ridiculous in the valley.

 

[Fedup]

I don't think the Bay Area prices are normal but they are what they are. The median home price in the city is $1.275M on Redfin. We bought a long time ago and Prop 13 keeps our property taxes low so it doesn't impact us too much. If there is another tech or stock market crash in the future some of those home prices could drop like 2008.

I don't know where you live but it didn't drop where we were. In fact my tenant was a CEO or general manager of a mid size company, he has relocated from NJ and expected it to drop but it didn't, he rented 6-7 years and finally decided it was time to buy. It did drop 20% during the dot com burst though.

 

[Marita40]

My zip code in MN:
Median age: 33.5
Median age in MN: 37.9
Household income: 74,264
Home value: 296,000