Rustic23
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
It is 8%, but that is 8% simple! Not Compound, so it is not as bad as you would think. It still amounts to who is going to spend your money, you or your kids.
Glad to see Virginia isn't ranked so bad. Gotta wonder though, what happened to DC? Curious cause DH and I are close by.
It IS something to think about if you are looking for a new home for the next 15 years for retirement. I'd hate to move to a State that starts cutting services and upping my taxes because it was broke.
Yeah, some of that depends on the activities and the sort of things you want to do. We knew no one when we moved to a small town. But we became active in the church here and my wife has done a lot of community volunteer work with various charitable and civic organizations. If you're not into doing that sort of stuff it can be a very isolating experience if you're concerned about meeting new friends in your new home town.We struggle a lot with the decision because, though the finances make sense, the emotional ties are difficult to break. We are also worried about making new friends since we will not be working and don't have children.
Yeah, some of that depends on the activities and the sort of things you want to do. We knew no one when we moved to a small town. But we became active in the church here and my wife has done a lot of community volunteer work with various charitable and civic organizations. If you're not into doing that sort of stuff it can be a very isolating experience if you're concerned about meeting new friends in your new home town.
Live where you want to live.
You pretty much pay your dues one way or another, and even a couple thousand bucks a year savings is trumped by considerations of lifestyle, family, friends, and a million other factors which are more important.
It is 8%, but that is 8% simple! Not Compound, so it is not as bad as you would think. It still amounts to who is going to spend your money, you or your kids.
Wow. You either have an outrageously low appraised value, an unusually low tax rate - or both.2800 sq ft, with a pool. Total property tax bill for 2009, (county, school, etc.) $2800. I don't consider that "outrageous."
Wow. You either have an outrageously low appraised value, an unusually low tax rate - or both.
Illinois has 3 percent income tax on earned income, 6.25 percent state sales tax (1 percent on food and medical) plus whatever a county/municipality can tack on (in Cook County it was just reduced to a total of 9.25 percent, from 10.25 percent), and I paid $8K property tax last year on my 3 br, 1.5 small old house. You'd think with all these tax dollars we'd be a little lower on the top 10 list of places not to retire! Maybe the current campaigning to increase our income tax to 5 percent will do it....
Probably a bit of both, though we aren't in an "upscale" area of Harris County.Wow. You either have an outrageously low appraised value, an unusually low tax rate - or both.
Thanks; it's not fabulous but it's home. (Oh...thanks for posting the $1/sq ft. I notice that I posted the sq ft incorrectly in my other post. It's 2600 sq ft @ $2800 tax. Duh.)And you have a very nice house, Sarah! At only $1 tax per square foot, too.
Sometimes living the lifestyle we want, is not always possible in an expensive area and living in an area that costs less can make all the difference in giving the retiree enough extra spending money to realize his/her plans and dreams.
Everyone has their own set of internal criteria for selecting an ER location, whether they admit it or not.
Here's our house, 22 miles outside of Houston in a river-front subdivision.
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2600 sq ft, with a pool. Total property tax bill for 2009, (county, school, etc.) $2800. I don't consider that "outrageous."
I Since the taxes are so much lower, that must mean they don't have police, fire, and other essential services there.
Of course, when I "lived" (stationed) there our taxes were paid by the rattlesnakes, tumbleweed, and blowing dirt ...A warning for those thinking of moving to Texas: check local taxes carefully.
In your case, W-2, you have mainly lived in quite attractive and usually sophisticated places-even College Station is a long cut above the typical Midwestern small city or small town-so a move like you have been contemplating could be a bigger change than you expect.