Retirement options

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MomsDuster

MomsDuster

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Hey folks, The wife and I have finally came to the conclusion that retiring here in California will not be an option for us. My pension will be nowhere near enough to sustain any type of comfortable life. Which is sad we have both lived here our entire life. We love it here, (kinda). The weather is unbeatable, but the cost of living and to be quite honest the people here leave a lot to be desired. Anyway, knowing that we will have to acclimate to weather differences we are looking into options. The biggest weather issue would be snow. We would prefer minimal snow and not big on the desert. That being said Arkansas, Missouri look beautiful and affordable. Looking for options in those areas, good/bad points (other than weather). Also open to other states. With retirement likely in 5yrs or so looking for all the info I can get. Thanks,
 
We like the Bella Vista/Rogers area. Very affordable, major medical center, lots of car shows.
 
Mark, Im a long ways from retirement, but some of my coworkers that retired in the past few years have moved to Tennessee. You might want to look into that State as an option as well.
 
How are you with humidity? It is an important consideration as parts of both of the states you mentioned can become quite humid in Summer. My wife's parents are retired in Fairhope Alabama near the gulf coast and while the cost of living is low, the Summer humidity drives them to rent a house in the mountains of North Carolina during July and August to get away from it.
 
did you consider arizona?
ive only been there ones, in an outcropping of phoenix, but i was pleasantly surprised (i know, a little bit of desert)

one thing to consider is mobility
i dont know your situation, but how close to your family, and how far from your in laws do you want to get?
 
As much as I hate to say it, because lots of Californians move here) but Southern Oregon is gorgeous and we get very little snow.

We have no sales tax, lakes, rivers, hikes, coast is all within an hour drive.

Warm Summers, mild Winters.
 
My plan is to retire somewhere in the PNW when the Kids are all gone and out on there own and the inlaws kick the bucket so my wife won't have any reason to stay. I love California, but the laws/taxes/ traffic I can live without.
 
Have a friend who retired to Tennessee. His property tax for the year wouldn't even cover one month where he came from..... Illinois, north east part, Lake County.
 
I still own a house outside of Memphis from when I lived there that I now rent to a friend. Cost of living there is fairly inexpensive but it is ungodly hot and humid from mid May through mid September. If I were to live there again, I would want to be a lot more east like Nashville and even further east.

My house there is 18 years old, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and 3100 sq. ft. sitting on 1/2 acre in a nice neighborhood. $230k current market value. Annual taxes are about $1200. No state income tax.
 
I was raised in SW Ga. I hate humidity with no wind, I am now in SE Tx, same friggin weather! But, I lived in Mo for 39 years. 10 in SW and 29 in NW part. Best weather is in SW as is cost of living. Gets hot and humid off and on. YOU have way better weather in Ca. As about same as SW Mo but average of 10 degrees warmer in winter less,snow, more ice.
People move to MO due to cost of R/E which is way less than Ca and many other places. Good for retirees but not so good for average person maybe working, because wages are way less!
I suggest you take an extended vacation and see other parts of the US if you have never done so before. Have you ever seen 5 below? Are you a city boy wuss? Can you get along and play well with others?
A lot of retirees end up in Ar. For the
most part very rural. Some parts way rural.
For me the price of R/E is a big factor. As is property tax. Medical. Can you move way from family?

Any time and $$ spent seeing other parts of this wonderful country is well spent in my opinion.

Weather? What did that song say? Something about a 4 wheel drive, a shotgun, a country boy will survive!!???
 
Just remember there are a lot of things to consider. Some States tax retirement income, some don't. Some have low property Values but High taxes. No place is perfect but you check every aspect and decide on one that has more check marks on the positive side versus the Negative side. We decided on Arizona despite the summer heat( day trips into high country helps). You get a lot of bang for your buck in our 55+ Community, property wise but Sales Taxes are kinda high( average 9%).Look at everything..Good Luck
 
My in laws live in Joplin Mo. Houses are dirt cheap. You can get a really nice 2000 square foot ranch house for around $150-170k. Tornadoes & winter are the worst of it.
 
This is what my house outside Memphis looks like for $230k. The lawn is Bermuda grass so it’s brown in the winter.

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Concider west Texas. Abilene is the big city out this way. About 120K people here. Lots of smaller surrounding towns with a few thousand people. A nice condition older 1980s 3 bedroom brick ranch with 2 bath and 2 car garage in Abilene city limits in right location and alley access, and a decent sized lot will run about $100k. About $130k will get ya one with with all that and an inground pool lol.

Newer construction theres no alleys , and small lots. It does get hot in the summer from about may thru october. Winters arent too bad, january and february you may get 2 weeks of weather in the teens. Other than that its fairly mild as far as winters go. 30s thru 50s. Dallas Ft. Worth is about 2.5 hours away. Pick n pull yards out there are epic.

We love our guns and small government that leaves us alone. Kinda suspicious of Cali tags w uhauls lol. Newest joke is whats a Texans worst nightmare? A Californian with a Uhaul lol. All joking aside though, we are a real conservative state, very independent, most folks here like the gubmint to leave em alone.
 
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I recently purchased 3.5 acres west of Greenville,SC. Beautiful lightly developed area with quick access to larger cities if ya want that. 2300’ elevation so not typical southeast climate. Put all my retirement chips in on this and plan to relocate in 3 yrs when social security kicks in and I'm hopefully still breathing. lol
 
Word on the street is that Knoxville Tennessee is very affordable, beautiful, and the climate in or close to the mountains is a lot more bearable than down in the flatlands I’m heading there tomorrow, I’ll check this out!
 
If you like 4 seasons consider East Tn., or N.C. another option is Utah . IMO It's hard to leave the Peoples Republic of California but there are lots of beautiful places out there .
 
Hopefully they dont try to charge you an exit fee to leave Kalifornia. N.J. tried that **** w my brother when he moved to North Carolina. I think he told them to Suck It.
 
I'd like to leave my snowblower behind with my snow boots. Thinking Carolina's, Tenn. or Kentucky .. Always hear about Paris TN. as a good place.. Really tired of $7500 in taxes a year.
 
MomsDuster said:
Hey folks, The wife and I have finally came to the conclusion that retiring here in California will not be an option for us. My pension will be nowhere near enough to sustain any type of comfortable life. Which is sad we have both lived here our entire life. We love it here, (kinda). The weather is unbeatable, but the cost of living and to be quite honest the people here leave a lot to be desired. Anyway, knowing that we will have to acclimate to weather differences we are looking into options. The biggest weather issue would be snow. We would prefer minimal snow and not big on the desert. That being said Arkansas, Missouri look beautiful and affordable. Looking for options in those areas, good/bad points (other than weather). Also open to other states. With retirement likely in 5yrs or so looking for all the info I can get. Thanks,
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You will be welcome here in Lake of the Ozarks, MO
Great place to live, cheap cost of living and low taxes.
Lots of Hot Rods and Hot Boats
If you make it this way look me up I'd be happy to show you around
Good luck
 
MomsDuster said:
Hey folks, The wife and I have finally came to the conclusion that retiring here in California will not be an option for us. My pension will be nowhere near enough to sustain any type of comfortable life. Which is sad we have both lived here our entire life. We love it here, (kinda). The weather is unbeatable, but the cost of living and to be quite honest the people here leave a lot to be desired. Anyway, knowing that we will have to acclimate to weather differences we are looking into options. The biggest weather issue would be snow. We would prefer minimal snow and not big on the desert. That being said Arkansas, Missouri look beautiful and affordable. Looking for options in those areas, good/bad points (other than weather). Also open to other states. With retirement likely in 5yrs or so looking for all the info I can get. Thanks,
Click to expand...
Florida? No income tax and a lower CoL than CA. Not the lowest by any means but better
 
No state income tax in Texas either. Plus Castle doctrine, and open and concealed carry, if your into firearms.
 
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