Retirement options

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YY1 said:
Few facts about FL

No state tax

No auto inspections or emissions tests, antique plates are cheaper than regular plates

Fairly large number of classic car owners and some auto related attractions

Old cars rust from the top down (esp vinyl top cars) because of salt rain
Carport kept cars fair much better

Central and South areas have incredible humidity (sometimes 100% without raining)

Speaking of rain, from June to September it can rain every day for weeks in a row
Usually only an hour or two but sometimes all day.

High percentage of terrible drivers (locals blame out of state, but IMO it's 50/50 )

Outside of major population centers a late model 1500 sq ft house can be 150K and 1K tax with homestead.

Virtually no basements

Virtually no sidewalks

Lots of things to do and see

Lots of toll highways but you don't have to use most of them

Of all the natural disasters, hurricanes give you the most warning to get prepared or get out.
Usually extensive news coverage and tracking for weeks in advance.
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Like already stated, Florida!!???? Stay in North Fl. for sure !!!!!! Yes it is rural.
 
Thanks Everyone

Enjoying all the posts on Retirement Options.

Got lucky and along with some ambition, a plan, and some work, was able to set up camp in Florida for a Winter retreat 5 years ago when the market was down. I can come and go as I please depending what is on my plate at the moment.

I call it a shack, put on a new roof, has a double lot with chain link fence around so I can park things as I need to. Been going over things on the property to get things functioning properly and make things hurricane proof . . good to 120 mph winds, fact of life down there and I knew it going in. If it ever gets a direct hit, there is a nice lot there with utilities and infrastructure, clean up the mess and on to plan B as I still have a place to come in with an RV till things work out for the next move.

East Coast Florida, 10 minutes to all stores and restaurants, good cell phone service and lots of internet providers, mobile internet hot spot from my phone works well. Good city water, have my own septic system so that helps keep the yearly costs down. Close to I-95 for getting to places. Low taxes is a big big plus, good neighbors.

Try to do what I can for the neighborhood when I am there, as the folks there watch over things for me while I am away.

Totally different culture down there, working class town, high humidity, higher pollen counts. The Indian River can get high algae counts at certain times of the year, state is taking actions to help address this. Everyone is in a major hurry on the roads especially during rush hour, but lots better than the Gulf Coast that is over populated. Big plus for me I can see all the Rocket Launches at the property right out my back door, at 40 miles distance. Melbourne International Air Port is only 15 minutes away and they can bring the big jets in there. Nice in case a person needs to fly out quick, don't have to deal with all the traffic, parking and distance of flying out of Orlando.

As Louie70Dart says: No place is perfect, you have to balance between all that is important.

I am there for the warm climate, the deal on the property is really what got me there in the first place as something I could afford and low overhead to hold.

Mopar culture is good there, original parts are running thin as things are getting used up and getting hard to find. They have their yearly Mopar Show and Swap in Melbourne that I always enjoy going to. Mopar Nationals also, down by Fort Lauderdale if I care to take the drive . . lot of high end cars at this one.

So yes, I am glad I acted when I did as time is moving on. I call it my 10 year plan, that turned out to be a good thing. Works for me !

Thanks again, enjoying all the stories of how people go about things.

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Found this '74 Rust Free Dart Swinger in Florida 3 years ago, just had to bring it back, you don't find them this clean anymore. My buddy Jim has it now, he put a custom Candy Apple paint job on it, looks great.
 
67Dart273 said:
Washington state is a liberal shithole, and WA governor Jay Phutard Inslee is insuring that it is so
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Well I certainly agree with that statement as it relates to western WA. There are some eastern WA conservative folks who think the east side is pretty nice though. Kind of cretinous thinking to paint my whole state with the same blue paintbrush. You are close to the east border and I think you know that.
 
Oh, I forgot.....

Love Bugs.

Nasty little beetles related to the firefly that swarm heavy about this time of year, nearly every year and sometimes twice a year.

While mating, the male and female are joined at the abdomen, facing away from each other.

They are attracted to roads.

Very sticky and moderately acidic.

Difficult to remove from windshield and paint, and if left on too long will cause permanent damage.

Not unusual to pick up hundreds or even thousands in a month's time.

This year is particularly bad.

Apparently they are bitter and have no natural predators.
 
Butyaknow with the global warming scare,and the melting Arctic ice; they say California will be flooded in a few years. Ima guessing so will be a large percentage of coastal lands.Southern Manitoba, where most of Manitobans live, is at mostly at 600 to 1500 ft elevation, and I'm at 900 ft or better, so thinking pretty safe....... from flooding at least. Global warming is prophesied to warm us up, and so for us,that sounds like a good thing. If you believe that kind of science.
Somewhere in the southern part of Manitoba, is the geographic center of North America, so I guess you could say we are centrally located, in the breadbasket of the continent. Manitoba used to be called the land of 1000 lakes, so we also have lots of Fresh water. IIRC we have three of the largest lakes west of the Great Lakes. And we have a lotta lotta Hydro-electricity. In fact our government is so generous, it sells to you for cheaper than what we pay. And why not, they can give it away on account of we pay double, to fill the coffers of greed, called "reserves".
Butyaknow;I got a lil money in the bank so can't claim I am being oppressed.But then again that same bank owns my home, allowing me the privilege of living here for as long as the payments keep rolling in.In my lifetime, I will never finish paying.
But I digress.
I love it here so much that, I may never leave Manitoba again so long as I live. It's as close to Paradise as I can imagine.
 
Basically the formula is minimize taxes and maximize value in a place where ultra-liberal progressive turds haven't commandeered and 'asylum seeking' is discouraged.
 
moparmat2000 said:
Thats how Beto almost beat Ted Cruz here in Texas. Too many *** hats coming from liberal enclaves to get away from the mess they helped to create by electing rotten liberal fucks in their own state. They come here and say oh how wonderful it is here compared to where i am from, then they vote for the same types of fuckers and asshole policies that fucked up their home state to the point where they couldent live there any longer. Liberalism it is a mental disorder.
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Yes sir! Lots of dumbasses drank the kool-aid..
 
YY1 said:
Few facts about FL

No state tax

No auto inspections or emissions tests, antique plates are cheaper than regular plates

Fairly large number of classic car owners and some auto related attractions

Old cars rust from the top down (esp vinyl top cars) because of salt rain
Carport kept cars fair much better

Central and South areas have incredible humidity (sometimes 100% without raining)

Speaking of rain, from June to September it can rain every day for weeks in a row
Usually only an hour or two but sometimes all day.

High percentage of terrible drivers (locals blame out of state, but IMO it's 50/50 )

Outside of major population centers a late model 1500 sq ft house can be 150K and 1K tax with homestead.

Virtually no basements

Virtually no sidewalks

Lots of things to do and see

Lots of toll highways but you don't have to use most of them

Of all the natural disasters, hurricanes give you the most warning to get prepared or get out.
Usually extensive news coverage and tracking for weeks in advance.
Click to expand...


Northern Florida can get a little chilly in the Winter but not real cold. Spent a Winter in Silver Springs in our RV and had a couple weeks we went through a lot of Propane but in a normal house it shouldn't be a problem.
 
I lived in the panhandle, in Crestview Florida for 4 years and I loved the fact that there’s no sales tax, the homesteading clause is awesome, great weather for 8 months, 4 months of hell on earth hot/humidity, cost of living, I bought a new house next to a small lake stocked with bass for 229,000 2400sqft 4br 2 stall garage 3/4acre. No safety/emission testing. Now I’m in Georgia and I don’t like a lot of their tax policies, vehicle registration fees are the worst I’ve seen in any state, also have vehicle emissions. Hopefully someday retreat back to Florida.
 
DesertRat said:
Southeast Washington State is a nice place!
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NO. Our economy is just as bad as California . We are like the third highest taxed state in the union. Not much snow in the winter (sometimes) we can get hit hard. Winters can be below 0 for long periods and the black ice is a killer.
 
I live 10 miles north of Springfield, Mo. I wouldn't live in Springfield if you paid me. However, there are several smaller town surrounding it that are pretty nice. Almost anything you would need is available in Springfield. 2 major hospitals, about any kind of shopping or dining you could want, recreation, etc. Branson is just south a short drive, along with Table Rock Lake, and Lake Taneycomo, and Pomme De Terre just north if you like fishing. Speaking of fishing, Bass Pro Shops main store is in Springfield, and it's huge. Springfield Cardinals minor league team, with probably the nicest stadium in the minors. Summers do tend to get hot and humid sometimes, but for the most part, winters are reasonably mild. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
 
You and the little woman could always just start a cross country bank robbery spree. Kinda a modern day Bonnie and Clyde. Then the cost of living wouldn't matter. lol

All kiddin aside, good luck with your choice.
 
Beto, ahem I mean Robert Francis O'Rourke such an A$$Hole. Cant stand this idiot. Maybe Ted Cruz gave him enough of a beat down that he will go away, but with marxist socialists thats highly unlikely. Its like playing a demented game of whack a mole.

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DesertRat said:
Well I certainly agree with that statement as it relates to western WA. There are some eastern WA conservative folks who think the east side is pretty nice though. Kind of cretinous thinking to paint my whole state with the same blue paintbrush. You are close to the east border and I think you know that.
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I agree. Eastern Wa is still pretty conservative but loosing fast. Too many West siders moving over because they can't stand the mess they created.
 
'73red-duster said:
I live 10 miles north of Springfield, Mo. I wouldn't live in Springfield if you paid me. However, there are several smaller town surrounding it that are pretty nice. Almost anything you would need is available in Springfield. 2 major hospitals, about any kind of shopping or dining you could want, recreation, etc. Branson is just south a short drive, along with Table Rock Lake, and Lake Taneycomo, and Pomme De Terre just north if you like fishing. Speaking of fishing, Bass Pro Shops main store is in Springfield, and it's huge. Springfield Cardinals minor league team, with probably the nicest stadium in the minors. Summers do tend to get hot and humid sometimes, but for the most part, winters are reasonably mild. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
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I was in Brandon about three week ago. Great city. Loved the area and as a veteran I couldn't have been treated better , great people.
 
zigs said:
I agree. Eastern Wa is still pretty conservative but loosing fast. Too many West siders moving over because they can't stand the mess they created.
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Yeah, I agree. As I like to call them "206ers" Many transplants from California and Oregon. I was born and raised in Washington state and have lived all over the state. I am now retired for all intents and purposes and could easily move back to my birth city of Spokane, although it is suffering from the ills of the rest of the country. Population increase and creeping liberalism. By SE Washington I was referring to an area from the tri cities east to the Idaho border and as I said, I am a fan of Spokane. I also like the Walla Walla area but it is getting pretty ritzy for a low fixed income retiree.
In all honesty I may already be in one of the best Washington areas to retire, 98837. Center of the state and four seasons in an agricultural based culture and economy and lots of car guys!
 
Along "the rim" in Arizona is great and has the climate you want. From west of Flagstaff east to New Mexico there are many small towns that don't get much snow at all. We have a summer home in Pine AZ which is about 5500' elevation. Some snow, normally less than a few inches.
 
It has always been interesting to me to meet new people in different parts of the country and find out why they like living where ever.
I bet there is no place that is 100 % perfect, and especially for everyone.
 
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