WHERE will you retire?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Knoxville, TN. Great weather, good airport, low COL, no state income tax, 30 minutes from Great Smoky Mountains.

Tennessee has a 9% sales tax and a 6% tax on your dividends and investments, aka 401k. I don think know how high the property taxes are. All these no income tax states get their revenue some where. Otherwise, the state(s) would be totally dysfunctional.

NP. This is where we retired. And, we LOVE it! Weather is more moderate than further north, great outdoors things to do. Very little traffic. Great doctors and hospitals. Wonderful concerts, theater, etc. COL is way, way less than DC. Yes, sales tax is high, but we spend less than we did pre-retirement. There are many exemptions to the state tax on dividends and investments. We owe a whopping $75 this year.
And, property taxes are about 1/3 of the DC area, if not less. And, no property tax on vehicles as VA has.
And, pp is right....... you can’t beat the Smoky Mountains. And, the lakes!
But the very best part is the people. They are so friendly and accommodating here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any non-white people on this thread? Where are you comfortable retiring to? I'm first gen South-Asian and not sure how welcome we are in rural communities...

Yes, and we're retiring in Italy, ideally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any non-white people on this thread? Where are you comfortable retiring to? I'm first gen South-Asian and not sure how welcome we are in rural communities...

Yes, and we're retiring in Italy, ideally.

I should clarify that we're first generation south asian as well.

[Anonymous]

Our families have migrated south from our midwestern roots, so DH and I are leaning towards somewhere around Charleston, Savannah, St Augustine or Tampa areas. We have only one child though, so could see that we would also strongly consider moving to be near her, where ever that is, especially once one of us has passed away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Knoxville, TN. Great weather, good airport, low COL, no state income tax, 30 minutes from Great Smoky Mountains.

Tennessee has a 9% sales tax and a 6% tax on your dividends and investments, aka 401k. I don think know how high the property taxes are. All these no income tax states get their revenue some where. Otherwise, the state(s) would be totally dysfunctional.

This is inaccurate. It is a tax on interest and dividends. Not "investments".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is fascinating. Having grown up overseas (although I am American), it still surprises me how many Americans move away from friends and relatives during retirement. It makes no sense to me to go somewhere I've never lived before and start all over at age 65+. And the whole notion of moving to some gated retirement community or any retirement community far away from friends and relatives is simply bizarre to me. I mean, we need the company and support of loved ones even more as we age. Most of all, I want to live relatively near my child--why the heck would I want to live across the country or the world from my child?! I can see traveling to warmer climates or overseas but completely relocating makes little sense at that point in life.

I'm an American, raised here, and ITA. It is shocking to me, really. I have no desire to move somewhere where I know no one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the D.C. area, many people move away so even if you stay, there's no guarantee your friends and peers will still be here. I am the youngest of my friend group, and there are very few left - it kind of,sucks.

I know, this is my fear. If this happens, I think DH and I will move back to where I'm from; my siblings are still there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is fascinating. Having grown up overseas (although I am American), it still surprises me how many Americans move away from friends and relatives during retirement. It makes no sense to me to go somewhere I've never lived before and start all over at age 65+. And the whole notion of moving to some gated retirement community or any retirement community far away from friends and relatives is simply bizarre to me. I mean, we need the company and support of loved ones even more as we age. Most of all, I want to live relatively near my child--why the heck would I want to live across the country or the world from my child?! I can see traveling to warmer climates or overseas but completely relocating makes little sense at that point in life.

I'm an American, raised here, and ITA. It is shocking to me, really. I have no desire to move somewhere where I know no one.

The reality is that many of us have no family near us. My spouse and I moved out of state to a lower COL area and away from the traffic. Both sets of parents are deceased and our children have jobs - both out of state and in different parts of the country. I have learned that you don’t move to be near your kids. Your kids get new jobs and are transferred to other areas. This has happened to many friends of ours who moved to be close to their kids, only to be uprooted and have to move again when their kids move.
We found a place we loved, we do have friends in the area, and we are happy to be out of the rat race of the DC area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is fascinating. Having grown up overseas (although I am American), it still surprises me how many Americans move away from friends and relatives during retirement. It makes no sense to me to go somewhere I've never lived before and start all over at age 65+. And the whole notion of moving to some gated retirement community or any retirement community far away from friends and relatives is simply bizarre to me. I mean, we need the company and support of loved ones even more as we age. Most of all, I want to live relatively near my child--why the heck would I want to live across the country or the world from my child?! I can see traveling to warmer climates or overseas but completely relocating makes little sense at that point in life.

I'm an American, raised here, and ITA. It is shocking to me, really. I have no desire to move somewhere where I know no one.

The reality is that many of us have no family near us. My spouse and I moved out of state to a lower COL area and away from the traffic. Both sets of parents are deceased and our children have jobs - both out of state and in different parts of the country. I have learned that you don’t move to be near your kids. Your kids get new jobs and are transferred to other areas. This has happened to many friends of ours who moved to be close to their kids, only to be uprooted and have to move again when their kids move.
We found a place we loved, we do have friends in the area, and we are happy to be out of the rat race of the DC area.

I have no family here, either, but I've lived here for almost 30 years. I have lots of friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Help me - near beach/bay, coffee shop,tennis, walkable, cute, a little history, proximity to airport (hour) healthcare I guess, mix of views for discussions but definitely a few red state types. Affordable.

Savannah

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is fascinating. Having grown up overseas (although I am American), it still surprises me how many Americans move away from friends and relatives during retirement. It makes no sense to me to go somewhere I've never lived before and start all over at age 65+. And the whole notion of moving to some gated retirement community or any retirement community far away from friends and relatives is simply bizarre to me. I mean, we need the company and support of loved ones even more as we age. Most of all, I want to live relatively near my child--why the heck would I want to live across the country or the world from my child?! I can see traveling to warmer climates or overseas but completely relocating makes little sense at that point in life.

Ahhh, yes. But does your child really want you near them??

My heart would shatter if my children didn't want me near them.

But I can't control who they marry, and their spouses might not want me around, TBD.

In an ideal world, I'd live near my kids. I love to travel, but I want to spend time with my grandchildren. My children had no grandparents, so I want my grandchildren to have grandparents in their lives.

And I'd never move to a place where I have no friends. I'm an introvert. It takes me years to make friends. I would be dead before I'd have any new friends. No thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Knoxville, TN. Great weather, good airport, low COL, no state income tax, 30 minutes from Great Smoky Mountains.

Tennessee has a 9% sales tax and a 6% tax on your dividends and investments, aka 401k. I don think know how high the property taxes are. All these no income tax states get their revenue some where. Otherwise, the state(s) would be totally dysfunctional.

NP. This is where we retired. And, we LOVE it! Weather is more moderate than further north, great outdoors things to do. Very little traffic. Great doctors and hospitals. Wonderful concerts, theater, etc. COL is way, way less than DC. Yes, sales tax is high, but we spend less than we did pre-retirement. There are many exemptions to the state tax on dividends and investments. We owe a whopping $75 this year.
And, property taxes are about 1/3 of the DC area, if not less. And, no property tax on vehicles as VA has.
And, pp is right....... you can’t beat the Smoky Mountains. And, the lakes!
But the very best part is the people. They are so friendly and accommodating here.

But aren't they all Republicans?

I cannot live in a state filled with Trumpsters. That's my #1 priority for retirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Help me - near beach/bay, coffee shop,tennis, walkable, cute, a little history, proximity to airport (hour) healthcare I guess, mix of views for discussions but definitely a few red state types. Affordable.

Savannah

Is Savannah affordable? I've never been there, but it looks pretty in photos. Are there gators? No gators for us, that's a priority.

Asheville is a possibility, or maybe we'll stay in the DC area, but move further out to a quieter place. Our kids are likely to stay on the East Coast, so we'll be near enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Knoxville, TN. Great weather, good airport, low COL, no state income tax, 30 minutes from Great Smoky Mountains.

Tennessee has a 9% sales tax and a 6% tax on your dividends and investments, aka 401k. I don think know how high the property taxes are. All these no income tax states get their revenue some where. Otherwise, the state(s) would be totally dysfunctional.

NP. This is where we retired. And, we LOVE it! Weather is more moderate than further north, great outdoors things to do. Very little traffic. Great doctors and hospitals. Wonderful concerts, theater, etc. COL is way, way less than DC. Yes, sales tax is high, but we spend less than we did pre-retirement. There are many exemptions to the state tax on dividends and investments. We owe a whopping $75 this year.
And, property taxes are about 1/3 of the DC area, if not less. And, no property tax on vehicles as VA has.
And, pp is right....... you can’t beat the Smoky Mountains. And, the lakes!
But the very best part is the people. They are so friendly and accommodating here.

But aren't they all Republicans?

I cannot live in a state filled with Trumpsters. That's my #1 priority for retirement.

How can you NOT know that most urban areas are blue and rural areas are red? Hence most cities in the south have many democratic residents.

[Anonymous]

I'm staying put right here in Arlington. My husband and I are both from here, have tons of family and friends here, and its home. I have no desire to move to some random place e where I have no roots.