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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I've been looking at Cary, NC.  It's diverse, near two biggish cities with a university and airport nearby.  I'm not 100% about their taxes, though.

I struggle with where to retire.  MoCo is too expensive, tax wise.  But, MD has much better healthcare facilities.  So, that's a big factor.[/quote]

Serious question -- why are several of you so focused on the taxes?  How much of a difference do you anticipate it making each year?[/quote]
Why do you think retirees move to lower tax states like FL?

The 10 lowest-ranked, or worst, states in this year’s Index are:

Massachusetts
    Hawaii
    Vermont
    Minnesota
    Washington
    Maryland
    Connecticut
    California
    New Jersey
    New York
https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/state/2025-state-tax-competitiveness-index/

MD 
Individual Income Taxes -  the rate for income at $100K is around 4.75%. That's not bad, but every county in MD assesses income tax - ranging from like 2.75% to 3.35%. So, now your income tax is about 8%.

Then there's the inheritance and estate tax, though most of people don't have $5mil in estate, enough around here do.

NC
Individual Income Tax - flat rate 4.5%, no county tax

Income tax difference is almost half.  Also, I want to buy a smaller place when I retire, so my property taxes are lower.

Cary is expensive but not as expensive as MoCo.[/quote]Now rank services for people. [/quote]
what kinds of services? Are they free?[/quote]

NP here, but think beautiful parks, lakes, public transportation, safe/repaired roads, hospitals, well trained and responsive public safety officials.

I also want to live in a place where the young people all have access to good public schools. I don’t only think of my family. I think of the larger community. [/quote]

You get that in pretty much all states. There are variations within the state, for sure, but even Mississippi has good schools if you are selective in where you live. Everywhere has parks and good roads. The south tends to have better roads than the north because the weather is kinder to roads in the south. I'm not sure what special services you get in Maryland that you can't get in any popular retiree destinations in NC or Florida or Arizona or what you have it. Florida has excellent healthcare on offer and for a good reason. [/quote]

Where is there excellent hc in Florida??? I work on health care issues and the state is abysmal!![/quote]

They recently just about killed my friend, who was saved by transferring to a hospital up here! [/quote]

No one takes these kinds of responses sincerely, knowing full well it's nothing more than hysterical prejudice and biases against a particular state's politics (and the more exclamation points the less convincing). Like all states, Florida has excellent healthcare and mediocre healthcare. Your access to healthcare is largely determined by two factors, proximity and socio-economic background. Rural areas always struggle due to lack of proximity and that is found in Maryland and Virginia and New York just as it is for rural Florida or Texas. Florida is a huge state with multiple cities and Miami and Tampa and Orlando and Jacksonville all have excellent healthcare facilities. And socioeconomic factors also plays a role. Baltimore has both JHU and several pretty terrible hospitals. NYC has shockingly abysmal hospitals along with some of the best hospitals in the country. An affluent retiree living in Bradenton or Miami or a working professional family in Orlando or Jacksonville are going to have a different healthcare experience than, say, a poor rural family in the panhandle. But as I pointed out, the same is true for Baltimore or DC too.

It is wise for retirees to factor in reasonable proximity to quality healthcare but it is also something that can be misleading too. Outside of specialist niche health areas, by and large most healthcare nationwide will be perfectly fine. You get what you pay for. What is important is proactive preventive care and lifestyle habits. [/quote]

+1 These posters who hate Florida are just ridiculous with their made up stories. Of course there's excellent healthcare in many parts of Florida, including those that you named. [/quote]

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