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Anonymous wrote: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.

Serious question -- why are several of you so focused on the taxes? How much of a difference do you anticipate it making each year?

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.

Now rank services for people.

what kinds of services? Are they free?

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.

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.

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

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

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.

+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.

Anonymous wrote:Ideally we want lower real estate taxes, close to DMV, some diversity.


Where have you considered?

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Anonymous wrote: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.

Serious question -- why are several of you so focused on the taxes? How much of a difference do you anticipate it making each year?

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.

Now rank services for people.

what kinds of services? Are they free?

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Current Cary resident here. Diverse, yes, about 180k people between Raleigh (430k-ish people) and Durham (smaller, but with Duke University.) Property taxes are reasonable...meaning I pay about 75% or less of what I would have in Nova. No state estate taxes (inheritance or estate), unlike Maryland which has both. VA has neither tax.

Very small property tax on vehicles and like Virginia's it goes down by the year.

Health care is very good but be prepared to really search for it unless you have Duke Concierge care. I don't and it took the better part of 3+ years to find good (diagnostically strong), easy to schedule and easy to get to people. In the meantime I just went back to DC for care as needed.

BUT...you must be ok with steamy (as in Singaporean weather) late June and all of July, or plan to be away every year then. RDU is expanding but it is not a hub airport. Schools are all over the lot, which matters for resale value even if you don't have kids at home. Also, most things to do are kid-centric.

Thanks for that detailed response. The medical care does give me pause. I hate the humidity now, but I'm thinking when I'm 75+, I'll want the humidity. My parents who are 80s/90s live in SoCal, and they are constantly cold. My MIL's house was a constant 80 degrees. As you age, you want very warm.

No. Older people are more vulnerable to heat illness.

You will also want to stay in the air conditioning instead of going outside for a walk.

I am 68 and hate humidity (like I always have!)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Current Cary resident here. Diverse, yes, about 180k people between Raleigh (430k-ish people) and Durham (smaller, but with Duke University.) Property taxes are reasonable...meaning I pay about 75% or less of what I would have in Nova. No state estate taxes (inheritance or estate), unlike Maryland which has both. VA has neither tax.

Very small property tax on vehicles and like Virginia's it goes down by the year.

Health care is very good but be prepared to really search for it unless you have Duke Concierge care. I don't and it took the better part of 3+ years to find good (diagnostically strong), easy to schedule and easy to get to people. In the meantime I just went back to DC for care as needed.

BUT...you must be ok with steamy (as in Singaporean weather) late June and all of July, or plan to be away every year then. RDU is expanding but it is not a hub airport. Schools are all over the lot, which matters for resale value even if you don't have kids at home. Also, most things to do are kid-centric.

Thanks for that detailed response. The medical care does give me pause. I hate the humidity now, but I'm thinking when I'm 75+, I'll want the humidity. My parents who are 80s/90s live in SoCal, and they are constantly cold. My MIL's house was a constant 80 degrees. As you age, you want very warm.

Anonymous wrote:

Everything I’ve read says the French tax treaties are the most advantageous of the EU countries for US citizens.


both racist countries pass migrants on to other countries. French send the boats to the uk and the Danes have one of the strictest immigration policies + they love their opt-outs while still maintaining eu membership
interesting choices

France/Denmark poster here. Our possible choices are based on having a community of friends/family in those two countries, as I would not want to retire someplace where I do not know anyone, and is not based on approval for their immigration policies. That being said, I'm not sure that "treating migrants well' is something the US can boast about right now, given that ICE is deporting law abiding people who have lived in the US for decades, who have applied for asylum and/or been reporting to immigration court regularly as they were told, only to be sent away one day without notice--and possibly to some random country.

No one asked you about the US and immigration.

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Anonymous wrote:We are looking to leave US and currently pursuing EU citizenship (though we could get retirement visas in many places). Looking at France (outside Paris or Montpellier area ) and Copenhagen right now, but where our kids land is the biggest factor so we will stay put for now or maybe do 50/50. Also trying to understand tax treaties and implications. DH would have to learn French (I’m fluent) but we have friends in both places.

Everything I’ve read says the French tax treaties are the most advantageous of the EU countries for US citizens.

both racist countries pass migrants on to other countries. French send the boats to the uk and the Danes have one of the strictest immigration policies + they love their opt-outs while still maintaining eu membership
interesting choices

France has a lot of Muslims.

.. so they are hardly racist.

About 11% are immigrants, and the majority are from North Africa.

“so they are hardly racist” bwahhahah then why do they send the boats full to the uk

Because the UK has a better economy than France? DH is from the UK. Immigrants want to go there because their economy is better than France's.

Anonymous wrote:Staying in Southern California. Property taxes are low if you’ve been in the house for a while. Most of our necessities are within a mile or two from the house. Close to good healthcare. May spend a summer month or two in New England where we have family but not interested in maintaining a second home there.

Everything I’ve read says the French tax treaties are the most advantageous of the EU countries for US citizens.


both racist countries pass migrants on to other countries. French send the boats to the uk and the Danes have one of the strictest immigration policies + they love their opt-outs while still maintaining eu membership
interesting choices

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want to actually do and see all the things I've been too busy for in the DMV after I retire in 1-2 years.

Good luck with that. There is so much “friction” in a large metro that it makes you want to stay home. We moved to a small college town and do many more things than we used to because we can be anywhere in 15 minutes. Meanwhile, we have great access to larger cities too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Current Cary resident here. Diverse, yes, about 180k people between Raleigh (430k-ish people) and Durham (smaller, but with Duke University.) Property taxes are reasonable...meaning I pay about 75% or less of what I would have in Nova. No state estate taxes (inheritance or estate), unlike Maryland which has both. VA has neither tax.

Very small property tax on vehicles and like Virginia's it goes down by the year.

Health care is very good but be prepared to really search for it unless you have Duke Concierge care. I don't and it took the better part of 3+ years to find good (diagnostically strong), easy to schedule and easy to get to people. In the meantime I just went back to DC for care as needed.

BUT...you must be ok with steamy (as in Singaporean weather) late June and all of July, or plan to be away every year then. RDU is expanding but it is not a hub airport. Schools are all over the lot, which matters for resale value even if you don't have kids at home. Also, most things to do are kid-centric.

Thanks for that detailed response. The medical care does give me pause. I hate the humidity now, but I'm thinking when I'm 75+, I'll want the humidity. My parents who are 80s/90s live in SoCal, and they are constantly cold. My MIL's house was a constant 80 degrees. As you age, you want very warm.