Retirement. Is your state good.

[Sjm9911]

Lol, close enough, if I threw a dart It would be a bullseye. But homes are a bit bigger in Glen Ridge and taxes may be cheaper! I lived in South Orange.

NJ location? GlenRidge - just west of Manhattan between Bloomfield and Montclair.

We are now north of Atlanta. DH would gladly move full time to FL but I have ties keeping me here.

 

[HopperFan]

Lol, close enough, if I threw a dart It would be a bullseye. But homes are a bit bigger in Glen Ridge and taxes may be cheaper! I lived in South Orange.

Ahhh, very very close!

 

[npatellye]

Lol, close enough, if I threw a dart It would be a bullseye. But homes are a bit bigger in Glen Ridge and taxes may be cheaper! I lived in South Orange.

I was just talking to my husband about NJ taxes (since he complains about CT taxes). I showed him the taxes for the house my parents owned in Alpine (where I lived for the first 14 years of my life) and he just shook his head.

 

[DeeBee3]

Asking a follow-up question - where are good school districts in Florida? I've googled and all that, but it's hard to decipher without talking to people who actually use them. Coming from NY and our district is great along with the private school offerings.

 

[2goofycampers]

Thanks for this thread. We have been looking at a few states also.
Our 2021 yearly totals for utilities.

Electric = $1700.00 all electric household with heat pump.
Water = $400.00 water only we are on septic system. About $225 every 5 years for maintenance on septic.

House, 2 vehicles and camper insurance. = $2100.

 

[npatellye]

Asking a follow-up question - where are good school districts in Florida? I've googled and all that, but it's hard to decipher without talking to people who actually use them. Coming from NY and our district is great along with the private school offerings.

One of my friend’s moved her family down there last year from a good district in VA; they researched and chose to build in Winter Garden. They’ve been happy with the schools so far.

 

[2goofycampers]

My trailer tag is less than $20 a year because it is so short and light, Denise. I have no knowledge of what others here pay but that surprises me. I may try to look into why that is. Don't know if it would be state-related versus county-related.

Ad Valorem Tax.

 

[disneyseniors]

Just thinking. And with that comes more thinking. As I may be getting forced retired ( I know Ed, I think I said I would be joining you soon), I may be looking for a new place to live. So, the question is, is your state area good for retirees and people with young kids? Plus would be nice to have fun crap to do and campgeounds. So what say you.

We live in Minnesota, and the taxes are very high and getting higher. It's ridiculous. We could live in the Dakotas and have very low taxes. I know of a few families who moved to S. D. and saved a bundle from all the charges and taxes we have in Mn.
Honestly, if it wasn't for our kids/grandkids living here, we would move back to Tennessee, which I love. Their taxes aren't bad and their license plates are cheap too.

 

[sirenia88]

At work, the company I work for has a friendly competitor that was located in Twin Cities area. He decided to relocate to SD. The owner of the company said it was no brainer. He is pretty much a solo operation. He travels for the equipment service as well. It made more sense to move to SD. He said the weather is pretty much the same. He said he was able to live mortgage free in some small town out in the western section of the state. More space, larger home. On site shop space. He had a small garage from my understanding now a large pole barn.

 

[sirenia88]

NJ location? GlenRidge - just west of Manhattan between Bloomfield and Montclair.
We are now north of Atlanta. DH would gladly move full time to FL but I have ties keeping me here.

I was just talking to my mother this morning. My folks lived in Bloomfield for many years which included a number for myself included. When they decided to move in the early 90s, taxes there were around 6,000 a year. Where they settled taxes at the time were around 3,000 for a smaller lot but larger house and better school district. We lived about 2 blocks from Glen Ridge. I remember growing up we would trick or treat our neighborhood and then take the hike up to Glen Ridge to work the area. We would also play at the one local school up there as well during the year. I had a cousins who lived in Glen Ridge by Mountain Side. They moved like 2 years before us. Mom said their taxes were like 10,000 back then and they didn't even have a huge house. I cannot only imagine what the taxes are like there now.

The next street over from me is a new development that was started in 2004 and finally completed in 2017. From my understanding the taxes around 15-18 grand a year. There are home owners on the other side of the lake pay nearly 20 a year. It's insane. These are also large "Mc Mansion" type houses. 3500 to 5000 sq feet. multi bed and bath rooms.

 

[jbrostek]

There are clearly states worth becoming a resident of to retire, some are not. Melissa's parents are retired in PA, the state does not tax retirement income including 401k. However, their property taxes are higher (near philly), yet they own their house outright. So as her father said, the lack of mortgage makes the taxes workable.

Last time I listened to some podcasts on retirement/tax planning was that TN, IA and FL where your lowest tax burden. However, I think if you don't need to stay in a high priced area of your state or there are other states in the south with a lower tax burden. VA is tricky, state income tax is ok, but if you live in tidewater or N. VA property taxes and personal property taxes are very high. If we stayed in VA after retirement I would ask to move south of here to cheaper counties, though we are in one of the better priced counties already Prince William. I pay 25% less personal property tax on my truck and the RV is waived as its for personal use (Loudoun county wanted to tax me on it so I lucked out it spends 75% of its time in WV.)

 

[2goofycampers]

A question for Alabama, Florida and Mississippi people. How far from the coast do you have to worry about hurricanes?

 

[bama_ed]

A question for Alabama, Florida and Mississippi people. How far from the coast do you have to worry about hurricanes?

We have members who live closer to the coast than I do.

But you have two issues. Flooding and high wind damage.

If you live anywhere near the coast or other bodies of water, you should be aware of the FEMA Flood Zone maps which are available on-line. Here is one looking in our area of Gulf Shores, AL that we hang out at.



The Gulf is towards the bottom of the picture. The vertical highway through the middle is Hwy 59. The horizontal road in the middle is Hwy 182 which runs to Fort Morgan on the left. The big white roof building on the upper right of the the intersection of the two highways is the WalMart SuperCenter where I grocery shop when at Gulf. So where you are on the maps (in a colored area) matters.

If it's wind damage, I don't think any place is out of the question. We live 200 miles off the coast but get flooding in my hometown when hurricanes come ashore and dump a lot of rain. By the time they get to us the winds are usually not hurricane force but still can be 60 mph+. And tornados are a factor in much of the south. Two/three times a year it's not uncommon to be on standby where we live.

Insurance costs reflect relative risk but folks in problem zones need to carry/have both flood and wind coverage (which are separate policies, I believe). And after the rash of hurricanes we've had from New Orleans to Tallahassee, there have been building code improvements as to how structures might withstand a hurricane.

There is not a good answer I don't think, Denise, because everyone's risk tolerance is different. Some folks live close to the coast, pay for all required policies, ride out the hurricanes or evacuate, and deal with whatever comes.

Bama Ed

 

[tiggerdad]

A question for Alabama, Florida and Mississippi people. How far from the coast do you have to worry about hurricanes?

Denise, we live in meridian. In most cases, they are only rain and mild wind by time they get to us. Hurricane Ivan and Katrina were totally different, but those are rare with that kind of wind damage this far in. I essentially am on the I20 corridor, so from here north towards TN is usually safe.

Depends on where in the state. Further south than me the risk goes up. In my area we mainly worry about flash flooding from them only

 

[Stratman50th]

A question for Alabama, Florida and Mississippi people. How far from the coast do you have to worry about hurricanes?

We live in Central Florida Denise. We're off of I-4 almost in the middle between Orlando and Tampa. (Right on the north edge of Lakeland). Irma came right up the middle of the state and it was windy and wet but we didn't lose anything but power. Hurricanes can go right up the eastern coast of the US inland and still cause a lot of damage so you don't have to just be on the coast or even on the Gulf or Atlantic coasts to get hurricane issues. The biggest problem is the tornados that spin off the east side of the hurricanes. So it's possible to get a double whammy from a hurricane. That being said the folks in the Midwest get hit by tornados a lot more frequently than we do.
As far as cost, we don't have a state income tax or on groceries or meds. They get you in other places though. Auto insurance is very high. Utilities depend on where you live.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Just thinking. And with that comes more thinking. As I may be getting forced retired ( I know Ed, I think I said I would be joining you soon), I may be looking for a new place to live. So, the question is, is your state area good for retirees and people with young kids? Plus would be nice to have fun crap to do and campgrounds. So what say you.

1. We retired to Florida after being Snowbirds for 10-yrs.
2. VERY happy we made the choice.
3. Only thing we shovel are stories of our past careers.
4. Year 'Round golf.
5. Many options for camping or part-time working.
6. If working part time at WDW
. . . free park hopping admission to MK-EP-HS-AK
. . . take up to 3-guests with you 6-times per year
. . . 20%-50% food discount
. . . 20%-35% merchandise discount

 

[npatellye]

1. We retired to Florida after being Snowbirds for 10-yrs.
2. VERY happy we made the choice.
3. Only thing we shovel are stories of our past careers.
4. Year 'Round golf.
5. Many options for camping or part-time working.
6. If working part time at WDW
. . . free park hopping admission to MK-EP-HS-AK
. . . take up to 3-guests with you 6-times per year
. . . 20%-50% food discount
. . . 20%-35% merchandise discount

Totally off topic but I love your username. One of my favorite local restaurants up here in CT about 15 or so years ago was called The Rusty Scupper. I was so sad when they closed.

 

[Sjm9911]

1. We retired to Florida after being Snowbirds for 10-yrs.
2. VERY happy we made the choice.
3. Only thing we shovel are stories of our past careers.
4. Year 'Round golf.
5. Many options for camping or part-time working.
6. If working part time at WDW
. . . free park hopping admission to MK-EP-HS-AK
. . . take up to 3-guests with you 6-times per year
. . . 20%-50% food discount
. . . 20%-35% merchandise discount

Lol. I was looking at florida also. And at disney employment. Well Reedy Creek anyway. They had a job that I was way quilified for. Not bad pay eaither. Lol. Not sure If I want to still work full time. I am leaning twords staying qhere I am untill the kido finishes school, thats like at least 10 years. But who knows. I think I will find out if I am getting fired/retired out in like 10 days.

 

[Sjm9911]

Lol, ed, they had a Deputy Chief spot open ( filled now ) , and I have hear people in other states go out of thier way to hire people from the NY metro area, because of experiance ( lots of fires) and credentials ( were stringent). But there is always opertunity. I can do inspection stuff at collages. Or for towns. Part time wouldnt be bad.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

We just moved to KY and it cost $800 to register a 2004 25 ft Winnebago Class C with more than 100K miles on it. Overall, cost of living isn't so bad here, but we were shocked by that registration fee.