MaggieLou

FL doesn't have a state income tax and property taxes aren't too bad depending on where you live. Pick a state that doesn't have a state income tax though. I think there are about 5 - FL, TN, and NV. I'm not sure what others.

We retired to NC and the taxes are some of the highest in the nation. Gas tax is 2nd highest and state income tax is 5th highest. I love the weather but not the taxes. I wanted to move to TN - same weather. less taxes but DH has family here and was born here.

salemrabbits

I am being forced to retire too early this year due to NY State School budget cuts, it's either retire or go on unemployment............I am not old enough to quit working-so it's the private sector for a job hopefully...
when I am READY to retire, I am probably staying where I am--I'm a farm girl and the land is for me. Maybe the
taxes are nasty----maybe the weather too (winter anyway), but the rolling mountains, dirt roads, fields and streams, and the great show of color in the fall, are just too much to give up for any other area.

Nina Baker

Stay where ever you are. You have a "life" there, and it will be much easier to add to that life than try to make a new one among strangers. Never count on married family to be your life, they already have one!

jaly3162

I have lived in many states, but I like the Carolinas the best! I just retired and always thought we would move South, but we'll stay here where are grandchildren are.

TexasGurl

TEXAS !!! heading to the Beautiful Hill Country !

Tired of Houston crowds and traffic ... and the threat of more hurricanes !

TexasGurl

TanyaL,
Agree with you, except for the "no mountains" part ... Texas DOES have mountains ! Maybe not the size of the Rocky Mountains etc, but we have the Guadalupe Mtns and Davis Mtns and more in West Texas, beautiful Big Bend, plus our "mini" mountains out in the beautiful Hill Country !!
Agree, the Med Center here in Houston and MD Anderson are top-rated in the US, there's no better place to get care if you need it.

mom-6

Another Texan chiming in for our great state! In many areas you can live in the country and still be only an hour or less from the city, be it Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, or Midland/Odessa. So you can have the best of both worlds. People are friendly, too, even if you are a transplant from another area.

catmcclure

What are your interests - obviously quilting, but what else? What medical plan do you have? What medical problems/disabilities do you have, if any? Any financial pitfalls? Where do grandchildren live? Do you like to travel?

All of these should factor into your decision. I personally like to own a couple of homes. One in an area where it's warm and comfortable in the winter and one where it's fairly comfortable in the summer. It's fairly easy to buy the Park Model homes in different areas (read about a woman who had one in Florida and one in Connecticut).

We have a home in Northern California and one in the desert area of AZ. I'm looking at maybe finding another home in the midwest near my grandchildren. I really prefer spending three or four months in an area and then going somewhere else for a few months. Spending a lot of my time near my children/grandchildren/great grands is fun, but wears you out. I like my downtime.

Janette

We retired here in 2003 after trying visitation packages at different communities. We live in On Top of the World (OTOW), which is featured in this month's "Where to Retire" magazine. You might go online and see if you can access it. Florida has no state income tax, 6% sales tax, low taxes. Ocala is in the middle of Marion County, known as horse country, as there are 30,000+ horses in the county alone. No beaches, but you are surrounded by beautiful horse farms and forests. Gulf is 60 miles away, Atlantic 90. Lower risk of hurricane so homeowners' insurance is lower and easier to get. OTOW has its own website so take a look. Although they only offer new homes, they also have a real estate department that handles resales. If you buy a villa in the older area you will be buying a home on a 99-year lease and will be paying community fees of $300-400 per month. But that pays for outside insurance, all the amenities, security, infrastructure. Homes in the resale side have gone for as low as $35,000. For that you would have purchased a concrete block home with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, garage, airconditioned, probably about 1,000 sq feet and all the amenities the former residents had installed. Take a look at our community. We like it better than the Villages. We also looked there but 90,000 people are just too many!

quiltmau

we are in CT-we came from Australia-both are far from family and I sometimes get the guilts. I like being alone-not isolated. I do have interaction with the people in the neighbourhood and am near an major hospital. We are in rural north west CT so we have all the seasons and a beautiful view of hills and a small valley.
When we moved back to the US I looked at taxes on websites and believe me when I tell you they do NOT tell the whole truth. I researched on the internet as we had been out of the country for over 14 years and had no idea of the current tax situations. My husband is thinking of moving as the taxes in CT are the highest in the country.
I love New Zealand-both north and south islands-love Australia, especially Tasmania-really like Ireland and Scotland but not England. My husband likes the west-NM, CO.
I have no idea where we will really end up but I do know I am tired and would really like to just stay put in one place longer than 4 years!