Where is your utopia

[Gem99ultra]

We began looking at property the last couple months. Looked in Northern Fla and a little bit in S Carolina as well as northern GA. We are looking for somewhere that has relatively "warm" winters ...no snow..and I can deal with the summer heat with no problems. We are looking for a area that the local govt is not hammering home owners on taxes, has a low crime rate and low traffic. ...any good areas come to mind ?

All of my residential time has been in either Texas or Georgia. You can forget low taxes in Georgia - including a State Income Tax on every penny you receive. Yeah - that pizzes me off big time. And you definitely don't want to live within a hundred miles of Atlanta! Lousiana does the same thing on taxes.

Florida is nice to retired people, but you best like flat land if you're going to move there. North Georgia is nice as far as terrain goes, but it definitely gets plenty cold there. You'll be happy in Texas, especially in the Hill Country. But if you're moving out of Boston, anyplace, i.e. every place is going to be cheaper that where you're at now.

Best advice is to visit the specific area you might like, stay there for a week or two, and talk to the locals, not the business owners or Chamber of Commerce.

 

[Hay Dude]

I live in a hi tax part of PA, but even in most high tax areas, there are properties available with lower taxes. In my area, anything over 10A and is tillable with no development rights is in ACT 515 or 319, and is taxed at about 90% discount on the land. State income tax is really variable from state to state. I pay 3.07% here in PA.

 

[jmc]

There is various research published on "best places to retire" or something to that effect but it's not necessarily impartial. It might be a good starting point. Some of that research addresses medical facilities too, of ever increasing importance as we age. I don't recall any discussion about medical capacity though, as in a pandemic outbreak. Watch out for county/local income taxes on top of the State tax rate. Those vary by county. Another issue is local politics and moving into a political hornets' nest of either side. Be a shame to live in an otherwise paradise but can't have a neighborhood beer without someone getting pizzed off.

 

[GeneV]

All of my residential time has been in either Texas or Georgia. You can forget low taxes in Georgia - including a State Income Tax on every penny you receive. Yeah - that pizzes me off big time. And you definitely don't want to live within a hundred miles of Atlanta! Lousiana does the same thing on taxes.

Florida is nice to retired people, but you best like flat land if you're going to move there. North Georgia is nice as far as terrain goes, but it definitely gets plenty cold there. You'll be happy in Texas, especially in the Hill Country. But if you're moving out of Boston, anyplace, i.e. every place is going to be cheaper that where you're at now.

Best advice is to visit the specific area you might like, stay there for a week or two, and talk to the locals, not the business owners or Chamber of Commerce.

I think it's kinda hilly and woodsy up in the panhandle by Tallahassee.

 

[/pine]

Florida can be hot and humid and then there are the noseeums etc...but it used to be a wonderful place to live and raise a family...UNTIL all the peeps from other places (mostly up north) found it and ruined it...!

The (new) FL state motto is " That's not the way we do it in (insert northern state name)"
The most popular pastime for all the "snowbirds" that move there part time or permanently is seeing who can be the worst driver and impeding the flow of traffic etc...!

 

[Industrial Toys]

I could have bought the 35 acres next door about twenty years ago for just over 100K CDN. They unfortunately put some money into a small, crappy farm house. But it just listed for 719K! Real estate prices are just stupid. Leaves a huge part of the population behind and no doubt in my mind that those that have access to property will increasingly be considered (unfairly) privileged.

 

[GeneV]

Well I'm in Illinois in the Chicago far 'burbs, one of the nicer ones...so I'm taxed to death, and the winters tend to suck here. But still, I just can't imagine us picking up and moving, seems such a daunting task! I guess I can't complain much, I live in a nice area that actually has *some* hills, everybody around here is on acreage, the roads are curvy, and the drive to shopping is scenic. Sure would be nice if we had milder winters though...they keep promising this global warming business but it's way too slow coming for my liking.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

I guess I have the best of both worlds. Traveling for work I find myself in the big cities all the time. I have also worked in the in between parts of this country, from Selma, AL to Napa, CA. From LA to Boston, Chicago, Houston, you name it. Of course my wife always wants to know what the area is like, and I always say, "It's not home". She is the main reason for that. We have children in Colorado, Arizona, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. My utopia is where my wife is waiting for me. 39 years this Saturday; and I will be stuck here in Florida. Like a few of you stated, home is where you choose to make it. It's really that simple...

 

[RalphVa]

If not for my wife, I'd vote for SC but do not know about the tax situation there.

You do not want property in the state of Taxes (I swapped the "a" and the "e" to fit). They have a huge property tax to make up for no income tax.

Ralph

 

[Steppenwolfe]

If not for my wife, I'd vote for SC but do not know about the tax situation there.

You do not want property in the state of Taxes (I swapped the "a" and the "e" to fit). They have a huge property tax to make up for no income tax.

Ralph

HA! Lived in SC for 25 years before moving to SW Virginia.... It can be nice though, I'll give you that.