Jump to content

Anyone Retire to Another State?


Sam S.

Recommended Posts

On 7/2/2020 at 11:57 AM, BigStewMan said:

Left Los Angeles and went to Oregon. State income tax for me is HIGHER in Oregon -- which caught me off guard so I found myself owing several thousands of dollars when I did my taxes.. No Sales tax here though.

 

We went from living in Oakland, working in San Francisco (few can afford to live there now) to retiring to Oregon.  

  • No Sales Tax -- so helpful in buying stuff.
  • Weather not so bad, get to see snow a few days a year, fall colors.  Beautiful sky and clouds, less pollution, thousands of migrating geese flying over, and (in a smallish city) deer dropping by to munch on our plants, as well as visitors of other kinds: many, many kinds of birds, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, wild turkeys holding up traffic while they delicately cross the street, snakes (who are grateful for the rats), spiders (some pretty large), carpenter ants, and one cougar.  Everything is green, green, green, with more shades than we knew existed.
  • Nice houses twice as big at half the price!
  • State Income tax higher in percentage, but on a retirement income ....
  • Property tax higher in percentage, but property valued at a much lower figure than would a newly purchased home in California.
  • The  Left coast (naturally) and a ways inland is modernly Liberal (except for places like Medford), and the East is more Conservative.  But the full range is nearly everywhere.
  • Unbelievably friendly people.  No talk of "Californicating Oregon."
  • We vote by mail, or by drop box if we missed the deadline, and have for years and years.
  • Every religious group one can imagine, mainline liberal Protestants and Catholics, a few conservative Evangelicals, Russian orthodox, Mormons, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, with what we call the  Midnight Monks, who shop in saffron robes late at night at the local supermarket. 
  • Not as many cultural attractions as in the S.F. Bay Area, but where is there, outside of New York?  We do have a little theater, another on campus, a symphony orchestra, artists and art fairs, old geezers in the demonstrations and on the picket lines, bookstores, etc., but little night life for young people.
  • We talked with a neighbor, who had lived in Los Angeles, and we agreed that we rather miss the sound of gunfire at night.
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great suggestions and info. here in this thread. Really appreciate the detailed descriptions of everyone's experiences. dbomberger: Green Valley is on my list of places to visit. Looks pretty good on paper (climate, affordability, friendliness of community, things to do, etc.). Only drawback I've read about is the occasional rattlesnake getting into one's yard or garage (seems to be alleviated by, well, not leaving garage doors open and putting barrier or hardware cloth around fencing. Great to hear stories, experiences, and what others are looking for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used to drive truck. Got to see a lot of the country in off season.... Everywhere is beautiful, at times and nice, too

 

for year round weather... this area has the mildest weather... with our bad weather being too much sun.  Only place that was nicer was Kauai. I did go thru a hurricane while there [Iniki]... but Hawaii doesn't get them that often. Florida get more in a year than HI sees in a decade.

 

attitude is pretty laid back in SoAZ.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

you might check out LasCruces NM, too.  About the same climate. Do you like chiles?

 

Downside to the SW.... Truckers call it "the Sticker Patch" for a reason. We have some critters, too. 4 legged, 6 legged, 8 legged and no legged.

rule of thumb

everything bites, stings, impales or is otherwise poisonous.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Florida gulf coast to Albuquerque, NM

Mild winters and much drier climate. Basically nice year round with summers averaging 61 to 90 degree and winters average 26 to 51 degree. No hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes to worry about....

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do NOT move to Idaho. The place is just awful. We have tidal waves and active volcanos spewing toxic lava. They force you to attend church...... of their choosing. There’s no food here and no electricity and no indoor plumbing. I repeat - do NOT move to Idaho. Anywhere else would be better than Idaho. 😉🤓😜

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, TasDom said:

No hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes to worry about....

 

or blizzards...  or stifling humidity.

you might see more snow that I do. We see snow twice a year or so. We simply wait for it to go away. No snowplows in the county. It is usually melted before noon anyway. You have to admit that these popcorn thunderstorms of summer can be exciting if you are under one.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, grasshopper said:

 

or blizzards...  or stifling humidity.

you might see more snow that I do. We see snow twice a year or so. We simply wait for it to go away. No snowplows in the county. It is usually melted before noon anyway. You have to admit that these popcorn thunderstorms of summer can be exciting if you are under one.

I remember some 30 odd years ago that Las Cruces was one of the top retirement cities in the country. Use to go thru there about once a month on my El Paso run when I had that territory for my region.

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, TasDom said:

I remember some 30 odd years ago that Las Cruces was one of the top retirement cities in the country. Use to go thru there about once a month on my El Paso run when I had that territory for my region.

 

I was going thru there weekly on my way to Chicago. Went thru Ruidoso or Carrizozo on the way to Amarillo and I-40/44

seems like a nice town. I haven't lived there. Not too big and has everything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, grasshopper said:

I say popcorn because they aren't the "black wall of death" plains/midwestern frontal assault thunderstorms. These are a cumulus cloud that gets a big idea.

Light or heavy, any precipitation is welcomed here :emotion-21:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, grasshopper said:

unfortunately , no

I thought about it the last time I was thru there, a couple years ago... except I has these LS [in the car] that wanted to be hooked up.

Glad your priorities were in order! 🙂

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...