An extension of the "What Do You Do For A Living?" thread is this.... I have maybe ten years before I have to move out of the Chicago area for "retirement". We don't have any roots that draw us to any particular area of the country. We would like to start planning where we would like to relocate (Chicago taxes are out of the question for retirees, at least for me) and would be most happy in an area where I can find enough people to do a round robin layout building and operating club and my wife could find Quilters.... Druthers are good medical facilities, interesting topography (not flat suburban lots) access to culture (maybe a college town?); decent hobby and quilt shops would be a bonus.... I know that many in the hobby are years away from starting to think about such matters, but some of us have to start planning as time flies faster than you think and I would like to make some informed choices, get aquainted with an area and maybe buy some property before the moving truck rolls up to the house.... Charlie G&S Rwy Co (being built in sections!)
Charlie, this is a fascinating question for this board! Having just retired in June, I can offer some current thoughts on our plans for the future. Having long been campers and RV-ers, we bought a 34' motor home last year as the first step to achieving our retirement goals. When my wife retires in 3 years, we plan to go "full-timing" with the motor home and see more of this beautiful country (we got a taste of it earlier this month by spending 24 days on the road and loved it). While Maine is a beautiful place to live, it's #1 for tax burden on the individual tax payer, and, in my opinion, not the ideal "fixed-income" place of residence. So, we plan to travel, and if we find a place that we absolutely love some time in the future, we'll settle down there. Our kids have found their futures all over this country, coast to coast to coast, so being on the road is a good way to keep in touch (we told them all that we wanted 50 amp receptacles out side their houses!!!). Of course, I'll have to give up my room sized layout, but I'm already planning a small, portable 3'x5' layout that can be stored in one of the "basement" areas of the motor home. And, knowing that we will be spending some idle time in California, Louisiana, and Maine each year, I could potentially belong to three RR clubs! I guess it could be said that we plan to do a lot of those things we couldn't do while raising and supporting a family, seeing them through college, and then being committed to our jobs to accomplish all those things. Barring health problems and the advent of WW3, that's the plan and we're anxiously looking forward to it!
Hi Charlie, My favorite retirement place would have to be Southern Missouri or Northern Arkansas in the lake country - if I could retire that is. Believe it or not, Maine is becoming a retirement destination as well. After years of people flocking to the South because of the climate, a lot of folks are now moving to Maine to retire. It's certainly beautiful country - just a bit chilly at times. Atlantic Canada is good too but if you're not a Canadian it would have to be seasonal residency. Charlie
Here's something to think about. No State Income Tax ALASKA FLORIDA NEVADA SOUTH DAKOTA TEXAS WASHINGTON WYOMING
I live in Northeast Ohio a.k.a. "The Snowbelt". Or as I fondly refer to it, "The @$$#o!e of the earth. Darn sure I won't be retiring here. After just spending last weekend in the mountains of Pennsylvania railfanning, That would be a good place to spend summers. But I've been all over this great country and there are a lot of good places to drop anchor. Right now Southern Arizona would be my first choice to winter in. but 18 years from now it will probably be so over run with retirees and such that I will probably change those plans. The wife likes hot weather and wants to move to Tennessee. I'm not so stoked on that idea but if she gets a transfer there I guess were there.
If I don't start investing soon,I'll probably retire to the poor house!I don't know what the pension situation is like in the states,but other Canadians know what I mean. I think becoming a polititian is the only way to score a fat goverment pension.Oh well,I still have 37 years to enact my plan.(If they don't raise the retirment age!) O.K.,I'm done!
Slimjim, I'd love to be able to establish a retirement residence in a state that has no income tax (like neighboring New Hampshire, for instance), however, since I'm a member of the state retirement system, the good ole State of Maine is going to get it's cut from my check no matter where I live later. So, the best I can hope for is to find a state with low property taxes and no sales tax, not to mention other factors that lower the cost of living.
Southern Missouri sounds nice. I was in Kansas City last week and EVERYONE was so friendly! I spent 20 years in Georgia and I'll tell ya, southern hospitality has moved to the mid-west. Charlie, as far as quilters, my wife has found a large group at our church ( most of the ladies are in their 40's and 50's ) here in Southern California so I'd imagine that finding a group elsewhere wouldn't be too tough. I was surprised to see how many of them came out of the woodwork! hehehe Wish there were more N-scalers in close proximity. I think I would like to retire on Palimar Mountain here in S. Cal.. Lots of trees and no bugs or humidity but still close enough to the amenities of the big city.
I live in South Florida and it is definitely a retirement community. No state income tax, lots of reasonably priced things to do, places to go, areas to see. Plus, right now there are lots of opportunities for retired people to acquire very nice housing for reasonable cost. It is also pretty decent as there are lots of train-equipped hobby shops around, several clubs, and lots of activities. The weather for the most part is pretty reasonable, but summers can be brutal, as we have the same heat and humidity as the rest of the county, but flat ground and salt in the air, means no shade and irritated skin. If we have our pensions only, we would downsize to another house, and generally stay within the vicinity. If we have enough supplemental income, we may purchase additional homesteads in either Pennsylvania or Massachusetts. Although basements are almost irresistable, the snow would chase my old stiff body home to Florida.
Not yet. But they're working very hard to get it!!! Meanwhile, they tax the DAYLIGHTS out of everything else. (Which is why we call it Taxington.) Which more than makes up for it. One of the few up sides, is that there is a lot of N scale action. Especially in the Puget Sound region. And several very good hobby shops that stock a fair amount of N. BoxcabE50
Why not a suburb of Los Angeles. Southern California is continuing to expand rapidly outwards. You could find a nice place in a nice town that isn't to far from the big city. I live in Whittier which is about 30 minutes from LA (I can see the big buildings on a clear day). You have the beach, oceans, mountains, deserts all within reach. There are a TON of N scalers out here with some pretty nice layouts, as well as a ton of hobby shops. People are pretty nice, weather is usually great, girls! To top all of that off, you have tons of BNSF and UP action through out the region as well as railfan hot spots like Cajon Pass and Tehachapi.
Well since I will not retire for another few years, I'm only 29, I have no idea where I'll settle. I grew up in the Granite State (NH) and have many fond memories, and who knows maybe by 2033 the Guilford will have been bought out by a better RR I also like Vermont. IL has treated me rather well, but I don't know if I'll stick around or not.
Probly retire and stay right here in Grand Rapids. The house will be paid for and it allready has a N scale layout in the basement,and another one (0n30) in the planning stage. We have a couple decent hobbyshops and one "Why the h**l do they even stay open?" shop.
I was born in Sanford but that was a long, long time ago. Grew up in Gardner and Greenfield, MA and have lived in NH, PA, NY, back to NH and finally to Benicia and Redding, CA. I can see snow on the mountain tops in the winter and that's close enough. Nice day today with sunshine 97 degrees and humidity of 33%. Rather high humidity today as it's usually below 20%.
I retired to Oregon, from California, six years ago. My wife and I threw out all of the reasons "to" and "not to" move here or there, and settled on a PLACE WE LIKED. That's much more important than tax situations. Speaking of taxes, Oregon has no sales tax. The personal income tax is 50% higher than what we paid in CA. RE tax is similar to CA. Auto registration is CHEAP, no personal property tax involved. Sin tax on booze and cigarettes very high. Any state will get you one way or the other. Right now, climate wise, the Oregon coast has to be one of the most pleasant places in the USA, and it is not (yet) on fire. Being a foamer, it helps that Portland has two operating steamers and a third being restored, plus operations at the City of Prineville, Sumpter Valley, CORP, W&P and both UP & BNSF operate through the beautiful Columbia River gorge. No, I am not a member of the Chamber of Commerce. We love it here.
We moved here to Georgetown 12 years ago. It was a company move from Saskatoon Saskatchewan. I retired 10 years ago and am still living in the same house. The mortgage is all paid up so only have property taxes to deal with. Here it is $3000 a year. Ontario has the lowest provincial income tax in Canada and hopefully the Feds will stop wasting our money and cut taxes further. We have an 8% provincial sales tax and a 7% federal sales tax so we just say add 15% to anything we buy. It is no wonder folks don't want to spend money here. Gasoline is taxed highly and we now are paying 73 cents a litre. The value of the Canadian dollar is only 63cents compared to the US dollar and as most model railroad stuff comes from the US I find I am buying less and less. As far as moving from here, the main reason will be when I can no longer comfortably look after the property. Then I will move into one of those adult communities where services include snow removal in winter and grass cutting in summer. Smaller house size too as this one is really to big with 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. It will still be in Ontario though. Ones we have looked at have full basements so the layout will probably move OK or else I will just have to start over again.
I agree that New Hampshire has no income tax, but neither does Mississippi on retirement income. We made the choice to sell my family land in NH because we could not afford the real estate taxes. Real estate prices and taxes are much less in south MS ... and there is almost no snow! Oh yeh, we sold our parkas, mukluks, longjohns, and snowshoes too. One other thing, summer lasts from late May until late September, instead of just between 3 and 4 PM on July 14th .... I drive with the top down on my Miata during every month of the year. [ 01. August 2002, 00:47: Message edited by: Hank Coolidge ]
Hank, I agree with you on NH real eastate taxes. They kept me from buying property there once. And, ordinarily, I'd agree with you about summer but we've been high 80's, low 90's all week here, and this is the second hot spell we've had this month. Summers are getting warmer up here lately, and the winters, milder! I'll bet you can't wait for those B&M FT's to hit the market... I can't.
