Where to retire?

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ProudDad2022

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Not necessarily just for military personnel. My retirement (civilian job) is a few years away and I have no roots keeping me in California anymore. I would love to find a small, military supportive town in a conservative state. Preferably something with California weather but much less expensive ;-).

Currently, I'm thinking of somewhere in Texas. Probably near Houston as I have a newphew who lives there and I would love to reconnect. I'm definitely open to other states though.

Anyone out there passionate about the love they have for their city/state?
 
ProudDad2022 said:
Not necessarily just for military personnel. My retirement (civilian job) is a few years away and I have no roots keeping me in California anymore. I would love to find a small, military supportive town in a conservative state. Preferably something with California weather but much less expensive ;-).

Currently, I'm thinking of somewhere in Texas. Probably near Houston as I have a newphew who lives there and I would love to reconnect. I'm definitely open to other states though.

Anyone out there passionate about the love they have for their city/state?
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Check out League City-south of Houston. Its 20 minutes from Galveston, Tx. Nice area. But that part of the Gulf is very humid ... rent for a year before you purchase. Beware of flood areas around Houston. Good luck,
 
ProudDad2022 said:
Not necessarily just for military personnel. My retirement (civilian job) is a few years away and I have no roots keeping me in California anymore. I would love to find a small, military supportive town in a conservative state. Preferably something with California weather but much less expensive ;-).

Currently, I'm thinking of somewhere in Texas. Probably near Houston as I have a newphew who lives there and I would love to reconnect. I'm definitely open to other states though.

Anyone out there passionate about the love they have for their city/state?
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St. Simons Georgia, Raleigh North Carolina, Virginia Beach Virginia(just this general area). I personally know people that live in those places, they align with the type of people you're looking for, and they love where they live.

My two cents, stay near family. Family brings true happiness.
 
We too are from Ca, and are looking to move to a more conservative state upon husband’s retirement. At the moment interested in Woodway Tx, just outside of Waco, Tx. We fell in love with the area when moving our older son into college. Weather isn’t the best, but the friendly people in town makes up for it.
 
Dallas Fort Worth, San Antonio offer a lot of value in terms of real estate, conservative, relatively better weather, no state tax.

I am from DFW area, love the place.
 
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Tampa, FL is nice. However, the summers are brutally hot and humid. I live in Tampa now but we are looking to get a place in New Hampshire or Maine when we retire. Maybe come down here is the winter. Probably the nicest weather in the country all year around in San Diego. But it’s too expensive for us.
 
This website shows the tax status of our 50 states for NYS retirees.
While that might not be you, it also lists each states' applicable web address for the most accurate tax implications of retiree income including IRA's, Soc Sec, & state income tax, if applicable.
BTW: I've heard the term 'halfback' describing folks who retired to Florida then moved halfway back north to NC or SC.
Good Luck!
PS @NJROTC-CC mentioned Tennessee. If you look it up on the website, is shows that the Hall Income Tax (tax on dividends from stocks; interest from bonds, notes) is in effect, but the Tennessee website shows it was repealed beginning Jan 1, 2021

rpea.org

Pension Tax By State - Retired Public Employees Association

NYS Pension Taxation Requirements By State Will Your NYS Pension be Taxed If You Move to Another State? If you are considering moving to another state, you should be mindful of the fact that states often enact, amend, and repeal…
rpea.org rpea.org
 
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ProudDad2022 said:
Not necessarily just for military personnel. My retirement (civilian job) is a few years away and I have no roots keeping me in California anymore. I would love to find a small, military supportive town in a conservative state. Preferably something with California weather but much less expensive ;-).

Currently, I'm thinking of somewhere in Texas. Probably near Houston as I have a newphew who lives there and I would love to reconnect. I'm definitely open to other states though.

Anyone out there passionate about the love they have for their city/state?
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Currently located in Northern CA. Retired two years ago. DW retires in 3 years. We have been considering Idaho. Relatively moderate seasons. As long as we can find somewhere within an hour of an airport hub. ID is just currently the most interesting prospect. Good post for info!
 
Southern Missouri. Lots of retired military in this area. You can be secluded or in a city of about 200k. Lots of lakes. Lots of outdoor activities. 3 hrs from KC or St louis if you desire professional sports or the arts. Central to everything in the US for traveling. Low cost of living with low utilities and taxes. Low real estate prices.
If you want to be a snow bird you can fly south in the winter.
 
QA1517 said:
Southern Missouri. Lots of retired military in this area. You can be secluded or in a city of about 200k. Lots of lakes. Lots of outdoor activities. 3 hrs from KC or St louis if you desire professional sports or the arts. Central to everything in the US for traveling. Low cost of living with low utilities and taxes. Low real estate prices.
If you want to be a snow bird you can fly south in the winter.
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Great one, just avoids ILL (where I am) we're currently in the snow, though, we do have a great military community in St. Clair county.
 
We moved to Scottsdale, AZ from the Boston area in '99 with an eye to retirement. We figured we'd choose our retirement location early while real estate prices were favorable. We officially retired in 2017 and downsized to a Club Med-like non-age-restricted golf community less than an hour away from the Scottsdale house so we didn't lose our friends, restaurants, etc. I think it's hard to beat the AZ value package. It's still incredibly cheap to live here. We love it, but we spend our summers in Maine.

End of Street.JPG
This is the end of our street. It looks like this pretty much every day. And almost every day, DH says, "Look honey, no snow!"
 
A1Janitor said:
Georgia and Tennessee are low cost, low taxes and nice weather.
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We were astonished at the low cost of living in Georgia. Our son bought a beautiful three-year-old 4-bedroom home in Evans, GA (Augusta area) not far from Ft. Gordon for $260K. The house is beautifully landscaped with hardwood floors and coffered ceilings and a kitchen with a top-of-the-line appliances and a custom-built island. (He bought it from one of the Augusta National chefs.) Evans is a lovely little town and near enough to Atlanta, Savannah, Charleston, etc. to do a lot of exploring. If he stays there and starts a family, we may considered a second place in that area.
 
USMCGrunt said:
No one would ever suggest Illinois for retirees! Taxes and terrible fiscal issues.

I am in the greater Chicago area and will follow all those who have been leaving very soon.
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Both my daughter-in-laws are from Illinois, one from Chicago area nd one from south central. Both came to Missouri for college and stayed because of my DS's.
 
Wow. I'm loving all of the comments. I do agree with being near family and if (hopefully when) our kids have kids, I'm sure we will end up near them. Looking at VelveteenR's view, I'm hoping they move to Arizona :cool:
 
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