Retirement research

justsomeguy · Sep 10, 2014

Compared to Maryland, Delaware's a panacea?

justsomeguy · Sep 10, 2014

Please forgive my cynicism, but, except for weather, I don't think you'll find much variation from state to state in the US, in the general scheme of things, at all.

But, how much of a tax differential are we talkin' here?

sesmith · Sep 10, 2014

Ha, ha...the grass is always greener... In our case less snowy, at least. Our plans are to go from NY to SC and sail out of Charleston, and live about a half hour away from there. We could go almost anywhere, and be less taxed than in NY

BTW, I rarely ski. My winter "sport" used to be cutting wood. We heated our house with wood for many years that I cut myself. It's not all that romantic, just a lot of work. I love the summers here, and do a lot of bike riding and sailing here. I will miss the summers here, but we can always bring the boat up here for a while in the summers if we really want to. We are more sick of snow than you can imagine. Va. isn't far enough south for me to get away from it

woodster · Sep 11, 2014

if you like Charleston SC then take a look at Summerville SC about 30 to 45 mins from the city marina or you might like Georgetown they have a harbor as well and not far from Pawleys Island as far as politics is concerned when you live in a large city you always wonder who the real crooks are when you live in a small place you know exactly who they are lol

Rob2435 · Sep 11, 2014

Belize!

jeb21851 · Sep 11, 2014

Florida Keys

DAVA390 said:
The Admiral and I are lifelong Baltimore County, Md. residents. We have been having very general discussions about our long term plans and kicking around retirement ideas.
In my youth, I spent many winter vacations skiing in Vermont and came to love the state. I always thought I would retire there to chop firewood and ski and enjoy the winter as if I was living in an LL Bean catalog, ( I know, Maine, don`t bust me on that ).
Now, at age 60 with every passing winter, I`m less and less interested in snow.
Annie and I had been discussing the eastern shore as a retirement locale, we both enjoy it there, visions of golf cart and bike rides to breakfast, lunch , boardwalk and doctors offices. It would certainly be an attraction to family (5 grandsons to date)in the summer, leave us peace and quiet in the winter.
Problem with that, I am so disgusted with Md. politics, economy, the legislature etc. we figured we would be headed to Delaware as many Md. retirees do.
Next problem: over the past 4 years we have become hooked on sailing and have come to love the Chesapeake bay for that activity. So ,I`m thinking I might start investigating the Va. eastern shore for affordability, sailing, housing etc. This is all still very preliminary but it doesn`t hurt to look. Comments please.

My wife and I live on the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland but when we retire next year, we are moving to Marathon in the Florida Keys. The weather is great there, sailing is great ( and near the Bahamas) and no state income tax. We are tired of the tax and spend liberal nannies in Annapolis ruining once what was a great place to live in. So, we are going to enjoy a new life in the Keys, it is like living in the islands without leaving the US. You ought to go down there and look around for yourself. That is what we did and found a nice 2 bedroom condo right on the water with dock space for our sailboat. The real estate prices are starting to go back up in the Keys so if you are interested I would do it soon. If you want more info you can send me a private message or call on my cell at 410-726-9448. Good luck!!

charliegrau · Sep 11, 2014

Cape Charles is a nice place. Small town, reasonably priced housing, two good marinas - The Town Harbor, and Kings Creek. Lots of special events throughout the year, and close (via toll road) to the Virginia Hampton Roads communities.

CCHer · Sep 11, 2014

Ditto Charlie's take. Cape Charles city area is great for sailors. (It even has a really nice beach the grandkids might enjoy.) Nice old character houses in the town or newer ones in Kings Creek. We make Cape Charles an annual destination in our cruising. Another Eastern Shore VA town to look at is Onancock.

Capn John · Sep 11, 2014

Onancock and Cape Charles are worth checking out on the Eastern Shore. VA Eastern Shore is a bit isolated however. I'd recommend you also look into the Middle Peninsula area on the Western Shore -- Gloucester, Mathews and Middlesex counties. Great sailing area, low taxes, and more local support infrastructure than what you'll find on the Eastern Shore.

justsomeguy · Sep 11, 2014

I can only imagine that in areas where certain taxes are lower or even non-existent, those lost revenues are made up for in other ways, such as sales tax, use tax, etc..

smokey73 · Sep 11, 2014

If you start thinking about South Carolina you may want to give Beaufort South Carolina a close look.

4arch · Sep 11, 2014

I wouldn’t be so sure about the attraction to family. From your perspective being in a beautiful water privileged community might seem like the perfect enticement to have family members come, but from their perspective you may as well have moved to Outer Mongolia. I had family members who bought a place in QA County thinking the same thing. On summer beach weekends no one wants to risk getting caught up in the bay bridge traffic. Even when the bridge traffic isn’t an issue, crossing the bridge seems to be a psychological barrier to those of us on the western shore. I think my family members in QA have only had their extended family all gathered there at best a handful of times in five plus years. They usually end up being the ones driving back over to this side for family events. Also the grandkids may have fun on the eastern shore when they’re little, but if they grow up to be typical teenagers, they’ll have to be bribed to come visit you in “podunk” before too long. I’m not trying to sound overly pessimistic, but that is what I see as the reality of most families in today’s world. In some ways this can be freeing. When I have to get on a plane to go see family members and spend several days staying with them once or twice a year it can be better quality time than a couple hours here and there. Just food for thought as you plan.

I’ve also noticed that when I walk or drive around Rock Hall, Oxford, St. Michaels, and other quaint eastern shore that it’s not uncommon to see every third house for sale. I often wonder if they are people’s dream retirement homes that didn’t work out as planned. As aggravating as it can be to live in an area as overdeveloped and hectic as the western shore, I’m not sure people always fully think through what life’s going to be like in a place that’s much sleepier and lacking in options for stores, restaurants, etc. than they’re used to.

As for Florida, I did a few year stint there and found property taxes and homeowners insurance to be astronomically high. You hear a lot about cheap housing in FL, but to be in a nicer water privileged area it costs. On top of that, almost everywhere has HOA or condo fees as well. Food is slightly higher in FL. Sales tax can be as high as 7.5%. Auto insurance and registrations are about the same. Keeping a boat there is generally much more expensive than the Chesapeake but it varies hugely depending where. Overall tax burden and cost of living were about even.

shemandr · Sep 11, 2014

robfmcc said:
Belize!

Too many bugs. Florida is even past my tolerance for critters.

shemandr · Sep 11, 2014

My Mrs. and I are doing the same sort of retirement shopping - staying on the North Fork will be too expensive unless I work until I drop. Well, that's one plan. The better plan would be a Condo in Arizona and a live aboard boat on the East Coast. Another plan is a bigger house than I would want on a golf course with sailing nearby i.e. Lake Norman. Or Norman Lake. We will be going to check out that area this fall. We're already getting daily real estate updates about houses on golf courses. Guess who's plan that is!

BayMan · Sep 11, 2014

DAVA390 said:
... with every passing winter, I`m less and less interested in snow..

Isn't that a common theme. I'm a lifelong Michigan boy who had the life sucked out me by the snow and cold last year. The coming winter is supposed to be a repeat. I now have dreams of a Florida based live aboard. No state income tax. Don't care about property taxes if I don't own a home on land. Just need to figure out those hurricanes I read about but have never experienced.

shemandr · Sep 11, 2014

Some other thoughts on retirement/relocation:
I live in what is considered a vacation area. I have learned that you can't live like you are on vacation all the time. People on vacation are defined by me as people who have lost all inhibitions about spending money. Unless you are really well fixed, there will be stuff you don't do or only do once in a while. So if you went somewhere, and fell in love with it and ate at different restaurants every night, don't think that's what it will be like when you live there.
I've seen many folks relocate to be near family, only to have said family relocate to another area. Then they're stuck in some God Forsaken town, that they never really wanted to live in. Most folks here on the North Fork have family visits in the summer - whether they really want them or not. Kids see a cheap vacation with babysitting privileges. Folks complain about the work, the stress, the kids but they mostly love it. So I think it's better for family to visit you somewhere cool than for you to chase them around as they change jobs.
You need to have good health care. I used to have a client who would say the best doctor in Puerto Rico is Eastern Airlines. Whether or not that is true (And, it's dated) the point was made. Like it or not, as we get older we will need more health care. You don't want to travel to see specialists or even your own doctor (Whatever that means today.)
Finally, the people who will be your friends is really important to be happy. We have great friends here and found them primarily by sailing. That is what will be the most difficult to leave. Hopefully we will again be so lucky. I don't know about those golfers,
though.
Just some stuff to consider besides taxes and corrupt government.

RichH · Sep 11, 2014

justsomeguy said:
Please forgive my cynicism, but, except for weather, I don't think you'll find much variation from state to state in the US, in the general scheme of things, at all.

But, how much of a tax differential are we talkin' here?

Delaware has NO sales tax. Property & income taxes are what carries the burden in Delaware.
Both states are among the very highest in tax 'bite' in the nation for the average person ... MD is fourth highest in the country followed by Delaware at 5th for combined state and municipal tax bills.

Regionally, the Eastern Shore of VA is probably your best bet for 'taxes', as the ES shore VA counties havent YET enacted severe YEARLY personal property taxes (on - boats, airplanes, cars, trucks, RVs, swimming pools, etc.), yet. Example - in some of the VA counties near to Wash DC you can wind up with a YEARLY personal property tax bill on your boat's assessed value - approaching 5% of that 'value'.

NC is (was) the probable best for least tax burden in the Mid-Atlantic.

You need to very carefully check each and every local and county tax rate as well as 'just' state taxes in this area of country. --- the total combined state/county/local 'bite' is almost 12% in MD, 11% in DE, and varies by county in VA.