Best retirement states for lower property and income taxes specifically + climate consideration

[Brons2]

Might seem trivial, but public services are also wonky in some states. A retired couple who moved from Boston, mentioned there new community has private sanitation services. And its been a revolving door to the point, where their hired company just up and vanished one month. Garbage piled up and well that became a literal dump for a while.

We have private trash service in many parts of Texas, including in my last three locations. Never had any issues. City of Austin has municipal trash, but I quit 5 years ago, had enough moved to the suburbs.

Water is generally speaking municipal and not cheap but in this part of Texas you are the very west extent of lush-er-ish climate and vegetation. 100 miles west of here is desert. Austin and San Antonio are rapidly growing and will grow even more in the future. There are finite water resources and I imagine it will get even more expensive in the future. There is not enough water for all uses and agriculture farther downstream in the coastal plain has had to cut back to support the large cities in this area.

Where I am we are on Pedernales Co-op who have around 200K customers, the electricity is cheap. Another problem with moving elsewhere in Texas, the "open marketplace" is more expensive. I cannot choose electricity and I am glad, the co-ops and municipal providers are generally cheaper than the open marketplace. 12 cents per kwh. I guess I could just get a wind turbine if I stayed in Texas. Or solar. Or both.

Gas is cheap here as far as I know. Haven't compared.

 

[Brons2]

That's how it is in much of Virginia. In the news recently are stories about how Fairfax County is having problems getting trash picked up because one of the private trash companies went out of business and the other one is really understaffed. This is one of the richest counties in the USA and it's right near Washington, DC...

Another thing about Virginia--they don't like street lighting. I was driving on a 4-lane road the other day with a center median and thinking to myself "If this road were in any other state it would have street lighting but it's almost completely dark". Even extends to interstates--the interchange of I81 and I66 has no lighting whatsoever. It's pretty rare in this part of the country to have an interchange between two interstates with no lighting.

I would love that, the light pollution around here is excessive. You need to go 150 miles west of Austin to really see the stars. Or to Big Bend. You really can't see the stars from the Texas Hill Country anymore.

 

[brianl703]

I would love that, the light pollution around here is excessive. You need to go 150 miles west of Austin to really see the stars. Or to Big Bend. You really can't see the stars from the Texas Hill Country anymore.

There's plenty of lighting in private parking lots and such, but very little on the roads. The county apparently makes developers put two streetlights in front of the access road to their subdivision, so you have dumb things like a lightly-used intersection to a development with lighting but half a mile down the road a much busier intersection is completely dark.

 

[billt460]

Well, you do get the folks that advocate for low taxes because the government would just waste the money anyway. I always wonder why not fix the wasteful spending, address the root cause of the problem?

If you can accomplish that, you will have performed a feat few if any ever have in government.

 

[brianl703]

If you can accomplish that, you will have performed a feat few if any ever have in government.

It would require a massive clean-up job, for sure. And, depending on the local population and culture, may not even be possible.

 

[Al]

Even though I have never been there; I would consider Montana, Nevada, North and South Dakota.

 

[javacontour]

Well, you do get the folks that advocate for low taxes because the government would just waste the money anyway. I always wonder why not fix the wasteful spending, address the root cause of the problem?

Unfortunately, you need 50% +1 to do that, and more than 50% have bought the idea that someone else is paying. People like to think they are getting "free stuff."

 

[DuckRyder]

Montana, Nevada, North and South Dakota.

With possible exception of parts of Nevada, those have pretty severe climates. They are nice when it isn't winter though... Bonus if you like dirt and gravel roads...

 

[javacontour]

With possible exception of parts of Nevada, those have pretty severe climates. They are nice when it isn't winter though... Bonus if you like dirt and gravel roads...

We are thinking up there 8-9 months of the year and then somewhere warmer during the winter months. We have 5-7 years to look, so no hurry. We get to travel searching for places.

 

[NiwradND]

Dont mention North Dakota, we are getting flooded with Minnesotans and lots of people from out of the country. People are realizing its stays a nice 70 degrees year around here, LOL Indoors

 

[Lapham3]

The east side of western mountain ranges where the chinook winds bring in warm air during winters.