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

a great thread on a truly difficult subject.
with a brazilian wife i might downsize in the usa and snowbird half the year in brazil but keeping a weather eye on the latter’s recent election outcome. california 50 years ago would meet most criteria here.
 
If you've got a collection you won't be driving those vehicles in the winter anyways.
Depends on the winter. If there is no salt on the road, why would you not drive your classic then? Only because of the calendar? Salt kills cars, the name of a month does not.
There are plenty of places where freezing temperatures are very rare. Think the Mediterranean. They do have winters there, and it can get uncortable, but freezing temperatures or even snow are newsworthy events.
There are also places that get extremely cold, but that do without salt. Cars from these places tend not to rust out, too... There's a reason why quite a few car dealers make a living buying old Saabs and Volvos from the northernmost parts of Sweden and bringing them to Germany. Winters in Norrland can be horrendously cold, but for a long time there was no salt on the roads - because it got so cold that NaCl was no longer effective as thawing agent. (Also low population density, so less traffic - the risk of bending metal is greatly reduced. Worst case is you rip of a bumper when overcooking it and ending in a snow bank.)
 
Taxes vary significantly depending on location in Texas. Friendswood is at least a third lower than Spring, both Houston suburbs. Any of the red areas of Texas are likely to be better as they aren't paying blue surcharges. Good luck with your decision.
 
Depends on the winter. If there is no salt on the road, why would you not drive your classic then? Only because of the calendar? Salt kills cars, the name of a month does not.
There are plenty of places where freezing temperatures are very rare. Think the Mediterranean. They do have winters there, and it can get uncortable, but freezing temperatures or even snow are newsworthy events.
There are also places that get extremely cold, but that do without salt. Cars from these places tend not to rust out, too... There's a reason why quite a few car dealers make a living buying old Saabs and Volvos from the northernmost parts of Sweden and bringing them to Germany. Winters in Norrland can be horrendously cold, but for a long time there was no salt on the roads - because it got so cold that NaCl was no longer effective as thawing agent. (Also low population density, so less traffic - the risk of bending metal is greatly reduced. Worst case is you rip of a bumper when overcooking it and ending in a snow bank.)
Oh boy, that goes without saying. Thought we were talking salt here.
 
Yes, and you specifically found it strange that in a car-focused forum salt on roads might be a factor in someone's decision where to spend their retirement. Then @John Galt pointed out that to a car collector, the impact of salt on his cars longevity can be important.
To which you replied that no collector would drive their cars in winter anyway. That was in the context of moving somewhere where there is no salt on the roads.
So can we agree, that no car enthusiast wants to expose their precious metal through salt, and that winter road conditions and climate thus can indeed be one of the factors influencing a decision where to reside?
 
Washington - possible on wet side, and far away from Seattle. But I think properties are too expensive to consider. Dry side too cold in winter. I grew up in Oregon so that would be a pretty natural fit, but, the prices of real estate are high.

DC - too expensive, too cold
South Carolina - not sure, I'd have to do my research. Don't know much about it.
Delaware - see DC


Other suggestions? Be honest about the costs and the climate.
Isn't Oregon going to be colder than DC or Delaware???

I mean especially the lower part of Delaware (where all the retirees are) it hardly ever snows much and stuff. I know I guy who went to college in Salisbury, MD and said it never snowed there the whole time.
 
Have a summer place up north and a winter place down south if climate is a concern as it seems to be.

If I was willing to maintain the extra costs of two residences I'd just bite the bullet and move somewhere the climate was perfect and pay the higher taxes.

Sounds like you should just stay in Texas and keep paying your property taxes.

Where in Austin are you located ?
Some areas in greater Austin are very nice…. other areas not so nice with increasing homeless.

The Carolinas are nice and affordable. Not too cold and not crazy amount of snow or ice.
Maybe Tallahassee / Gainesville / Ocala, FL ?

Austin has tripled in size since I've lived here, which I hate. I loved Austin when it was a medium sized city of 300K and there was space between it and the surrounding bedroom communities. Now, not so much. It's a huge city with huge city problems, I know everyone likes to harp on the homeless problem, but they have re-enacted the camping ban and it hasn't helped. The homeless are hardly the only problem. They haven't expanded I-35 in 50 years and Loop 1/Mopac (the other freeway though Central Austin) got another lane in the last 5-7 years but it was toll only and it still has the same three free lanes it's had since 1981.

Staying in Texas generally would require us moving somewhere with cheaper property values as the tax rate is close to 3% per 100K. And most places the sales taxes are in the 7.5-8.25% range so Tennessee's 9.45% doesn't look that bad with property taxes less than 1/3rd of what they are in Texas.

The Carolina mountains are nice once you get farther away from Ashville which is trendy and expensive. I would have to study the topic more.

Florida is a hard no on climate and topography.
 
You also should look at what you might be giving up. Family, friends entertainment if you live a big city now. Wife and I thought about moving as property taxes and income taxes in NJ are considerable. When we thought of all the negatives we decided to stay here. If you cannot afford the taxes in retirement then your decision is made.
I can afford the taxes where I am now, but I am worried about 20-30 years down the road. I have a number of relatives that have lived into their late 90s and my parents are still alive. Of course, nothing is guaranteed in life and heck I ride road bikes which is pretty life threatening at times. Just wanting to maximize my savings basically, and plus I'd prefer somewhere a little cooler in the summertime. There is a difference to me between 95 and 101-104. And we seem to be getting a lot more of the latter in recent years. I'm wet side Oregon born and raised, it's a very mild climate most of the time, although the summers seem to be getting warmer there as well. Would probably want AC if I went back to the PNW, which I never had growing up.
 
Isn't Oregon going to be colder than DC or Delaware???

I mean especially the lower part of Delaware (where all the retirees are) it hardly ever snows much and stuff. I know I guy who went to college in Salisbury, MD and said it never snowed there the whole time.
No. Not really. In the mountains yes, but generally west side of the mountains, climate is pretty mild. That's another reason I like it here in the PNW.

But yeah we are practically Alaska, no - worse. Like Arctic circle with rain. Don't move here.
 
I would suggest Tennessee. It's a pleasant state with very low cost of living, it's very liberty friendly, very pro-gun, the people are generally friendly. None of the seasons are unbearable. Summers can get hot and muggy, but not terrible. Winters can see some freezing temps and snow but not much. Taxes are extremely low. Lots of nature things to do, like fishing, hunting, etc. Not any really big natural disasters, other than occasional tornado warnings and low land flooding. Any house should be built on a hill in a hilly area and have a basement. Outside of a few metropolitian areas of known crime, the rest of the state is very safe and crime free. Nashville is a relatively nice fun city. A house an hour away from Nashville would be a good place to start. Maybe look down near Cookville, SE of Nashville. Gets you close to the mountains as well.
Exactly my thoughts....

Don't know how much the university influences property values in Knoxville but seen some properties on the outskirts that look nice and below my price range, some with mountain views even. I'd take some ribbing about being a button stuck fan of the other "UT" - I'm not only an alum but an athletics letterwinner of UT-Austin, but that's ok, I'd probably even go to some Tennessee games as I'm a huge fan of college football in general. I'd probably even buy a wrong shade orange shirt to go along with the whole deal.

I don't think I mentioned in my original post that college towns are a plus - born and raised in Corvallis, OR, don't think I really want to go back though, it's still lacking for some basic conveniences 32 years later. There's so much that you have to drive to Eugene or even Portland for. The inconvenience level was and is still high. And property values are high relative to what it is. I don't want to have to drive to Portland just to get a shirt or pants for example, I'm 6'7" and these things I didn't mention before. Needs to be within a 1 hour-90 minute drive of a Destination XL store. LOL. I need to add that to my list of Ex-Pat negatives. Must fly back to USA for clothes haha.
 
No. Not really. In the mountains yes, but generally west side of the mountains, climate is pretty mild. That's another reason I like it here in the PNW.

But yeah we are practically Alaska, no - worse. Like Arctic circle with rain. Don't move here.
I have no problem with the rain - I am a native son of the wet side PNW. Frankly it doesn't get any colder in the Willamette Valley than it does in the Austin area, it's just more consistently cooler in the PNW, there's more 40s and 50s in the wet PNW with more freezes. But we got down near zero in 2021 in the Austin exurbs and just last month it was near 10 degrees out in the exurbs. Where it differs is here when it's warmer then average in the winter it's in the 70s.

But the high taxes and high property values bother me about the PNW, and overly greenie would make me shy away from some places. "not in a city" would be preferred if I went back. I'm about as middle of the road as possible and I'm fine with some things greenie but not the whole kit and kaboodle. I'd really have to see what it was before I go all in. I'm ok with not having a gasoline car but if I have to compost everything and have like eleventy trash cans that would be serious negative to consider.
 
I would move to South America in a heartbeat
Brazil would be a consideration but I would prefer a little less pollution than Sao Paulo. Maybe a little drier but similar temperatures - Sao Paulo is at 2500 feet, maybe could go over a few more mountain ridges and be down in rain some as in a little more away from the coast - there are a lot of wineries closer to Campinas about 1 hour by car from SP, maybe it rains less. It averages 63 inches a rain a year in Sao Paulo and I don't mind rain but that is a lot.
 
Look at Alpine TX or even Ft Davis. Climate is not too different than Austin. Actually a little nicer in Alpine because of the mountains.

Tennessee is a nice option. Honestly most of this nation is beautiful, so back to your concern of taxes. Getting out of Austin or the surrounding counties will go a long way to making the taxes less out of your pocket. Canyon Tx is beautiful if you can live with the cold for a few months.

Couple of guys at work are considering Belize. YMMV
 
Brazil would be a consideration but I would prefer a little less pollution than Sao Paulo. Maybe a little drier but similar temperatures - Sao Paulo is at 2500 feet, maybe could go over a few more mountain ridges and be down in rain some as in a little more away from the coast - there are a lot of wineries closer to Campinas about 1 hour by car from SP, maybe it rains less. It averages 63 inches a rain a year in Sao Paulo and I don't mind rain but that is a lot.

This article was in Barron’s (online) and behind a paywall but I found it here, also:

 
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Quiet town with good year round weather. 5500’ elevation. Small town living, 25 miles to Sierra Vista (guessing around 30k population) and 20 miles to Douglas (guessing 6k population). 85 miles to Tucson. 5-6k population in Bisbee. Couldn’t afford Texas anymore. Property taxes very reasonable here. Gun friendly state, not unusual to see open carry at grocery stores etc. Excepting the monsoon season very dry here.
All true. The only problem now with being that close to the border, is illegal invaders. It is getting to be a BIG problem around that area. Crime, (mostly theft and vandalism), is going off the chart in many areas in southern Arizona.

Then you have the drug trafficking that is not only becoming unstoppable, but is increasing on a daily basis. Those are not the type of people you want to "bump into" while your out hiking and exploring.

I know a guy from Benson, and he doesn't go anywhere now a days without being armed to the teeth. It has gotten all but out of control in the last 2 years..... And it's getting worse by the day. And this applies to most ANY state in this country, that has the unfortunate reality of touching Mexico.

Just a decade ago some of these small Arizona and Texas border towns were beautiful, affordable, and above all, peaceful places to live and retire in. Now many are turning into trash heaps with severely descending property values.
 
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