Thoughts on retirement relocation...

[Kingcreek]

Looking ahead 4-5 years at retiring and getting the hell out of Illinois. Hopefully before the wheels fall off the state finances and they hit us with retirement income taxes and all the other taxes and fees they can think of. (Actually the wheels fell off a long time ago but they still pretend to function)
My wife's large family are all in the Minneapolis St. Paul area where I refuse to live. We both would like a milder climate than MN in winter. We prefer traditional Midwest type values and culture.
I have sister in Iowa. Daughter and granddaughters in Washington state.
I came up with an idea of downsizing from our big house on 40 acres to a small home base with garage and workshop with minimal home and property maintenance. Could be anywhere with low cost of living.
And a nice camper, my wife loves airstreams, that we could spend the peak of summer up north and the mid winter somewhere south. I think I could live in a camper for up to 2 or 3 months at a time. So I'm actually thinking 3 latitudes. Northern most might be Duluth or north shore area, purchase a lot with a nice view and build a garage with water and electric and pad/deck for parking the camper.
Small home base in the middle.
South in mid winter could stay flexible with no ownership unless we found someplace we really liked, could be anywhere from Tennessee to Arizona or New Mexico.
My wife likes the idea of north shore of Lake Superior being only a couple hours from family. She doesn't want to leave civilization too far behind because of theater art and culture things and also healthcare. I like the fishing and hunting opportunities. If we really liked the area we could seek a lot with potential for future permanent build and maybe get away from -30 winter weather and get by with only 2 latitudes and officially become one of those snowbirds.
I don't know where we will end up. any thoughts are appreciated.

[K Frame]

I googled "best retirement states financially."

https://www.google.com/search?q=best+retirement+states+financially&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS770US770&oq=best+retirement+states+financially&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i64.5951j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Iowa and Minnesota are 4 and 5.

Colorado ranks rather highly, as well, but the politics...

Virginia is 6.

[BobR]

Northern Idaho, above Coeur d'Alene

Southern Idaho, between Twin Falls and Mountain Home

South Dakota, western part of the state.

Nye County Nevada, possibly Pahrump

Those are what I have narrowed things down to.

bob

[Ben]

Idaho for me. I really love Western Oregon weather - it's perfect for me, and I was originally looking there years ago, but the politics are getting worse than in CA.

I love the people (and lack thereof), cost of living, and outdoor stuff in Idaho, and if Idaho were to turn blue, it would probably be around the time the US as we know it dies.

[BobR]

Idaho for me. I really love Western Oregon weather - it's perfect for me, and I was originally looking there years ago, but the politics are getting worse than in CA.

I love the people (and lack thereof), cost of living, and outdoor stuff in Idaho, and if Idaho were to turn blue, it would probably be around the time the US as we know it dies.

Except Boise, it is already as blue as the football field at Boise State.  :(

There are always one or two places that really screw up a perfect state, in ID it is Latah County (U of Idaho) and Boise (city). Stay away from there and ID is nearly perfect.

bob

[Kingcreek]

My requirements are gun friendly, hunting and fishing opportunities, sensible folks with sensible politics, and low taxes/cost of living.
She wants to be within a few hours drive of her family for atleast part of the year but ability to go someplace milder mid winter, and she wants cultural things like museums, art galleries, theaters, and good health care.
A decent camper kinda makes sense for us but I still need a base for my workshop hobbies and my "stuff" too numerous and important to get rid of.
I love where I live now except it's in Illinois. But we also really don't need a 4 bedrooms and 3 bath house on 40 acres with a 1909 barn and other outbuildings. We have all of the former production acres in CRP programs but I still have to own and maintain equipment to manage it and move snow, and mowers and other power equipment. And I'm getting weary of the maintenance on everything here. Great hunting and there are state lakes near by for fishing but I hardly have time for any of it.
Taxes are high and destined to go higher because of the state financial crisis. It feels like a dine and dash kind of thing coming- where everybody runs off and the last ones left get stuck with the bill. I might want to liquidate and relocate before the property values go any lower and the taxes go higher.

[Ben]

Except Boise, it is already as blue as the football field at Boise State.  :(

There are always one or two places that really screw up a perfect state, in ID it is Latah County (U of Idaho) and Boise (city). Stay away from there and ID is nearly perfect.

bob

Actually an interesting study on that came out this week:

http://amp.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article215493035.html

When you look at the numbers, the libs are still way outnumbered in Ada county itself, so even though Boise has a dem mayor, the county is staunchly conservative.  I guess it's kinda how Austin is liberal, but too bad, you're surrounded.  

Also this is an interesting study by Boise state, with well done research, showing that Idaho is not being "Californiacated", at least not in the popular definition.  If anything, it's being pushed slightly more conservative overall (Boise, Ketchum, Moscow, et. al., being localized exceptions). I had read an interesting article sometime back that people in the panhandle are "sick of the ultra-conservative Californians moving here". This study also touches on why Colorado, for instance is likely suffering from "Californiacation" but Idaho is not because a different population of Californians are moving to Idaho.

https://thebluereview.org/dont-california-idaho/

[Larry Ashcraft]

There are always one or two places that really screw up a perfect state

Yep.  In Colorado, it's the Denver Metro area and Boulder.  Anywhere else, it's mostly red, unfortunately, we don't have the population base to carry votes, so we end up with California governors.

My wife's two sisters live in Sun City AZ, one full time and the other only in the winter.  We visited them in March, and while I was prepared to hate the place, I really enjoyed it.  I could live there in the winter if it wasn't for our 40 acres and animals, which I'm not ready to give up.

[Brad Johnson]

Texas plains region. Mild weather, especially on the southern end. Can get a bit chilly in winter up north. Within a day's drive of most of the southwest. No income taxes, soundly conservative, and generally good folks. Solid health care system, especially around Lubbock. Lots of RV industry support, too.

Generally speaking you could get a 2000 sq ft new-construction 3/2/2 on ten acres within 20 minutes of town beginning at around $250,000. Less, maybe a lot less, if you catch something in one of the smaller towns dotting the South Plains.

Brad

[Ben]

Generally speaking you could get a 2000 sq ft new-construction 3/2/2 on ten acres within 20 minutes of town beginning at around $250,000. Less, maybe a lot less, if you catch something in one of the smaller towns dotting the South Plains.

Brad

That's the one negative to Idaho right now. Stuff has gone up in the last year - A LOT. The above used to be doable (probably still is in some out of the way places) but not so easy to find anymore. Also, as soon as they put the words "horse property" in the listing, it adds like $50K.

[Hawkmoon]

Generally speaking you could get a 2000 sq ft new-construction 3/2/2 on ten acres within 20 minutes of town beginning at around $250,000.

All right, I'll be the one to ask: What's a 3/2/2? Three bedroom, two bath, two ___?

Not all of us are fluent in realtor-speak.

[BobR]

All right, I'll be the one to ask: What's a 3/2/2? Three bedroom, two bath, two ___?

Not all of us are fluent in realtor-speak.

I am going to go with 2 car garage. It is about the only thing people talk about other than bedrooms and bathrooms.

bob

[French G.]

Rural Central Virginia, valley or hills, flatland too damn hot. It's a good state despite the best efforts of the urban jungle to make it blue. West Virginia panhandle as far as cost of living, ease of access to interstate and culture, it's a nice place to be. North Carolina Piedmont. I like southern Indiana myself were I to leave Virginia.

Arizona is the traditional retirement spot for upper Midwest folks.

[Brad Johnson]

All right, I'll be the one to ask: What's a 3/2/2? Three bedroom, two bath, two ___?

Not all of us are fluent in realtor-speak.

What Bob said. Bedroom/bathroom/garage spaces.

Sometimes you'll see something like 3/2.5/2 when there's is a half-bath (No tub or shower, vanity only or vanity/toilet. Kinda loosely defined as there is no particular "official" criteria). You also occasionally run across a 3/2/2+1 or somesuch when there is a detached parking structure, usually because the seller or agent wants to be different somehow. Mostly, though, it just gets lumped in and a note about detached parking placed in the property description.

Brad

[grampster]

If I was going anywhere, it would be to Tennessee.  The Chattanooga area is beautiful, though I haven't been east of Chattanooga, I suspect it would also be beautiful.  You get low taxes, mild weather, scenery, hunting, fishing, mountains, lakes, boating, rivers and you're halfway to Florida for some winter fun.  If you're gonna camper it, coming back up north isn't all that far.

On the way home from Florida this spring, we drove up on Jasper mountain off I-24 about 20 miles north of Chattanooga at the Kimball exit.  Pretty pricey development going up there, but the scenery is outstanding.  Lots of trails, waterfalls and they're gonna have their own fire department.  They have regular lots up to acreage.  Plus a club house and park.  Down below in Kimball on I-24 they actually have a Walmart.  If we didn't have a lot of family here in W. Michigan, we'd be gone in a minute.

[Scout26]

My home is on the market.  And as soon as it sells I'm off to South Carolina, Lake Murray area just west of Columbia.  So all the positives of a Red state, (low taxes, etc.) with a large enough city nearby for cultural activities.  Plus Charleston and ocean is two hours away (and it's outside the Hurricane zone).

[Chester32141]

For home price and weather I like central Florida ... I'd like to summer in the North Georgia mountains ...

Sample home prices ... http://www.northgeorgiamountainrealty.com/homes/under200k/

[Neemi]

My home is on the market.  And as soon as it sells I'm off to South Carolina, Lake Murray area just west of Columbia.  So all the positives of a Red state, (low taxes, etc.) with a large enough city nearby for cultural activities.  Plus Charleston and ocean is two hours away (and it's outside the Hurricane zone).

Lake Murray is a gorgeous spot. It is outside of hurricane area, but when there's a hurricane, that area is prone to some violent storms and twisters. In the last 10 years, one of my friends in that area has had severe roof damage 2 or 3 times and gone without power for several stretches. Just get good insurance and stock up before storms and you'll be fine.

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[Scout26]

USAA for home owners insurance and I already have a generator...