I am imagining that many of us (who have no pension) will never have enough money that we can confidently decide, “yes! I’m ready to retire and live off my social security and savings!”
So – I’m looking for an alternative path, namely:
- Leave the high property tax suburbs and move to a place where it is much cheaper to have a roof over my head
- Live in a neighborhood where it is possible to walk to do basic food shopping, to lower my dependency on driving
- Live in an area where it might be possible, as someone over 60, to find a part-time job
For me, this would preferably be in a Blue state.
Any ideas or suggestions?
At some point, we will downsize our house, but ONLY if we can find a smaller dwelling with less monthly outlay. Since our house is totally paid for, that isn’t likely.
We would love to live someplace where we only needed one car.
We are looking for places with modestly priced entertainment…like college campuses for music, drama, art, classes, for example.
More temperate year round climate…so less heating costs, and minimal AC costs.
I’d love to live in an area with a moderate COL, walkable neighborhoods (would love to only have 1 car), preferably a blue state, and close enough to a good airport. We had thought about Asheville, NC, but it’s a 2 hour drive to Charlotte’s airport and neighborhoods aren’t as walkable as I’d like (downtown Asheville is). We may be looking at Northern VA since S2 lives in DC, but that’s not as affordable as we’d like.
Finding work is not part of our equation.
Delaware is probably the least expensive blue state.
We like Winston Salem NC. Great small, walkable downtown area, with some housing. Nice neighborhoods. School of the Arts so great culture. WF Medical Center for medical…and not very far from th Greensboro Airport.
What area are you in now, if you don’t mind saying? It would give a helpful reference point in recommending possible places that would be cheaper for you.
I am in the Boston area, so just about any place is cheaper!
The daughter of a friend of mine is moving to Springfield, MO, and I noted that you can buy a small house there for $115K with property taxes of only $512!
That seems astonishing to me…
I second the North Carolina Piedmont area option. At present I am investigating Greensboro and all early indications are good. Moderate (or low) cost of living; sufficient cultural opportunities, particularly with several colleges in the area; comfortable airports (Greensboro and Raleigh-Durham) nearby. The only drawback for me are the middling public transit options and the hot summers from May until September. I guess that’s what UBER and residential air conditioning was invented for. Hope the utility costs are moderate. 
Walla Walla WA. You will be landlocked though.
https://www.forbes.com/pictures/hgfm45hj/walla-walla-washington/
The area is purple but the state is blue.
The problem I see with NC - Burlington, WS, Greensboro - is that when the mid-Atantic gets snow, they are more likely to get ice.
I’m thinking of eastern Washington for the early years of retirement. Unfortunately, kid who is most likely to have grandkids lives in a really expensive area (DC). We will see…
Taking a quick look in Walla Walla, I see a cute house for $295,000 (2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1,358 sqft) with property taxes of $2,736. - walk score of 6, which is not good.
In Winston-Salem – here is a nice 3 beds, 2 bath house, 1,709 sqft for $259,900. Property taxes of $2,548. Walk score better, 46, but still not great.
House I like in Greensboro - 5 beds 2 baths 2,826 sqft. $298,500, property taxes are $2,333. Walkability score is 38.
(Where I live now, my walk score is 20.)
@fendrock I wish I could remember the name of my son’s neighborhood in Winston Salem. It was just uphill from WF Medical Center. Houses were craftsman style…really nice. And a good size…not too small…not too big.
We originally thought about NC but it is definitely a red state which overides the blue cities when they try to be more progressive. We’re still looking. VA is at least purple.
Are you open to staying in MA?
There are areas on the Cape that are fairly affordable and walkable, depending on how big of a house you want, that meet a lot of your requirements, if you are considering houses in the $300K range.
For example: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/169-Heritage-Cir-Teaticket-MA-02536/55891254_zpid/
Property taxes only $2k.
Or look outside 495, stuff gets cheaper in a hurry, although the taxes can still be fairly high.
For example, this cute house in Westborough center has a walkability score of 57, for only (!) $299K:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/11-Baker-Way-Westborough-MA-01581/57678209_zpid/
Bring your wallpaper stripper and some elbow grease. 
The walkability rating is a little funny IMO. The house I hope to retire to has a walkability score of 10, yet within a 15 minute walk is a food mart, fish market, liquor store, gym, bank, and a sub/pizza shop, and a 20 minute walk puts me at the beach.
Granted the food mart is not like a major grocery store, but still, it’s a lot more walkable than my current house which has a score of 4.
ETA: I tried an address 0.2 miles closer to the above-mentioned stores, and the walkability score doubled. Does that seem reasonable?
I wouldn’t consider NC blue although parts are. The state has had some very unprogressive legislation.
It might not be as cheap as other places but in terms of being blue and cheaper than Boston and the immediate suburbs, maybe some smaller New England cities? Providence, Portland ME, Concord/Nashua NH, Burlington VT, to name a handful. All have liberal leanings, cheaper than Boston, residential areas with walkability, low unemployment so easier for a senior to find a job.
Is a 67 walk score good? A house for sale one block from me has that. I consider the neighborhood to be walkable.
Here are their ratings descriptions:
90–100 Walker’s Paradise Daily errands do not require a car
70–89 Very Walkable Most errands can be accomplished on foot
50–69 Somewhat Walkable Some errands can be accomplished on foot
25–49 Car-Dependent Most errands require a car
0–24 Car-Dependent Almost all errands require a car
Thanks, @notrichenough. I love my neighborhood (in a suburb of Madison, Wisconsin) but the property taxes are high: $7,000 per year for a house with a decent market value but actually falling apart because I can’t afford the repairs and reno it needs.