<p>I’m looking at the NC coast, down by Wilmington. When I was young I lived on Pt. Loma in San Diego and the ocean communities down in NC ‘feel’ the same way as Ocean City did way back when…before every house was $1mil + and the funky people moved out. There are drawbacks to every state but the cost of living down in NC is 2/3rds what it is here in the D.C. suburbs. We’ll save enough on living costs that the tax situation won’t be so bad. I figure we’ll live there until our daughter has settled down and then go live closer to her, wherever that may be. </p>
<p>[Stats</a> about all US cities - real estate, relocation info, maps, race, income, photos, education, crime, weather, houses, etc.](<a href=“http://www.city-data.com%5DStats”>http://www.city-data.com) – Good info about all sorts of cities and towns. The message boards can be negative zones, so grains of salt all around, eh?</p>
<p>I was in Hilton Head last week and it was so much warmer than DC (which in turn was so much nicer weather-wise than Boston). I definitely want to move down South.</p>
<p>I have to admit that growing up and living in the Northeast for most of my adult life the issue of weather was a non-issue. Winter was cold. Period. But now that we’re in the Southeast I’m so SPOILED and love spending 9 months of the year outdoors. (other 3 months too hot) Its great for the kids, too. They’re always outside.</p>
<p>We have a couple of time share weeks at one of the Marriott’s in HHI. It’s very nice, but I don’t think I could live there all year around. I don’t golf or play tennis and I would get bored very quickly.</p>
<p>Plan A: buy a tiny hobbit house in the Berkeley/Oakland hills and stay there FOR EVER because even tiny hobbit houses in the Berkeley/Oakland hills cost a fortune. </p>
<p>Plan B: stay in Colorado, buy a little vacation place in Mexico and visit the Berkeley/Oakland areas.</p>
<p>Plan C: the country collapses economically, there is no retirement, we work till we drop here in Colorado.</p>
<p>HHI and all that Outer Banks stuff is so not us. I’m looking farther south, say 25 miles from the South Carolina border. One of the Cape Fear towns like Caswell Beach, Kure Beach or Carolina Beach…note the operative word in each name! I want to be within 30 minutes of a major airport since a large part of my retirement dream is travel as well as within reach of theatres, movies, museums and such. I’d like to volunteer at some kind of historical property/museum. I also love beach weather, even the misty, moisty morning type. I <em>really</em> don’t care to live in Florida and the Georgia coastline isn’t what I’m looking for. So it’s NC or SC. The one big drawback to NC is, if one of us dies there, the inheritance tax is killer (so to speak!)</p>
<p>“The one big drawback to NC is, if one of us dies there, the inheritance tax is killer (so to speak!)”</p>
<p>I wasn’t aware of that. Are you saying that when the first part of a married couple dies that the remaining spouse is hit hard with an inderitance tax? How “hard” is it?</p>
<p>tsdad, I was at U Colo - Boulder for 2 years. The first few weeks of September were beautiful. After that it was winter for the rest of the school year. I don’t mind 4 seasons, but my tolerance for winter weather is about a month or so and a few inches of snow.</p>
<p>Some have said Las Cruces, NM is pretty nice and much cheaper. Home of NM State U. I have never been there but NM is a little too brown/dry for me although I love the food and could visit every year.</p>
<p>Just be careful that you don’t outrun your medical coverage, nor should you go into an area where hospitals and physicians are not readily available (or up to your standards). It’s an annoying reality check, but we all have to face it sometime.</p>
<p>Let me summarize advice we were given by a consultant as part of the retirement training program provided by my former employer, the US Department of Education. The training was aimed primarily at folks from the DC area.</p>
<p>This seems pretty obvious, but don’t retire to a place, which maybe otherwise idyllic, where you are not comfortable with the people or the type of society. For Feds, that meant be careful where you go because in large parts of the country, Federal government employees are not especially well-liked. Moreover, we were told that Feds tend to be good citizens and as a group live in areas with lots of zoning requirements and lots of rules. There are parts of the country where there are only minimal zoning requirements, and the locals don’t like rules, and don’t follow the few that exist. So, be sure to factor into you decision an honest assessment of who you are and whether you will be comfortable with people and the area where you are planning to move.</p>
<p>He also said that you shouldn’t live where you vacation. The enjoyment you get from a one or two-week sojourn at the height of the season is not an adequate basis to decide where you want to live full time.</p>
<p>And again to echo Venado, as we age we must be aware of our medical needs. This should form an important part of our decision as to where we will live.</p>
<p>Thanks for asking, Funding, you send me back to the research. Some things have changed since the last time I looked. </p>
<p>The link’s an article that explains it and is the most recent explanation I can find ('cause the NC legislature changed things a couple of years ago). Basically, the amount of exemption will continue to rise until 2011 when the exemption will return to assets of $1mil. Anything over that will be subject to estate tax. Right now, the tax rate is tied to the federal estate tax. Quote from the article: “The maximum amount that the federal government allows an estate to deduct for payment of state death taxes is the amount of the state death tax.” So it’s a double hit. Other states have their own rates which don’t equal the federal rate. It’s probably a good idea to check the laws in the state you choose so your spouse/children/heirs don’t get a nasty surprise after you shuffle off this mortal coil. </p>
<p>I hope nobody’s offended that this is a link to OutinAsheville, a GLBT paper. It’s the clearest and most conscise explanation I’ve found so far and as it includes ‘partnerships’, this may apply to other people who are thinking about retiring and moving but who are not married. </p>
<p>I want the ocean and milder weather than NE at least for a longer summer than we have. H wants milder weather and is from AZ so doesn’t care about the ocean, he is happy with man-made (fake) lakes. We have a summer home on Cape Cod now but would like a longer season. So someplace farther south hopefully in a less prone to hurricane area would be fine for me. And since we ski, and to satisfy his western yearnings, maybe a ski condo out west, even the small mountains there are big compared to what we have here.</p>
<p>My sister-in-law’s parents have been retired in Mexico for around 20 years. They have loved it but are thinking of moving back to the states. The area is becoming very crowded and Americanized with retirees as well as the college spring break kids. Don’t remember where they are but down on the western coast. Don’t know if medical issues are a factor, we couldn’t consider it ourselves because of this reason.</p>