Choose The Best Retirement State Carefully
Choosing the best retirement state involves many factors. Be careful if you base your choice on one criteria.
Looking solely at taxes can be misleading. Five states have no sales tax; seven have no income tax. The only state that has none of either taxes is Alaska. Alaska may be a tough sell as a place to retire.
Due to its location, Alaska has to truck in most consumer goods. That makes the cost of consumer goods higher. Alaska therefore has a high cost of living. The fact that it has no taxes helps but it is still not among the cheapest states to retire.
If you do have a high retirement income you should look at Texas or Florida…all else being equal. Lots of wealthy retirees in those two states.
For the retiree relying solely on Social Security, you should know which states tax Social Security benefits. There are currently thirty four states that do not levy taxes on Social Security.
There are other factors to consider when choosing the best place to retire, such as:
1) Is the health care sufficient for your particular needs?
2) Proximity to family…could be too far, could be too close
3) Cultural activities
4) Outdoor and recreational opportunities
5) Personal safety
Choosing the best retirement state involves many factors. There are two important approaches to your decision making:
1) Take your time. You have worked a long time, take the time necessary to fully investigate your retirement locale.
2) Try before you buy…How does a area feel when you are not on vacation? Some places may be great to visit on vacation, but feel totally different when you live there. Rent a place for a few months before you look to buy.
You should get unbiased information, taxes and otherwise, before you decide where to retire. Here’s where to get the information free…
For more help on the best retirement states. Gary Pierce freely shares help on how to retire on less at best retirement states. It is loaded with free help on retirement lifestyles you may not have considered. Click here to get your own unique version of this article with free reprint rights.
Gary Pierce on February 8th 2010 in Real Estate
