Retirees Are Flocking to These 3 States - and Fleeing These 3 States in Droves

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Retirees Are Flocking to These 3 States - and Fleeing These 3 States in Droves
By Darla Mercado and John W. Schoen/ Personal Finance/ CNBC News/ cnbc.com

• More than 4 out of 10 people moving to New Mexico cited retirement as a reason, according to data from United Van Lines.
• Retirement was also a top reason why people relocated to Florida and Arizona — and why they are fleeing New Jersey.

"Step aside, Florida. New Mexico is the new top retirement destination.

Those were the findings from a survey by United Van Lines. The relocation company polled 26,998 of its customers who moved last year, through Nov. 30, 2018.

Among those who moved to New Mexico, 42% said they did so because of retirement, making the Land of Enchantment a top destination.

Florida came in second, with 38% of people moving there citing “retirement” as a reason. Arizona followed in third, according to United Van Lines.

Meanwhile, those golden years were also a primary reason why people fled New Jersey, with a third of households citing that as a driver behind their decision to leave the Garden State.

Maine and Connecticut round out the top three states people are moving away from citing retirement, the moving service found....."

Albuquerque International Balloon Festival
sjlayne | E+ | Getty Images


Richard

 

[Luanne]

Well yeah, we retired to Santa Fe.

 

[DebBrown]

I'm surprised Illinois didn't make the top 3 fleeing states.

 

[Iggyearl]

I live in NY state. Building a home in Williamsburg, Va. Our daughter lives there. Our NY home costs $7200/year in taxes. The taxes in Va. will be $2400. Same value for both homes. What have I been missing? The world is more informed thanks to the internet.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

I'm surprised Illinois didn't make the top 3 fleeing states.

I felt for sure Michigan would make the list....of folks fleeing from

 

[geist1223]

We have been looking at Boulder City, Nevada. No income tax and low property taxes. Also a lot closer to Grand kids. One day travel vice two. Then my son goes and tells us they might be moving to Charlotte NC. No tax advantages for retirees in NC. But there is in SC. So we are researching homes from Greenville to Spartanburg. We would only be a couple hours from the Grandkids. We could get a house like ours with more property for less than half the money. So we will wait and see what happens to the kids. My son says if they move it will most likely be their last move until the Grandkids are out of High School. It would be their 4th move in 5 years of marriage.

 

[Passepartout]

Lots of folks moving to Idaho too, but honestly, Boise has become too rich to afford. Fortunately, there are lots of other great places outside of there.

Jim

 

[WinniWoman]

My husband and I are in a flux as to where we will go. We actually would have stayed in our house if it weren't for how it is set way back in the woods and the isolation. NY does not tax SS or retirement income, so the main burden is the property and school taxes. But paying the $825 per month for that plus expenses is still better than most rents anywhere for something really nice. Utilities seem to be high no matter where you live from what I can tell. Then- some places have high HOA fees, so no gain there. One thing, it is safe here crime wise for the most part. But, we do hate the corrupt and oppressive politics and laws in NY.

Of course, as we get older, dealing with major house repairs will not be a good thing, though, physically and financially. But no matter where you go, you have that anyway, except maybe in a condo. I have heard in townhouses you still are responsible for the outside- like your roof and so forth. I have no experience with this. I know we want less maintenance. We prefer a 55+ community if we have to go with a house, though we prefer a condo with a garage. (We are even checking into CCRC's, though the financial planner has changed his mind and now feels we should buy a place instead. But I am concerned about our future with no family to help us really. And don't want to be a burden when that time comes.)

This weekend we have a realtor coming in to give advice as to what we could sell our home for, as we are working with a financial planner and he is trying to help us determine what we can afford when we move. (I know we will probably have to have it professionally appraised and we might even decide to sell it ourselves to save on realtor commissions).

We want to move to NH where our son lives and a state we really love, but the cost of living is somewhat high and home/condo prices are high- more than likely we would have to dip into savings for a large portion to add onto whatever we sell our home for to buy something nice there. But it probably still will not be enough and I really do not want to do that. Good luck finding something affordable with an updated kitchen and bathroom. Throw in that hubby has to have a garage and forgetaboutit. Crazy.

Also- the HOA fees can be high in community settings, but not always- and you are lucky they plow and do what they call landscaping- lol! No pool. No gym. A joke. The 55+ communities have no openings and when they do it is newer construction and the homes go for like $450,000 to $650,000 or more! I love the homes, but what kind of downsizing is that? All I know is we can't pay it.

Also love Vermont (my first choice) but they tax SS and retirement income and estates and everything. Really no 55+ communities. Sigh.....

So we also have looked at southern places (Tennessee, Virginia, North and South Carolina,) but not sure we would like south. We hate humidity and reptiles and big bugs and tornadoes and hurricanes and flooding. Not sure about the food and the vibe/culture. Concerned about crime.

Then we thought maybe Delaware for low cost of living. No mountains, though. And a lot of properties on leased land, so have to watch out for that.

Maybe PA- but for some reason I was never crazy about PA. Just a feeling.

And lastly- out West (Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado) though it is so far from everyone we know, including our son, though we rarely see anyone we know now anyway. We like the West, but hate extreme heat and not crazy about desert.

But the West and South and Delaware do have some affordable options for us.

I just wish we could buy something before our house sells/closes, because I don't think I can handle two moves. Especially being in our 60's-(my husband will be going on 67/68 by then). I envy people who can afford to do that. Renting somewhere (and everything that goes along with it- changing addresses and banks, putting things in storage and so forth) and than finding a place and then moving again. And then, what if we move to another state, and rent and then still don't find something we like or decide we don't like the area and then get stuck renting indefinitely or having to move again- maybe out of state again- to something else?

OMG- I am too OCD for that. I have always owned a home. One for 10 years and this one for 31 years. Never rented. I am not a person that moves. Hubby is not either.

I guess there is no Utopia. But New York should be on that list - tons of people are escaping.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

My husband and I are in a flux as to where we will go. We actually would have stayed in our house if it weren't for how it is set way back in the woods and the isolation. NY does not tax SS or retirement income, so the main burden is the property and school taxes. But paying the $825 per month for that plus expenses is still better than most rents anywhere for something really nice. Utilities seem to be high no matter where you live from what I can tell. Then- some places have high HOA fees, so no gain there. One thing, it is safe here crime wise for the most part. But, we do hate the corrupt and oppressive politics and laws in NY.

Of course, as we get older, dealing with major house repairs will not be a good thing, though, physically and financially. But no matter where you go, you have that anyway, except maybe in a condo. I have heard in townhouses you still are responsible for the outside- like your roof and so forth. I have no experience with this. I know we want less maintenance. We prefer a 55+ community if we have to go with a house, though we prefer a condo with a garage. (We are even checking into CCRC's, though the financial planner has changed his mind and now feels we should buy a place instead. But I am concerned about our future with no family to help us really. And don't want to be a burden when that time comes.)

This weekend we have a realtor coming in to give advice as to what we could sell our home for, as we are working with a financial planner and he is trying to help us determine what we can afford when we move. (I know we will probably have to have it professionally appraised and we might even decide to sell it ourselves to save on realtor commissions).

We want to move to NH where our son lives and a state we really love, but the cost of living is somewhat high and home/condo prices are high- more than likely we would have to dip into savings for a large portion to add onto whatever we sell our home for to buy something nice there. But it probably still will not be enough and I really do not want to do that. Good luck finding something affordable with an updated kitchen and bathroom. Throw in that hubby has to have a garage and forgetaboutit. Crazy.

Also- the HOA fees can be high in community settings, but not always- and you are lucky they plow and do what they call landscaping- lol! No pool. No gym. A joke. The 55+ communities have no openings and when they do it is newer construction and the homes go for like $450,000 to $650,000 or more! I love the homes, but what kind of downsizing is that? All I know is we can't pay it.

Also love Vermont (my first choice) but they tax SS and retirement income and estates and everything. Really no 55+ communities. Sigh.....

So we also have looked at southern places (Tennessee, Virginia, North and South Carolina,) but not sure we would like south. We hate humidity and reptiles and big bugs and tornadoes and hurricanes and flooding. Not sure about the food and the vibe/culture. Concerned about crime.

Then we thought maybe Delaware for low cost of living. No mountains, though. And a lot of properties on leased land, so have to watch out for that.

Maybe PA- but for some reason I was never crazy about PA. Just a feeling.

And lastly- out West (Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado) though it is so far from everyone we know, including our son, though we rarely see anyone we know now anyway. We like the West, but hate extreme heat and not crazy about desert.

But the West and South and Delaware do have some affordable options for us.

I just wish we could buy something before our house sells/closes, because I don't think I can handle two moves. Especially being in our 60's-(my husband will be going on 67/68 by then). I envy people who can afford to do that. Renting somewhere (and everything that goes along with it- changing addresses and banks, putting things in storage and so forth) and than finding a place and then moving again. And then, what if we move to another state, and rent and then still don't find something we like or decide we don't like the area and then get stuck renting indefinitely or having to move again- maybe out of state again- to something else?

OMG- I am too OCD for that. I have always owned a home. One for 10 years and this one for 31 years. Never rented. I am not a person that moves. Hubby is not either.

I guess there is no Utopia. But New York should be on that list - tons of people are escaping.

I'm doing major house repairs now to get my place in shape to sell in 2020. My 3 kids really beat this house up, so I have to spruce it up to sell it...

 

[WinniWoman]

I'm doing major house repairs now to get my place in shape to sell in 2020. My 3 kids really beat this house up, so I have to spruce it up to sell it...

Best of luck!

We spent the last 5-6 years (and $100,000) doing that. Hubby didn't want to at first. I told him we were living in it anyway and we knew we had to wait for hubby to retire before we could sell, so might as well enjoy the new kitchen and bathrooms and so forth.

I am not sure it will even matter in the area we are in. There are new houses going up and I am sure buyers will want those over ours. Hopefully I am wrong.

We put so much money into our home over 31 years it isn't even funny. And to think we will barely get anything over what we paid in 1987 is disheartening.

I have started paying scratch offs the past few months (and I never, EVER played the lottery in the past, except with a coworker pool). I have no other solutions.

 

[Luvtoride]

It sounds like you have a lot of travel to do and decisions to make before choosing your next home. We just came back from a few days in Nashville, TN and talking to people there, they love that there is no state income tax and very low property taxes (but the sales tax is 9.25%, ouch). Most importantly to us was the friendliness and hospitality of everyone we met and encountered there (not just staff and workers in the industry). Add to that the amazing art, culture and MUSIC scene in Nashville, you may want to visit on your tour of possible retirement places.
Good luck!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Sugarcubesea]

Best of luck!

We spent the last 5-6 years (and $100,000) doing that. Hubby didn't want to at first. I told him we were living in it anyway and we knew we had to wait for hubby to retire before we could sell, so might as well enjoy the new kitchen and bathrooms and so forth.

I am not sure it will even matter in the area we are in. There are new houses going up and I am sure buyers will want those over ours. Hopefully I am wrong.

We put so much money into our home over 31 years it isn't even funny. And to think we will barely get anything over what we paid in 1987 is disheartening.

I have started paying scratch offs the past few months (and I never, EVER played the lottery in the past, except with a coworker pool). I have no other solutions.

We did just under $20K worth of updates on my parents home before we sold it last year and it sold for more than the other homes in their sub that were listed at the same time of sale with no improvements or updates. We recouped the $20K and got the home sold 1 day after listing it and we put it up for $40K more then the other homes in my parents neighborhood...

My cousin listed her parents home for sale the same day I listed my parents home for sale and she did no updates and she listed it for more then any house had sold in her parents neighborhood with updates. The updates I did on my parents home were as follows: paint the whole house, new carpeting throughout, new light fixtures thought-out, and removed all of the old drapes from the 70's. My cousins parents house stayed on the market for a year and she just sold it last week for $75K under the original list price...

For my home in order to get the market rate I will need to do the updates as everyone else in our sub has already done this and sold and made a nice profit...

 

[Sugarcubesea]

mpumilia: For me, I need to retire where my dollar will stretch further as the company that I spent the bulk of my working years at screwed us all out of our pension.. When the company went bankrupt, the pension went to the PBGC and they sent notification to all employees that we would only receive 10% of what was owed to us due to the fund being so underfunded.

The property tax's are very high in my state and my state also has the highest car insurance rates...housing on the water or even with a water view is insane. (this is very important to me as I love the water and warm weather) The winters in my state are brutal and I do not want to deal with the harsh weather in retirement...

I'm not going to move where my kids go because they will move too..MY SIL has moved 3 times since she retired trying to follow her kids and its cost her a pretty penny...

 

[VacationForever]

NY does not tax SS or retirement income, so the main burden is the property and school taxes.

Also love Vermont (my first choice) but they tax SS and retirement income and estates and everything. Really no 55+ communities.

What is classified as retirement income here? I cannot imagine withdrawals from IRA / 401K as not being taxed at the state level.

 

[WinniWoman]

We have avoided most of the south because it just never appealed to us. We have been to Florida several times. We don't like cities, so Nashville would be out. I do know someone who moved to Tennessee many years ago and loved it. Was able to get a gorgeous home for so much less than she would have paid here.

Only been to Virginia once- Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. Wouldn't want to live there, though I have an ex coworker who moved there from here and loves it But she moved when her daughter went to college down there and she now has both children and grandchildren living nearby. I would nto have that. She lives in a small apartment in Roanoke (where she got a job). She is single. Not for us.

We also know of a few people who moved to North Carolina and then didn't like it and moved back. Another couple that used to live here actually just moved from North Carolina to Alabama after being in North Carolina for like 10 years.

I feel we do not have much time to start traveling around the country to find a state we like. My husband is still working and retires next year. We are not getting any younger and I want to move while we still have some energy and spirit and mental stamina left to do it. We have no one to help us. Just selling our home is going to be exhausting.

We have traveled, but the states we know well and like are in the Northeast. Even if we traveled places- just going once is not going to really tell us what it is like. We can only go by information we get from the internet and other people and the "vibes' we got when visiting some areas. Being in vacation is one thing. Living somewhere and feeling like it is "home" is something else. When I go to Vermont, it feels like I am home since we have been going for over 20 years. NH is close to that for us, but not like Vermont.

So anywhere else we consider never compares.

It's like my heart says one thing and my brain says another...

 

[WinniWoman]

What is classified as retirement income here? I cannot imagine withdrawals from IRA / 401K as not being taxed at the state level.

That is correct. NYS does not tax IRA withdrawals or pensions or SS. $20,000 exclusion on the IRA/pension withdrawals.

Only 13 states I believe tax those and NY is not one of them amazingly.

 

[VacationForever]

I'm not going to move where my kids go because they will move too..MY SIL has moved 3 times since she retired trying to follow her kids and its cost her a pretty penny...

I totally agree with move to where you are happy. Moving whenever and wherever the children move to is an issue with stability in retirement. .

 

[VacationForever]

That is correct. NYS does not tax IRA withdrawals or pensions or SS. Only 13 states I believe tax those and NY is not one of them amazingly.

Found it!

New York
$20,000 of pension and annuity and IRA income if you’re 59 ½ or older.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashlea...th-retirement-income-tax-breaks/#28bffe0ca462

We live in a state without income tax and it is really helpful in our retirement.

 

[WinniWoman]

Found it!

New York
$20,000 of pension and annuity and IRA income if you’re 59 ½ or older.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashlea...th-retirement-income-tax-breaks/#28bffe0ca462

We live in a state without income tax and it is really helpful in our retirement.

Yes. Certainly having NO income tax is better than New Yorks' retirement income tax exemption. I think even in New Hampshire which has no income tax- they still tax any dividends and interest over $5000.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I was sure Denver would be on the list.

The housing market is a seller's market right now in Denver. It's rare to find anything under $300K, so people who want to move to Denver need to take heed because real estate values have skyrocketed in the last 8 years.

Houses get multiple bids on the day they hit the MLS.

The bigger homes that are newer have not escalated in price as much as the ones in the lower range. Our son bought a house in a new subdivision, still building, but it was used. The people paid for a lot of upgrades, but the house sat on the market for several months, and our daughter-in-law (Realtor) offered under their asking by quite a bit, and they took it, desperate to get out of their payments. But that is a $820K house, and the upgrades the woman chose were not to our son's liking, so all he does is complain about it. It's a great house. I love it, but I have traditional taste, and it's definitely traditional, and the basement ceilings are 10 ft. Toll Brothers knows how to build a house. I can picture a nice big movie theater for about 25 people to sit comfortably.

His old house sold for $420K (huge amount of equity in that $420K), and it had many offers before our son chose the one that said, "We will take this house as-is." He did that because he knows that inspectors are ridiculous. He did not want to go back and forth about this thing or that thing. His house was only ten years old.

Moral of the story is, if you want to move to Denver, look for the bigger houses and get your bargain.

 

[WinniWoman]

mpumilia: For me, I need to retire where my dollar will stretch further as the company that I spent the bulk of my working years at screwed us all out of our pension.. When the company went bankrupt, the pension went to the PBGC and they sent notification to all employees that we would only receive 10% of what was owed to us due to the fund being so underfunded.

The property tax's are very high in my state and my state also has the highest car insurance rates...housing on the water or even with a water view is insane. (this is very important to me as I love the water and warm weather) The winters in my state are brutal and I do not want to deal with the harsh weather in retirement...

I'm not going to move where my kids go because they will move too..MY SIL has moved 3 times since she retired trying to follow her kids and its cost her a pretty penny...

I understand because that is what happened to my husband. Company chopped his pension.

I myself love the idea of living on a gorgeous, crystal clear mountain lake. Dream on Mary Ann.. LOL!

Our son has lived in NH since 2006 when he started college. Yeah he could move. You never know. But not likely. he hates change. Even if he did, we would not follow him at that point.

But- who knows where we will end up or if we will even be able to move. I need to let go and let God.



This is why I struggle.

 

[bbodb1]

...It's like my heart says one thing and my brain says another...

The perfect encapsulation of the retirement quandary...

 

[Luanne]

I'm not going to move where my kids go because they will move too..MY SIL has moved 3 times since she retired trying to follow her kids and its cost her a pretty penny...

When dh and I were getting ready to retire (and move) both of our dds told us to move where WE wanted to, not to where they were. They had no idea how long they would be where they currently were and didn't want us tying ourselves to them. Currently our younger dd is living with us. She got her Master's, got a great job, and it just made sense for her to stay here for the time being.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I could never leave my grandchildren. who are all within 85 miles of our home. After 40 years in the same house, I would have a tough time leaving it. We live in only a few rooms of our house and keep the other rooms closed up, mostly so our long-haired cat doesn't leave hair in more places. I cannot keep up with the cat hair as it is.

 

[WinniWoman]

This discussion brought me back to this tool. It helps a lot in the decision making process of where to retire based on taxes, especially if you are retiring. For ex: North Carolina is popular for people in NY to retire to, yet you can see it is not tax friendly at all. My coworker who moved to Alabama from there said that one reason they left is that her retired cop husband's pension was taxed there. They did not know it would be when they moved there. She said North Carolina is a beautiful state and commented I would like Wilmington, but I will not go to a state that taxes retirement income(thankfully they at least do not tax SS). NC has a flat tax on IRAs, pensions and 401k's.

She said Alabama so far is wonderful. Very inexpensive- their house cost just $117,000 and is walkable to the historic district of Gadsden, which they like. It doesn't tax most pensions, but there is a tax on other retirement income. But it is still overall tax friendly.

Property taxes on the list are way understated for New York. For a median house of $286,000, the property taxes would definitely be double the $4000 stated. I know. I own such a house and pay close to $10,000 and I do not know anyone in NY who pays only $4000 in property taxes- even way in upstate New York. A lot of these lists never seem to include school taxes, or at least it is unclear if school taxes are included in the numbers. (In NY we get 2 separate bills for taxes- 1 for school in Sept and 1 for property in January)

This tool does not, however, take housing costs, weather, medical access, cultural and recreation activities and crime, into consideration. And people still have family and social considerations, but still I think it puts a lot into perspective- at least for me.

https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/reti...by-state-guide-to-taxes-on-retirees/index.php