Good State To Move To? Looking to Purchase 15+ Acre Parcel

[HP2]

From what I see it's a terrible time to buy right now.
I have local friends retiring and looking to move to the Knoxville area, and they told me when a promising house comes on the market there it sells almost instantly, and being 500 miles away they are sort of locked out of the opportunity.
Whatever goes around comes around, give it some time and it will be a buyers market again.

One factor you need to check out before moving to a new state is overall taxes.
Illinois has bad property taxes and sales taxes but doesn't tax retirement income, like pensions and I'm pretty sure none on IRA/401K withdrawls.
There are also no sales taxes on services here.
A friend of mine moved to TN and was surprised when he had to pay 9% sales tax on some service work.
I'm certainly not arguing that IL is a good place to be, it isn't, but still you need to research taxes carefully because if you move to a place where they have an income tax on your retirement income, you might find your move didn't really cut your overall cost of living as much as you expected.
And even if income tax is low or none, sales tax can be bad.
Another friend of mine moved to TN and was complaining how expensive beer is there.  He is not far from Kentucky so sometimes heads there to stock up. 

Agree with these two. Any place that is high on the desirability list is getting prices run up because of the institutional and corporate buyers putting offers in cash, in many cases, tens of thousands over asking price. be wary of were you look as a result of this.

Total tax burden also needs to be examined.  Some places may have lower property taxes but higher income, earnings, registration, and sales taxes. Look at the whole picture of tax burden before jumping on simply low property tax. Insurance and examination of hazards and impacts on property insurance  should also be included in the review.

West of the 100th meridian, be prepared for issues around water, water access and water limitations coupled with increasing heat, dryness, and fire risk.

[torredcuda]

Another friend of mine moved to TN and was complaining how expensive beer is there.  He is not far from Kentucky so sometimes heads there to stock up. 

New Hampshire has no sales tax so we sell a LOT of liquor to Massachusetts residents!

[cuda hunter]

I live outside Fort Smith Arkansas about 13 miles from the ark/okla border. This area (NW AR) has lots a rural land and no restrictions as far as building. Most places in the county will not even require a building permit or inspections if you wanted to build a shop.
Property taxes are fairly low but sales tax and state income taxes are pretty high.
You can get a really nice 3500 sf home with acreage in this general area for well under 500K.
There are also quite a few people moving to this area as it is super conservative and there are no issues like in larger cities.

North West Arkansas has to be one of the single most beautiful places in America. 

With exception of Chaffee county Colorado.  You probably don't want to move here.
The commiefornian's are moving here in droves and driving prices sky high.
Last year my custom home prices were 265 per sq. ft.
This year I can't seem to get away with less than 350 per sq.ft.  That's at a cost plus price. 
I'm quoting folks 400 sq.ft. to build and still getting calls.  All other builders are years out with builds.
I take it easy and don't schedule years out.  Life is too short.
The commiefornian's are already changing the laws here to match their home land. 


A friend of mine just bought a home in North Alabama for super cheap (180) in Muscle Scholls.  Nice place and away from the typical big city crime of Birmingham. 

[captcolour]

We like Kentucky a lot.  Kentucky is fairly tax-friendly for retirees. It does not tax Social Security income. Other forms of retirement income (pension income, 401(k) or IRA income) are exempt up to a total of $31,110 per person. The state's sales tax rate is 6%. Personal property tax on regular vehicles is high, but taxes and registration for historical vehicles are cheap.  Property tax is relatively low compared to other places.  I pay $3,600 in property tax on a house + 29 acres valued around $750K.

I live in very southern Boone County, about 20 miles South of Cincinnati.  The rest of my 41 acres is in Gallatin County and the tax rate is a little higher since less industry.  Not much land left in Boone but South of us has land.  Nice thing about here for you is it's only 5 hrs or so to Chicago.  Pic is my plot.  My house is in the center of the 41 acres.  Barns are in front of the house.  I just built a house on the front of the property for my daughter and grandkids.

I can keep my eyes and ears open for land around here.  PM me budget and other pertinent details.

[Ricomondo]

Gonna post this here and perhaps it'll help someone. Our FOP Lodge sent this out to the members to assist with possible retirement locations.  We are also thinking TN possibly at some point. But its at least 8 years  out yet.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cuda hunter]

Thanks for posting the chart!  That is a great tool. 

[7E-Bodies]

@Ricomondo that is some enormously helpful data! Thank you!

[Dakota]

That's a great chart.   A word or three of caution based on looking at the data for NY where I live:   

The chart shows a state tax rate of 4% which is accurate, but there's an additional 4.75% added in by our county (and most other counties in the state as well), so the total sales tax rate most people experience is actually 8.75%.   

The property tax rate also looks right, but the chart does not include school taxes which are based on property value.  For where we live, school taxes are about 60% of the property tax, so the amount is not trivial.

Lastly, NY does reduce taxes on distributions from most pension plans.  The reduction exempts $20k annually, but there is a "claw back" provision which reduces the benefit of the exemption based on your other income. 

Again, that's a great chart for comparison purposes... just make sure you get the next level of detail as you narrow your choices in order  to avoid any unpleasant surprises.   

[7E-Bodies]

Great add on @Dakota as I've seen the additional tax hammered down in Peoria county Ill-annoy. That pushes us to somewhere around 8-1/4 I'd guess. I'll be printing off the chart from @Ricomondo for a solid baseline yet using your advice to determine any extra taxes within a given county. I typically do that by pulling up a few nearby homes on Zillow or Realtor.com and looking at tax history per stated value. I knew I'd get some great info in this thread. Now if some member that's sitting on a large parcel in TN, KY, MO or deep southern IN would just pm me with a great, cash deal...(I can dream) 

[Spikedog08]

If you consider Michigan, as some know, I am a real estate broker and could certainly help you obtain what you are looking for,  Most 15+ acres will not have city services and will require well and septic. 

[ragtopdodge]

Look also in places you're interested in whether it floods, hurricanes, tornadoes.

Total tax burden must be considered.

https://facty.com/network/finance/best-states-to-retire-in-2019/?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=c-search&utm_term=%2Bbest%20%2Bstates%20%2Bretire&adid=456260721523&utm_campaign=FF-USA-Search-Best-States-to-Retire-in-2019-Desktop&gclid=CjwKCAjwvuGJBhB1EiwACU1AiTe7ULhGhoEmRhvhtPEZ95MFZsqRo9qukvKsnedqEKFG7kKqvGglhBoCUWUQAvD_BwE

[7E-Bodies]

@Spikedog08 parts of my family came from Muskegon. Many good memories visiting and camping at Muskegon State Park along the channel between the lakes. I'd have an awful lot of questions regarding directions that state has moved in since I was there 30 years ago. I truly only have hearsay. Feel free to email info.
kjc1970rt@gmail.com

Kevin