What Is Your Worst State for Retirement?

These lists can be deceiving. When you consider property taxes, Texas costs more than California. Haha, y'all keep moving here thinking it is cheaper. Living in sweaty armpit weather with high costs along with women being second class citizens has gotten old. Ill be going back to CA as soon as I can!

First of all, THANK YOU so much for your comment about trying to get along with others whose political views are different than ours! Now to the subject matter .... years ago my husband & I used to dream of moving from New England to one of the Carolinas to avoid the harsh winters. At that time climate was a priority. Then our son got married & now has two beautiful daughters! So of course our priority shifted to being close to family, especially grandchildren. A couple of years ago we sold our home to move closer to our son & family into a nice 55+ condo community. However, now our "kids" are planning to move out-of-state in order to cut down on commuting time to work. So I can relate to your comment that while you may move to live near family, they often decide to move, too! We are planning to move again - one last time. If our "kids" move again in the future, then we will stay put!

You are so right on your editor's comment about political beliefs and 'moving to the middle.' So much more unites us in America than divides us, at core, and you hear that as you travel the country and try hard to talk with people, real people, 'on the street' . . . (still trying to figure out how we coalesce towards the middle while rapidly growing 'splintered media' divides our inputs into factions and increasingly bends 'truth' apart!)

Thoughtful analysis and agree, your comment on politics and getting along with our fellow Americans is right on! We are suffering the loss of friends and family whose politics lead them to abandon half century relationships.

I'm in agreement to all the previous comments. I would just add that it is helpful to know how a state uses it's funds to support seniors. Is there quality access to doctors, medical procedures and elder care facilities if needed?

Living near family is my husband's and my primary consideration. Our children have bought homes nearby, their spouses have local roots, and they're all likely to remain in Southern California. In the unlikely situation that all moved away, we'd follow one and visit the others as often as possible.

My family has strong political leanings, which is also true of those who've married in. All of us would find it untenable to live in a state or area where the politics and laws were dramatically different from our beliefs.

I agree it's a terrible shame that our country has become so divided, but, and I hate to say this, the writing on the wall suggests things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get better.

Some of us will choose to retire where we belong - back in New Jersey, where I spent my youth or New England, where I spent my teens. Therefore, it's still helpful to have information on best choices of where to go so that the higher cost of living and taxes are less burdensome. I love all the seasons, not just the summer, and can't wait to get back!

It's not so much that I don't want to be around people on the other side of the political divide - I'm surrounded by them in the community where I live and we get along fine without discussing politics. Like JCarol, I have strong political leanings, and my main reason for wanting to live in a state - not just a community - with similar leanings is that I want to see my tax dollars used to support the values I believe in. I want to see the local school board support those values. I want to see my city council and my local police department support those values. Once the housing market settles down, once Covid is sufficiently under control so that I'm comfortable hopping on a plane, I'll be moving to a community in this same state where the values of local government align more closely with my values, where the county board of supervisors hasn't been bought and paid for by the wealthiest in the county, and where there is more concern for solving the problems of the day, whether it is homelessness, food insecurity, stray animals, or something else. So many states would be "the worst" for me because of the values mismatch. I grew up in this state, my values were shaped here, and it really is the perfect one for me.

When we moved from Massachusetts to Arizona I never imagined just how out of place I would feel. The politics here in AZ are a nightmare for me coming from a blue state. Also, Covid has made it very hard to get back to see my family as it is so far away. Needless to say we are moving back to Massachusetts as soon as we find an affordable home there. A story for another day. Lesson learned. We never should have moved away.

The whole "cost of living" index can be deceiving. You probably need to make that judgement for yourself. We went south for work in 2007 and tried to make the best of it. But, once retirement loomed we knew we'd head back to New England - especially for cooler weather, so we had to make it work.

We made a list of our current expenses and estimated income that would cover them. Then we made a "fact finding" trip to check out the local costs. Armed with our list, we were surprised. Compared to TN, a no-income-tax state, Maine had a lot of things that were lower costs. We had enough equity in our home to make a good down payment, thus keeping our mortgage payment equal or less than we had. Food was less and the quality of fresh was superior. Gas was a little higher but now we only have one car. Car & home insurance was half of what we paid. Plus, there are more things that we need or want to do here in Maine that were not there for us in TN. Medical care has been top notch!

Make your own list, compare to your current expenses. Can your retirement income cover it? We've been lucky enough, so far (5 years) to live comfortably, so far, without touching our savings/ira/401K. We'll dip into them as we go but the move here has given us our best life! Find yours!

Read the above comments. They all make sense to me. Being Canadian, my Canada, thoughts do run from Coast to Coast. Each has its own Politics. However, do think I move back to Ontario as my Family is V.I.P. & do miss my time with them!!

My husband and I retired in 2018 and moved from Illinois (not Chicago) to Arizona, to a small city SE of Tucson. We regret nothing. Fabulous weather, property taxes are about 25% of what we paid in Illinois. We have about 3.5 seasons - including fall with changing leaves and one or two days each winter where it snows (and melts before noon). We bought a home in a 55+ community and found it easy to make friends. The political climate is indeed different down here, but we have a small, solid group of close friends whose political leanings align with ours, and a wider circle of friends who support the other side...and we find we can have civil, adult discussions about differences. If only the whole country could do so. Family is all back in IL, but we've been back 3 times in the 4 years we've lived here (skipped Covid year) and we've had family happy to escape Midwest winters and come visit. We did a lot of research before buying down here, and spent time both in winter AND summer before taking the plunge. We are even aligning with Arizona sports teams! :-)

Perhaps the worst state is your state of mind. No locale is ideal if you obsess about it's perceived negatives.

Roberta,
I commend you for admitting you are not happy with your move and are aiming to correct it. My brother and wife have a similar story but instead of working on plan to move back they constantly complain. I guess I'm not that adventurous to pick a spot and move away from where I have been a good part of my life and am happy. Although I would like to consider a second home somewhere someday.