Preparing for Retirement

[Barth]

Well I'm about 5 years out from making that transition.
Currently renting with zero debt and excellent credit.
Savings is good, but not spectacular.
I know living on SS is nearly impossible.
But would like that as a target with savings as a safety net.
Don't have enough cash to buy a house outright.
So I'm thinking with maybe two years of work left - buy a small (no HOA) home with a large down).

Any sage advise from the board on the Good the Bad and the Ugly of retirement?
Landmines I don't want to step on?
Unconventional winning strategies.
Not self-apparent things to consider?

Thanks in advance,
Barth

[CPTKILLER]

Consider acquiring your own home at a price similar to your rent. You are protected somewhat from mortgage increases unlike annual rent changes. A owned home helps with taxes and is yours to change as you like.

[ripley16]

My first thought was that having a new mortgage while living on social security would be quite a challenge. However that really depends on the cost of housing where you live, so that's hard to calculate. When we retired (in 2016), we downsized our dwelling and eliminated the mortgage. We live in a high housing cost area (Washington D.C. suburbs). Without doing that we would be in a much more precarious financial position. A mortgage would be a drain we could not easily afford on our social security and IRA withdrawals. Our early social security benefit only accounts for about 30% of our preretirement income. I'd advise you do the rent versus buy math to see where you stand. I personally would always advise buying but usually predicated on being during ones working years.

If you don't already have a IRA or Roth IRA I'd say open one and put away as much savings as possible. Five years isn't a long time to save but it's better than nothing. The tax advantages make these better than simple savings. We currently live on about 87% of our preretirement income, which leaves a comfortable buffer against monthly expenses. On social security alone we'd be underwater. I'm assuming you are 62 or 63 years old. This means you'll need to calculate your financial needs out for another twenty years or so. This means factoring in home repairs, new vehicles and other larger purchases.

Factor in your medical costs. Medicare currently costs $134 per month and that comes directly out of your social security payment. Supplemental plans cost from less than $100 to over $200 per month. You didn't mention any company retirement benefits so I assume medical plans will be a do it yourself endeavor.

Not knowing more about you makes it hard to give suggestions, only you know your annual expenses, but I'd advise you do some serious and realistic financial planning.

[ripley16]

Consider acquiring your own home at a price similar to your rent. You are protected somewhat from mortgage increases unlike annual rent changes. A owned home helps with taxes and is yours to change as you like.

The new tax laws may make moot any tax advantage. Depends on the amounts involved, but the interest and taxes would have to exceed the new $12,000 (single) or $24,000 (joint) exemption . There are limits on the deductions to consider as well. For most people the new tax laws change these equations... to the good for most people but not for everyone.

[dustnchips]

Large down payment is not descriptive, but I would suggest no more than a third down and hang on to your investments. The rates are low and you can probably make more on your money than the interest you would pay. My best advise though is to consult a professional financial advisor not a bunch of gun nuts on a web site. Me included.

[berettabone]

Maybe the unsuggestable...…………...sell some toys and start saving...……………..housing costs are starting to come back down. Owning versus renting was always a no brainer for me. You'll have lots of time on your hands, time to make purchases. That's the ugly side.

[Bobshouse]

Things worked right for me, in a way. My dad passed away from cancer in 1993 and left me a small inheritance. I payed off all my credit cards and purchased a home for 135,000.00...VA, no down.

I retired in 2003 at age 50 and started a second career at a local gun club. Just recently retired from there after reaching 62 with 12 years. My home is worth almost 400,000.00 now and my mortgage payments are lower than local apartment rentals.

I owe it all to my dad. When our house was being built, I placed a time capsule in a corner stone with my dads pic, a letter about him and us along with a few other items. We are debt free, the mortgage is almost paid and my savings is there for emergencies.

That being said, I'd rather have my dad back. He died young, 57, just when he should of been in your shoes, thinking about retirement.

Money isn't everything and if I could go back and do it again, hopefully I'd get it right the second time around.

[OldLincoln]

i can tell you a lot about what not to do.
1. I retired with a buy out and with a lot of "sage advice" invested it with a major broker Smith Barney. The market took several dumps and wiped out most of the balance and it was impossible to recover from that hole. Keep in mind to recover from a 50% loss you need a 100% gain. Had I put it all in long term savings bond which had a very high interest then (1994), I would be fine. So, my advice is to be conservative in investing.
2. We looked ok for a while then my wife was diagnosed with a long term incurable nero-muscular disease which is slowly winding its way to near total paralysis. You can't plan for that and the meds and medical ould have bankrupted us early except for insurance Rx and Medical (medicare Part F). So make sure you have good medical insurance.
3. Start adjusting your life style to a slimer model. Less entertainment, trips, etc. Of course this is predicated on a slim income in the future. Do the math on inflation: My medicare has increased a total of about $100/mth in the last 15 years. Food has increased about 300%. Used to fill a couple baskets a month at Costco, now less than one.

You're starting very very late but you can do it if you plan for it. Good luck!

[Tilos]

Hard to answer not knowing if you live in an area with high cost of living and tax burden, and plan to stay there upon retirement or move to area with lower costs.

Either way I'd say buy a house now, not for the tax deduction, but as an investment.
Yes, house values dropped in 2008 but have rebounded... just like any other investment, it's the timing.
If you're forced to sell in a down market, you will buying in the same down market, unless you buy in a different area, same goes for an UP market, so any gain/loss is just funny money...
jmo
:p

[dustnchips]

SS does not keep up with inflation. Several times the SS increase was equal to the medicare increase. If you like what you are doing and are well paid you might want to consider working longer. Sitting home on the porch waiting to die will not be much of a retirement. My retirement would suck if I had to live on ss.

[ltxi]

Expounding on OldLincoln's excellent advice.....

With five years to work on this, start sliming down your lifestyle and decreasing expenses...now! Bolster savings as much as possible, And keep investments conservative. Retiring debt free is always a huge plus, but in your case buying a house or condo with mortgage payments and maintenence costs at or around what your rent payments are now may well make sense....protecting from future housing costs increases.

Good medical insurance is essential, to my mind. Neglecting that, and betting on good health throughout the rest of your life, is a fool's game. Again playing off OL's comments......I fully retired just short of age 73 in apparent excellent health. Less than a year later I was diagnosed with Stage IV Pancreatic cancer. Despite having left the workforce debt free, with healthy pension income, and quite healthy savings, we'd be fnancially dead in the water by now had I not had rock solid medical insurance.

And also agree it's good you're looking hard at this now instead of waiting until the very last minute.

[O'Dell]

SS may go further than you think. Admittedly, my house and cars are paid off, but I live pretty well on it. I have CD's and funds in a brokerage account, but I seldom touch that. I did pull some funds out of my Schwab account when I bought the Jaguar last fall, but that's the only time. Utilities, insurance, property taxes, and my monthly Visa bill and living expenses don't take all of my SS, so I actually put some money back into savings every month.

[tpelle]

I agree with O'Dell. I retired last year at age 65 - one year early. My wife and I are living on SS, plus a small pension from where I had my last job, and are doing OK. We had to dip into savings a little due to a few unforseen expenses (needed a new roof on the house, plus an expensive mechanical repair to my car), but now that that's over with we should be in the black this year. We actually have three vehicles - my wife's SUV, a pickup, and my Mustang, all of which are paid for, and the house is also paid for. Our taxes are low here in Kentucky, and even lower due to a "homestead exemption".

Our biggest issue was navigating all of the Medicare twists and turns. On the advice of a friend we hooked up with an insurance broker who specializes on Medicare supplement plans. He had me e-mail a list of all of the doctors we see and the regular prescription drugs that we take, and he entered that all into a computer program that sorts all of the supplement plans by cost and best fit. Then he came to the house and spent about an hour explaining all of the different plans, and makes up a timetable/list of what we have to do and when. Then, just before we had to sign up for the insurance, he ran the program to see if there were any changes or new plans that might be a better fit.

When I asked him what I owed him, he said "Nothing"! He explained that he gets paid a commission on whatever plans we buy through him. He also leveled with us and said that, now that we had picked our plans, we could go directly to those companies on-line and buy the plans for the exact same price, but only if we bought through him did he get paid. But the advantage to buy through him was that every year he would check with us to see if we were seeing any new doctors or taking any new meds, and would run them through the computer to see if any other plans were a better fit. We were very happy with his service, and I suggest looking for someone like that in your area.

One thing that he pointed out, though, was to be wary of any Medicare "Advantage" plans. You see them being hawked a lot on TV. If you are basically healthy when you retire they offer sufficient coverage, plus a lot of fluff stuff like gym memberships and things, and they're FREE. But the catch is, if you develop some chronic illness like, say, some heart disease, cancer, diabetes (And face it, from retirement on you are only getting older and as you age things deteriorate.) and you determine that a regular supplement might be what you need and you want to switch, now they can require you to answer a bunch of medical questions and/or take a physical, and they can either adjust their rates or simply refuse coverage. You see, the only time you get to choose between a Supplement Plan or an Advantage Plan without a medical exam is during your Initial Enrollment Period, which is that first time you sign up for Medicare right before you retire. So choose carefully and look hard for good advice.

[ripley16]

The advantage plan that was offered to us upon reaching medicare age cost $210 per month versus a good supplemental plan at $150. The difference in deductable and copays however more than make up for the additional expense. No copays and only a $300 annual deductable made the advantage plan an easy choice. The past few years have both my wife and I dealing with issues and more on the horizon. It's a personal choice but in our case in a apples to apples comparison the advantage plan was clearly the better, less complicated and less expensive option. Plus we only have to deal with the one entity and not the government.

[340pd]

I have been retired for 8 years and owned my home outright for all of those years and still there are a lot of costs associated that many do not take into consideration.
Ripley16's tax considerations were right on target. Owning a home may not be the wisest move. Home can be a money pit with no return until you or your heirs sell.
Now there are options like renting a home, duplex, or townhome which gives you what you want without the investment.
My monthly healthcare costs per person,
Medicare $235.
Part D drug approx $45
Supplemental Blue cross $220
Supplemental drug $29 (ultra low because we take no drugs and get a great rate) otherwise $79
Dental $35 (covers little)

Summed up, your healthcare costs will not be lower.
Your home taxes will not be going down
Your incidental homeownership costs will not go down
Your homeowner insurance premiums will continue to rise.

Alpo is edible if heated in a microwave.

I am lucky. I should have all the money I will need for a very long time. My house is paid, I have no debt, I buy my cars with cash. and yet I am still looking into renting some sort of dwelling that eliminates or at least minimizes my exposure to unexpected costs. This makes it easy on our kids in the event me or my spouse passes away. The biggest hassle for us is, where do we put all the stuff we have accumulated over the last 50 years?
As you age, flexibility is king.

[O'Dell]

I'm in Kaiser's Senior Advantage Plan and they have been great. I pay $71 a month to Kaiser and I assume they collect the $135 deducted monthly from SS payment to Medicare. Three years ago I had a fight with cancer [gone now] and my hospital and doctor bills totaled $330,000. My cost was about $900 in co-pays. I can see a doctor anytime without a co-pay, unless the doctor is a specialist - then It's $35. I'm currently not on any medication, but when I was, it was free. They are currently bugging me to take one of these "life scans" and if I do the cost will be less than $100 if there's any cost at all. I can't say enough good things about Kaiser, except that they a constantly calling me urging me to take a flu shot or something else they think I need.

[Barth]

Thanks so much for all your advise and sharing your personal experiences with retirement.
My big take away so far is Health Care / Medicare.
Never really thought about it :eek:
Have been incredibly healthy so far.
But time catches up with everyone.
And my health is bound to fail at some point.

BTW I have a Certified Financial Planner that manages my IRA.
Was managing my twin 401K plans as well.
But I've switched both 401K plans to Vanguard Target Retirement Funds.

Really looking for real world advice and experiences from the board.
I've not been disappointed :)

:Amflag2:

[JohnR]

The things that concern me are if I retire at, to randomly pick a number, 65 and we move to another home, the last thing I want to do is be on a fixed income and pay a mortgage until I'm 95 years old, if I even live that long. I guess mortgage insurance covers it if I die, but still. It sounds like a prison sentence. Our house is paid off right now, so there's no logical reason to move. It's small enough for two retired old farts when that time comes. I just hope the neighborhood doesn't turn to crap.

As for getting "professional" financial advice, my hunch is most professional financial advisors don't know any more than a bunch of gun nuts about how to plan for the future. At least we can predict when gun prices will go up or down. I have dealt with a few of them, and not a single one of them could explain anything to me in terms I could understand. Some couldn't even answer a simple question, period.

[340pd]

One of my 401k plans still sits in the Vanguard funds and they set it up based on the risk you want to take with your money. They are very good at what they do and having your retirement money in a couple of places is a good idea. Another thing my wife insists on is having a fair amount of cash stashed in our gun safe. To many stories of fires, floods, tornados, and hurricanes where cash was the only way to get stuff done.
Another thought is making sure your transportation is relatively new come the day you sign off the job. That takes a lot of the potential major bills for car repair out of the picture while you are easing into retirement. Don't ask me how I know repairs can be expensive, all you have to know is I like Audi's and BMW's and you better have coverage if they need repair.

[Bawanna]

I got a nice heavy duty refrigerator box, kind of double thick. Not great for wheelchair access but I think under a good bridge with a good blanky and it'll be home sweet home. Crap, forgot about the gun safe, where am I gonna put that? Guess I better look for another refrigerator box.

[yqtszhj]

I got a nice heavy duty refrigerator box, kind of double thick. Not great for wheelchair access but I think under a good bridge with a good blanky and it'll be home sweet home. Crap, forgot about the gun safe, where am I gonna put that? Guess I better look for another refrigerator box.

Ive been trying to get the wife to agree to a camper in a cow field for years but she’s not there yet. Maybe one day...

[Bawanna]

Ive been trying to get the wife to agree to a camper in a cow field for years but she’s not there yet. Maybe one day...

That's a fine idea and nice accommodations, sadly I think the refrigerator box might last longer than the camper. Living in an age of junk now days, (cept for guns) maybe better than the old RV days but still don't last long.
Cow field maybe under a nice tree would be much nicer than under a bridge, quieter and probably better neighbors. Never met a cow I didn't like, well there was one ole awnry critter back on the farm that I didn't have much use for but that was probably the exception. Course I reckon an awnry one might be pretty decent eating, maybe a little tough?

[Mike_usn_ret]

I could not live in a RV or camper ...wife and I have to have a soft, warm bed at night and either room service or a close by restaurant. Also the older I get, the less I like driving .....especially at night. Beside that....the fur kids like the king sized bed they allow mom and dad to share!!

[Bawanna]

I don't like to go too much anymore, don't mind driving, just like to stay home. Wife likes to go, go, go. Why I need to find a nice cow pasture that I like so I don't get no desire to go.

I like a nice warm bed too, hopefully I can figure that out. Dig a hole, build a fire, get some good coals, throw dirt on top and cover yourself with a buffalo robe and your nice and comfy but a lot of work. No buffalo around these days, nor firewood and hard for derelicts in wheelchairs to dig holes.
Bad idea?

[ltxi]

Ya' know, Col....you make me feel a whole lot better about my ownself. :)

[Bawanna]

Ya' know, Col....you make me feel a whole lot better about my ownself. :)

Mission accomplished.

Wait........do this mean I'm like pathetic or something? Why don't ya feel real good about yourself in the first place.

[ltxi]

Mission accomplished.

Wait........do this mean I'm like pathetic or something? Why don't ya feel real good about yourself in the first place.

'Cause I have terminal cancer, fer god's sake. At least, however, I ain't gonna end up living in a refrigerator box, in a 'chair, under a bridge. Always makes me feel better to know there's someone out there who's worse off than me. :)

[JohnR]

We’re all going to die. At least you know what you’re likely to die from.

[Bawanna]

That's one of the things they encouraged in the hospital when I was getting fixed. Anytime you feel sorry for yourself just look around, there's somebody worse off.
Heck the chair ain't a bad thing, I can get the remote without getting up, do all sorts of things without getting up, course I can't get to someplaces too.

OK the chair really sucks and I don't recommend it to nobody.

My philosophy since that day is if you feel like taking a day off and playing, take it off and play, work ethics will get your hurt.

[JohnR]

Bawanna, you ain't helpin'. I'm sick of work. I don't really want to retire, because I can see myself sitting on the sofa all day doing nothing, but then that's all I'd be able to afford so maybe it's appropriate. When I'm out and about, I try to peel away to the range when I can, that seems to reset my mechanisms for a little while. But work is still there when I get back.

[yqtszhj]

My philosophy since that day is if you feel like taking a day off and playing, take it off and play, work ethics will get your hurt.

Profound statement, Master Yoda you are.

Now I know why you are the Colonel. I will strive to live by that philosophy.

[340pd]

I have the perfect part-time job. I retired at 67 and immediately took a job at an indoor municipal range two miles from my house. I have the credentials, all types of training is provided, and at 73 can still outshoot most of my fellow co-workers which keeps them from making fun of my elderly status.

Which brings to mind it is really nice to have some sort of part time job that hopefully supports your hobby.

[Mike_usn_ret]

I have the perfect part-time job. I retired at 67 and immediately took a job at an indoor municipal range two miles from my house. I have the credentials, all types of training is provided, and at 73 can still outshoot most of my fellow co-workers which keeps them from making fun of my elderly status.

Which brings to mind it is really nice to have some sort of part time job that hopefully supports your hobby.

Appears you are the person that the phrase...."living a dream" was written for!!!

[Bawanna]

For sure. I'd love to have a range 2 miles from home weather I worked there or not. But if I did I'd work there. I'd find a way.

[Bobshouse]

I have the perfect part-time job. I retired at 67 and immediately took a job at an indoor municipal range two miles from my house. I have the credentials, all types of training is provided, and at 73 can still outshoot most of my fellow co-workers which keeps them from making fun of my elderly status.

Which brings to mind it is really nice to have some sort of part time job that hopefully supports your hobby.

I retired from the Bureau of Prisons in 2005 and started managing at the Vandenberg AFB Rod & Gun Club, http://vafbgunclub.com/ just recently retired from there. I too thought it would be great to work there since I'd been shooting there since 1982....wrong....I found out that:

Working at a gun club turns a hobby into a job.

[Bawanna]

Good point. If there's ever a range 2 miles from my house I'll just shoot there every day but I won't work there.

My first on the job training after becoming a derelict was at a gun shop with a range. Nice facility but poor management. I found that I didn't have time to do much shooting, in fact I don't recall shooting any in the month I was there. I worked for free since the state was supposedly supporting me.
Owner replaced me with another guy. Coworkers told me he only lasted two days.

Even being near deaf, I outsold all the others but they loved it since it was commission and since I didn't get it I'd put the number of who ever I was working with on the sale so they'd get it. Owner was more focused on selling and not helping customers make wise choices.

[JohnR]

I can see taking a part time job just to get off my lazy butt. Not sure where I'd want to work, it probably doesn't matter actually. Work is work, play is play.

[340pd]

My duties at my retirement job.
We have two RSO inside on the lines at all times. We do not have customers, we have friends. Much of my salary goes to fund the ammo I donate to new shooters whose partner hands him or her a .357 magnum for their first experience. We quickly get them aside with one of our 22's and after a few minutes of basic instruction, we have them outshooting their partner who is struggling with their big bore proving their manhood.
We have has customers from all over the world who have little or no access to firearms and we RSO's make sure they have the experience of firing our personal guns, everything from an AR15 to any caliber handgun in our gun boxes. Their evening is capped by them gathering for pictures under the 6' American flag on our wall. We have parents bring in their young kids and we set them up with a scoped bolt action rifle over a bench and have the pleasure of seeing their first shot in the bullseye.
We also teach basic handgun courses to new and inexperienced shooters. We have a state of the art 120° virtual range that has dozens of scenarios allowing ordinary people to experience what police officers experience on a daily basis. Advanced tactical training is offered as well as carry permit courses.

This is without question the most rewarding job I have ever held and every time I leave for "work" two hours early my wife says, have fun playing with your friends. Believe me, I would pay them to let me work there.
If you are ever in the area, http://policeandfire.training/public-programs/

[Bobshouse]

340pd, your right. I've made a lot of friends working at the R&G Club. The part of the Club that makes it a "JOB" is dealing with all the Air Force Regulations, on top of all California's bull...., both have plenty of them, you know what I'm talking about if you checked our website link I posted above.

[ltxi]

That's one of the things they encouraged in the hospital when I was getting fixed. Anytime you feel sorry for yourself just look around, there's somebody worse off.
Heck the chair ain't a bad thing, I can get the remote without getting up, do all sorts of things without getting up, course I can't get to someplaces too.

OK the chair really sucks and I don't recommend it to nobody.

My philosophy since that day is if you feel like taking a day off and playing, take it off and play, work ethics will get your hurt.

And that fer sure be truth! I've never been big on feeling sorry for myself...no point in it to my mind. Guess that's why I've never let this cancer thing bother me much. And my hat's off to you, Col....what happened to you, being cut down early, is one hell of a lot worse than me going terminal toward the end of a full life.

[Bawanna]

Don't do one bit of good to feel sorry for oneself. I went down the same week Christopher Reeves (Superman) fell off his horse. Compared to him I was basically uninjured, course he was richer than Davy Crockett and all but that don't help much.

Remember like it was yesterday they set me up with a shrink appointment while in the hospital. Had a dozen gun mags laid out on the bed before he arrived. Soon as he walked in I asked him if he knew much about guns. He said not too much. I said well if you was gonna kill yourself would you use a revolver or one of them automatics.
His response was you don't need me do ya? We ended up chatting for an hour anyhow but guess he figured I weren't no worse off mentally.

Actually had a lot of fun in the hospital for that month, lots of pranks, been meaning to write a book about it.

[Bobshouse]

Pull that one in California they would take your guns, magazines and sense of humor...

[Bawanna]

Probably do that here now too, that was 25 years ago give or take.

Had a lot of CA immigrants hit our area since then. Personally I think the wall should be on the outside of the CA border. Just a little more fence.

[OldLincoln]

I agree Bawanna. Years ago you invited my family and I to move up nearby. I wanted to, I really did but wife's medical took precedence. Turned out for the best as she has to stay closer to docs now, and Washington is morphing into CA North. My second choice was Texas around McKinney - have ancestors buried there. Now it's down to wherever my son and family move to so do we.

[Barth]

I agree Bawanna. Years ago you invited my family and I to move up nearby. I wanted to, I really did but wife's medical took precedence. Turned out for the best as she has to stay closer to docs now, and Washington is morphing into CA North. My second choice was Texas around McKinney - have ancestors buried there. Now it's down to wherever my son and family move to so do we.

My two daughters and three grandchildren are in Oregon.
I've thought of relocating there.
But the price of housing is just crazy.
And the weather isn't to my liking...
Was thinking about Nevada or Texas (My daughter won't let me move back to Florida - LOL).
Really wanted a no state income place.
But honestly AZ is starting to grow on me.
Plus there's the logistics.
I'll likely need to get a mortgage and buy a house while I'm still working.
That would be easy in the Phoenix area (Sun City) and just commute to work.
Obviously nothing is set.
But the cost of housing seems to be a determining factor.

[Bawanna]

We don't have a state tax YET, but it's only a matter of time.

[340pd]

Living in MN which is a very awkward state politically, I have seen many of my friends take up residence in Florida only to find the tax avoidance issue to be far more complicated than they originally thought plus in most cases their children are living where they were raised in MN. Inevitably most of them sell their Fl homes and return to MN for their final years. It has nothing to do with taxes of politics, at that point, it becomes who is around when you need help.

[yqtszhj]

Living in MN which is a very awkward state politically, I have seen many of my friends take up residence in Florida only to find the tax avoidance issue to be far more complicated than they originally thought plus in most cases their children are living where they were raised in MN. Inevitably most of them sell their Fl homes and return to MN for their final years. It has nothing to do with taxes of politics, at that point, it becomes who is around when you need help.

Good point. Ive lived in 5 states and it seems to me that you get it stuck to you one way or the other. What kills me the most is how we are taxed when we make money, when we spend money, taxed when we save money, and taxed for everything we own. That’s around 4 times on the same money.

I need to figure out how to live on the barter system.

[Bawanna]

I'm always up for swapping.

It comes down to staying near the family especially grand kids. My grand kids other grand parents are in North Carolina. That wouldn't work for me.
They do send video's and stuff a lot and take them back every year or two but wouldn't work for me and not a chance that would work for my wife.
She's very attached to them.

Also can't live where I'd like to live as she must go to town nearly every day. She don't stock up, she apparently liked going to town. I make stuff work so I don't have to go to town to get the right thing. If I didn't work, I'd probably never go to town.

[leftysixty]

Sorry guys, Oregun is no longer a good place to live! We now have a full blown commie state government that is determined to destroy all of our god given rights starting with the Bill of Rights #'s 1- 4, with the rest to follow!

[JohnR]

Florida’s taxes are low all around for primary residents unless you stay in hotels a lot. Tourism taxes helps take up the slack from low all around taxes. Even our gas taxes are low - gas is about $1.98/gal. right now.

If your primary residence is out of state (or you live here but own multiple residences), you don’t qualify for homestead exemption, which drastically lowers your property taxes. If you’re 65 or older, some counties double the homestead exemption if you meet income guidelines.

[yqtszhj]

Also can't live where I'd like to live as she must go to town nearly every day. She don't stock up, she apparently liked going to town. I make stuff work so I don't have to go to town to get the right thing.

Oh how I can relate to that.:confused:

[340pd]

My two daughters and three grandchildren are in Oregon.
I've thought of relocating there.
But the price of housing is just crazy.
And the weather isn't to my liking...
Was thinking about Nevada or Texas (My daughter won't let me move back to Florida - LOL).
Really wanted a no state income place.
But honestly AZ is starting to grow on me.
Plus there's the logistics.
I'll likely need to get a mortgage and buy a house while I'm still working.
That would be easy in the Phoenix area (Sun City) and just commute to work.
Obviously nothing is set.
But the cost of housing seems to be a determining factor.


Before you move to Oregon,

"The 2019 Oregon Legislative Session will convene on Monday, January 14th, and anti-gun legislators have already pre-filed numerous bills to infringe upon your rights and more bills are expected in the coming weeks.

Senate Bill 501, sponsored by Senator Rob Wagner (D-19) and Representative Andrea Salinas (D-3http://www.politicalforum.com/images/smilies/icon_cool.gif, contains numerous, egregious infringements. It would create a permit that would be required to purchase or receive a firearm, with each permit requiring training and being valid for only 90 days, limit purchases to one handgun and one long gun per 30 day period, require firearms be stored in a locked container or with a trigger/cable lock, require reporting of lost or stolen firearms within 24 hours, prohibit the possession of ammunition magazines with a capacity greater than five, require background checks for purchasing ammunition, restrict ammunition purchases to no more than 20 rounds within a 30 day period, and require firearm transfers to be delayed up to 14 days for the Oregon State Police to conduct background checks."
https://d97yz4wvpgciz.cloudfront.ne...-bills-prefiled-legislature-to-convene-monday (https://d97yz4wvpgciz.cloudfront.net/articles/20190111/oregon-antigun-bills-prefiled-legislature-to-convene-monday)

[Bawanna]

Scratch Oregon from possible destinations. Check.

Doubt most of that could possibly pass but even knowing the ideas are in their heads is scary.

Apparently a lot of immigrants from california got tired and stopped in Oregon, but plenty made it up here, too many.

[OldLincoln]

Scratch Oregon from possible destinations. Check.

Doubt most of that could possibly pass but even knowing the ideas are in their heads is scary.

Apparently a lot of immigrants from california got tired and stopped in Oregon, but plenty made it up here, too many.

Same story from a friend in Boise ID. The influx is affecting all politics as they want to make Idaho another CA, even though they moved to get away from the same stuff. When my friend first moved there (from CA) with CA plates they got a lot of road rage at them. Gor ID plates and everybody smiles.

[lesptr]

Same story from a friend in Boise ID. The influx is affecting all politics as they want to make Idaho another CA, even though they moved to get away from the same stuff. When my friend first moved there (from CA) with CA plates they got a lot of road rage at them. Gor ID plates and everybody smiles.

I lived in Boise from 88-93. The locals were complaining about Californians moving up and driving up the cost of homes even back then.