I am in California. I am looking to move to a more affordable state. Please if you live in the state and have the info and experience please let me know.
I am well aware of the weather difference.
please tell me what you love about your state and the cost of living.
I have also thought about the midwestern states.
Thank you
This is a similar post you made from Nov 29th. There are answers on that post.
I have seen apartments that show 1 bedroom staring at 700.00 but, it is neighborhoods that I would not want to live in. Mostly because I don't like living in the middle of town. If you are planning on renting I am pretty sure that you can look up apartments, condos, etc online and see what and were.
Arizona chamber of commerce's have really nice welcome packages that provide a lot of the information you are looking for.
One thing I recommend is calling the local law enforcement when you narrow your search down and ask about the crime rate, they are usually happy to share that information.
Gosh, 1,700.00 monthly for a 1 bedroom apartment makes just about any place cheaper to live.
However, you can go to more rural areas and pay a bit less for something's. One small town has sales tax of 11.5%, my city is only 8.2% so it is important to narrow down location and then contact the local chamber of commerce to help you really see what the COL is.
Outside of Flagstaff you pay .05 per gallon of water, and that is a ten year old cost, it may be more now.
I personally think finding a place that meets all of your requirements for quality of life will help you be happier in the long run.
Best of luck finding the perfect fit.
A one bedroom apt here is at least 1700 a month. And this is not a luxury apartment. How much is a one bedroom in Phoenix or Tucson? From what I a have checked you can get a nice one bedroom for 700 or 800 there.
One thing you should consider is age related things. For instance, when we built out little country house it was our full intention to move there permanently after retirement. We enjoyed it part time for many years, was only three hours from the big city. However, the fact is that if you own in SF and sell, you are never going to get back unless you are wealthy indeed. And just about the time we were both retired,and could have done that and moved, we started to think about the age creeping in. How much longer would we like to weed whip and chop wood. And then there was the transportation thing. One of my eyes did a major fail and I stopped driving. To lose a partner and not be driving was unthinkable in the future. There was no public transit; there was only a small community hospital.
I would say there is a lot to consider in what your needs will be. I know a friend who retired to Grants Pass, Ore, a beautiful wooded trailer park, so pretty. She was burned out, lost everything and fled with only her cat. She had retired early to be near her children. Now, no jobs, no home, and she is on the move again to Portland, where, yes, housing more expensive.
Lots to think about here. I sure wish you luck.
The reason I asked about retirement is this is probably the most generous state in terms of programs for aging in place.
Anyone from CA or TX, which is the worst, should take a class on driving in the snow.