You could move to Michigan. Winters aren't six months long AND we voted red in the last election. You can buy a decent house for 500 bucks in some neighborhoods that also come with free water. The only things that are expensive are food, clothing, fuel, taxes and insurance. The roads are great if you run a mog and there's pretty much a total absence of reliable mass transit.

This area has seen tremendous growth in recent years. Lots of snowbirds moving there. Tons of road construction in that whole area to accommodate the growth. Housing costs are very reasonable. I have never felt unsafe in any of these places. I think the crime rate increases during tourist season. I would be curious to see the crime rate of citizens as opposed to travelers.

Longs and Loris are very rural. If that is what you're looking for, then I think you could like it. Since internet access is in your requests, I would check internet speed options. Don't be surprised if 10-12Mbps is the most you can get in that area. They are outside the normal tourist track so you won't need to worry about traffic as much.

In the summer, Conway's traffic can be very trying. It is on the main road to MB and traffic can easily triple or quadruple in that time.

T77911S lives just south of Myrtle Beach. Hopefully he will chime in on specifics on the area. I would PM him if he doesn't.

One more suggestion to check out N Central Florida. Alachua county (where I am) votes Blue because of UF, rest of area is all red. Only firearm restrictions are federal, low taxes. On a 120k house (1900sf, 1.5acres, slightly rural) I'm paying about 1500 per year for insurance *and* property taxes...

Hour to hour and a half gets you to either coast for the beach, not much more to get to Jacksonville, Orlando, or Tampa.

I've spent a lot of time in both FL and TX, and they would be near the top of my retirement wish list. I also second the panhandle area, the Gulf and beaches there are Carribean quality. We have gone to either Pensacola or Destin on vacation four straight years and love it. I love TX as well, very affordable living, low taxes, conservative political inclination, very gun friendly, and some areas can actually be quite pretty. My wife's sister and her family left Dallas last year and moved back to KS, I think they are both regretting their decision.

Another suggestion would be AZ. If you like being outside, some of the most beautiful places on Earth can be found there. Yes it gets hot in the summer but you also don't have to deal with humidity, and the remaining 9 months of the year are spectacular. Again very conservative, gun friendly, and affordable taxes. Cost of living somewhere like Phoenix would be high, but there are lots of little Snowbird towns with more affordable costs.

Really appreciate the interest and responses here..... I knew this forum would have wide-ranging and thoughtful comments on this topic... after all, it may affect many of us here at some point of our lives.

You forgot to mention the Great Gray Dome of Doom that covers the state from December to March. This year has been awesome - we saw the sun and blue skies twice in January. And that was for at least 3-4 hours each day. Also, we had at least 4 other days that featured a lighter, brighter gray than normal. One of those days, there was a hint of something bright behind the Dome - maybe the sun, but not sure :confused:

Today the schools are closed because the roads are covered with ice. That's a positive because it improves your driving skills greatly.

So yeah, big improvement from Buffalo. And BTW, I'll be heading south out of here myself in the very near future .... I've become too old for this crap :)

We have a client that is dead center (Shallotte, NC) between MB and Wilmington, NC. For medical care, MB is never a consideration. They always go to Wilmington or up to Duke.

And if you are of retirement age, excellent health care needs to be a top priority.

From my post #5 above and the shown link, maybe we look at these mini-summaries of the states mentioned so far, on a per-state basis. I know we can't distill stuff like this down to only simple terms when making a move decision... but it should be a help in the overall evaluation.

Maybe local guys can comment on the accuracy and truthfulness of these summaries.

SC.... south_carolina retirement guide

NC... north_carolina retirement guide

Ariz... arizona retirement guide

Fla.... florida retirement guide

TX..... texas retirement guide

Prop. taxes in AZ are super low. I think our house appraises at around $430k and our taxes finally just went up to about $2k/yr. The sales taxes will get you though. Nothing under 8.3% and plenty higher in some areas. There's still no sales tax on private party vehicle sales, but I can't imagine that will last forever. Best gun laws anywhere too. If you can legally own it, you can legally carry it without a permit. State law requires CLEO sign-off on all NFA apps. too.

My wife and I moved down to Charlotte NC from Central NY about 9 years ago. If you are a native NY'er, the weather is phenomenally good. Few truly WNY cloudy days, it does get hot, but not Florida hot, and winters are cool to moderate (today is 70 and sunny again). That alone made the move worth it. The property taxes are low compared to NY State, the income taxes have actually gone down to 5.7% flat rate, crime is only seems to be a problem in the usual places, the medical around Charlotte is world class and the 2 main systems strongly compete with each other.
The whole controversy about the transgender bathroom issue is basically a big-city non-issue with the vast majority of people, it has had a lot of national coverage but it is not a real topic to many folks, or that one that you are likely to encounter in everyday life. NC is a traditional Southern state with generally conservative values (especially away from the major cities) that has had a large influx of Northerners with their own traditions and values that are mixing with each other, sort of like the "Californian effect" on surrounding western states.
Also, Charlotte is only 700 miles straight south of Orchard Park (my cousins live there) and it is still relatively easy to stay in contact with family and friends.

My parents retired to a very small town outside of Pensacola, Milton. It was a very nice, small town. The biggest problem with the panhandle of FL is that it seems like the area that is most likely to take a direct hurricane hit after the Atlantic coast of South Florida. Anywhere between Gainsville, FL and Port Arthur, Texas.

My parents lived just north of I-10 in Milton very near the blackwater river. THe only thing that they really worried about where they were was falling trees because their house was pretty much in a forest.

You paint such an appealing portrait.

Doesn't AZ have astronomical tag fees? I lived there years ago - and recall they were based on retail value of said car. Yearly tag fees were almost up in the 4 figures for a nicer car (BMW 3 series)

Lack of income tax generally means it's made up for in property tax. If you are retired, I'd say it's even worse, I don't get why FL is such a retirement destination when prop tax is so high (unless you live in a real cheap home)...

Personally I'm tired of hurricanes, sinkholes, tornadoes, mudslides, floods, quakes and snow... So I cannot think of a place in the US anymore ;-( Is there such a state without the above calamities and decent weather ?

You would hate Portland. Especially the blue part...

Just curious....Why is being "gun friendly" a requirement? Owning, carrying, hunting? Never have worried about that here in MI...maybe I'm missing something?

You don't have to worry about it in MI because the gun laws there are somewhat, if not totally reasonable. In the northeastern states you can often be guilty of a felony after a stroke of a pen or by unknowingly doing something totally legal and customary in the free states.

Ok...didn't know that. Thanks.

Here in NJ, if i stop for gas or a snack on my way home from the range, i'm facing 3-5 in the big house. (required, no judge's discretion) It takes a governor's pardon to stay out........

N AZ..Prescott .or down around Tucson.

NV has no state income tax and property tax is reasonable..Reno biggest little city in the world...close to Tahoe...or LV with the river and Utah close by. one thing about LV is the amenities..best entertainment, food and shopping along with recreation. Summers are hot, but head over to the Calif beaches for a week or two or go to Utah. If you want a machine gun here you can have a machine gun.