[Hugh R]

Thanks for all the good info guys!

I posted a thread on where to retire a few months ago. I'm about 11-12 years away. I don't want to stay in LA.

I want west coast, not too hot, not too cold, not too humid. Around water would be nice. I got lots of suggestions, and the first one I'm check out is Sequim (recommend by Island911). It seems like a nice place to start. I'll also be checking out Port Angeles (been told it's a bit more seedy) and Pt. Townsend (been told it's touristy ($$ and crowds). Not as much rain as Seattle or Portland, no state income tax, houses seem nice, safe. Yeah I know I won't be going to the Seattle Philharmonic, but I don't go to the LA Phil either. We're just taking a long weekend and starting to look at various places. I may look at Boise, Reno, and some parts of northern Arizona

I set up a scenario for four places with the same parameters which are as follows:

Retirement Income of $100K
Taxable Purchases of $30K
$400K house,
A 2 and a 5 year old car

I ignored local property assessments, and looked Income Tax, Sales Tax, Vehicle Tax, and Property tax.

Here is roughly what I found in taxes

LA $21K/year (Now and going up)
Oregon $18K/year
Boise $15K/year
Washington $6K/year

Big difference on taxes for the privilege of living in a given state. With about $100K (current dollars) and a difference of 15K between LA and say Washington, that's a significant chunk of retirement income.