[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by MRM

Florida and Texas have no income tax and no estate tax. Both have places you can live cheaply if you're willing to drive a long way and live in a relatively isolated area. As far as I can tell both have places that can be pretty nice and still be reasonably priced. The panhandle of Florida is beautiful. You can buy something close to the water anywhere between Destin (expensive) and Pensacola (also expensive) with everything in between being reasonable. We have family in Ft. Walton Beach and visit every year or two and absolutely love it. It's very red because of the Air Force bases in town. Beautiful beaches, nice weather, easy access to an airport. Not a bad deal all in all. Ft. Walton Beach is about half way between Panama City and Pensacola. There's a good airport in FWB and Pensacola is about 50 miles away. Panama City is a little farther but still an easy drive. When we fly in we price FEB and Pensacola and take whatever is cheapest.

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.