Retiring in Tejas

[Tobra]

You can get cheaper property taxes if it is farm property, buy a few goats or something.

You also can get a homestead exemption, where the first $50000 of value of the home is not consiedered for property taxes on your primary residence.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

I get my shirts laundered for $2.00/ea light starch.

3400 sq/ft + 10K yard + pool for $2M? You must be talking a couple blocks from the beach or killer ocean views. You can stay within 2 miles of the beach and drop that to $700K for a beautiful custom home with same amenities.

Prices must have come WAY down. In 2003, when I was looking in Del Mar and Encinitas, the price for what I suggested was $1.2M. I sold my 1400 sq ft townhouse in Pacific Beach for over $600K in 2004.

[Cannonball996]

I lived in houston for a bit, the humidity is down right nasty, but the people are very nice. I am in dallas now, in what is known as the up town area, sort of an urban feel, but very clean, lots to do, and almost everything is in walking distance. not a big fan of the suburbs around here though. the weather is not to bad, its only really hot from about mid july till mid september, the rest of the year is usually mild, we do get cold blasts during the winter but usually warms up a day or so after.

[Dottore]

As an aside, there are no property taxes in Germany and much of Europe. This makes a big difference when retiring here, and makes the comparative income tax statistics misleading.

Sorry for the aside. Back to topic.

[AirKuhl]

Agreed with others that you need to figure out the property tax thing. States get their money one way or another. Sometimes it's good to retire somewhere that has a high income tax since you won't have any income and property taxes are lower. Since you won't need to commute you can go live in Marble Falls or somewhere in the hill country where it's beautiful, cheap, and easy to find a rural/farm tax break.

It is FREAKIN' hot, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I am from Texas and might retire there someday, but the heat is one of the things that drove me away. As much as I love the food and the people, I was miserable 9 months a year. But I'm one of those guys that wears a t-shirt when it's 48 degrees out, so YMMV.

[SeanR]

Quit dreaming, Texas is now full

[Hard-Deck]

I have lived in: Corpus Chirsti, Kingsville, Universal City (just E. of San Antonio).

Texas has three things that I like:
1) Great people...the ones that have lived there a long time
2) Low cost of living. Not just affordable housing, but affordable utilities
3) Awesome gun laws.

I will not retire there for other reasons as it is not my PERFECT fit, but I've enjoyed each day that I've lived in the Republic of Texas.

[dan88911]

Reads like you need an account for numbers side of things.
And a go or no go for the other stuff.

[RWebb]

for retirement you want to pay attention to what the next 20-30 years will be like

you likely won't care about the lousy schools

you WILL care about increased heat & drought; what any state or locality can sustain re various things you need

you should care about the quality, availability & affordability of medical care - i.e. some way outback place may not be the best fit

then there is proximity to beaches (but not too close as storms will get worse), other things you want to do, and for TX proximity to the Mexican drug cartels

oh yeh - the rest of Texas will be lit on fire during your retirement period, but that is true for most of the SW

[patssle]

As a native Texan living in Houston - I enjoy it here as others have mentioned - cost of living is cheap and jobs are aplenty.

I won't want to retire here (in 30 years) however. It's 'effin hot most of the year and I don't really want to sit on a couch inside when I'm retired - I want to be out doing things. And most of Texas is ugly outdoors too - flat and farmland.

[Les Paul]

From Abilene to Austin is some beautiful country. Not flat at all. My wife was born in the panhandle where there is either ranch land, wheat land, cotton, or corn if it is irrigated and it is flat and very boring. 4 actual seasons but the ever present annoying wind.

Growing up in the 50's and 60's my dad was a geologist for a major and we moved every 2 years all over Texas just like military. In the having lived in Texas 50 out of 58 years I've come to several glaring things about the weather. There is Austin heat and humidity where my son lives and we visit every other month. My brother lives in The Woodlands north of Houston and it is 3 shower a day country if you're outside at all from June-Sept. stifling hot. There are still plenty of small towns all around Austin that have really nice but reasonably priced property. When my wife retires we're heading to someplace near Austin.

[Cannonball996]

I like living in texas, as a business owner I can tell you its a great state to start a business in, and if your young its a great state to start a career in. but I really do not see it as a good place to retire, its a very business focused place, even elderly people are working here regardless of income, its just how the people are here.