Motor rebuild...

As the California retirees travel to the East, the housing prices soon follow. We were thinking  about the Reno area in Nevada, but a lot of the Bay area money did the same and there are no deals to be had there. I may end up in Tennessee or some other nation where my retirement dollar can be maximized. As far as my Government pension, I have read that the California Gov't has been seeking ways to tax your pension before it gets to you at your new address! I am a prisoner of this wacky state! 

Brian

Come to West Virginia where people truly care for one another. It seldom gets above 85 degrees in the summer, cools way down in the summer evenings, the mountain vistas are unreal and even in July & August you need to have a jacket with you... endless road trips through the twisties, steam trains through the mountains , waterfalls, and you get to enjoy a unique winter wonderland where snow can arrive in alarming quantity too . Did you know they make road snow blowers that are big enough to launch deer tangled into the power lines ?  Beautiful homes are inexpensive and taxes are cheap too. Word has it there's some old guy in that college town of Elkins that resto's some kind of speedster replica's. 

"As far as my Government pension, I have read that the California Gov't has been seeking ways to tax your pension before it gets to you at your new address! I am a prisoner of this wacky state! "

They do that as well if you move to another country where we live.  Minimum 25% tax on pensions.

Thanks Art.....Yes thats true. However, what I mentioned is called WEP Windfall Elimination Provision. and another called GPO Government Pension Offset. The first one is what cut my SS pension. There are two bills now pending pending our do nothin Congress.  Senate Bill 521 and HR 141 which would repeal them. The WEP alone penalized 249,000 in California alone, plus another 99,000 in GPO. I really don't think Congress will repeal such a windfall to the government on a National level. A lot of people wish they would though.

I currently receive retirement income from 4 sources. I was diligent all my working life to make sure that when I pulled the plug I would have enough to have fun in retirement. Because I did that I am now being penalized because I had a "windfall" when I retired. I am not wealthy by any standard. I still have to budget for the big expenses. OK, thats enough crying. I guess I'll go sort out my nuts n bolts now.

Bruce

I am told that if I move out of California to a state that has no state tax, I will still pay the Calif. state tax on my retirement.  If I move to a state that has state taxes, I do not have to pay Calif State taxes, only the state that I'm living in.

Here's another lovely funky factoid .....I am a naturalized citizen of Mexico. If I move to Mexico to live 100% of the time, renounce my US citizenship, I am liable for Federal taxes for TEN YEARS after renouncement. That also includes any income I make in Mexico as well.........Our Federal Government has some long and heavy duty meat hooks !.............Bruce

Alan Merklin posted:

Come to West Virginia where people truly care for one another. It seldom gets above 85 degrees in the summer, cools way down in the summer evenings, the mountain vistas are unreal and even in July & August you need to have a jacket with you... endless road trips through the twisties, steam trains through the mountains , waterfalls, and you get to enjoy a unique winter wonderland where snow can arrive in alarming quantity too . Did you know they make road snow blowers that are big enough to launch deer tangled into the power lines ?  Beautiful homes are inexpensive and taxes are cheap too. Word has it there's some old guy in that college town of Elkins that resto's some kind of speedster replica's. 

My wife is from Norfolk and we did take a driving trip through West Virginia my first time out  (91'). Beautiful country and truly a step back in time. Even rode on the Cass Railroad to get my train fix in. So much history. In Cali, if you saw something from the late 1880's you were dumbfounded. 

Brian  

There are several of us (me, Cory, Danny, etc.) looking into western NC and eastern TN as a retirement location and we've even discussed having a group buy to build a car-centered compound.  Northeast GA could also be a possibility as that is where Ron and Maddie Mullis are and it sounds awfully nice.

I'd say something about retiring to Maui but I suspect it only works well if you've got relatives out here and were lucky enough to save enough dough to retire in California.

Plus you've got to put up with nice weather year round, white sand beaches, colorful tropical fish, a 10,000 ft mountain for when you want cool temps or snow and a diverse group of people who are really filled with the aloha spirit (mostly). It also sucks not to be able to drive over to Carlisle.  Don't shed tears for me, I'll get by somehow but if anyone decides to join us, we can form a car club...

You Kalifornia guys crack me up. Every blue state in the union has the same set of troubles plaguing the Golden State, but you think you're the only ones. 

Illinois just doubled the gas tax to $.38/gallon-- it goes into effect midnight Monday, but that's kind've deceiving, because we pay sales tax on it too (9% in most places, or about $.36 more per gallon), so total state tax dwarfs California's. Sales tax varies by municipality and county, but 8-9% is average (it's above 10% in some places by Chicago). There are extra taxes on hotels, restaurants, etc. We've taxed pensions and SSI draws for years. The income tax went up 33% a couple of years back, and Springfield just voted to put a graduated income tax (to stick it to the "rich") on the ballot for 2020. The owner of a $300K home can expect to pay (at minimum) about $6000/yr in property tax (figure 2% annually, and your about right).

We've got legalized (and taxed) video gaming in every bar and grill in the state, off-track betting, and now a bunch more casinos. We've got a state lottery that was so poorly run a private company is leasing it from the state. All of this was to pay for "education". Peoria Public Schools graduation rate is 71%, so all those dollars are doing a bang-up job readying our children for life in the information age.

We just legalized recreational weed, apparently so that when Jan. 1 rolls around and all this goes into effect, we'll all be able to get stoned and feel happy about it. Weed will be heavily taxed as well. The stats are a bit old, but the murder clearance rate for Chicago dropped from over 70% for 1991 to under 34% in 2011. Nobody sees nuthin'.

We just enshrined (state funded) legal abortion up until the moment of birth into law, made smoking or vaping before your 21st birthday illegal, set state taxes on a pack of smokes at $2.98, and raised the cost to register a car 50%. We pay sales tax on the purchase of a used car, and transferring the title now costs $150.

We've got fabulous weather (blazing hot summers, below zero winters), great roads (for a third world country), and cheap state colleges (U of I tuition and fees for Illinois residents: $14K/yr), and more layers of local government that any state in the union.

It's the Shangra La of the Midwest, I tell you-- a veritable workers' paradise. 

I'll trade you.

That's why there are U Haul's available in every state. We planned, made the move the result being our retirement dollars goes considerably  further . ~)

Lane Anderson posted:

There are several of us (me, Cory, Danny, etc.) looking into western NC and eastern TN as a retirement location and we've even discussed having a group buy to build a car-centered compound.  Northeast GA could also be a possibility as that is where Ron and Maddie Mullis are and it sounds awfully nice.

This is also an area we are considering. I really would like to be in a hilly, mountainous region Re: Outside of Asheville, Gatlinburg, etc. I am going to be selling in 2 years (See how the election goes) and moving in 3, most likely.

mppickett posted:

I'd say something about retiring to Maui but I suspect it only works well if you've got relatives out here and were lucky enough to save enough dough to retire in California.

Plus you've got to put up with nice weather year round, white sand beaches, colorful tropical fish, a 10,000 ft mountain for when you want cool temps or snow and a diverse group of people who are really filled with the aloha spirit (mostly). It also sucks not to be able to drive over to Carlisle.  Don't shed tears for me, I'll get by somehow but if anyone decides to join us, we can form a car club...

There is a reason that the rice and Spam isle in the grocery stores over there are the largest. That is the only food the locals can afford. Spam in so many different flavors too. C'mon, Chipotle style, really!

A while back, California was taxing the income of pilots and flight attendants who  flew over or landed in California, even if they had no residence here.  The law didn't last long.

Ahem, pay no attention to Stan's post about Kalifornia.

This state is, without question, the worst place to live in the country. You really don't want to be here. Please, stay away!

All of those folks who come here and pay all of these taxes and spend top dollar for housing regret their decision the instant they arrive. They immediately flock back whence they came. This is why our population has remained almost the same over the past 50 years.

If you insist on defying all common sense and come here anyway, at least move to the best part of our state - LA. It's the only place in the state that's tolerable. If you want friendly neighbors, you'll be surrounded by millions of them, no matter where you go in LA.

The rest of the state is completely uninhabitable, especially the northern half, where it's 140 degrees every day in the summer and gas is $8/gallon.

If you drive a Speedster, you'll hate this place even more. There are just no good roads. Ask anyone how to get anyplace and the answer is always 'Take 80 to 680, then the 101' or 'follow 680 to 5' or 'do 5 over the grapevine'. And trust me, endless views of the Pacific Ocean or the Sierra Nevada while you're driving are so overrated. Don't believe all that melarky from the Chamber of Commerce. You've seen one ocean or one snow-capped mountain, you've seen them all. And wine country, wine shmuntry! You can get wine in any market or liquor store from Duluth to Peoria.

So please, I beg of you, stay in Oklahoma or Nebraska or Alabama. If you've already made the mistake of moving here, save yourself while you can - go home.

I'm just telling you this for your own good.

RacerX posted: There is a reason that the rice and Spam isle in the grocery stores over there are the largest. That is the only food the locals can afford. Spam in so many different flavors too. C'mon, Chipotle style, really!

As Ron Rayguns said, "I'll give you my spam musabi when you pry it from my cold dead hands."

RacerX posted:

Lane Anderson posted:

There are several of us (me, Cory, Danny, etc.) looking into western NC and eastern TN as a retirement location and we've even discussed having a group buy to build a car-centered compound.  Northeast GA could also be a possibility as that is where Ron and Maddie Mullis are and it sounds awfully nice.

This is also an area we are considering. I really would like to be in a hilly, mountainous region Re: Outside of Asheville, Gatlinburg, etc. I am going to be selling in 2 years (See how the election goes) and moving in 3, most likely.

So as I understand it there will be a Car Clan somewhere in the south 

Yes, that is right. The brochures show that each development in this planned community are going to have one of those car-stacker, elevator things like they had in New York and Los Angeles in the 20’s or 30’s. Say for instance, if I see Lane’s Coupe in there, I just punch in the code and I am presented with the car and I am off! It’s gonna be great! But then again, maybe that’s the wine talking ... 🍷

I really like the Jalepeno Spam ! Our Markets here have all 10 flavors !  I especially like it with eggplant  and hominy ! ........Bruce

Sacto Mitch posted:

 

Ahem, pay no attention to Stan's post about Kalifornia.

This state is, without question, the worst place to live in the country. You really don't want to be here. Please, stay away!

All of those folks who come here and pay all of these taxes and spend top dollar for housing regret their decision the instant they arrive. They immediately flock back whence they came. This is why our population has remained almost the same over the past 50 years.

If you insist on defying all common sense and come here anyway, at least move to the best part of our state - LA. It's the only place in the state that's tolerable. If you want friendly neighbors, you'll be surrounded by millions of them, no matter where you go in LA.

The rest of the state is completely uninhabitable, especially the northern half, where it's 140 degrees every day in the summer and gas is $8/gallon.

If you drive a Speedster, you'll hate this place even more. There are just no good roads. Ask anyone how to get anyplace and the answer is always 'Take 80 to 680, then the 101' or 'follow 680 to 5' or 'do 5 over the grapevine'. And trust me, endless views of the Pacific Ocean or the Sierra Nevada while you're driving are so overrated. Don't believe all that melarky from the Chamber of Commerce. You've seen one ocean or one snow-capped mountain, you've seen them all. And wine country, wine shmuntry! You can get wine in any market or liquor store from Duluth to Peoria.

So please, I beg of you, stay in Oklahoma or Nebraska or Alabama. If you've already made the mistake of moving here, save yourself while you can - go home.

I'm just telling you this for your own good.

 

..... “ And if you travel East from Sacramento, it get’s really terrible. Places like Auburn and Foresthill, Oh, don’t get me started” ... said no one ever ...

At the risk of taking vdubuslife's Motor Rebuild thread slightly off topic, my mother was from the Burnsville, NC area, between Asheville and the Tennessee border (30 miles north of Asheville). There's an upscale community named Mountain Air that has its own airfield on the Bald Creek side of the town. Nice small town restaurants, arts stores, bars with craft beers, etc.  If you're interested in that type of thing, it's worth checking out.

On the SC side of Asheville, Tryon, NC is an elegant small town with a lot of old money resulting more than the usual amount of cool cars. Great local theater, food, etc and close to Lake Lure. Some of my favorite cousins live there and it would be on my checkout list if we decided Maui was too nice for us.

MP,

Good leads. Appreciate it!

Brian

Todd M posted:

A while back, California was taxing the income of pilots and flight attendants who  flew over or landed in California, even if they had no residence here.  The law didn't last long.

Good Lord, were they getting a royalty on all the peanuts passed-out during the fly overs. I mean, they must own a copyright since the word “Nuts” is used so often to describe their actions.

my girlfriends daughter just bought a 5 acre parcel with nice house,,the county wants to put a water meter on their pump and charge them tax on water they pump out of the ground, their property, their well, their water...WTF

@barncobob,

Where is the Daughter located?

Sacto Mitch posted:

 Ahem, pay no attention to Stan's post about Kalifornia.

This state is, without question, the worst place to live in the country. You really don't want to be here. Please, stay away!

All of those folks who come here and pay all of these taxes and spend top dollar for housing regret their decision the instant they arrive. They immediately flock back whence they came. This is why our population has remained almost the same over the past 50 years.

If you insist on defying all common sense and come here anyway, at least move to the best part of our state - LA. It's the only place in the state that's tolerable. If you want friendly neighbors, you'll be surrounded by millions of them, no matter where you go in LA.

The rest of the state is completely uninhabitable, especially the northern half, where it's 140 degrees every day in the summer and gas is $8/gallon.

If you drive a Speedster, you'll hate this place even more. There are just no good roads. Ask anyone how to get anyplace and the answer is always 'Take 80 to 680, then the 101' or 'follow 680 to 5' or 'do 5 over the grapevine'. And trust me, endless views of the Pacific Ocean or the Sierra Nevada while you're driving are so overrated. Don't believe all that melarky from the Chamber of Commerce. You've seen one ocean or one snow-capped mountain, you've seen them all. And wine country, wine shmuntry! You can get wine in any market or liquor store from Duluth to Peoria.

So please, I beg of you, stay in Oklahoma or Nebraska or Alabama. If you've already made the mistake of moving here, save yourself while you can - go home.

I'm just telling you this for your own good.

Exactly.

@Michael Pickett Your description of Mountain Air could apply to so many communities in that area.  That’s one reason we’re so interested in living there.

Barncob...In Oregon they are trying to tax rain water you collect for watering the garden......Bruce

Sacto Mitch posted:

 

Ahem, pay no attention to Stan's post about Kalifornia.

This state is, without question, the worst place to live in the country. You really don't want to be here. Please, stay away!

All of those folks who come here and pay all of these taxes and spend top dollar for housing regret their decision the instant they arrive. They immediately flock back whence they came. This is why our population has remained almost the same over the past 50 years.

If you insist on defying all common sense and come here anyway, at least move to the best part of our state - LA. It's the only place in the state that's tolerable. If you want friendly neighbors, you'll be surrounded by millions of them, no matter where you go in LA.

The rest of the state is completely uninhabitable, especially the northern half, where it's 140 degrees every day in the summer and gas is $8/gallon.

If you drive a Speedster, you'll hate this place even more. There are just no good roads. Ask anyone how to get anyplace and the answer is always 'Take 80 to 680, then the 101' or 'follow 680 to 5' or 'do 5 over the grapevine'. And trust me, endless views of the Pacific Ocean or the Sierra Nevada while you're driving are so overrated. Don't believe all that melarky from the Chamber of Commerce. You've seen one ocean or one snow-capped mountain, you've seen them all. And wine country, wine shmuntry! You can get wine in any market or liquor store from Duluth to Peoria.

So please, I beg of you, stay in Oklahoma or Nebraska or Alabama. If you've already made the mistake of moving here, save yourself while you can - go home.

I'm just telling you this for your own good.

That's some excellent writing right there.
-=theron

Ray:  Brock is in the other Beaufort - the one in NORTH Carolina and pronounced Bōw-Fort.

The one in South Carolina is pronounced Béu-fort ( Bee-You-Fort )

Both places are named for the same guy, Henry Somerset, the 2'nd Duke of Beaufort.

Beaufort, SC was the richest town on the East Coast just before the Civil war, making money for the planters from Cotton, Rice and Indigo.  It has, in the suburb of Port Royal, one of the deepest natural ports in the southeast at a mean of 68 feet, just past the same dock featured in "Forest Gump" when Forest and "Lt. Dan" returned from the hurricane to find the dock and shrimp boats trashed (that spot is actually a restaurant, the 11'th street Dockside)

Beaufort, SC was established in 1711.

Beaufort, NC was established in 1713.

That's my history lesson for the morning, but "Southern Living" magazine has named Beaufort, SC the best small town in the South for well over a decade  (Charleston, 2 hours north, is always named the best city in the South)

@vdubuslife   How's that Engine Rebuild coming?  

Did we bore you with the tangential thread shifts?

Thanks for the history lesson on the American cities, something that I am not very familiar with. BTW....  "Beaufort"   in French is for Beau Fort, literally beautiful fortress as you know my mother tongue is français  

@Barncobob,

Santa Clara Valley Water District has been installing water meters on private wells since 1991.

That kind of nonsense goes on with those who believe that everything needs to be taxes and are living off taxation.   

We were living in the country and the state/province decided to amalgamate small towns around into the large city and we got double the taxation and no extra service and a continual 2.5% per year tax increase for 10 years.  No reduction in bureaucracy.  BTW, they charge for water and for sewage more than the water even if the water is used for your sprinkler or pool you pay a sewage charge.  And, they want to tax well water too, only thing left is an air breathing tax.

And it goes ON...

I'm glad we are on our own well, and our own septic system.  What you describe sounds ridiculous, Ray.

Yeah Bob the whole thing is truth and the mayor has no hesitation in saying his plan is 2.5% per year tax hike

Who gets 2.5% increases yearly in pay or profit increase continually etc.

Only in the minds of public servants or career politicians.

OK, to get Ray off onto a tangential topic and get his blood pressure back down, Port Royale, SC, is a close suburb of Beaufort and started out Français - It was first "discovered" (But I'm pretty sure the Yemessee Natives were there long before this) by Jean Ribault in 1562, making it a really old French settlement.  That site (now part of the US Naval Hospital in Port Royal) subsequently became a Spanish and then a Scottish settlement.  It is, indeed, a Beau Fort and sits on the Eastern Intra-coastal Waterway.

For Bruce, the whole area is positively dripping in history, but the infrastructure management I would put with one foot in 1960 and the other foot around 2000 - They're all trying to do a great job, and sometimes they know how and pull it off.  Taxes aren't too bad (yet) but the highest point in the county is around 12' above mean high tide so you may have to worry about flood insurance (now only available through FEMA).  The mainland is protected but a bunch of sea islands blocking most storm surge.  Where your house is, and whether it is built on stilts, makes a BIG difference.  It is a microcosm of Charleston, in that both miraculously survived the Civil War intact but Beaufort is a much smaller version and more "walkable".  Some very old churches live there, as well as one of the earliest synagogs on the East Coast (a very cool place in and of itself).  We used to go to "Forest Gump's Church", the St. Helena Episcopal but, full disclosure, we mostly went for the outstanding choir but grew to become part of the flock.  

Realestate is still very affordable but get there soon, it's going up fast.  Decent facilities, a very good hospital in town (two, if you're a veteran) and an easy lifestyle (and a terrific car club) plus veterans can shop at the PX on Parris Island (it's like a nicely appointed Walmart).  And you're only 45 minutes from Hilton Head Island or Savannah, Georgia (another highly recommended town to visit).

gn

Very interesting INDEeD

The new Green Deal will be fun too !  We probably will be taxed on the air we breath ! It'll start with the farmers who own cattle though. Since they won't be able to catch or control Cow Farts,  they will be required to to be taxed to pay for the research. 10% will go to the research and 90% for Governmental administration of unregulated Cow Farting. Here in SoCal, electric cars will soon be taxed because they don't use the taxed gasoline and the State Government is loosing revenue. The Government here doesn't know how to budget or make cuts to one, only how to raise or make new taxes. Fortunately, Government in general can never stay ahead of Private Industry. Private Industry will always find a way to hide taxable commerce. At least until Government gets rid of Cash. Then everyone will be nailed. I can't think of a single major program that Government manages that is working well and is cost effective. Why would it ? It's not their money invested !

California IS a beautiful State in many, many ways. That's why there is so many people out here. The Population isn't growing, thats somewhat true. What is happening is scary. Industry and wealth are leaving and being replaced by low to 0 income people, homeless people who have found that the winters are easier to get through than, say, Michigan. More and more social welfare programs are implemented to provide basic care for all the sick, lame, and lazy moving in.  Basic medical care must be provided as well. Try going to an Emergency Receiving Center at a hospital. last time I went I was bleeding pretty bad with the end of my thumb cut off. I had to wait for 3+ hours to get care. The room was full of welfare recipients waiting to see some one because they had the Flu. One gentleman was there because he had an ingrown toe-nail. After 3+ hours of soaking my thumb in Betadine I started screaming and cussing. They took me in then, fixed me up and sent my insurance Ca. a bill for $15,000.00. That payment probably paid for everyone else in that waiting room that day. These are just personal observations by me and are the reason I'm looking elsewhere. This will not end. So.....Any of you who think SoCal (at least) is pretty cool....well it is....but there is a price....both morally and financially...........Beaufort Nc and SC look pretty good and so does  Panhandle Bob's area.............Bruce

Why do you think that’s unique to California, Bruce? Your ER experience could be anywhere in America. 

Since we're talking about why xx sucks and why I'm going to move to yy, I'd like to propose that the prevalence of hungry mosquitoes in any particular location is more important than the tax rates. Prove me wrong.

So true