Here are the 10 worst states for retirement, with No. 1 being the lowest-ranked, according to Money-Rates.com (http://www.money-rates.com/research-center/worst-states-for-retirement-2011.htm/?WT.qs_osrc=HFP-27828210):

10. Wisconsin
9. New York
8. Washington
7. Rhode Island
6. Maryland
5. Alaska
4. Connecticut
3. Massachusetts
2. Michigan
1. Maine

All the liberal bastions. Except for Alaska. Alaska's on the list because it costs a fortune to get stuff up there.

All the liberal bastions. Except for Alaska. Alaska's on the list because it costs a fortune to get stuff up there.

I disagree with Michigan being labeled a liberal bastion, it's a very conservative place with very vocal liberal enclaves. As you can see by electing a conservative republican governor those enclaves are dying off at an ever increasing rate.

I'll be leaving MD when I retire. Screw this nanny, tax em state.

I'll be leaving MD when I retire. Screw this nanny, tax em state.

Yup. Too bad where I want to retire is only a few notches better than MD.

Yup. Too bad where I want to retire is only a few notches better than MD.I really don't want to leave. I was born and raised here. I like it (except for the gun laws and taxes). It's a shame I have to leave but this state is not getting my retirement money!

Here are the 10 worst states for retirement, with No. 1 being the lowest-ranked, according to Money-Rates.com (http://www.money-rates.com/research-center/worst-states-for-retirement-2011.htm/?WT.qs_osrc=HFP-27828210):

10. Wisconsin
9. New York
8. Washington
7. Rhode Island
6. Maryland
5. Alaska
4. Connecticut
3. Massachusetts
2. Michigan
1. Maine

This is SO true. My inlaws live in Maine and have been trying to get out for years now. Can't get anyone to buy the house 4000 square foot gorgeous cabin on 5+acres and they can't even get $175 for it.

The usual ratings nonsense. Wisconsin ranks poorly because of its 'above average crime'. If you take the north side of milwaukee and a couple of the decrepit manufacturing towns out of the equation, it is probably one of the safest places around. For Rhode Island, they quote 'unemployment' as a negative, I hope that when I am retired I dont have to worry about employment opportunities.

This is what counts in retirement:
- family
- quality healthcare
- property taxes

A couple of states have made it from the '10 best' to the '10 worst' from one year to the next and vice versa while there haven't been any major changes in climate, state taxation levels over that time period. Makes you wonder about how valid the method is.

I really don't want to leave. I was born and raised here. I like it (except for the gun laws and taxes). It's a shame I have to leave but this state is not getting my retirement money!

I came from NY, and was thrilled to leave there for MD because I thought the govt was too corrupt and the taxes too high. Over the past few years I've come to realize it was no different.

NY taxes appear to be much higher if you just look a the raw numbers, but when you dig deeper you realize that's not the case. There's alot that's rolled into the taxes that we pay for separately, like garbage pickup, leaf pickup, lots of things like that which all add up. I pay a minimum of $25 a month for 'city' water. My friend pays $5 in NY and the quality/taste is far better. Cost of living is pretty much the same as here.

I came from NY, and was thrilled to leave there for MD because I thought the govt was too corrupt and the taxes too high. Over the past few years I've come to realize it was no different.

NY taxes appear to be much higher if you just look a the raw numbers, but when you dig deeper you realize that's not the case. There's alot that's rolled into the taxes that we pay for separately, like garbage pickup, leaf pickup, lots of things like that which all add up. I pay a minimum of $25 a month for 'city' water. My friend pays $5 in NY and the quality/taste is far better. Cost of living is pretty much the same as here.

25 a month? Dang I pay 60 and Met says that's the min charge.

25 a month? Dang I pay 60 and Met says that's the min charge.

I used to pay $12 something until Metcom installed the meters, then it jumped to $24, this month it went up another few cents. I always use less water than the minimum rate, so that's what I pay every month.

I tried to get that as well but they said nope, min you pay is $60. I think my neighbor pays less as well but they won't adjust it or give a reason why.

The 10 best states to retire in - MarketWatch (http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-06-07/finance/32080870_1_property-taxes-southern-states-income-tax)


Tennessee

It’s not what you think. Yes, warm weather states are in general the best places to which to retire in the U.S. And Florida—as always—is on the list. But the Sunshine state is no longer the absolute best place for retirees, according to research just completed by TopRetirements.com. That title now belongs (Pull up a rocking chair and a glass of Jack and cola if you want) to Tennessee. (At left, Graceland in Memphis.) That’s right; retirees might consider waltzing first to the Volunteer state for their golden years, according to John Brady, the president of TopRetirements.com. Why so? Well, Tennessee ranked highest among all 50 states based on Brady’s analysis of such factors as taxes on all types of income (Tennessee taxes only interest and dividends), property taxes, climate, cost of living and senior

North Central Idaho or Wyoming [just avoid liberals in the major cities]

I'll be leaving MD when I retire. Screw this nanny, tax em state.

amen to that. i'm looking at tennesee or kentucky.

I really don't want to leave. I was born and raised here. I like it (except for the gun laws and taxes). It's a shame I have to leave but this state is not getting my retirement money!

Same here but in 16 years I'm gone, if not sooner. I'll choose the best state for me that is central to where my children will have settled.

The usual ratings nonsense. Wisconsin ranks poorly because of its 'above average crime'. If you take the north side of milwaukee and a couple of the decrepit manufacturing towns out of the equation, it is probably one of the safest places around. For Rhode Island, they quote 'unemployment' as a negative, I hope that when I am retired I dont have to worry about employment opportunities.

This is what counts in retirement:
- family
- quality healthcare
- property taxes

A couple of states have made it from the '10 best' to the '10 worst' from one year to the next and vice versa while there haven't been any major changes in climate, state taxation levels over that time period. Makes you wonder about how valid the method is.

I would add state and county income taxes to that list.

I have a house near the beach in Delaware and a house here in SoMd....had my tax lady run my taxes for residency in each.....pay $5000 more to call Maryland my home....that stops in September

I would add state and county income taxes to that list.

Sure, they are part of the equation, but not everything. One thing people who move to TX tend to forget is that someone has to pave the roads and pay the schoolteachers. If it's not the state, it is the school district. Property taxes are regressive, doesn't matter if you live on social security, the school district still wants their pound of flesh just based on what they think your property is worth. Many forms of retirement income, pensions, SSI Roth distributions are not taxed as such, so the difference between a higher and lower state tax rate may not have much of an influence at the end of the year.

Of course, if you go to NY or NJ, you get clobbered with property tax AND income tax, but some of the other 'high tax' states are competitive if one runs individualized comparison based on the expected income, real estate needs and structure of ones retirement assets.

Then of course healthcare. Sure, you can buy a house in BF nowhere Arkansas for next to nothing, but come the day you have to go for daily radiation therapy or cardiac rehab treatments, you are going to look at travel and expenses.

I know a couple (retired accountant) who have decided that a condo in downtown Chicago is the best retirement option for THEM. No need for a car, they get around with buses, cabs and zip-cars. Out of O'Hare, they can get to any of their kids via a cheap non-stop flight. Real estate taxes are reasonable due to homestead and senior exemptions and the way their assets are structured, there is little income exposed to IL income tax.

So, before you all run off to Florida or Tennessee, look at where you want to live (transportation, healthcare, real estate prices) and sit down with someone who knows taxes (state/local/property) to run some proformas on what your actual situation would be. You may be suprised how little difference it makes, once you make an allowance for twice a year trips to visit your kids.

If you dont like the weather here, sure move somewhere that requires even more air-conditioning. Just dont get too hung up about 'the nanny state' or other intangibles.

The 10 best states to retire in - MarketWatch (http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-06-07/finance/32080870_1_property-taxes-southern-states-income-tax)

Tennessee

It’s not what you think. Y(snip)

A list I looked at earlier this week on another site had Tennessee as one of the 10 worst, along with many other ex-Confederate States.

My wife and I will likely retire to New Hampshire to be much closer to family in the twilight of our lives.

All the states on that list get really cold, need to retire to somewhere warm.

All the states on that list get really cold, need to retire to somewhere warm.

I'd much rather be someplace cooler than warmer. I very much dislike the summers here. Too hot and muggy to do anything outside in the summer, and you pay thru the nose for electric for cooling.

I don't mind putting on an extra layer of clothes on a cold winter's day.

I'd much rather be someplace cooler than warmer. I very much dislike the summers here. Too hot and muggy to do anything outside in the summer, and you pay thru the nose for electric for cooling.

I don't mind putting on an extra layer of clothes on a cold winter's day.

I'll bet the old people here would beg to differ. When it's September, no matter the temps out, they have their jackets on, November, they are wearing parkas. It's all about age and the body.

I sometimes wish I could afford to move back to my homeland, but the state is about bankrupt.

I'll bet the old people here would beg to differ. When it's September, no matter the temps out, they have their jackets on, November, they are wearing parkas. It's all about age and the body.

How young do you think I am? :lol:

How young do you think I am? :lol:

Pretty young if the cold hasn't started bothering your bones. :killingme

Pretty young if the cold hasn't started bothering your bones. :killingme

Or he hasn't complained about it yet. :lol:

Or he hasn't complained about it yet. :lol:

The cold doesn't bother me, but eventually it will, so I know I'm somewhere that I won't have to worry about it that much once the bones start to complain. :killingme

The cold doesn't bother me, but eventually it will, so I know I'm somewhere that I won't have to worry about it that much once the bones start to complain. :killingme

I prefer warm, too. :lol:

I sometimes wish I could afford to move back to my homeland, but the state is about bankrupt.

I've been praying for a miracle, but I'm pragmatic enough to believe that that ain't going to happen. Reality almost never impinges itself on the liberal psyche, and never in large numbers. I think our state still has a long way to go before it hits rock bottom.

This is SO true. My inlaws live in Maine and have been trying to get out for years now. Can't get anyone to buy the house 4000 square foot gorgeous cabin on 5+acres and they can't even get $175 for it.

Maine gets killed because of the climate and because there are no jobs. But if you are retired then working is not a problem, you just have to not mind the cold and snow. In fact, I know a whole lot of people who retire to northern Maine.

Where do they line in Maine? I may have some interest if it's in Aroostook county, north of I-95.

IMO, Maine is a great place to retire if you don't mind the snow....

Maine gets killed because of the climate and because there are no jobs. But if you are retired then working is not a problem, you just have to not mind the cold and snow. In fact, I know a whole lot of people who retire to northern Maine.

Where do they line in Maine? I may have some interest if it's in Aroostook county, north of I-95.

IMO, Maine is a great place to retire if you don't mind the snow....

They live in Houlton, ME. If you ever have anyone who might be interested PM me, the house is online for sale !!!

Here are the 10 worst states for retirement, with No. 1 being the lowest-ranked, according to Money-Rates.com (http://www.money-rates.com/research-center/worst-states-for-retirement-2011.htm/?WT.qs_osrc=HFP-27828210):

10. Wisconsin
9. New York
8. Washington
7. Rhode Island
6. Maryland
5. Alaska
4. Connecticut
3. Massachusetts
2. Michigan
1. Maine


Hm... Maryland is about 5 ranks higher than I would have expected. :yay: