Poconos retirement 2023

[charmed hour]

Originally Posted by PoconoCountryLady

You have an attitude from New York- Please stay there.

Too late, lady. I’ve been here for more than a decade. And “New York attitude” because I don’t tolerate racist verbiage and insinuations.

[bluecarebear]

Originally Posted by jake_bhoy

Looking to re-locate and retire - spouse and I both 62+- looking for a bit more space than the south shore of Nassau County NY where we now live and are drowning in property taxes.
The info on the forums seems a little out of date - I had been looking at Stroudsburg and saw they had high property taxes in 2017 - how do they compare to NY and does PA have anything similar to the NY STAR program which reduces seniors’ property/school taxes.
I already know PA has more favourable taxation of private pensions and IRA distributions than NY.
One thing which would be very important to us is the walkability of any town as driving and car ownership is becoming more of a chore as we get older.
Not keen on 55+ communities as the thought of being in permanent proximity to “someone who does their own research” - doesn’t matter which side - horrifies me.

Small town NY. Love the Poconos but there aren't walkable towns. Sometimes paying a little more in taxes is worth it.

[Muinteoir]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

Small town NY. Love the Poconos but there aren't walkable towns. Sometimes paying a little more in taxes is worth it.

I disagree. Jim Thorpe, Stroudsburg, and Scranton are three Pocono region walkable towns/cities that immediately come to mind.

OP-- not sure about the property tax question, but I'd be willing to bet the taxes in Pennsylvania are favorable for the retired regardless, for the reason you mentioned (no taxation on retirement income).

[charmed hour]

Originally Posted by Muinteoir

I disagree. Jim Thorpe, Stroudsburg, and Scranton are three Pocono region walkable towns/cities that immediately come to mind.

OP-- not sure about the property tax question, but I'd be willing to bet the taxes in Pennsylvania are favorable for the retired regardless, for the reason you mentioned (no taxation on retirement income).

Downtown JT is walkable but the rest of the town is really steep hills.

One thing to remember as well, there are no real breaks with property & school taxes. There homestead exclusion that will lower it a few hundred and then a yearly rebate with a max of $900. You need to apply for both yearly and are a bunch of paperwork. I did my late MIL’s rebate every year and you have to get it in as soon as it opens as it does run out of funds.

[Muinteoir]

Originally Posted by charmed hour

Downtown JT is walkable but the rest of the town is really steep hills.

One thing to remember as well, there are no real breaks with property & school taxes. There homestead exclusion that will lower it a few hundred and then a yearly rebate with a max of $900. You need to apply for both yearly and are a bunch of paperwork. I did my late MIL’s rebate every year and you have to get it in as soon as it opens as it does run out of funds.

Who says steep hills and walkable are mutually exclusive? It's walkable, AND great for the glutes. But seriously, even if you are less mobile and hills aren't your thing, both sides of town have a decent amount of area that is flat-ish for casual walking.

[charmed hour]

Originally Posted by Muinteoir

Who says steep hills and walkable are mutually exclusive? It's walkable, AND great for the glutes. But seriously, even if you are less mobile and hills aren't your thing, both sides of town have a decent amount of area that is flat-ish for casual walking.

Having lived for 10 years right outside of JT- outside of downtown, there's not much walk around stuff to see on either side of the river, IMO.

I used to take my late MIL to Mass at Immaculate Conception and wait in the car. Well, one day I had the idea of "it's beautiful out, let me walk down Broadway to the coffee spot." Well, my late 30s knees (at the time) were less than impressed with me on the hike back up to the Church. :P