Stagflation in retirement

[TheShadow]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

The state income tax rate in NC is 5.5%. The property tax mill rate around Asheville, where I'm most familiar with, is basically the same as here in northeast TN. TN has a higher sales tax rate. Yes, you will save on income taxes and personal property taxes - vehicles/boats, etc., but that 6%-7% is not going to make a huge difference in lifestyle.

All things equal, I'd gladly pay that percent to be out of TN. My problem is that the housing costs in the places I want to be in NC are a huge premium over basically anywhere within a few hours in any direction. By the time I get far enough away from Asheville for prices to drop, I'm not much closer to girlfriend/work than Johnson City, with fewer things on offer than JC. There's no point in moving from small town TN to small town NC - all these areas have the same types of limitations and problems.

Local pay rates partly determine amenities. Costco put out a statement a couple years ago that they were not interested in locating in the Tri-Cities due to unfavorable demographics and the area having a lower income. Publix was originally going to expand into Bristol but isn't now due to Bristol being too low income. Anything "upper middle class" is generally a trip to Knoxville or Asheville. People will give the hospitals a once over - most people who have not worked in healthcare or are not closely following citizen advocates will not know about the medical issues here. The local news organizations are in the pocket of the health system.

Businesses in our downtown area are folding left and right. Inflation is taking a bite out of folks' discretionary budgets. Rents are squeezing business owners. Drug and homeless issues are further ruining the downtown area.

Some of these issues are worsened by a lack of attention from Nashville. The state government really doesn't care about anywhere north or east of the Pigeon Forge exit.

Not all of TN is like this. I'd be fine in Farragut. Sure, you can save a buck by living in TN, but with most of the state like where I am, or even worse, what's the appeal?

Again, what appeals to you, is not necessarily what appeals to retirees.

You keep going back to the tri-cities area in your posts, there's a lot of TN that's not that area, and has little in common with that area. Yes, there are large parts of TN where people struggle with the economy, etc. but there are also wonderful areas that are filled with outdoor recreational opportunities, natural beauty, and booming real estate markets, plenty of decent jobs, amenity-filled communities, etc. They're just not where you're at. These areas with much better economies are very appealing to retirees.