Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Did you check out the rank of the states done by Kipplinger? You should be able to google it--I don't have much luck posting links using my iPad, otherwise I would do that. Both states are ranked in the top 10 for retirees. Florida is popular because it doesn't have a state income tax. Neither state taxes social security. Florida doesn't have a state income tax--Georgia does, although there are some exemptions for seniors.
I live in north central Florida and can't say enough good things about the doctors and clinics run by UF Health, part of the University of Florida. I also volunteer at the main hospital and it has every speciality that you can imagine. I own a home in South Florida and have had good experiences with the Memorial Health Care system in Hollywood. I used to work at the main hospital and all of my doctors were on staff there. I was very happy with my doctors. I also did contract work for the Broward Health system and was impressed by everyone I met. I also volunteered at Cleveland Clinic in Weston and was impressed--they are the only place in South Florida doing heart, kidney and lung transplants. The go-to place for anything advanced (especially cancer) is down in Miami, at the cancer hospital affiliated with the University of Miami. Excellent spinal doctors down there too.
Thank you all for all of your great information and suggestions! We will research those options. So far, even though we have read online that both FL and GA are considered Senior friendly, we have only been able to establish the very nice Senior tax property tax exemptions offered in some counties in Georgia. We've been trying to determine if the main reason Florida is popular for retirees is because of the weather/golf courses/other activities/cruise ports/beaches, but haven't found significant tax breaks in FL yet. Also, in N. Georgia there are some excellent medical facilities. Does anyone know about the quality of healthcare, plans, hospital facilities available in Florida? BTW it is very true that the traffic around Atlanta resembles S. California - our trip to/from ATL by car was very stressful. If moving to a city North of Atlanta, I think we would just take a shuttle and let someone else do the driving
Check out places like Roswell and Alpharetta in Northern GA. Beautiful areas.
I'd look into Vero Beach. There are numerous gated golf communities at every price level. I think it might just be one of the best places to be in Florida. Plenty to do but in a relaxed, unhurried environment.
Did you check out the rank of the states done by Kipplinger? You should be able to google it--I don't have much luck posting links using my iPad, otherwise I would do that. Both states are ranked in the top 10 for retirees. Florida is popular because it doesn't have a state income tax. Neither state taxes social security. Florida doesn't have a state income tax--Georgia does, although there are some exemptions for seniors.
I live in north central Florida and can't say enough good things about the doctors and clinics run by UF Health, part of the University of Florida. I also volunteer at the main hospital and it has every speciality that you can imagine. I own a home in South Florida and have had good experiences with the Memorial Health Care system in Hollywood. I used to work at the main hospital and all of my doctors were on staff there. I was very happy with my doctors. I also did contract work for the Broward Health system and was impressed by everyone I met. I also volunteered at Cleveland Clinic in Weston and was impressed--they are the only place in South Florida doing heart, kidney and lung transplants. The go-to place for anything advanced (especially cancer) is down in Miami, at the cancer hospital affiliated with the University of Miami. Excellent spinal doctors down there too.
Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville as well. Lots of "Medicare mills" as I call them, in Florida it seems and more common in smaller cities
I am most familiar with Jacksonville. Mayo Clinic is in Jacksonville, MD Anderson Cancer Center in Jax as well in addition to St Vincents and Baptist systems. UF Hospital in Jacksonville is the teaching hospital for University of Florida and level I trauma center.
Good points, for sure, and we do like swimming and warmer weather! Regarding the Homestead exemption, I had read somewhere that you had to have been a resident for the past 25 years or so in order to qualify for that? Have been a CA resident for many decades. So, perhaps you know more you can share about the Homestead exemption. And if anyone has comments about the quality of healthcare, plans, hospital facilities available in Florida, this information would be great to have as well. Lastly, we are predominantly looking for a small home/condo/townhouse with low maintenance, that happens to have a beautiful golf course and/or water view; gated community; access to lap swimming; and we tend to like more conservative areas Some golfers out there may be aware of the more appropriate beautiful gated golf course communities that would best suit our needs..
RE homestead. You buy a home, move here, change DL, etc and on Jan 1 you are eligible for homestead exemptions on our taxes. You can't 'double dip' with a home in another state. 1 exemption only. Your home will be reassessed to values based on the sale price, so the base will go up. Be aware that there are some non-ad valorum taxes that are not subject to exemptions/reductions.
USAcafe: You mention a lot about real estate, but many people forget that when you retire look for a place with wide availability of doctors and hospitals. Places in FL like the Villages struggle because the medical care there has high turnover and is not well run. Most of the rest of FL has been taken over by corporate healthcare, that quite frankly doesn't think your needs are too important. So just be careful in FL about where you buy, growing areas often are not growing medically. FL has been turned over to corporate healthcare in organizations like Community Health Systems (former HMA) and similar, and retired folk complain is what I can tell you honestly. I can't say about GA, but just watch out knowing any area growing too rapidly likely hasn't grown to handle the medical needs of those moving in.
Did you check out the rank of the states done by Kipplinger? You should be able to google it--I don't have much luck posting links using my iPad, otherwise I would do that. Both states are ranked in the top 10 for retirees. Florida is popular because it doesn't have a state income tax. Neither state taxes social security. Florida doesn't have a state income tax--Georgia does, although there are some exemptions for seniors.
I live in north central Florida and can't say enough good things about the doctors and clinics run by UF Health, part of the University of Florida. I also volunteer at the main hospital and it has every speciality that you can imagine. I own a home in South Florida and have had good experiences with the Memorial Health Care system in Hollywood. I used to work at the main hospital and all of my doctors were on staff there. I was very happy with my doctors. I also did contract work for the Broward Health system and was impressed by everyone I met. I also volunteered at Cleveland Clinic in Weston and was impressed--they are the only place in South Florida doing heart, kidney and lung transplants. The go-to place for anything advanced (especially cancer) is down in Miami, at the cancer hospital affiliated with the University of Miami. Excellent spinal doctors down there too.
Yea, Miami has an excellent medical complex located off the 836 and 12th Avenue. Miller School of Medicine is affiliated with the University of Miami where a lot of medical research is done.
Thanks again ya'all. I wanted to point out also, since I am a newbie to CD, I had actually responded to the first page replies earlier today & had not yet read the 2nd page replies. Now I have read through this second page, and will follow through to the last reply pages before responding in the future.
So, in response: Again all great additional info re healthcare and hospitals etc. My husband and I had actually gravitated toward Georgia originally due to the healthcare offerings there. We have had Kaiser Permanente coverage and have used Kaiser hospitals, here in California, for decades. We have always been very pleased with the level of healthcare, expertise, variety of Kaiser hospitals, variety of doctors we can choose from, and how quickly we continue to be able to get in for appointments & procedures when we need to. Another benefit we have had is that we were grandfathered in under our old existing plans, and did not have to go to healthcare.gov and do what we felt might be "taking our chances". Readers may have comments on that and how successful, etc., they have been in light of the new healthcare law. But we had read stories of how some, who had gone onto the website, ended up with higher healthcare costs & longer waits for care. Perhaps some of us who have worked hard all our lives & saved, are now forced to subsidize others who may not have worked as hard (shall we say). They teach us to be very PC, here in CA, so I am doing my best in that respect. So, yes, deciding where you want to relocate in retirement is a major issue revolving around several factors - including the important topic of adequate & available & affordable healthcare. So, some of you may have additional comments & we certainly welcome any and all input!
"Your home will be reassessed to values based on the sale price, so the base will go up." This is a question we had as well, so thank you for mentioning that. In N. CA where we are (Napa Valley area), you cannot get much for one million dollars and it may not be large, it may not have a view, it may not be nice, and it may need updating & repairs. And then, to add insult to injury, you have to pay about $13k per year in property taxes + any high HOA dues + high gas prices, and the list of bills goes on.. A Northern Georgia property we were viewing online, shows a history of property tax payments that reflect the assessed value which increases minimally over time, and the tax base appears not to be affected by the purchase price (and subsequent purchase prices). Again, that is one example of one particular nice home, in one particular area about an hour North of Atlanta. But, we still need to verify how the taxes are actually calculated there.
We did visit GA and noticed that apparently the houses tend to be nicer and less than half the price of CA, some even approach one third to one quarter the price of CA. That is, if you can even find the lovely manor style homes here in CA, that are also all trimmed out (four sided brick, wainscotting, chandeliers, gorgeous view, etc.). Let's just put it this way: We do not see this caliber of homes here in California and I think if we did see them, only movie stars and politicians may be able to afford them. Certainly not common folk like us!
We also checked out the medical facilities in Georgia while we were there - plentiful options & nice newer facilities. Kaiser has a growing presence in GA, and new or newer large Northside Hospitals are very impressive indeed.
We have not had the chance to view homes in Florida as of yet. I wonder what types, conditions, quality of neighborhoods & hospitals we will see when we do finally make the trip to Florida. We seek to make our retirement dollars go much further than they can in CA, and live in a very nice safe place too. This is our ultimate goal. So, keep the valuable responses and comments coming, as we surely do appreciate your input - any & all!
Thanks again ya'all. I wanted to point out also, since I am a newbie to CD, I had actually responded to the first page replies earlier today & had not yet read the 2nd page replies. Now I have read through this second page, and will follow through to the last reply pages before responding in the future.
So, in response: Again all great additional info re healthcare and hospitals etc. My husband and I had actually gravitated toward Georgia originally due to the healthcare offerings there. We have had Kaiser Permanente coverage and have used Kaiser hospitals, here in California, for decades. We have always been very pleased with the level of healthcare, expertise, variety of Kaiser hospitals, variety of doctors we can choose from, and how quickly we continue to be able to get in for appointments & procedures when we need to. Another benefit we have had is that we were grandfathered in under our old existing plans, and did not have to go to healthcare.gov and do what we felt might be "taking our chances". Readers may have comments on that and how successful, etc., they have been in light of the new healthcare law. But we had read stories of how some, who had gone onto the website, ended up with higher healthcare costs & longer waits for care. Perhaps some of us who have worked hard all our lives & saved, are now forced to subsidize others who may not have worked as hard (shall we say). They teach us to be very PC, here in CA, so I am doing my best in that respect. So, yes, deciding where you want to relocate in retirement is a major issue revolving around several factors - including the important topic of adequate & available & affordable healthcare. So, some of you may have additional comments & we certainly welcome any and all input!
"Your home will be reassessed to values based on the sale price, so the base will go up." This is a question we had as well, so thank you for mentioning that. In N. CA where we are (Napa Valley area), you cannot get much for one million dollars and it may not be large, it may not have a view, it may not be nice, and it may need updating & repairs. And then, to add insult to injury, you have to pay about $13k per year in property taxes + any high HOA dues + high gas prices, and the list of bills goes on.. A Northern Georgia property we were viewing online, shows a history of property tax payments that reflect the assessed value which increases minimally over time, and the tax base appears not to be affected by the purchase price (and subsequent purchase prices). Again, that is one example of one particular nice home, in one particular area about an hour North of Atlanta. But, we still need to verify how the taxes are actually calculated there.
We did visit GA and noticed that apparently the houses tend to be nicer and less than half the price of CA, some even approach one third to one quarter the price of CA. That is, if you can even find the lovely manor style homes here in CA, that are also all trimmed out (four sided brick, wainscotting, chandeliers, gorgeous view, etc.). Let's just put it this way: We do not see this caliber of homes here in California and I think if we did see them, only movie stars and politicians may be able to afford them. Certainly not common folk like us!
We also checked out the medical facilities in Georgia while we were there - plentiful options & nice newer facilities. Kaiser has a growing presence in GA, and new or newer large Northside Hospitals are very impressive indeed.
We have not had the chance to view homes in Florida as of yet. I wonder what types, conditions, quality of neighborhoods & hospitals we will see when we do finally make the trip to Florida. We seek to make our retirement dollars go much further than they can in CA, and live in a very nice safe place too. This is our ultimate goal. So, keep the valuable responses and comments coming, as we surely do appreciate your input - any & all!
Look at North or Central FL, near the beaches and at your budget you can get a LOT most anywhere you want to be. Note, former CA native.
Better weather in Winter in Central FL as well.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
