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I am starting my retirement research and definitely plan on moving to the Carolinas, coastal that is. I pretty much had my mind set on 3 locations in NC called St James Plantation, Ocean Ridge Plantation, and Landfall in Wilmington.
This weekend i was at a party and someone told me about 2 "Sout Carolina" locations called Wild Wing Plantation and The Dunes and I researched them today and they look very nice as well.
I was told that South Carolina is more "Tax Friendly" to retirees than North Carolina. Does anyone know if theirs any truth to that? We will be 62 when we move from New Jersey and looking for a house in the 625k range.
In SC, we don't believe in taxes, handouts, bailouts, stimuli, or feeding the poor. This ideology is readily evident in the condition of our infrastructure, schools, and budget deficits.
Generalization about state-to-state taxes is difficult because individual situations can vary so much. A couple resources I've found useful:
PD is right. If you want any decent quality of life, look somewhere other than SC. Well, if you like to golf, golf, golf, golf, golf...and well...golf....you may like it here.
Stay away from Wild Wing Plantation. 501 traffic is HORRENDOUS and it will make you very very sorry you moved there. They have many accidents, some fatal, right outside their entrance, since it's a stones throw from 3 different colleges (and clueless drivers, regardless if they go to college or not!)
The Dunes is nice but after you move in and decorate your house, do the touris thing, then what? Golf? Well, that's all there is here. It's a tourist town, and it's only "open" for business a few months out of the year.
Go to a place that keeps up the infrastructure, and you'll be far happier. I think at this point, a good portion of the working class in SC would willingly pay taxes to better the state. But all they can think of is tax CUTS, and we pay hardly any as it is.
Location: Pelion, South Carolina/orig. from Cape May, NJ
1,113 posts, read 3,493,670 times
Reputation: 1176
Quote:
Originally Posted by PawleysDude
In SC, we don't believe in taxes, handouts, bailouts, stimuli, or feeding the poor.
Boy, you can say that again.
We moved here from NJ...a place with high taxes, but also ample programs to help the poor, like heating assistance, electric assistance, etc.
SC offers pretty much zilch. If I had done my homework and found that out beforehand, we would never have moved here.
Our state motto should be "Welcome to South Carolina:Sink or Swim".
Unless someone is coming here to retire and has a good nest egg, I'd tell them DON'T move to SC. Especially if you are low-income.
My vote is for NC.
I will be the 4th person to agree with PBurgess68, Pawleys Dude and Jersgrl1969. South Carolina is only for a few people who fall into the following category's:
Retired with enough money to live comfortably
Job transfers to SC from another state where the person can keep their higher income ~ but look out, if you get laid off after you transfer to SC you are screwed!
Wealthy with plenty of money in the bank.
All others BEWARE!! The states employers are allergic to paying livable wages and no one is in any hurry to make them pay people a fair wage.....they believe that adults can live on $9 an hour and still pay rent, feed kids, put gas in the car, pay light bills, pay gas bills, pay water bills etc. etc. etc. As stated by other posters there is no programs to help those who have fallen on hard times or do not make enough money to survive......SC residents are allergic to taxes even when they are necessary to make the state better. The other thing is that you would think the bigger more popular cities (Columbia, Greenville, Charleston) in the state would offer more diversity and better paying jobs WRONG!!
North Carolina all the way!!
I agree about the negatives stated regarding SC but Biscman is inquiring as to a place to retire. If he can get past the politics I would think SC would be a good option. Right? And since he is looking for a home in that price range I think he would be safe even if Andre Bauer becomes our next Governor
Location: Pelion, South Carolina/orig. from Cape May, NJ
1,113 posts, read 3,493,670 times
Reputation: 1176
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewYorkBorn
I will be the 4th person to agree with PBurgess68, Pawleys Dude and Jersgrl1969. South Carolina is only for a few people who fall into the following category's:
Retired with enough money to live comfortably
Job transfers to SC from another state where the person can keep their higher income ~ but look out, if you get laid off after you transfer to SC you are screwed!
Wealthy with plenty of money in the bank.
All others BEWARE!! The states employers are allergic to paying livable wages and no one is in any hurry to make them pay people a fair wage.....they believe that adults can live on $9 an hour and still pay rent, feed kids, put gas in the car, pay light bills, pay gas bills, pay water bills etc. etc. etc. As stated by other posters there is no programs to help those who have fallen on hard times or do not make enough money to survive......SC residents are allergic to taxes even when they are necessary to make the state better. The other thing is that you would think the bigger more popular cities (Columbia, Greenville, Charleston) in the state would offer more diversity and better paying jobs WRONG!!
North Carolina all the way!!
I wish I had read your post BEFORE I moved here. I'm from NJ, where taxes are high, BUT those taxes pay for programs to help those who have fallen on hard times. SC is always bragging about having low taxes...well, they fail to mention they also have NO social programs. You're gonna need help when you're only making $9 an hour and your light bill is over $400! (average bill amount in the winter, BTW, so be prepared.)
You get what you pay for, obviously.
I agree about the negatives stated regarding SC but Biscman is inquiring as to a place to retire. If he can get past the politics I would think SC would be a good option. Right? And since he is looking for a home in that price range I think he would be safe even if Andre Bauer becomes our next Governor
The negatives far outweigh the positives. So no, no self respecting person should consider this area unless they are wealthy and have a small plane to fly elsewhere to have things to do.
Ah Pburgess68 again we have to agree to disagree. I am starting to think I am the only one who LOVES this place. Yes, if you are looking for a job DON'T MOVE HERE! But I wasn't looking for employment, nor did the politics of the state (or lack of services) effect me directly (although I do take issue with them and will vote accordingly). It doesn't seem like those things will be issues for Jim either. I can tell you, with 100% certainty, that I not only respect myself but I don't regret my choice for one second. I am FAR from wealthy and I can assure you I do not own, nor do I feel like I need, a small plane. For me and my family, politics aside, (that was, and is still, a tough one for me) it was the best decision we have ever made.
neecewh, you are not the only one who loves it here. I love it here, too! I am not a golfer and have never felt a lack of things to do and frankly, I don't understand when people make that comment about there being nothing to do except golf.
There are plenty of beautiful places and things to do here: the ocean; the marsh; lots of good restaurants; Brookgreen Gardens, two beautiful state parks (with birdwatching programs and other nature programs); a great community theater in Murrell's Inlet; Theater of the Republic in Conway; libraries; museums (not that many, but we do have them!); lovely little parks and walking trails; flea markets; roadside stands with fresh produce and seafood; lots of children's playgrounds; fishing; tennis; dog parks and dog friendly places; Ripley's aquarium & all the touristy things; lots of events at The Market Common; tons of antique shops; affordable gyms and exercise places...I could go on, but I think I've made my point.
Oh yeah, and if you happen to be a golfer......
The people are super friendly, the weather is perfect, and even though people complain about the traffic, it is nothing compared to NYC or DC. And so far, I haven't seen a single toll road.
So, to the people who hate it here and think there's nothing to do besides play golf, I have a question. What is it that you want to do and can't? I'm very curious.
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This ideology is readily evident in the condition of our infrastructure, schools, and budget deficits.
And since he is looking for a home in that price range I think he would be safe even if Andre Bauer becomes our next Governor 
I love it here, too
