Cape Coral/Fort Myers Move (Westchester, Perry: for sale, 2013, vehicle registration)

[brianjb]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Colorado is 32nd in tax burden and Florida is 27th. That's almost a lateral move.

I moved from the northeast to Florida and because of the cost of living vs. wages my lot in life did not improve. I now live in an area with a far, far better ratio and one of the best tax burdens in the country.

State and Local Tax Burdens: All States, One Year, 1977 - 2010 | Tax Foundation



Just to reiterate, Cape Coral has the second best crime stats in Florida, per capita.

And yes, Fort Myers has some of the worst crime, almost on par with Chicago and about double that of Boston and NYC. But hey, its far better than Detroit which accounts for its appeal among Midwesterners.

Nice link for the tax information.

Thanks!

[nhkev]

If you look at the median income Florida doesn't look as out of whack with the rest of the country as much as people make it out to be. Also I wonder when they figure out the tax burden if they include amount paid in tolls and gasoline tax. And there are also things that are included in property taxes in some states and in others they call them fees. For example in mass when you register a $25k car they charge you like $1500 sales tax and a $75 or so reg fee in nh. There is no sales tax but like a $600 registration fee

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by nhkev

If you look at the median income Florida doesn't look as out of whack with the rest of the country as much as people make it out to be. Also I wonder when they figure out the tax burden if they include amount paid in tolls and gasoline tax. And there are also things that are included in property taxes in some states and in others they call them fees. For example in mass when you register a $25k car they charge you like $1500 sales tax and a $75 or so reg fee in nh. There is no sales tax but like a $600 registration fee

Well, I've lived in Mass, Florida and now Tenn. It costs a lot to register a car in Florida and Mass. Further, Mass. has that ubiquitous excise tax, essentially taxing the vehicle over and over, every darn year. North Carolina does that. Tennessee doesn't. It cost something ridiculous like $60 to register my vehicle when I moved to Tennessee. And of course our auto insurance was cut in half.

By the way, Florida's median annual income is something like 38th in the country, including DC.

Median Annual Household Income | The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

There's a reason why you don't work there, as well as a lot of other people that enjoy the state in other ways.

And if you take out the incredible wealth that sits on the other coast the median income could be much lower.

[luvtobewarm]

Originally Posted by nhkev

If you look at the median income Florida doesn't look as out of whack with the rest of the country as much as people make it out to be. Also I wonder when they figure out the tax burden if they include amount paid in tolls and gasoline tax. And there are also things that are included in property taxes in some states and in others they call them fees. For example in mass when you register a $25k car they charge you like $1500 sales tax and a $75 or so reg fee in nh. There is no sales tax but like a $600 registration fee

After looking at several different states and talking to people who have also researched different places, I find it all tends to even out more than it appears at first glance. If they have low property taxes or income taxes, they get their money some other way. Sales taxes vary, and what they include in the sales tax varies. In WI, we do not pay tax on grocery food items. Other states do. That's got to add up! Utility charges vary, car registration, local taxes, tolls, housing costs...they all play a part. And you have to look at what's included in your property taxes also. My friend lives in a neighboring city and his taxes are lower, but we get far more services than he does. He has to take his brush and big items to the dump and pay a fee for certain items. We have curbside pickup and a lot of other little niceties included.

[Sweetbottoms]

Originally Posted by luvtobewarm

After looking at several different states and talking to people who have also researched different places, I find it all tends to even out more than it appears at first glance. If they have low property taxes or income taxes, they get their money some other way. Sales taxes vary, and what they include in the sales tax varies. In WI, we do not pay tax on grocery food items. Other states do. That's got to add up! Utility charges vary, car registration, local taxes, tolls, housing costs...they all play a part. And you have to look at what's included in your property taxes also. My friend lives in a neighboring city and his taxes are lower, but we get far more services than he does. He has to take his brush and big items to the dump and pay a fee for certain items. We have curbside pickup and a lot of other little niceties included.

In nh property tax was was easily $5-6000+ in the town I lived in for probably a dumpy 1930's house. Plus a tax on the view you have if you had one. Hard not to when NH is mostly mountsins.

trash still had to be brought to the dump which wasn't even in town but over the boarder , for me it was 7 miles from my house, NH curbside pick up isn't free in NH.. It is in Fla. We paid over $500 to register our used Kia Sportage when we lived there. The registration amount was based on year of car. Imagine if we had a new camero. Plus you paid state and city tax on your car. In fla we pay $45. It doesn't even out, not even close. They have no income tax up there, neither does Fla. but they have heating costs through the roof for 8 months a year. Plus they have a 9% food & beverage tax. Ouch. Believe me they more than get you to make up for the one tax Florida doesn't. Sales. Which in fla is 6%.. Big deal , they save a few $ here and there. Not enough to balance out other expenses.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Sweetbottoms

In nh property tax was was easily $5-6000+ in the town I lived in for probably a dumpy 1930's house. Plus a tax on the view you have if you had one. Hard not to when NH is mostly mountsins.

trash still had to be brought to the dump which wasn't even in town but over the boarder , for me it was 7 miles from my house, NH curbside pick up isn't free in NH.. It is in Fla. We paid over $500 to register our used Kia Sportage when we lived there. The registration amount was based on year of car. Imagine if we had a new camero. Plus you paid state and city tax on your car. In fla we pay $45. It doesn't even out, not even close. They have no income tax up there, neither does Fla. but they have heating costs through the roof for 8 months a year. Plus they have a 9% food & beverage tax. Ouch. Believe me they more than get you to make up for the one tax Florida doesn't. Sales. Which in fla is 6%.. Big deal , they save a few $ here and there. Not enough to balance out other expenses.

I'm from New England so I know how expensive it is. However, your info is a bit off. Florida has the same 9 percent tax for prepared food and New Hampshire's tax is not charged if the food and drink is consumed off premises.

I agree that heating is very expensive in New England but found that it wasn't much cheaper living in Florida and in some cases I was paying more. But comparing New Hampshire to Florida regarding taxes, New Hampshire comes out ahead. That's why New Hampshire's tax burden is 44th as opposed to Florida coming in at 27. However, if you are coming from high-tax states like New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin, for instance, you will think Florida is a bargain. It's all about perspective.

[Moondog267]

Originally Posted by Kim in FL

I 'll give one piece of advice...do not come here without having a job already lined up unless you have cash to buy a home and money to live on. In fact, I wouldn't buy, I'd rent the first couple years so you can get a feel for the place.

Personally, I prefer Fort Myers over Cape Coral; I grew up on CC and spent more than enough time there. You have to go to Fort Myers for any decent shopping anyway, so why not just live there?


Oh, and Cape Coral and Fort Myers do NOT have awesome beaches.

Right, Cape Coral and Fort Myers do NOT have awesome beaches, nor much of any kind of beaches. Actually, it's weird. Ft. Myers has a population of 70,000. Cape Coral has a population of 165,000. However, all the shopping is at Ft. Myers. Go figger.

[rikoshaprl]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Colorado is 32nd in tax burden and Florida is 27th. That's almost a lateral move.

I moved from the northeast to Florida and because of the cost of living vs. wages my lot in life did not improve. I now live in an area with a far, far better ratio and one of the best tax burdens in the country.

State and Local Tax Burdens: All States, One Year, 1977 - 2010 | Tax Foundation

The metropolitan areas can have far, far higher taxes than this graph shows for each entire state.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by rikoshaprl

The metropolitan areas can have far, far higher taxes than this graph shows for each entire state.

They take all taxes in a state into consideration, even taxes for things like "motor vehicles, hunting and fishing,occupational, corporate, and others."

New York is first in tax burden for a reason.

[nhkev]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Well, I've lived in Mass, Florida and now Tenn. It costs a lot to register a car in Florida and Mass. Further, Mass. has that ubiquitous excise tax, essentially taxing the vehicle over and over, every darn year. North Carolina does that. Tennessee doesn't. It cost something ridiculous like $60 to register my vehicle when I moved to Tennessee. And of course our auto insurance was cut in half.

By the way, Florida's median annual income is something like 38th in the country, including DC.

Median Annual Household Income | The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

There's a reason why you don't work there, as well as a lot of other people that enjoy the state in other ways.

And if you take out the incredible wealth that sits on the other coast the median income could be much lower.

I was just going by the 2010 tax burden list you linked which had florida at 22 for median income with 40k it had 28 states with lower per capita income. Which doesn't jive with every job being half of what you'd make somewhere else. Most of the time when I bring my vehicle or boat to be repaired or my trailer springs redone, or my boat canvas redone the labor costs have not been signifigantly lower than what I've seen other places. On top of this I see a lot of posts with people saying they are being relocated here for more money.