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Apr 29th, 2024
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 784 Likes: 49
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 784 Likes: 49 |
King Brown:
Let me tell you, if I could convince the wife and it wasn't so far removed from the grand-kids I would seriously consider P.E.I.
I was stationed at Keflavik, Iceland in 1981 and alot of the enjoyment for me was the remoteness.
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 638
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 638 |
Old Maine,
I moved to Michigan 5 years ago from Northern Virginia. Sometimes I miss going to the free museums in DC and the warmer winters but that's about it! Oh, unlike the ice storms of the DC area we get good old fashion snow storms. When it snows or rains people slow down, a little. There are few accidents because of weather. Fancy that!
While Michigan isn't a recommendation for a retirement destination (I'm still employed 100%), it offers me waterfowl and upland hunting. The state did just impose income tax on my military retirement. That stinks! Toward that, I does Vermont tax retired pay and 401k withdrawls? Something to think of.
Mark
USMC Retired
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 996 Likes: 7
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 996 Likes: 7 |
If you care about such things, here's a 2011 report on those states that are considered from most to least free states. If I were considering relocation, I would probably take into consideration some of the points in the survey, among other things. http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/06/10/positive-liberty-and-the-free-states/
Cameron Hughes
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 251
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 251 |
Mark
Vermont does tax retireement pay, Social Security, and 401k withdrawls, New Hampshire, just across the Conneticut River does not. Comparing real estate taxes on-line, they seem at least as high, if not higher, in Vermont.
Although not identical, the two states are similar in many ways.
If I were to retire to New England, it would probably be to New Hampshire, even though I have family in Vermont and spent many summers there on a dairy farm growing-up.
Last edited by vangulil; 03/18/12 10:11 AM.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 9,350
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 9,350 |
PEI beautiful, for sure. Good people and one of most significant things about the Island is a highway signage policy that cuts down significantly the blizzard of signs ruining landscapes along most highways elsewhere.
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,008
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,008 |
This is great stuff. An incredible amount of sage advice.
I am going to retire in four years from the Fed. I will be 56. Not going to retire, retire, just call it quits after serving Uncle Sam since age 18 as both Navy man and civilian.
Wife and I are giving serious consideration to southern Vermont. Biggest reason is to get away from the Northern Virginia sprawl, population growth, crime, traffic, etc.
I grew up in Upstate NY and lived in Maine for many years. Returning to the cold is a concern, as we are really spoiled by the mild Virginia weather. I just want to return to a simpler life, and if I want to go to the store or mall it is not a 45 minute+ bumper to bumper traffic ordeal. I will never, ever understand why people cannot drive a simple straight line point A to point B on I-95 or Route 1. It never fails, at any point of the day, some sort of screw-up. Either a wreck, or people slow down to a crawl to rubber-neck some guy changing a tire or watch a Trooper writing a ticket.
I want to just to work part-time, duck hunt, partridge hunt, fish, get re-introduced to coon hunting, hang out with the wife and follow our youngest son's baseball career. We figure Vermont will give us that peace and quiet, and is just across from Upstate NY to stay close with family and friends. I have thought of finding seclusion in other parts of Virginia, but I just miss the NE.
Kind regards, Vermont is a way of life and a very pleasant one at at that. Burlington is a nice city, Montreal is an easy trip, Boston and NYC are close. I lived in VT for decades and miss it enormously. The quality of life is very, very high. But it comes at a cost. Property taxes and income taxes were high. Pollution was about non-existent and the rivers ran clean and the fish were nice. Hunting is OK except when the yahoos fill the woods. Bird hunting is great. The state has virtually no gun laws. Crime is low. Heating your house is expensive. Still, it's probably one of the best places in the world to live. There's good medical care and should you get weirdly sick both Boston and NY have world-class hospitals. Lake Champlain is really beautiful and one can still afford waterfront property. Great boating and fishing. Even though most of the state has been reclassified as one growing-zone warmer it still was too cold as we got older so we want an additional zone south.
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 784 Likes: 49
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 784 Likes: 49 |
MarkOue:
Do they empty out the supermarkets there in Michigan in anticipation of a "dusting" of snow?
I always find it amusing how the local TV and radio stations in the D.C. area talk about the "Storm of the Year" which ends up being about an inch or so. The people go totally bonkers. They empty the stores of milk and toilet paper, schools close, activities cancel and it is all gone in a day or two.
Granted, we had a big one a couple of years ago. I had 16" of snow in my front yard. I was stunned that the Marine Corps Base that I work at was closed for nearly a week.
In fairness, they are just not trained or prepared for it like a Buffalo, Ann Arbor, or Boston. A light dusting to them is as traumatic as wintering over in Antartica.
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 13,880 Likes: 16
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 13,880 Likes: 16 |
Here in L.A., the news channels make a big deal over a 1/4" of rain, calling it a "storm" and have many updates of their "storm tracker news". Funny stuff.
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,207 Likes: 19
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,207 Likes: 19 |
I've been working in the DC area the last month plus and I have to say their reaction to even the threat of a possibility of a dusting of snow was pretty hilarious. People would be parking their cars with the wipers turned up and all, bread and milk would be scarce, yadda yadda.
And their forecast of "bitterly cold wind chills" made me laugh: those were the nights when the chill was down in the high teens. Shirt, khakis and boat shoes - no socks - weather in Maine.
Of course, we look at summer from the analogous view - anything over 80 is "hot".
fiery, dependable, occasionally transcendent
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 996 Likes: 7
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 996 Likes: 7 |
Being in close proximity to WA, the local news channels are all Spokane stations. Therefore, much of what we get for news is Spokane and WA news. I always find it funny when a "snow storm" hits the West Coast i.e. Seattle and the Portland areas and the doom and gloom that's reported. Both cities completely shut down along with every town in between, people are panicked and it's as if armeggedon has arrived, according to the news.
Cameron Hughes
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