Boy, did I jinx this one. Now my property taxes are half on a home worth 2.5x what my old one was, but the DMV and county tax assessor hold me hostage when registering vehicles. You HAVE to drive 10+ year old vehicles to keep the registration costs close to what they were in NY. Good news is a 10yo vehicle here isn't a usually rust bucket and as long as the maintenance is kept up, is a cheap reliable ride. https://www.greenvillecounty.org/apps/AuditorTaxEstimator/ I'd like to think the money goes to public benefit but we've all been beat with this stick before. 2017 Gas Tax hike here was sold to the voters as the solution to fixing our notoriously rough roads. (We don't have winter weather or even frost heave to beat them up even, so what the heck....) l It was also pitched that SC residents would be able to claim a refund on the tax hike as long as you kept your receipts, this way more of the burden would be shifted to all those out-of-staters that are hogging all of our gas! Because you know, all those folks from Atlanta, and Charlotte, are commuting to work here in little old Greenville. As of Nov 2020, they've collected $500M (and counting) and I just got done straightening 4 aluminum wheels, and welding up a crack. Ramsey has the right idea. Educate the public on basic financial literacy and people are going to get fired up over how badly we are all getting the shaft. Imagine what those dollars could do if put to use building wealth or given to charitable cause.
Ok I'm just a little confused . Your Profile shows Greenville SC but your post looks like you are in NY. I'm actually crazy enough to be thinking of moving back to Upstate NY because I like it so much. I don't remember the NY registration fees being bad when I lived there. I guess my 35 year old beater truck is gonna cost more in NY than in MA which is only $60 every two years plus $16 excise tax each year. NY is somewhat kinder to retired folks since they don't tax any social security and exempt $20K of Pension. And I hear there is a decent break on property tax in the STAR program
I moved to SC (after 34 years in NY) in May 2017. That original post was written in 2015. I whined in another thread recently about how bad they tax personal vehicles here in SC (it's enough that keeping a 3rd vehicle around hurts!) but also mentioned that even though the vehicle taxes are crazy, my total tax burden here (while I'm in my peak earning years) is way lower. You might indeed be better off in Upstate NY than Taxachusetts in retirement. It is certainly beautiful (and quiet!) up there if you don't mind the winters. But 30 states exempt SS income from income taxation in addition to the 7 states that have no income tax at all. But if you're looking for a break from the STAR program, you are SOL unfortunately.
Yes its mainly the quiet I am looking for (it's WAY WAY (did I say WAY?)) too crowded in Eastern MA for me but I want to be near a mid size city for conveniences. I lived in Rochester and Albany areas decades ago and loved it. Yup alot of people up here call it Taxachusetts but NY is actually worse for a high wage earner. It looks like there is no longer a STAR Exemption program but there is still some kind of Star Credit available.
NH is a possibility but if you live in Southern NH it still feels like Eastern MA (crowded with the Boston Influence). Move too far north and it's just too Rural for my wife. We are looking for uncrowded rural but with the conveniences of a mid size city and some decent culture.
That's the second time Dartmouth came . Hmmmm might need a road trip. But if I sense the SLIGHTEST hint of Boston Influence.......
Holy cow, that calculator told me I would be paying $570-900 for the used Explorer I bought a couple of months ago.Since it doesn't ask the year, and it is a 2018, my guess is that the cost would be about in the middle of that range.
The way people talk about southern NH being crowded, it seems as if they have only visited the eastern part Milford/Amherst/Nashua to the seacoast. There is a bunch of southern NH that isn't that way. You want to be by culture? Try some place between Wilton and Peterborough. For a small town, Peterborough has some decent culture (so they say - not my style so I don't try it out). But you can also drive to Boston in not too long a time. And those aren't too far from the Nashua area (which I am including basically Milford on thru the 101A corridor) where you can find about anything you want while at the same time being close to the antiquing "trail" in Hollis and Amherst areas.
We thought about VT but its even less tax friendly than NY for retirement, exce Yes Guilty as charged, I'm only familiar with the South Eastern parts of NH, and it feels like an extension to the Boston suburbs . We're going to take a look at Keene NH. Wilton and Peterborough look like they are in the same area.
It’s pretty steep in Vt. I’m paying 7k a year. It’s a sore spot for me. I’m just outside the quote “Old Bennington “ township and they even pay about 20% more on comparables. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ouch. Vermont is one of the least friendly states for retirees since they tax pretty much all of your Social Security and Retirement income. At least in NY they give those taxes a break.
