Kentucky.

[Sigarms]

Crawford is my end of the state - i'm in beaver, just north of pgh and rural

I knew where you were at, that's why I mentioned the 3 counties that I did in Pa, added I would never move back up there knowing the differences between NC and PA.

To each their own, learned a long time ago that home is where the heart is.

Next trip up there will to help my dad sell his house since he's living with me now.

Per guns, little confused, but not nothing new. Pa actually had more "nos" than SC did. I shoot with some guys just South of Charlotte in SC who come up here and I never heard them complain. I never complained about NC vs PA, although at first did complain that I had to take a class, after I took it though, very glad I did as I learned some things about the law.

 

[Buppies]

Thomas maybe we can be neighbors

 

[polo1665]

Crawford is my end of the state - i'm in beaver, just north of pgh and rural - avg house is 180k here (acre, 3 br 2 ba, give or take). Avg prop tax in state is 3500/yr, 1% local income tax and 3.4% or so state income tax. 6% sales tax most places, no tax on clothing and most food, most services.

Ohio has 8 or 8.5% sales tax and taxes everything AFAIK - so whatever you spend, which for most of us is 95% of our paychecks, you lost 2% to that sales tax vs PA. Not insignificant.
And retirement income - again, not taxed in PA. SC has up to 7% income tax...ouch. DOUBLE that of PA.

Pennsylvania Gun Laws: Get The Latest Info For 218

vs

South Carolina Gun Laws | GunsToCarry

Ohio sales tax varies by county. The State sales tax is 5.75%, my county tacks on another 1.5% to make it 7.25% total here. No taxes on groceries, so not everything is taxed. State income tax for me is a little over 4.5% (range is from 0 to 5% based on earnings) and we pay 1.25% local sales tax (also varies from city to city).

Property taxes in Ohio vary by township, and primarily go to school funding.

Not sure why you mentioned Ohio tax rates in this thread, but just wanted to make sure the info is accurate.

 

[Sigarms]

Ohio sales tax varies by county. The State sales tax is 5.75%, my county tacks on another 1.5% to make it 7.25% total here. No taxes on groceries, so not everything is taxed. State income tax for me is a little over 4.5% (range is from 0 to 5% based on earnings) and we pay 1.25% local sales tax (also varies from city to city).

Property taxes in Ohio vary by township, and primarily go to school funding.

Not sure why you mentioned Ohio tax rates in this thread, but just wanted to make sure the info is accurate.

EVERYTHING "varies by township" LOL (local where you're at).

My fathers house is in a "depressed" county in PA. He has a 1,200 sqaure foot house with 3 acres and pays about 3 times in taxes annually compared to my much larger house with 40 acres (and yes, most of those taxes are going to the schools).

My inlaws moved down from Vermont. They will tell you that per price and what they paid and pay in taxes, they're very much more happy in NC.

Take a 4k square foot house within Philly (or Pittsburgh) city limits with a acre of land, and compare that to the same creiteria in Charlotte or Raleigh NC, and I can almost guarantee you, it will be less in NC (would someone go to a website and prove me wrong please?).

However, again, it all comes down to where the heart is happy per where you live at. I don't believe there is one perfect place to live if you can't be happy there. I absolutely loved living in NY but would never ever move there again due to their gun laws and winters. However, for some, NY will always be home and they don't want to leave the state. I get it. To each their own.

My wife, myself and my mother in law were very surprised that my FIL actually loves NC. We were all actually worried about him when they moved down from Vermont. NC isn't that much different from Vermont except for the weather, taxes and politics, but it seems NC agrees with him (FIL).

 

[RSKY]

Look at Murray KY. In the past it has been rated very high on the Rand-McNally "Best Places to Retire" list. It is a university town about two hours from Nashville with very good schools and the two large lakes and the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area nearby.

One caution though, check local real estate prices before you buy. People have moved in from out of state and paid what they thought were bargain prices for homes only to find out they paid 25-30% over the local market.

My youngest and her family live there. Neighbors are super friendly but don't intrude.

RSKY

 

[polo1665]

EVERYTHING "varies by township" LOL (local where you're at).

My fathers house is in a "depressed" county in PA. He has a 1,200 sqaure foot house with 3 acres and pays about 3 times in taxes annually compared to my much larger house with 40 acres (and yes, most of those taxes are going to the schools).

My inlaws moved down from Vermont. They will tell you that per price and what they paid and pay in taxes, they're very much more happy in NC.

Take a 4k square foot house within Philly (or Pittsburgh) city limits with a acre of land, and compare that to the same creiteria in Charlotte or Raleigh NC, and I can almost guarantee you, it will be less in NC (would someone go to a website and prove me wrong please?).

However, again, it all comes down to where the heart is happy per where you live at. I don't believe there is one perfect place to live if you can't be happy there. I absolutely loved living in NY but would never ever move there again due to their gun laws and winters. However, for some, NY will always be home and they don't want to leave the state. I get it. To each their own.

My wife, myself and my mother in law were very surprised that my FIL actually loves NC. We were all actually worried about him when they moved down from Vermont. NC isn't that much different from Vermont except for the weather, taxes and politics, but it seems NC agrees with him (FIL).

I had always heard that property taxes were lower in NC. I've vacationed there often and it seems like it would be a great place to live.

I pay what I would consider extremely high property taxes for our house and land in Ohio, considering we are living in BF Egypt.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

When we first moved out here to NM from Bucks County in SE PA, I was shocked at the property taxes. We were at the settlement table, closing on our house, and they reported the property tax was $308. I said: "that's not bad per month"....there was a brief moment of silence....they said: "no, that's for the year". I nearly fell over. I had been escrowing almost $400 per month on the house in PA. That was in 1992.

My taxes have increased over the years....Now they are $1082 per year, for a 5 BR, 3 bath, 3600 sq ft house with outbuildings on 5 acres. State sales tax 7%. Really Cheap state income tax.

 

[Sigarms]

I had always heard that property taxes were lower in NC. I've vacationed there often and it seems like it would be a great place to live.

NC is a great state to live IMO. Great beaches on the east Coast and Mountains towards Tennessee. Heck, NC highest elevation is at 6,600 ft, where Pennsylvania's is only 3,200 and New York's is 5,300. Great varitey IMO per geography in NC as well as weather (hotter in the east with more snow and cooler temps the further west you go).

The biggest difference between North Carolina and Pennsylvania? Everyone in NC knows pretty much their state between the east side and west side, because (and I can only guess) is people on the coast go to the mountains to "get away", and people in the western part of the state go to the shore to get away as well. People in NC seem to drive to all parts of the state. Ask any local North Carolinian where a decent size town is in NC, and they can tell you where it's located at within the state. In Pennyslvania? FORGET it LOL People in Philly pretty much only know where Pittsbugh is at, and people in Pittsburgh only know where Philly or where Harrisburg is at (if you're lucky). People on the West side of the state in Pa go to Ohio or lake Erie for vacation, and people on the east side of the state go to the stinkin Jersery shore for vacation and no one ever goes "across state" to know where anything is at LOL

Heck, when I lived ouside of Meadville Pennsylvania, most of the people above Harrisburg had no clue where Erie was at other than they knew it was on a lake. Also never knew how many people from Pittsburg went to Conneaut lake for vacation of all places.

 

[Alan W.]

Look at Murray KY. In the past it has been rated very high on the Rand-McNally "Best Places to Retire" list. It is a university town about two hours from Nashville with very good schools and the two large lakes and the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area nearby.

One caution though, check local real estate prices before you buy. People have moved in from out of state and paid what they thought were bargain prices for homes only to find out they paid 25-30% over the local market.

My youngest and her family live there. Neighbors are super friendly but don't intrude.

RSKY

You are right on checking local prices. I know of two tracts that sold way high because the people bought based on property value where they lived. Had they did their homework it would have been a lot cheaper. Both tracts were bought over the internet. Lady who bought the first one was from PA and planned on running an organic farm. Rocky thin topsoil killed her dreams. Second tract has been bought by a couple, from NJ, to retire on. Getting electric and water to the property will be very expensive. No cable, no antenna tv, no internet. After the seller sold it he called me and asked about if they could build on the road frontage part. I had to tell him it was a floodplain.
I grew up in this valley and know what ya can and cant expect. But it can be a culture shock when your use to different amenities and soil types not to mention the local characters and yes that includes me.
Wherever ya want to resettle do your homework talk to the locals, call the utilities and ask about service. There is much more than just lookin at the property.
Best of luck whereever ya decide on.

 

[Oldoak]

------------------------In Pennyslvania? FORGET it LOL People in Philly pretty much only know where Pittsbugh is at, and people in Pittsburgh only know where Philly or where Harrisburg is at (if you're lucky). People on the West side of the state in Pa go to Ohio or lake Erie for vacation, and people on the east side of the state go to the stinkin Jersery shore for vacation and no one ever goes "across state" to know where anything is at LOL------------------------------------

Not true. We spend six to eight weeks every year in South Dakota. Any state west of the Mississippi River to Wyoming is vacation land to us.