# What southern state would be a good place for a vacation home?



## angie_nrs (Jul 26, 2017)

As I get closer to retirement I have been thinking about possibly purchasing a small cabin with a decent amount of property in a southern state. I currently live north and would like a place down south where we could be snowbirds when the time comes. I've been pretty sheltered all my life so I really haven't been to too many southern places, but I have been to Florida several times and am not interested in that. I also don't want a place on the coast. I'm looking for someplace rural, conservative, possibly close to a small and friendly town, low property taxes, low cost of living, decent hunting grounds, fairly comfortable weather in the winter, etc. You know, basically a preppers utopia.

I plan on winding down before complete retirement so that I can perhaps do some RV traveling to get an idea of areas before making the leap. Who knows? Maybe we'll decide just to upgrade the RV and stay somewhere south that way. Although spending several months in an RV doesn't sound very fun to me. I also like my stuff and I know I can't take much with me in an RV. Maybe the best thing would be to just buy a piece of property, build a small barn, and live in the RV?

Here's a list of the 7 best states for property taxes.....
http://www.investopedia.com/article...2015/7-best-states-property-taxes-and-why.asp
1. Hawaii - No
2. Alabama
3. Louisiana
4. Delaware
5. D.C. - NO!
6. South Carolina
7. West Virginia

I dunno, what do you all think?


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

I really like northwest ga. I live a little farther south closer to ATL but I frequent the area constantly in my hobbies and business. The type of property you mentioned is my specialty in Real Estate. If you like GA and need any pointers on towns or areas that may be best feel free to pm me. I really like Blue Ridge, Ellijay and Chatsworth. Very easy to get really nice property at a good price in those areas.


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## Starcreek (Feb 4, 2015)

East Tennessee is good....you have the Blue Ridge and the Appalachian Trail, the Cherokee National Forest, and the tourist resorts of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Tennessee has no personal income tax, and the government is actually very well run.

Alabama is good, too, and if you get over near the Talladega National Forest, there is some really pretty rural land, with Anniston as the local city for shopping.

I would not live in Louisiana or South Carolina on a dare.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

Starcreek said:


> East Tennessee is good....you have the Blue Ridge and the Appalachian Trail, the Cherokee National Forest, and the tourist resorts of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Tennessee has no personal income tax, and the government is actually very well run.
> 
> Alabama is good, too, and if you get over near the Talladega National Forest, there is some really pretty rural land, with Anniston as the local city for shopping.
> 
> I would not live in Louisiana or South Carolina on a dare.


While no state income tax in Tennessee property taxes can be pretty high. I really like Cleveland, TN though. Beautiful state. Alabame is hot. Really hot. Great property prices however. I agree on Lousianna and South Carolina. SC has some nice coastal spots but if you dont want to be on the coast it wouldnt hold much appeal for me.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

The South has more crime. It would appear that rural blacks have a lot of criminals among them just like the ones in the cities do. The south has about 40% of violent crime with only about 25% of the population.

http://www.businessinsider.com/south-has-more-violent-crime-fbi-statistics-show-2013-9.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

BillS said:


> The South has more crime. It would appear that rural blacks have a lot of criminals among them just like the ones in the cities do. The south has about 40% of violent crime with only about 25% of the population.
> 
> http://www.businessinsider.com/south-has-more-violent-crime-fbi-statistics-show-2013-9.


Crime is always high in poverty stricken areas. A lot of rural areas are poverty stricken due to lack of employment. Not all areas are like that however. There are whole regions made up of mostly well to do folks that just want to live somewhere beautiful. The nice parts of eastern Tennessee and the north central to west ga come to mind.


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## SheepdogPRS (Oct 8, 2017)

When I looked to find a place to move I looked at the history of the area for natural disasters. Earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, tornadoes, wind and hurricanes were on my list. Then I looked at proximity to military bases and power plants - especially nuclear power plants. I don't want to be down wind of a nuclear power plant two weeks after the power goes out. The place I found is as close to perfect as is possible. It is about 6 hours from our property in Northeastern Washington but I can get there on a single tank of fuel. I am also in a rural area with no particularly dense population. I will likely be fine staying where I am.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

Some interesting data here: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-to-retire/18592/

Seems like very few Southern states make it very high on the list.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

All depends on what you want/need and your particular situation. No hard and fast rule for everyone.


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## Starcreek (Feb 4, 2015)

Sentry18 said:


> Some interesting data here: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-to-retire/18592/
> 
> Seems like very few Southern states make it very high on the list.


That's okay. Y'all don't want to move here. Bad neighborhood and all that.


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## bbqjoe (Feb 10, 2017)

Delaware and DC are considered southern?


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## phideaux (Nov 7, 2015)

Stay out of Kentucky...we have lakes, rivers,copperheads, cottonmouths, horses, foothills, caves, bluegrass, fishing, hunting,Wildcat basketball, low taxes, meth labs , moonshine stills, and a lot of "Good-ol-Boys".:wave:

and lifetime career politicians.



Jim:goodluck:


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## AmishHeart (Jun 10, 2016)

I wouldn't recommend New Mexico. We don't have many natural disasters, but we do have: lots of illegals, a liberal state, crooked state government, most on welfare or government jobs, and we are #1 for the worst state in child health (and teen pregnancy). Drunk driving, too.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

Starcreek said:


> East Tennessee is good....you have the Blue Ridge and the Appalachian Trail, the Cherokee National Forest, and the tourist resorts of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Tennessee has no personal income tax, and the government is actually very well run.
> 
> Alabama is good, too, and if you get over near the Talladega National Forest, there is some really pretty rural land, with Anniston as the local city for shopping.
> 
> I would not live in Louisiana or South Carolina on a dare.


I love Tennessee! We have talked about moving there! Just like up here but warm. We love the cades cove area. And as far as property tax compared to NH, Tennessee is dirt cheap.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

phideaux said:


> Stay out of Kentucky...we have lakes, rivers,copperheads, cottonmouths, horses, foothills, caves, bluegrass, fishing, hunting,Wildcat basketball, low taxes, meth labs , moonshine stills, and a lot of "Good-ol-Boys".:wave:
> 
> and lifetime career politicians.
> 
> Jim:goodluck:


Can you hunt the meth heads? If so i might move....


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

There are some really nice spots in Arizona. 
Where I live is very low property taxes but they vary with the counties. Many lakes (reservoirs) around here and all are stocked with fish. 
Arizona has both hot and cold areas and everything in between. Lots of different critters. 
Bad part is fairly high sales tax. Does have state income tax but if retired that does does not really matter. 
Some places are full of illegals.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

Caribou said:


> Yes, but only with bows. But with one fire arrow through the lab window you can fill all your tags in an evening.


I am in! So whats your guide fee and when does the season start?


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

Starcreek said:


> That's okay. Y'all don't want to move here. Bad neighborhood and all that.


No worries. The only thing that could move me out of the Midwest is if Rosie O'Donnell moved in next door and Michael Moore across the street. And even then only if I could not make them disappear before anyone else noticed.


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

Sentry18 said:


> No worries. The only thing that could move me out of the Midwest is if Rosie O'Donnell moved in next door and Michael Moore across the street. And even then only if I could not make them disappear before anyone else noticed.


Just like Sentry, I will never move out of the general area I live in. The Midwest is highly over looked by the people that just want to escape snow. Because of the cold crime is low most of the time, especially winter! The insect population is kept low by the freeze. Yes there are relatively higher taxes, but because there are higher taxes other expenses are kept lower, like rent, and housing and land costs.

The pan handler to working class ratio is fairly low compared to the warmer states in the South.The land in the Eastern areas of Nebraska are fertile farm lands that can also be ranched fairly easy.

Winter here is only about 12 weeks, it passes quick, just save the indoor prepping for the winter and it will be over before you know it.

Ya, I'm not moving.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

South Carolina has 3-4 months of cold weather, two-three months of cool weather,two months of warm weather, 3 months of hot weather one will be really hot 95-101.


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## DrPrepper (Apr 17, 2016)

hiwall said:


> There are some really nice spots in Arizona.
> Where I live is very low property taxes but they vary with the counties. Many lakes (reservoirs) around here and all are stocked with fish.
> Arizona has both hot and cold areas and everything in between. Lots of different critters.
> Bad part is fairly high sales tax. Does have state income tax but if retired that does does not really matter.
> Some places are full of illegals.


I'll second Hiwall's opinion! I'm in Northeastern Arizona, and it is a wonderful 4 season environment with a lot of outdoor type activities. My community is pretty isolated, with LOTS of wide-open spaces all around us. The pictures below are all taken within walking distance of my house.


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## angie_nrs (Jul 26, 2017)

Thank you all for the replies! Wow! Lots to consider.....very interesting posts indeed.

I have no intention of moving as we have put too much time and money into our home and have it pretty much the way we like it. I'm just looking for a place to take off to for about 2-3 months of the year, perhaps from January-ish to March-ish. I don't know where a decently warm place would be that also met the other parameters in my OP. Maybe I'm just dreaming? My main objective would be to get away from the snow for a bit.

The more I think about it, the more I think perhaps just doing the RV thing for a couple of months would be the easiest thing to do. I guess we'll just have to try that out and see how it goes. I think I'm also a bit reluctant to be away from home as well. I'm torn.....I love home but the older I get, the more I want to run away from the snow for a while in the winter.


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## tleeh1 (Mar 13, 2013)

I'm in n Alabama, and while the property tax is good (I pay about $300 per year for 2 acres with a 4 bed/2.5 bath home), it has drawbacks. We have income tax, but being retired helps. Our sales tax is 8-9.5% depending on what city/county you're in, and we pay about 16cents per kwhr for electricity - not too bad. BUT... I'm not a big fan of the humidity in the summer. I'm also too close to a nuclear power plant and have often considered moving. I love east Tennessee, but it's down wind of Oak Ridge, so no go, too. I'm partial to rural Idaho (and our kids live in the northern part of the state, but not sure if I'm young enough to handle the snow -- we lived in western Montana for 10 years back in the late 1980s, so I know what real snow is like. lol.) I also like the way east Arizona, west NM, and southern Utah look. I think RV traveling would help make our decision.


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## cqp33 (Apr 2, 2012)

tleeh1 said:


> I'm in n Alabama, and while the property tax is good (I pay about $300 per year for 2 acres with a 4 bed/2.5 bath home), it has drawbacks. We have income tax, but being retired helps. Our sales tax is 8-9.5% depending on what city/county you're in, and we pay about 16cents per kwhr for electricity - not too bad. BUT... I'm not a big fan of the humidity in the summer. I'm also too close to a nuclear power plant and have often considered moving. I love east Tennessee, but it's down wind of Oak Ridge, so no go, too. I'm partial to rural Idaho (and our kids live in the northern part of the state, but not sure if I'm young enough to handle the snow -- we lived in western Montana for 10 years back in the late 1980s, so I know what real snow is like. lol.) I also like the way east Arizona, west NM, and southern Utah look. I think RV traveling would help make our decision.


We live 45 miles west/northwest of Oak Ridge, good country up here on the cumberland plateau


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