Best Place to Retire | North Carolina Pros And Cons!

Best Place to Retire | North Carolina Pros And Cons!

  Is retirement right around the corner and you're trying to figure out what the best location to retire would be? If you're like me, you've done a lot of research and Raleigh, North Carolina, or the surrounding areas seem like one of the best options, but you may be wondering what are some of the pros and cons of that area that I might not be aware of.

Well today I'll be deep diving into some of those pros and cons for retirees in north Carolina To see if our area seems like a good fit for your

Okay, let's just jump right on in and we're gonna get started with pro number one, which is location and scenery. One thing you'll find here, especially when it comes to the outdoors, is North Carolina has everything in your backyard from the beaches to the mountains. One of the things that I love about Raleigh is its location and proximity to both amenities locally and beyond.

Coming from California, we were used to being able to be so close to so many things to do and here in Raleigh, we love that Raleigh is about two to three hour drive from both the beaches to the mountains, which is our happy place, along with being able to drive to multiple states within and cities within a five hour drive.

For example, since we've lived here, we've visited D. C., Tennessee, Virginia. Savannah, Georgia, and even Charleston, South Carolina. All within a five hour window. Now a fun fact more than half of the U. S. population lives within a day's drive from Raleigh. So if you want to have a vacation or just take a day or a weekend trip, Raleigh might be one of the best places to live.

Pro number two, outdoor activities. If you're retiring and you're looking to make sure that you're staying active and you love the outdoors. North Carolina is absolutely a place for you. Not only do we have over 300 miles of beachfront to explore, you can also head the opposite direction and go explore the mountains.

Or, you can even stay right here in your backyard within the Raleigh Durham Chapel Hill Triangle area. There's plenty to do here from local to the state parks to gardens, outdoor museums, walking and biking, miles of greenway spaces. You can kayak, boat, and if you're super adventurous, you can do zip lining or even horseback riding.

And with all the four seasons and mild winters here in North Carolina There's plenty of time to spend outdoors exploring and having fun. Pro number three is going to be health care. When it comes to health care, the Raleigh Durham area has outstanding medical care, which is a major reason newcomers of all ages are flocking to our region.

One magazine even ranked Duke Hospital as one of the best in the world. And for the 12th year in a row, Duke University Hospital in Durham ranked as the number one hospital in the state. Also making it into the top five of the U. S. News and World Report list. Followed by UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill coming in at number two.

UNC Rex Hospital in Raleigh at number four. And though Children's Hospitals are on a separate list, two places in the state performed well when it came to pediatric cardiology and heart surgery. Including Duke University Hospital ranking number two and Atrium Health Carolina's Medical Center coming in eighth nationwide a total of 14 hospitals in North Carolina Are in the national rankings So quality and accessibility of healthcare is important to you.

North Carolina definitely has some excellent options. In addition to that, especially if you're looking in for a retiree environment, there are some phenomenal retirement communities that have actually developed medical centers within their community that you can find in the Raleigh and Chapel Hill areas.

So if you're looking at some of those areas and you need medical attention, On site, these might be some really good locations to take a look at. Pro number four is going to be housing. Now, if you're an active adult and considering a 55 plus community in early 2024, The median price point in the Raleigh area for an active 55 plus community is approximately 530, 000.

And I've seen some go up as far as 700, all the way past a million dollars. It really just depends on the lifestyle you're looking to live. You'll also want to take into consideration the monthly HOAs. Which on average many of these communities average around 200 a month But many do have resort style living and you'll be able to enjoy amenities ranging from indoor and outdoor pools to clubhouse, pickleball, gardens, arts and crafts, walking trails, fitness centers, and more.

Raleigh and the surrounding area has so many great choices that are still a short drive to excellent health care, shopping, entertainment, and dining. A few neighborhoods that come into mind are Carolina Preserves, to Del Webb at Traditions, there's Encore at Briar Chapel or Windell Falls, and even Flowers Plantation.

There's actually too many to name, but feel free to reach out to me, and I'd love to share more information on our 55 plus communities within Raleigh and the surrounding towns. Even if you're not ready for a 55 plus community, or that's just not the lifestyle you're looking to live quite yet, no worries, there's hundreds of great communities to choose from in and around the Raleigh area.

Sure to check those boxes of the lifestyle you're looking to live. Pro number five is going to be cost of living. The overall cost of living in North Carolina is fairly low when compared to the averages across the country. Currently, North Carolina was ranked 27th lowest cost of living in the United States.

One website I found helpful in calculating your potential cost savings is best places. net. Now you can actually go in Where you currently live versus where you want to move and include your current salary It'll then calculate not only your savings from city to city But it'll adjust the amount of income you would need to make based on your move For us we would be able to cut our income in half and overall savings would be 35%.

I would be interested to know how much you would save if you moved to North Carolina from your current state. Drop it in the comments below and let me know. Now this next one can be considered a con or a pro. depending where you currently live and that's going to be the weather. Now our temperatures range anywhere from the mid 80s to 90s with the hottest months being in July and August.

However, unlike some other states, we get to experience all four seasons here with spring and fall being absolutely beautiful. It reminds me most of California weather. Our temperatures can range anywhere from the 50s to 70s throughout these seasons. While our winters are pretty mild. Generally our temperatures can range from the 30s to 50s, but there's a running joke that we can experience all four seasons in one week or even a day.

But overall it's something you can get used to and actually come to enjoy each season's change. And if you already live on the east coast, many of our clients tell us weather's just the same or their summers are even worse than ours. Like our neighboring state, South Carolina or Florida, where it gets really hot.

So again, even though we have a couple months of hot humidity, we still do have air conditioning to keep us cool. And then there's the hurricanes. Now, I grew up in California, so we had to worry about earthquakes. And we even did those earthquake drills at school where we had to hide under our desk So when I first moved here and heard about hurricanes, I was pretty freaked out the good news is if we look at the data from 1851 to 2022 It shows while north Carolina is still It's the fourth on the rankings for hurricanes.

There hasn't been any category fives. There's only been one category four and there's only been six category threes. So what does that actually mean? Yes, we can get hurricanes, but history shows it's far and few between that they will be destructive hurricanes. Especially considering here in Raleigh, we're not on the coastline, which is where a majority of the major ones have typically landed.

Here locally, we typically get a lot of wind and rain and some power outages. Sometimes we'll have some loose branches that have fallen down or even some fallen trees. Now, fortunately, we have great neighbors that help with chainsaws. We have an amazing team. city that will come out if there's any trees that went down and they're quick to get them cleared and also get the power restored as soon as possible.

And we actually learned after our first hurricane power outage to have a generator ready to go at all times in our garage. We even had an electrician come and install a switch so I can just plug it in and flip a switch and we have instant power. So if you move to the area, you should be aware and prepared, but I definitely wouldn't freak out about the hurricanes.

Con number two is going to be the crime rates. When it comes to crime, doesn't matter where you live in the country, there's going to be some sort of crime. And while is a con, no pun intended, when it comes to North Carolina as a whole, we actually have just a slightly higher. Violent crime rate coming in at 4.

3 percent versus the national average of 4%, as well as property crime in at 22. 4 percent versus the national average of 19. 3%. One thing to note is North Carolina does have a slightly higher poverty rate of 14 percent and when there's a higher poverty rate, it tends to lean towards a little bit more criminal activity.

If we look at Raleigh in particular, it has a poverty rate of 12 percent and Durham comes in at 13%. Two of my favorite sites to look up crime data are NeighborhoodScout.com, which will break down safest and least safest neighborhoods, and the other is SpotCrime.com. You can look up daily, weekly, and monthly activity and see where crimes happened and what they were for.

You'll find everything from shoplifting to domestic disputes to more serious crimes and arrests. You can narrow it down to communities and even go down to streets. I will say in the Raleigh area We do have five towns that have ranked in the top 10 safest places to live in North Carolina Those include Cary, Apex, Holly Springs, Fuquay Verena and Roseville.

Now this again is based solely on published data and statistics. So make sure to do your research before moving to any area. Pro number six is going to be senior tax breaks. North Carolina offers some serious tax breaks for seniors. If you're over 65 years old, there's a property tax exclusion, which allows property tax exclusions for senior adults and disabled individuals.

If you qualify, you may receive an exclusion of either 25, 000 or 45, 000 of the appraised value of your permanent residence. And as of January 1st, 2024, the exemption amount has been changed to the greater of 25, 000 or 45, 000, which is a pretty big savings, especially when you're talking about exemptions.

In addition to that, your social security income is not taxed and income taxes have been reduced to a flat rate in 2022. to 4. 99%, which is lower than other parts of the country. In addition, income from federal government retirement plans or designated North Carolina state and local government retirement plans is exempt if the retiree had five or more years of creditable service as of August 12th, 1989.

This exemption is also known as the Bailey Exemption. And when it comes to railroad retirement benefits, They are also exempt. In addition, estate tax does not exist here in North Carolina, and corporate taxes are relatively low. Con number three, slightly higher taxes. Now, full disclosure, I am not a tax accountant and I would never want to be.

However, I can tell you that North Carolina does have. slightly higher taxes, even though they have a really low cost of living. In fact, North Carolina was ranked as the 20th highest tax state in the country, according to wallethub.com. The state's income tax rate is 4. 99%, but the good news, it's currently scheduled to drop over the next few years until it reaches 3.

99 percent in 2027. When it comes to sales tax, North Carolina has the top. sales tax of 4. 75 percent with local taxes as much as 2. 75 percent and a corporate tax of 2. 5%. Now even though taxes are a con with North Carolina having some of the most substantial corporate tax advantages, This helps our economy continue to boom in our area and bring more businesses into our area and state, which boosts the economy by providing more jobs and opportunity, which also helps make it a better place to live even in your retirement years.

Con number four, taxable income. When it comes to taxes, especially we're talking about retirement income, the state does tax both public and private pension plans, as well as 401ks and IRS. However, when it comes to social security, as mentioned earlier, there are no taxes. While property taxes vary between municipality and county, as well as city, the average is about 0.

70 percent in property taxes. Now you're going to find again, higher taxes for properties in the city rather than out of the city. And you're definitely going to want to check before making a move to a particular county. But even with the change of variation in property taxes, you'll still find it far lower in states than in states like California or New York, for example, and your money will stretch further when it comes to housing here.

If you found this information helpful, please click the like button below so others like you can find this information as well. And if you're looking to relocate to the Raleigh area or anywhere surrounding the Raleigh area and looking to purchase a home, we would love to help. All you have to do is reach out to us.

My number's right here on the screen. Whether you want to give me a call, shoot me a text, or send me an email, we got your back when relocating to Raleigh, North Carolina. Until next time, we'll see y'all later.