Top Best Place To Retire, North Carolina

Top Best Place To Retire, North Carolina

  Are you getting ready to retire or already retired and considering relocating to North Carolina? North Carolina has become a popular place for retirees. In fact, a recent study ranks North Carolina's second most popular states to retire in. With our close proximity to beaches, the mountains, and lakes, and a thriving city life, no matter what kind of community you're looking for, North Carolina is sure to have it.

So many retirees fall in love with the beautiful scenery here in North Carolina. Our mild weather with four seasons to enjoy, the friendly people, and a flourishing economy. In fact, cities like Raleigh offer some of the best retirement experiences, not only in the state of North Carolina, but in the entire nation, according to homebody.

com. Today, we'll be exploring reasons why you may want to consider North Carolina. as your retirement destination and see if relocating to North Carolina makes sense or should I say dollars. If you want to know more of that information, stay tuned because we're at it next.

Hey y'all, welcome to the channel or welcome back I'm Brandy Nemergut, a local real estate agent right here in Raleigh, North Carolina Your connection to all things real estate and all things Raleigh. If you haven't already subscribed to the channel yet Please click the button right here and tap that little bell and you'll be notified every time we drop a new video Not only do we love making these videos to help y'all.

We also love to help you with your real estate needs So if you're considering relocating to the Raleigh area or anywhere surrounding the Raleigh area, we would love to help you. All you have to do is reach out to us. My information is right there on the screen. You can give me a call, shoot me a text, or send me an email.

We would love to help. Okay, let's just jump right on in. We're going to start with health care. When it comes to health care, the Raleigh Durham area has outstanding health care. And this is a major reason why many newcomers of all ages are flocking to this area. 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 to the top five on the U. S. News and World Report list. Followed by UNC Chapel Hills Hospital. Coming in at number two, UNC Rex Hospital in Raleigh coming in at number four, and even 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 second, and Atrium Health Carolina's Medical Center coming in eighth nationwide.

for a total of 14 North Carolina hospitals appearing in the national rankings. So if quality and accessible health care is important to you, North Carolina has some great options. Next up, we have cost of living. Now when it comes to cost of living, Raleigh is four percent lower than the national average.

And if you go to bank rate. com, there's a great tool calculator that you can use to see how living expenses vary from your current city and state versus Raleigh, North Carolina. You can also add in your income. And it'll show you if it's more or less expensive to live here in Raleigh versus where you currently live.

Calculating our family, for example, in mid 2023, it shows our cost of living is just over 35 percent lower if we lived in Raleigh, North Carolina versus Long Beach, California. When it comes to housing, we pay 49 percent less if we were renting and 63 percent less in purchasing a home in Raleigh. versus a Los Angeles, California area.

And you can see when it comes to utilities, transportation, and healthcare costs, on average, you'll save about 5 to 10 percent. And especially when it comes to gasoline. Here in North Carolina, we're paying roughly about three and a half to three dollars and 75 cents. We're in California. From what I've heard, it's around 5 up to 6 a gallon.

Next we have lower tax rates. Another big reason North Carolina is such a great place for retirees is how tax friendly our state is towards retirees. Social Security benefits are going to be tax exempt here. Another one of the benefits here in North Carolina is there's no estate or inheritance taxes.

Now let me add a little disclaimer here. Your estate could be subject to federal state taxes if the value is high enough, so definitely check with the CPA. I am not a licensed accountant. The state also offers property tax breaks for 65 years old plus who meet certain income requirements. North Carolina is an average level tax state and has a state sales tax of 4.

75 percent along with local sales tax when combining can be as high as seven and a half percent in Durham and Orange County and as low as 6. 75 percent. A recent study by the state tax Foundation ranked North Carolina 23rd out of 50 states with a total state local tax burden of 9. 9 percent. When you compare that to some of the other states with highest tax states like New York, which has the highest tax burden, state ranking 50th, California coming in at 46, and New Jersey coming in at 46.

It's no wonder so many people are choosing to move to North Carolina to retire or just enjoy the benefits of lower taxes. Next up, we have amenities. When it comes to amenities, the Raleigh Durham Chapel Hill area has so much to offer. Fun fact, We're known as the Smithsonian of museums due to the amount of free museums here, including the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences to the North Carolina Museum of Art.

We have over a hundred miles of paved greenway. that you can walk or hike all throughout Raleigh, including Humpstead Park, the Eno River State Park, the Neuse River Trail, and the American Tobacco Trail. There's the beautiful Sarah P. Duke Gardens, which is over 55 acres. of lush landscaping and beautiful scenery.

We also have many lakes including Jordan Lake, Lake Johnston Park, or for a fun afternoon or evening, you can catch a Broadway show at the D PAC, which is the Durham Performing Arts Center, or you could head to the PNC Arena in Raleigh for a concert or even a game. And we even have lots of annual festivals.

in Raleigh and the surrounding suburbs and cities that you can enjoy. When it comes to food, we have a diverse selection and some fabulous restaurants. We also have the state's farmer's market for local grown produce and so many different products to choose from. And we even have some great shopping between the outdoor mall at North Hills or the Crab Tree Mall.

both which are in Raleigh. And we also have Fenton and Cary or South Point Mall in Durham. And one of the things that we loved about Raleigh's location is the amount of places and states that are within a five hour drive, including Savannah, Georgia, Washington, D. C., Hilton Head, South Carolina, the Great Smoky Mountains.

Charleston and even the breathtaking mountains in Asheville. Next up, we have home values. Now in mid 2023, Raleigh's median house point is going to be approximately 430, 000. Now, if we break that down for a townhome, it's going to be roughly 349, 000 and a single family home is going to be roughly 525, 000.

And if you're considering a 55 plus active community, you're looking right around a median value of about 530, 000. Next up, let's talk about the 55 plus community. For those that are 55 plus and looking to live in an active adult community, there's some really great options here. Now, depending on the home agreement or contract, residents may be able to pay zero property tax on that residence.

In addition, some seniors find that it's less expensive to live in a retirement community after comparing total monthly expenses. In mid 2023, the median price point in a 55 plus community is approximately 530, 000. And you'll also want to take into consideration, on average, the HOAs in these communities are going to run you approximately 200 a month.

And many of these communities offer an extensive amenity list. of activities and classes including a clubhouse, aerobics, a card room, crafts, walking trails, a community garden, pickleball, shuffleboard, bocce ball, outdoor and indoor swimming pools, a lake, parks, and a lot of outdoor space. If you're considering a 55 plus active community and you'd like a list of some of these retirement communities within Raleigh and the surrounding suburbs, feel free to reach out to me.

Now, if you're not quite ready for a 55 plus community, or that's really just not your thing, and you're looking for a community that has some great amenities or is closer to some great amenities, There's plenty of wonderful choices between the Raleigh area and the surrounding suburbs and surrounding cities in the Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill areas.

Next up, let's talk about weather. Now, when it comes to weather, many people love living here for its four seasons. Now, personally, my favorite seasons are definitely going to be fall and spring. And in saying that, Spring does have about a three week window where the pollen is absolutely horrific.

Everything is covered with a yellow film. So if you take allergy medicine, You're gonna need to. I know I'm asked a lot of times what particular allergies are there here, you know, what are people allergic to, and it's gonna be a combination between the tree pollen, the ragweed, and the grass. So if you need a good allergist, let me know too, I can definitely help you in that part.

When it comes to summers, it can definitely be hot humid and sticky. Now, if you're from the east coast or up north, you're going to pretty much be used to it. You're probably already living in it. If you're in Florida, coming up this way, it's going to be a relief to you because you have humidity on a whole new level.

So it's, in my opinion, better than Florida humidity. But if you're coming from the west coast here, the west coast has really dry heat, which you can handle a lot more heat. than when you come over on this side on the south on the east coast it is definitely hot and sticky but in saying that good news it only lasts about two to three months and we do have air conditioning here so as quick as it comes once you're tired of it it's time to move on to the next season now one of the good things about our area as well if you don't like a lot of snow we don't get a lot of snow here our winters are pretty mild and if we do get snow you're lucky to get a couple of inches In the six years that we've lived here, it's actually only snowed twice, where it actually stuck to the ground.

So it's our snow is not bad at all, but we're still close enough within a few hours. If you want to actually go drive and enjoy the snow or go skiing or snowboard that you can enjoy the snow, just not right here in your backyard. And if you personally suffer from arthritis, like me, that's one of the benefits of living here too, is it doesn't get that cold.

Now on average, our rainfall is about 47 inches. And that explains why it is so lush and green here. A lot of people don't even have irrigation or sprinkler systems to water their grass because mother nature takes care of it for us. And when you compare that to where I previously came from, California, where we averaged less than 11 inches per year.

That's a big difference. North Carolina is really a great state to consider retiring. And personally, my family absolutely fell in love with the Raleigh Durham Chapel Hill area six years ago when we decided to call it our forever state. From its beautiful scenery, to its mild winters, to its four seasons.

the close proximity to the beaches, the mountains, the lakes, and more. And there's so much more to enjoy in your retirement years right here in North Carolina. If you found this information helpful, please click the like button so others like you can find this information as well. And if you're considering relocating to the area and you're looking to purchase a home, my team and I would love to help you.

All you have to do is reach out to us. My information is right there on the screen. Give us a call, shoot us a text, or send us an email. However you want to get a hold of us, I got your back when relocating to Raleigh, North Carolina. Till next time, we'll see y'all later.