Posted by When you retire, you need to decide if you are going to move or stay in the home you are currently in. In my case, I have only owned two homes, both in the upper mid-west. I lived in my first home for about 20 years. After I sold that home in 2011, I bought a larger home located in Minnesota. Now that I am close to applying for Social Security, I am trying to decide if I should stay in a home that is almost paid off or move to a state where income tax is less, and the winter isn’t so harsh. Winter started early this year. It has been freezing cold with six inches of snow on the ground. Knowing that it will be like this for the next five months is depressing.
Minnesota has a reputation for cold weather, high taxes, and an open immigration policy. Sometimes it feels like I’m living in a third world country. I look out the window and see children dressed in Muslim garb waiting for the school bus. Every time we go shopping we see women wearing abayas and hijabs. It wouldn’t be so bad if they made an attempt to assimilate and look more like Americans. But they have to display their religious identity everywhere they go. It makes them stand out in a community that is not used to such things. Then you have the ones in the news who have been taking advantage of Minnesota’s social programs. I was happy to hear that Trump will be sending federal authorities to Minnesota focusing on Somali immigrants. Minnesota is home to the largest population of Somali residents in the U.S. Immigration is so out of hand, that in many Minnesota communities, whites are no longer the majority.
Since my girlfriend is from Texas, that is the state that is on the top of our list for retirement relocation. They have no state income tax, but we would be trading third world refugees for a high Hispanic population. We both like Mexican food and BBQ, so I think we could live with that. Moving 1200 miles south would be a major change in our lives. I like the spring and fall seasons in Minnesota. Texas can get very hot in the summer, which would be a challenge for me, but not for my girlfriend. She likes hot weather more than I do. I think we could find an affordable home there, but each city has its pros and cons for demographics, amenities, cost of living, and crime rates. I also don’t want to live too close to her relatives, because I’m afraid some of them might end up moving in with us. That’s a good incentive to get a smaller home than the one we have now.