Last updated on June 17th, 2021 at 11:36 pm
Have you been thinking about following the herd to Texas, or Florida, or one of the few spots that seem to attract people escaping the Blue States? Why not sell your home in California and move to Texas, it seems that everyone is? Or, is it possible that there are better locations than the ones everyone talks about?
Before you jump to any conclusions about how these popular destinations are better than where you live now, consider what is happening to these once great places to live. People and more people, that’s what’s happening to Austin and similar locations. To locals, they resemble California, New York, Illinois. It seems that not only are people trying to get away from crowds, oppressive governments, high costs, even higher taxes, etc., but they also want to bring those problems along.
Just this week another article was written about the electrical power issues in Texas due to the 250K plus people who moved to Texas last year. The solar and wind power schemes are not producing enough. Consider that you leave California because of the severe water shortage just to land in Texas with a serious power shortage. All of this is caused by too many people and too few resources.
You see someone walking around with a gun in Texas or Florida and ask, how can they do that? This is the type of thinking that drives people out of Blue states and dense metro areas. They move to Austin or San Antonio and want to have all of the things that cost money and all of the regulations that take away personal freedom.
Your move from one of the larger states or metro areas to one of the current “fad” states may work out. What if it does not? Another move? Be careful with your decision to move, it’s not the decision to leave but the decision about where you will go that has the most impact on your future quality of life. There are without doubt many areas in this great country where a family could move to and enjoy life. Unfortunately, there may not be sufficient employment opportunities or medical facilities in some of those areas. This does not mean you have to settle with a well-worn track to another overhyped metro area.
Ever wonder why so many articles on the internet deal with “The X City in the U.S”, or the X Cities that have X”. Always use “Cities”. What about those great semi-rural and rural areas that offer so much more? Our cities are crowded and as we have seen with COVID, hard places to live in. Perhaps our focus should not be on Cities as much as Communities.
Before you make a final decision, consider the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Why? Because it’s the type of place that people in their 50’s and older can remember when they were kids. Low taxes, things to do and see, schools open for in-person instruction (there was a time when saying this would get a sideways look). People are friendly, they actually know their neighbors. There are social organizations all along the coast where you can get involved. There seems to be a church on every corner (not really, it just seems like it.).
The food culture here is truly American. Yes, you can find sushi, but I bet you will have a hard time finding fried pickles and alligators in Los Angeles. Oh, if you like having a trained and respected police force, this is the place to be. People here are not trying to get rid of their police.
If you have children or grandchildren and are tired of sub-standard schools where you live, try out our schools. It’s not hard to find a 9 or 10 rated school along the coast. Kids play sports here, they have uniforms, stadiums, and driver education in school. Parents are engaged with their students, you do not receive a 9 or 10 rating without hard work on the part of students and parents.
Even if you have no children in school, you should be pleased that your schools are graduating students who will be qualified to get jobs. Low-rated schools are a warning sign that parents are not participating with their children. In many cases, this leads to lower property values as crime and undesirable elements move into the area. Many Mississippi Gulf Coast schools are among the best in the nation with scores near or at the top of the scale. These schools offer a large selection of sports and other activities that challenge students to excel.
What do things cost in Mississippi compared to Texas and Florida? Texas and Florida have no state income tax that’s true but they have to pay the bills somehow. Texas has much higher property taxes, while prices there are probably a bit lower than the Blue states, prices in Mississippi are at or lower than in Texas or Florida. About that state income tax. The maximum is 5% and that’s after everything you can deduct on your federal tax is used to reduce your effective tax rate.
Your hard-earned retirement check and funds in your 401k and IRA’s are not taxed by the state of Mississippi. This means for most retired people they will pay no state income tax. There is no inheritance tax and you pay no tax on social security income. This makes Mississippi state taxes look very good when compared to Texas and Florida.
The real reason why you should consider the Mississippi Gulf Coast rather than Texas and Florida is that our population density is very low compared to those states who continue to grow with more and more people coming. If you want to leave vehicle traffic behind this is the place to come.
There is no doubt in my mind that some people who have moved to the currently popular places to live will regret their decision in years to come. More people means pollution, the strain on infrastructure, changing culture, higher taxes, and more crowding. Austin is virtually indistinguishable from many California and Illinois cities. Is this what you really want?
By the way, did I mention the price of housing? Wow, what a deal on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. You can buy the same model home here sold by one of the national builders for far less than where you live now or where you were thinking about moving before reading this. Not only are homes an exceptional value but property taxes are low to start with and with the homestead and senior discount, you may pay far less than 1% of the real market value.
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