Kirk W Posted May 19, 2018 Report Share Posted May 19, 2018 10 Cheapest Small Towns in America according to the Kiplinger publications folks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandsys Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 Next I would check crime rates and weather patterns. As you quickly learn in RVing cheap is often not best. Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailertraveler Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 The article states:Â Quote We based our rankings on the Council for Community and Economic Research's calculations of living expenses in 269 urban areas. Its Cost of Living Index tracks prices for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services (such as going to a movie theater or hair salon.) No mention of taxes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly2low Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 Kiplinger has lists of state tax ratings. A couple of these towns would be in favorable states I am familiar with a few on this list. Some good, some less so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted May 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 I think that what surprised me most was the range of sizes, 13k to 47k populations. I had expected more like 5k to 15k population. I wonder if they considered the availability of healthcare, beyond the basic needs? The 3 towns listed that I'm most familiar with are not places that I'd be likely to settle down, but it was interesting. Kiplinger does seem to produce a lot of that sort of information.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaydrvr Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 48 minutes ago, Kirk Wood said: I think that what surprised me most was the range of sizes, 13k to 47k populations. I had expected more like 5k to 15k population. I wonder if they considered the availability of healthcare, beyond the basic needs? The 3 towns listed that I'm most familiar with are not places that I'd be likely to settle down, but it was interesting. Kiplinger does seem to produce a lot of that sort of information.  It seems to me that larger towns were considered because quality of life was in their calculation, not just cheapest cost. At least, that was my takeaway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbaraok Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 I'm sure it is age, but none of those would be somewhere I would want to be at this stage of our lives because of the lack of a wide array of medical specialists.  Plus, no cultural arts centers, lack of museums, and those that were small college towns, which would have arts programs, were in areas that I would not want to live.  Of course I'm a West Coast gal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirakawa Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 58 minutes ago, Barbaraok said: I'm sure it is age, but none of those would be somewhere I would want to be at this stage of our lives because of the lack of a wide array of medical specialists.  Plus, no cultural arts centers, lack of museums, and those that were small college towns, which would have arts programs, were in areas that I would not want to live.  Of course I'm a West Coast gal. Nowhere in the article did I see where this was supposed to have anything to do with quality of life or even somewhere one might to live. It's simply the "cheapest" small towns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbaraok Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 Which is why I said  "areas that I would not want to live".   Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted May 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 Quote Before you pack up and relocate to one of the 10 cheapest small towns in America, weigh the pros and cons. A low cost of living is attractive, but the allure lessens if jobs are scarce, paychecks are small or the area lacks things to do. Plan an extended visit to ensure the small town fits your lifestyle. I came from a rural farming community where they consider any town of more than 20k population to be a big city. About half of my relatives still live in that part of the world with the biggest concentration of my cousins living in Council Grove, KS , the county seat for Morris Co. where I grew up and still have many friends & relatives. When I go back, there are many things in terms of quality of life that I find there which we don't have in more metropolitan areas with more educational, cultural, and entertainment opportunities. Everyone there knows each other and they tend to also look out for one another when any sort of help is needed. Quality of life is something that some people define quite differently than others and you would never convince most of those folks that larger population centers have better life quality. But they also have to drive at least an hour to do many of the things which most of us take for granted and I truly believe that my uncle might be alive today if the ambulance had taken him to a big hospital, rather than the tiny small town hospital where they were living. Medical facilities today are one of the critical differences between small-town America and metropolitan areas. I love going back there to visit, but it doesn't take very long parked out at the family farm to figure out that we are not interested in moving back permanently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justRich Posted May 21, 2018 Report Share Posted May 21, 2018 I find the "top 10", "best 5" type of stories entertaining - but they are basically filler material that writers write because people will read them. Distance from an international airport is important to me, as well as healthcare facilities - as others have noted, "Omissions" in these sort of articles need to be considered. Even so, useful information can sometimes be gained if good source quotes are included in an article such as this example:  https://taxfoundation.org/  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Camper Posted May 21, 2018 Report Share Posted May 21, 2018 Some posters mentioned other things they were interested in before making a selection on a place to live. This site we found is pretty good at giving a longer look at other things like taxes, healthcare, cost of living, etc. Just an idea. http://www.bestplaces.net/find/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richfaa Posted May 21, 2018 Report Share Posted May 21, 2018 We like it where we are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Happy Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 I asked my father once why the grass was greener on the other side of the fence, and he said: "If I have to tell you, you won't understand". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richfaa Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 We have been to half of those cities and Ashland, Ohio is not far from us. We could live in Ashland, Ohio in fact we have several Rv friends that do but we are satisfied with the city we are in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlennWest Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 I have worked there, Ashland. Was charged state, federal and local taxes there. I sure didn't think it was cheaper there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richfaa Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 That is because Ohio has a State tax and Ashland has a local tax  and I believe most of us pay Federal Tax no  matter where we are . We live in Ohio.We pay Federal tax, We pay Ohio tax we do not pay local taxes. We get along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted July 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 On 7/3/2018 at 9:46 AM, Captain Happy said: "If I have to tell you, you won't understand". Erma Bombeck once said, "the grass is always greener over the septic field!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlennWest Posted July 6, 2018 Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 1 hour ago, richfaa said: That is because Ohio has a State tax and Ashland has a local tax  and I believe most of us pay Federal Tax no  matter where we are . We live in Ohio.We pay Federal tax, We pay Ohio tax we do not pay local taxes. We get along. Never worked anywhere else that does that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richfaa Posted July 6, 2018 Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 8 minutes ago, GlennWest said: Never worked anywhere else that does that. There are very few States that do not have a State Income tax just 7 or 8 as I recall.The States that do not have a State income tax usually make it up in other areas. Florida relies on sales taxes, and its property taxes are above the national average. Local /municipal taxes are also not uncommon. The city we live in has a local tax but retirees are exempt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandsys Posted July 6, 2018 Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 Minnesota has a state income tax but we exempt a lot of things from sales tax--like clothes. Which is one of the things that makes the Mall of America a popular destination. We also exempt groceries, but only edible ingredients, not ready to eat or restaurant food. Plus, text books. It's one way we help people who have limited income make that income stretch. Linda Sand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlennWest Posted July 6, 2018 Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 9 hours ago, richfaa said: There are very few States that do not have a State Income tax just 7 or 8 as I recall.The States that do not have a State income tax usually make it up in other areas. Florida relies on sales taxes, and its property taxes are above the national average. Local /municipal taxes are also not uncommon. The city we live in has a local tax but retirees are exempt. Wasn't referring to state tax. They charge that and a local tax. Big surprise when I got paycheck.    Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted July 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 Quote Personal income tax top 10 California 13.3% Oregon 9.9% Minnesota 9.85% Iowa 8.98% New Jersey 8.97% Vermont 8.95% District of Columbia 8.95% New York 8.82% Hawaii 8.25% Wisconsin 7.65% Only seven states have no personal income tax: Wyoming Washington Texas South Dakota Nevada Florida Alaska   Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted July 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 28 minutes ago, GlennWest said: Wasn't referring to state tax. They charge that and a local tax. State by state total tax burden per household, according to USA TODAY.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richfaa Posted July 6, 2018 Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 13 hours ago, sandsys said: Minnesota has a state income tax but we exempt a lot of things from sales tax--like clothes. Which is one of the things that makes the Mall of America a popular destination. We also exempt groceries, but only edible ingredients, not ready to eat or restaurant food. Plus, text books. It's one way we help people who have limited income make that income stretch. Linda Sand  Ohio is sort of the same .We do pay State tax but after all the deductibles like retired , etc is not all that bad. I was close on the States that do not have income tax. We researched that when we were considering going Full time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.