Places to Retire in North Carolina Tips
Read these 6 Places to Retire in North Carolina Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Retirement tips and hundreds of other topics.
Retiring to North Carolina
There are some great places to retire in North Carolina. One reason why is that there are places to retire in N.C. that feature proactive organizations and programs to help make places to retire in NC vibrant communities that promote lifelong learning, leadership, and community service opportunities for retirement-aged individuals. These are factors that have been shown to greatly increase the quality of retired life.
Retiring to North Carolina
Cost of living is an important factor when looking for places to retire in N.C. Cost of living rates vary considerably across the state, with highly urbanized areas such as the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill) generally having higher costs. Unfortunately housing demand by growing numbers of older North Carolinians has created waiting lists for many places to retire in NC, particularly those of moderate cost.
Retiring to North Carolina
North Carolina is a popular place to retire because it offers older and disabled homeowners the Homestead Exemption, which allows qualifying homeowners a reduction on their property tax. The first $20,000 in appraised value of a permanent residence owned and occupied by a qualified owner is excluded from taxation. This can be a powerful incentive to consider places to retire in N.C. A qualifying owner: (1) is at least 65 years of age or totally and permanently disabled; (2) has an income for the preceding calendar year of not more than $15,000; and (3) is a North Carolina resident. For more information, contact the tax office of the county or counties where you are thinking of retiring.
Crunching your retirement numbers
It's never too early or too late to plan for retirement. Even the most cursory web search will find a retirement calculator to help you make that plan. But before you go crunching numbers with a retirement planning calculator, there are some dollar amounts you need to know up front. Fortunately you don't need a retirement savings calculator to come up with them. Perhaps the most important is how much money you will need to live on once you have retired (after taxes). This is the amount to cover all living expenses for an entire year. You should enter no less than 70% of your current income, if you intend to maintain your current standard of living.
Retiring to North Carolina
If you are looking for places to retire in N.C., it's a good idea to first narrow your search to one or two areas of the state. Then contact the Area Agency on Aging for the county(ies) of your possible places to retire in NC. The Area Agency on Aging can direct you to various local sources of information or send you a listing of types of housing and places to retire in the area.
Retiring to North Carolina
Are you looking for places to retire in N.C., maybe on the NC waterfront? NC beach places to retire? Consider making an extended stay in any area you are considering before making a commitment. This will give you a realistic sense of surroundings, differences in climate, cost of living, available services, and day-to-day life before making firm plans. Look before you leap. Not every rural area or even cities offer the public transportation options that you may now depend on. Medical facilities and costs may also differ.
| Guru Spotlight |
| Jerry Mayo |
