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Try It NOWCategory: Active adult communities
December 12, 2015 — Where do you stand on active adult communities – are you a person who can’t wait to move into one, or do they represent the type of place where you wouldn’t want to be caught dead? This article will address the question – is an active…
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
November 7, 2015 -- In this installment of our "Dueling Retirement States" we compare and analyze retirement in the warm states that surround the Gulf of Mexico. Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas are better known and appreciated by residents of the South, while Florida is popular with retirees from all over the nation and Canada. See Further Reading at end for links to the other comparisons in the series.
Do warm sandy beaches call to mind your dream retirement lifestyle? The states that border the Gulf of Mexico - Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas - offer many advantages for retirement living. For one, they are almost always much less expensive than either the West or East Coasts. They have some of the warmest winters in the U.S. They represent 5 of the lowest tax states in the nation. And they are generally uncrowded and less congested than many other retirement locations.
The attraction for many folks is the opportunity to enjoy beautiful beaches that go from the West Coast of Florida all the way to southern Texas, where the Lone Star State runs into Mexico. In this article we will compare and contrast these 5 Gulf Coast states: Alabama and Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana,and Texas. (links go to our mini-retirement guides to each state). Population and income data is from American Fact Finder-U.S. Census Bureau.
A Few Facts
Texas, with its close to 27 million population, is by far the more populous of the 5 states. Florida's total estimated 2014 population increased to just under 19.9 million, adding 1 million people from 2010. Its West Coast is not as crowded as its East Coast, where more of the population lives. There were an estimated 4.8 million people in Alabama, 4.6 million in Louisiana, and 3 million in Mississippi during 2014.
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
November 12, 2015 — The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced the 2016 premiums and deductibles for the Medicare inpatient hospital (Part A) and physician and outpatient hospital services (Part B) programs. Part B Premiums/Deductibles Most people with Medicare Part B will not see any increase…
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
November 16, 2015 — The biggest change affecting Social Security benefits in at least 15 years is about to go into effect on April 30, 2016. It is a change that could cost certain beneficiaries $50,000 over a lifetime. As with any major change to a benefit program there has…
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
November 22, 2015 — Over the years we have heard from many of our Members who were considering retirement in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We know there are many more who are tempted by the amazing scenery, mild 4 season climate, and outstanding recreational opportunities in this area. So it…
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
November 24, 2015 — There are many classic examples of the kind of mistake made by your Topretirements.com editor. They include experts who don’t listen to their own advice: the cobbler with holes in his soles, the doctor who still smokes, the plumber with a leaky faucet – you get…
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
Nov 30 Update: It is a little tricky to get the ebook for free, but you can do it. Use this link and find the link that says 0.00 to Buy. Click on that, not the Amazon/Kindle unlimited option (you have to be a subscriber for that). Then…
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Category: Green Retirement Communities
November 30, 2105 — We have just seen the most interesting idea for productive, sustainable retirement living yet. The idea is from an architectural firm called Spark, which won first prize for Future- Experimental Project at the 2015 World Architecture Festival held in Singapore. Their winning project, HomeFarm, is a…
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