Hello Sigforum friends. I am asking this question here because we have a lot of members from all over the country. I am seeking for suggestions based on your experience on where you live, lived at in the past, or have spent some time in the area.

Wife and myself started talking about buying a piece of land now and start making payments while we are still both working. I just turned 50. Wife is turning 50 this year. Looking at retiring early, if we can financially afford it (before age 62). We are both nurses. But due to my medical history and medical condition, we would like retire early and travel as much as we can in our RV. Wife just want to do travelling nurse job. Work 3 months maybe, then take 3 months off.

We are seriously looking at purchasing a piece of land at the earliest possible time. Then build a 2 bedroom house, with an RV covered parking. Here is what is on our wish list/requirement:

1. Min. 5 acres
2. Lake Front (if possible)
3. 25-30 miles away from the city
4. Low property tax
5. No State Income Tax
6. No (minimal) snow
7. GUN friendly State, County

We recently finished a 5K miles road trip to several states (CO, OH, FL, LA, TX and AZ). This is what got my wife and myself very interested in purchasing a piece of land now.

Depending on what you want to spend the Jacksonville/ St. Augustine area has a lot of possibilities. I've been here for 30+ years now from Pennsylvania and wife and I love it!

Born and raised in Henry County, TN. I would suggest the Paris Landing area on Kentucky Lake. You're 30 minutes away from Paris, TN depending how deep in the sticks you are. Paris will have your shopping and whatnot. Snow is minimal. No state income tax. Gun friendly; TN just recently passed permitless carry. The Paris area has been known as a retirement area for decades now.

My aunt did the traveling nurse thing for years from this area to Nashville.

Things like budget, east, west, north, south. Where have you been looking?

By your specs, CO is out, and of course, snow. Not enough waterfront here. Good luck!

Budget wise, maybe 75-100K for the land itself (lowest possible). I know lakefront property can be expensive. Wife really liked San Antonio and Waco, TX (from this past trip). Maybe Mid-West, and up North (close to Canadian border). We love to visit Canada.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
Things like budget, east, west, north, south. Where have you been looking?

Low property tax and no state income tax are a lot to ask for. I think if you find a location that has both, then the property itself is not likely to be desirable. The more desirable the land is, the higher the property tax will be.

Remember the first three rules of real estate? It's possible you might find a lakefront location that is desirable to you but not so much to others, but it'll take a lot of digging. You might look at LoopNet/Costar. Maybe find some mixed usage land you could build on that you wouldn't find through MLS/strictly residential listings.

As far as TX goes, I'd start by looking around:
Canyon Lake near New Braunfels
Lake Palestine near Tyler
Lake Livingston near Huntsville

Temple-Belton is a good area to retire, but I don't know what the lakefront real estate situation is around Belton Lake.

you omitted high-speed internet and other utilities.

TN has no state income tax and very low property taxes. We also have many lakes with beautiful mountain views and are very gun friendly

Well perhaps centrally located if a good bit of travel is expected. I wouldn't get way off in one corner of the country like Florida is.

I think a lot of places in Arkansas would meet most of your requirements. Don't know about the taxes.

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
I think a lot of places in Arkansas would meet most of your requirements. Don't know about the taxes.

flashguy

It would meet all of his requirements except the "no state income tax" part.

AR does have income tax, but has comparatively low property taxes as a result.

As stated, states with no income tax will generally have higher taxes elsewhere... They have to get their money somewhere.

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
I think a lot of places in Arkansas would meet most of your requirements. Don't know about the taxes.

flashguy

Arkansas has income tax, property tax and personal property tax.

One of my sisters just moved to Georgetown, TX. We went down there to visit and I must say it was a very nice place. It’s about 30 minutes North of Austin, so you’re away from the Lib’s there. I think she told me that according to Consumer Reports it is consistently rated as one of the top places in the US to retire…

Sounds like what my wife and I considered earlier this year. I am 50 and she will be in Nov. We bid and were accepted but walked away in the end. It was a private single family house, 2 acre property in Fort McCoy, FL with waterfront on 2 sides totaling 265' of canalfront and 115' of lakefront. A private dock and a private ramp, greenhouse, PLUS a 2 BR/2BA 2 story home on it. Totally fenced and level and clear. Accepted offer was $100K FLAT!!!! This was an amazing deal and a great investment in our future. Now for the things to DEFINITELY be cautious of that made us walk away...

The insurance would be $5000 a year!!! with a 5% deductible, there is no local police or fire dept close by. It is supported by a town pretty far away. The flooding WILL happen, it's just when and how much it will cost you. Being secluded in nice, but IS IT NICE LONG TERM? We planned to go a few times a month and enjoy it and possibly Airbnb it when we aren't there. In the end we realized we have a pool and much nicer amenities at our home now. Would we really leave our home to drive there and "rough it" in the woods? It's 1.5hrs there one way---to work on the lawn, home, etc... and just float in the lake when we don't have to. The plan was nice, the deal was sweet but when we REALLY had honest talks with ourselves it just wasn't for us.

My advice---check with insurance agents BEFORE offering. Ask yourselves if you will actually be ok working to maintain the place and if that is what retirement will look like and make you happy and remember you can Airbnb or reserve hotels a few times a year and not have to do a damn thing to maintain it and use the rest of the time relaxing.

Be sure to check the specifics of the lake front property wherever you end up. We have a lot of "lake front property" sold cheap around here that has restrictions on lake access. That may or may not matter to you, but there are a lot of people that have ended up surprised after they bought property without doing their due diligence and then found out they couldn't use the lake they way they thought they would be able to.

While there are a lot of spots that match many of your specs, on most developed lakes (i.e. not your private lake or a pond) 5 acres on waterfront is going to be a HUGE number. Pricing is generally driven by feet of shoreline but there's unlikely to be a lot that is 200' wide and 5 acres.

I'd suggest you bank payments starting now, get the RV and travel to 3 or 4 locations to get a feel for the place. Additionally, your savings (properly invested) will grow and you'l pay less interest with a large down payment.

As another poster has brought up...unless you're buying a plot (likely bigger than 5 acres) that's got its own little pond on it, you're unlikely to find that without paying MINT to snatch it out from under a developer that wants to build a lakefront community of 1/2 acre lots.

In Minnesota taxes are high especially lake front. Most lake properties are pretty close to one another. To close for me. I don’t want to go out on my deck in the morning to have coffee and my neighbor is close enough I feel obligated to have a conversation.

I stumbled on a three acre lot where the lake is directly across the road. I can see it now while sitting outside. I have deeded access on a bay about a half mile down the road where I have a dock and my pontoon with a private boat launch. My taxes are one third of most lakeshore property and building restrictions are very relaxed. We may build a house at some point but for now it’s my retirement summer place. Every lot here is at least three acres so everyone has elbow room. That was far more important to me than actual lakefront.

You are going to find it difficult to meet all your criteria imo.