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Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

dani negreanu
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island lady "Live from...." Rare

island lady

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, Coralc said:

South Carolina might be an option for us.....:classic_biggrin: Florida seems to have too many biting bugs. We are considering southern states in the next few years.

 

Nah...it's not the biting bugs...it's the occasional new visitors to my bird feeder I always have to be careful of.  😉 

 

 

20210404_121930.jpg

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Arzeena

Arzeena

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

Si...Pedro say "You come visit me at South of the Border real soon"!.   Or perhaps you are not near I-95?  😉 

 

Never sausage a place!😁

Keeps me entertained southbound and northbound.

Edited by Arzeena
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clochette

clochette

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

 

Never sausage a place!😁

Keeps me entertained southbound and northbound.

whenever we drove to Florida when the kids were young which was generally twice a year the game was who can see the South of the Border signs first, kept all of us entertained for a while.

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Sea Dog "Live from...." Rare

Sea Dog

Posted
Posted

Oh man this retirement thing is exhausting. So much to do since we have been back. Finishing up the review, unpacking and laundry, grocery shopping, yard work, retirement party planning for this weekend and finally Christmas decorating. I've got one tree up 8 more to go. I'll be in and out. Things should get back to normal starting next week. I hope all of you are well. Thank you again for your support and comments on the review.

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Maitaivegas

Maitaivegas

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Sales tax is a different story here. When you consider state, county and city sales tax it’s 10% .  Today I had to pay my taxes on the car I bought 2 weeks ago.  I only had to pay the 6.5% state tax on the car but it was still $3,500.  Ouch.

I’m Benton county our sales tax is like 11% and they also charge tax on fresh groceries.  
They charge a special fee for Lyft and Uber, so rides here are like $9 for a 1-2 mile ride.
Lots of taxes here.

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dani negreanu

dani negreanu

Posted
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2 minutes ago, Maitaivegas said:

I’m Benton county

 

OK, looked Benton up.

 

Just curious -- if I understand, you pay a lot of taxes. Is it connected to the level of services you receive from the county, or it is "if you want to live in Washington area, you pay for it"?

 

Huge differences between the states re: taxes, according to the small "poll" here.

Makes one (actually me 😉) wonder why isn't everybody moving to Florida....

OK, @Coralc, SC for you, because of the bugs 😁

 

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HBE4

HBE4

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Had to check your profile to find out where "here" is.

 

That is why I usually use my laptop (when possible) vs phone. You can see more info about a person without clicking into their profile. And the pictures are bigger, which is important with my aging eyes.

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HBE4

HBE4

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

I wore my down jacket in TX 6 times since we moved here in 2003!

 

My step daughter has been in Houston the past 5 years. She'll be freezing & wearing a sweater, boots, parka & scarf whenever the temp is in the low 50's. Due to the damp air, she is always saying, temperature wise, a Houston 50 is like New York 30 (Fahrenheit degrees)

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akcruz

akcruz

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Si...Pedro say "You come visit me at South of the Border real soon"!.   Or perhaps you are not near I-95?  😉 

 

We are about a mile and a half from the beach as the crow flies just east of the intracoastal so over an hour from 95.  Keep saying we need to visit South of the Border since it's been years since either of us have been there.  Do see the signs on our travels up and down 95 but get off before we reach it both ways so don't get close.

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HBE4

HBE4

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, island lady said:

 

I crunched the numbers, realizing he would be 80 years old to break even if he took it at 62 versus waiting until 66.   You have to add up the total of the monthly checks you elected not to take from age 62 to age 66, versus the larger amount you would get later.  

 

 

I have this debate all the time, when to claim SS - age 62, 66+whatever months or 70 when you'll receive 125% of what you'd get at 66+whatever months.  It's tempting to wait but that as you said, once you figure the breakeven point is usually in the 80-85 range and taking into account family history & longevity, welll....maybe 62 isn't so bad.  One thing many people don't realize is that it increase 8% each year so you start claiming the higher amounts at 63, 64, etc. You don't have to wait to 66+

 

3 hours ago, island lady said:

Yeah, I always get a kick out of the sayings they put on the septic tank pumper trucks, and the "honey pots" services too.  Many of them with a great sense of humor...guess you have to in that poopy job.  😉 😄 

 

My favorite is a local company with the motto: "We are #1 in the #2 business".

Edited by HBE4
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BonTexasNY

BonTexasNY

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, George C said:

I received a nice raise when moving from New York City to Dallas Texas , in New York I had city and state tax taken out of my paycheck, in Texas neither exists. 

PLUS we bought a house in Plano, TX that was 1000 sq feet larger and half the price than the one we sold in NY.  Real estate tax was considerably lower in TX as well. 

Unfortunately, the TX house did not appreciate like the one in NY did.

9 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

My step daughter has been in Houston the past 5 years. She'll be freezing & wearing a sweater, boots, parka & scarf whenever the temp is in the low 50's. Due to the damp air, she is always saying, temperature wise, a Houston 50 is like New York 30 (Fahrenheit degrees)

Houston humidity is a killer.

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Maitaivegas

Maitaivegas

Posted
Posted
21 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

OK, looked Benton up.

 

Just curious -- if I understand, you pay a lot of taxes. Is it connected to the level of services you receive from the county, or it is "if you want to live in Washington area, you pay for it"?

 

Huge differences between the states re: taxes, according to the small "poll" here.

Makes one (actually me 😉) wonder why isn't everybody moving to Florida....

OK, @Coralc, SC for you, because of the bugs 😁

 

No they just collect high taxes and won’t do a kicker on the next year like OR.
 

I love the people who live here and the state is beautiful.-

 

I am living in a smart apartment less than 3 yrs old - 2Bed 2 bath 1020 SQ feet.  Rent $ 1020 month.

 

Services here are non existent- I have been unemployed due to Covid and lost my UI.

they will fight you to death over food stamps. You have to fill out forms, have an interview, submit bank statements. 
Been denied twice and also been denied for Medicaid even though I’m disabled and over 55

But this is where we will live for a while, hopefully rent increase won’t be too much next year.

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George C

George C

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, BonTexasNY said:

PLUS we bought a house in Plano, TX that was 1000 sq feet larger and half the price than the one we sold in NY.  Real estate tax was considerably lower in TX as well. 

Unfortunately, the TX house did not appreciate like the one in NY did.

Houston humidity is a killer.

We bought a house in a Dallas suburb coppell in 1996 sold it in 2011 at twice the price , bought house in Carrollton in 2011 and now it appraised at more than double what we paid for it. 

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HBE4

HBE4

Posted
Posted (edited)
46 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

Huge differences between the states re: taxes, according to the small "poll" here.

Makes one (actually me 😉) wonder why isn't everybody moving to Florida....

 

When someone retires and is on a fixed income, that is actually the case.  The old joke here is: "Florida is New York's retirement home"  or "God's waiting room" (apologies to native-born Floridians).

 

Everyone individual circumstances are different but for me, the higher salary I receive in the New York area more than offset the higher taxes and higher cost of living. Plus, this is where my siblings and life-long friends are. Easy access to all that NYC has to offer yet only few hours to the Catskill & Adirondacks Mountains, Finger Lake wine country and the NJ and LI beaches. And I like 4 seasons of equal length, although lately winter seems to morph into summer pretty quickly these days. 

 

Now, once I retire, the financial equation may change dramatically. And like a few others, I am considering South Carolina as well, although not for a few more years. All they need is a professional baseball & hockey team.🙂

 

Edited by HBE4
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