# Bad news for retirees who hate the south **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 11, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217 "2012-01-11T22:29:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/1 "2012-01-11T22:29:13Z")
[The 10 Worst States for Retirees in 2012](http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-worst-states-retirees-2012-050106199.html) suggests retiring “up north” may have its drawbacks. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/2 "2012-01-12T02:09:32Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > [The 10 Worst States for Retirees in 2012](http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-worst-states-retirees-2012-050106199.html) suggests retiring “up north” may have its drawbacks. For Minnesotans, retiring “up north” means Canada. How’re things up there? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/3 "2012-01-12T02:18:52Z")
_pfft_ The article is just one long complaint about taxes. If you have nothing more in your life than to say that a place is “worst” because of taxes alone, then you have some seriously messed up priorities in life. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/4 "2012-01-12T02:38:58Z")
Yes! Finally. A “Bad state” list that doesn’t contain Michigan. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/5 "2012-01-12T03:39:13Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > _pfft_ The article is just one long complaint about taxes. If you have nothing more in your life than to say that a place is “worst” because of taxes alone, then you have some seriously messed up priorities in life. What are retirees supposed to complain about, if not taxes? The quality of the schools? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/6 "2012-01-12T05:42:39Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > For Minnesotans, retiring “up north” means Canada. How’re things up there? Pretty good, actually. 🙂 Who the hell retires up north? I thought everyone moved south or snowbirded when they retired? ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/7 "2012-01-12T06:09:58Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Pretty good, actually. 🙂 > > Who the hell retires up north? I thought everyone moved south or snowbirded when they retired? Me and my wife. Lived all our lives in San Diego, retired after 30+ years in our respective careers, retired 7 years ago and moved to northern Idaho. We love it. . ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/8 "2012-01-12T08:06:26Z")
Are you near Kamiah? Say hi to my Mom. Idaho has been doing outreach to California retirees for decades, now. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/9 "2012-01-12T08:09:50Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Pretty good, actually. 🙂 > > Who the hell retires up north? I thought everyone moved south or snowbirded when they retired? We’ll be retiring up north. We live in southern MN now and hope to get some land up in the Arrowhead (the pointy northeastern part) and retire up there. It gets too hot here for us and there aren’t enough trees or lakes. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/10 "2012-01-12T08:29:40Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > What are retirees supposed to complain about, if not taxes? The quality of the schools? The climate isn’t enough? ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/11 "2012-01-12T13:14:25Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > We’ll be retiring up north. We live in southern MN now and hope to get some land up in the Arrowhead (the pointy northeastern part) and retire up there. It gets too hot here for us and there aren’t enough trees or lakes. A lot of Minnesotan’s retire “Up North” I can think of two or three retired people I know living permanently “at the cabin.” And for most of them, they don’t make enough money to get hit with Minnesota income tax. Having to worry about your state tax rate when you retire is one of those problems for the 5%. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/12 "2012-01-12T16:19:20Z")
News flash: Elderly people with limited incomes don’t want to retire in cold or expensive places! Why thank you, article, for pointing this out to me. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/13 "2012-01-12T17:31:14Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Pretty good, actually. 🙂 > > Who the hell retires up north? I thought everyone moved south or snowbirded when they retired? That’s what we did: moved south from Alaska to Oregon. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/14 "2012-01-12T18:31:17Z")
All these rankings are bogus. Marketwatch chooses what to put in the rankings and what weight to give them. The slightest change to these gives wildly inconsistent results. Not to mention the fact that there are intangibles that can’t be quantified. And that some people like cold climates. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/15 "2012-01-12T18:39:03Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > News flash: Elderly people with limited incomes don’t want to retire in cold or expensive places! > > Why thank you, article, for pointing this out to me. But **kushiel** , without this article, how would I ever have known that those cold and expensive places turn out to be northern metropolises? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/16 "2012-01-12T19:58:23Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Me and my wife. Lived all our lives in San Diego, retired after 30+ years in our respective careers, retired 7 years ago and moved to northern Idaho. We love it. > > . > [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > We’ll be retiring up north. We live in southern MN now and hope to get some land up in the Arrowhead (the pointy northeastern part) and retire up there. It gets too hot here for us and there aren’t enough trees or lakes. Well, it takes all kinds to make the world go 'round. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of people moving TO cold and snowy when they retired before this. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/17 "2012-01-12T23:55:54Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Well, it takes all kinds to make the world go 'round. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of people moving TO cold and snowy when they retired before this. 🙂 That’s one of the reasons we’re doing it ;). We don’t want to live around a bunch of old people. They’ll complain about our dogs and send inspectors over to make us rearrange our junk. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/18 "2012-01-12T23:58:55Z")
Tons of people live on lakes in northern Minnesota (and Wisconsin) for half the year and spend the other half in Florida. Best of both worlds. I’ve spoken to plenty of people who live in Canada or New England in the summer and Florida during the winter too. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/19 "2012-01-13T00:03:21Z")
The list is correct but the reasons are wrong. Its bad to retire in the North because its fucking cold ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217/20 "2012-01-13T00:07:50Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Yes! Finally. A “Bad state” list that doesn’t contain Michigan. No kidding! Actually “up north” here in Michigan means…further north, even the UP (Upper Peninsula.) And I do know people who retire “Up North” here; it’s not that uncommon. Extremely cheap real estate and property taxes, very clean air and water, decent access to medical care. I assure you that if I decide to move somewhere after retirement, it’s not going to be somewhere hot, buggy or filled with other old people! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-news-for-retirees-who-hate-the-south/609217.md?page=2)