OT: Thinking of retiring to Willimantic in a year or two. Cold doesn't scare me.

[Hoophound]

To anyone considering moving to CT from a prosperous state, property there has become so cheap, it is worth considering. It is literally peanuts. With 5% mortgages, it isn’t easy to find comparable locales at a better price. I can live in nice CT towns for the same price as marginal NC towns. The situation has finally flipped.

CT is in a death spiral and I am going to buy a tremendous property there for pennies on the dollar in the next 2-3 years. Huge homes in Hartford and Tollland counties are selling at 50% of reproduction cost. It’s a great opportunity. CT’s proximity to so many things will pay off eventually. It’s a long term goldmine in my opinion.

 

[Devland]

As a retired person I plan on selling my house (sorry not for less than $300,000) and moving back to the land of my birth, Eastern PA. Taxes are one reason but not the only reason. The main reason is probably nostalgia. Everyone wants to revisit their youth.

 

[Hoophound]

Where are houses cheap?? Most I look at aren’t. Hard to find much of anything under $300k in many places or at least under 250

Sorry bro, 300k is cheap these days. Again, most 300k houses can’t be built for 350k now.

 

[Devland]

Willimantic is the heroin capital of the US..i would definitely avoid living there. If you want to be near storrs, try Bolton or even Mansfield. I wouldn’t feel safe walking around willimantic at night unless I was packing heat

Unfortunately, as a Glastonbury resident I can tell you that heroin abuse is no longer limited to Willimantic. From what I have read and heard from local police heroin has become a problem in more affluent towns also.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Unfortunately, as a Glastonbury resident I can tell you that heroin abuse is no longer limited to Willimantic. From what I have read and heard from local police heroin has become a problem in more affluent towns also.

Yep, I live in Glastonbury as well. Lots of kids out this way end up doing pills and heroin

 

[NYC_HUSKY22]

Unfortunately, as a Glastonbury resident I can tell you that heroin abuse is no longer limited to Willimantic. From what I have read and heard from local police heroin has become a problem in more affluent towns also.

It was like this 15 years ago when I was in high school, we thought it was bad then - it's only gotten exponentially worse.

 

[HooperScooper]

Wait....this was serious??? Willimantic?? Really??

Well there is Willimantic Brewing Company. Other than that I can't imagine there's much there for a retired person.

 

[August_West]

Willimantic is the heroin capital of the US..i would definitely avoid living there. If you want to be near storrs, try Bolton or even Mansfield. I wouldn’t feel safe walking around willimantic at night unless I was packing heat

Meh post like it’s 1998

 

[August_West]

I think you need to do some more homework. We are at or near the bottom of worst states to retire in most publications when considering the entire tax picture. High real estate taxes, one of 13 states to tax SS, one of the very few states to tax pensions, and coming soon to a highway near you,tolls ( and please don’t tell me it will only apply to trucks).

Love tolls. Can’t wait

 

[NEforceUConn]

Really appreciate all the information. I'm maybe 18 - 24 months before retiring early. I have a lengthy review with a wealth advisor next month. Was surprised that some states don't tax pensions and 401ks - so this is very interesting to me. I do have some work to do.

The draw is UConn, and I did grow up in CT. NC is great weather but no history like CT, and we have all these damn ACC fans.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

“I’m considering retiring in Willimantic, CT.”

I’ll take things I never thought I’d hear for $1,000 Alex.

 

[TJT]

Well there is Willimantic Brewing Company. Other than that I can't imagine there's much there for a retired person.

Great place. Right downtown in the old post office. Just a few blocks from the ECSU campus.

 

[UConnDan97]

Willimantic isn't Beverly Hills, but it's not Detroit either.

My favorite brewery is there (WilliBrew), you can shop groceries for really cheap at Price Rite (and we do), the main street is growing with some cool businesses, we bought our son a bike at their cycle shop, I get my pool cues repaired there, etc.

I live a couple towns to the west, but I can tell that most people commenting here don't live anywhere near there. If you want to retire there, do it. Go the way of Wally Lamb, visit the railroad museum, and the whole nine. And welcome back to CT...

 

[Robertelamin]

Really appreciate all the information. I'm maybe 18 - 24 months before retiring early. I have a lengthy review with a wealth advisor next month. Was surprised that some states don't tax pensions and 401ks - so this is very interesting to me. I do have some work to do.

The draw is UConn, and I did grow up in CT. NC is great weather but no history like CT, and we have all these damn ACC fans.

How close do you want to live to UConn?

 

[Jaker]

Retire to CT???? RLMFAO!!

 

[Adios]

CT is massively underappreciated. I mean, the Big Ten created it's foundation with Michigan doing a road trip here in 1883. Wesleyan is 1-0 against Michigan with the field of play still in use and still has the game ball.

What a garbage state.

 

[Bryan Lord]

"willimantic is the heroin capital of the ..."

Nah, everywhere is.

 

[eastmill]

2019,agi of $75,000 or less for single,no state s.s. tax,$100,000 for a couple.

 

[superjohn]

This is not entirely true. First, social security: at most you pay tax on 25% of your social security benefits; and if your total income is under $60,000 (married) or $50,000 (single), they don't tax it at all. Secondly, for his other retirement income, there's an exemption of $15,000 or $24,000 (single/married), so depending on his income mix, the state income tax bite is much less than 6%. So we're not at the top of the retirement state lists to be sure, but it's not as bad as people make it out to be.

People don't like facts when it's easier to take a dump on your state. This is the most CT. thread ever, people talking about a small town like it's the drug capital of the world because somebody did a special on their drug problem 20 years ago. You can get a house now in CT. for so much less than you could have back in the day, retiring to CT. is not at all a terrible idea if you have no problem with the weather.

This board always reminds me that a lot of CT. people haven't travelled much, a lot of the country really sucks.

 

[Kitaman]

Really appreciate all the information. I'm maybe 18 - 24 months before retiring early. I have a lengthy review with a wealth advisor next month. Was surprised that some states don't tax pensions and 401ks - so this is very interesting to me. I do have some work to do.

The draw is UConn, and I did grow up in CT. NC is great weather but no history like CT, and we have all these damn ACC fans.

I'm contemplating on my future retirement home and I can't find anything that 'appeals' to me. CT has a bad rep for retirement, but I'm less than 4000 ft from the Ocean, can go to Boston or DC in less than a day and still have time to do stuff upon arrival, have 5 international airports near me within 90 minutes, can reach NYC in an hour or by train, 4 seasons (not really a winter fan), etc . Any concert or event is only a car\train ride away.

Now I'm not selling CT as an ideal retirement destination, but I will say I've seen retirees in other states and they don't have a lot of day time choices other than golf. I just love the Ocean and if I do move out of State it will be on the east coast. I'm also starting to realize that I like being around people, so I want to be in/near a populated city/town. If a retiree is bored here they can find a little part time gig, volunteer or hang out around town.

As for the warm weather, I can get a winter place down in FL for 3 months, or travel and go to Mexico, AZ, and other places like my 85 yr old Amherst resident father does 6 weeks each winter.

Oh I also want to add CT is pretty safe from natural disasters, but the traffic in the Southwestern part of the state is fugly. And of course what would I do without my UConn?

Just saying the NE has a lot of options, when it comes to finding something to do on a daily/weekly basis, not so in other States.

 

[warbler1055]

My UConn graduate son just visited us and mentioned that he couldn't recognized UConn campus because there was so much changes, not to mention the new UConn-Mansfield downtown. Living near a colllege or university has a lot to offer retirees and is one of the attractions which is really popular. So we did look at Mansfield, but also Delaware, New Hampshire etc tax friendly states, NC, etc...But we ended up where we lived in CT. I guess depending on where you live in CT 169 towns we have a different perspective about what's life is. Sure CT has a big budget deficit at the moment, high taxes and we wonder why would anybody would want to be governor of ct at this time. We have not been to UConn for a while and we are pretty sure that we couldn't recognized Willimantic, Mansfield, UConn although we spent many years going to UConn to bring supply and visit our children. We did not choose to retire near UConn after all but near the water and frankly we are quite happy living in CT.

 

[UConnDad]

You might be the only person contemplating moving to CT in retirement. CT taxes any retirement income you have from pensions, social security, IRA's, 401k's, 403b's, etc. A whole lot of states don't tax that income at all. You have 6% or so less retirement income right off the top. You must really like something about CT or someone here.

Actually beginning next year Connecticut is phasing out state income tax on pension and annuity income over six years.

 

[warbler1055]

Actually beginning next year Connecticut is phasing out state income tax on pension and annuity income over six years.

Didn't know this!!! Another great move in the right direction if it comes to fruition for retirees!!!

 

[HuskyHawk]

Wow, Willimantic. Wouldn’t be my choice. But if real estate is as cheap now as everyone says, a place near the southeastern CT coast wouldn’t be bad. Still plenty close enough to UConn games.

I wanted to retire on a Cape Cod, but I’m being priced out. Considering southeastern MA, around Westport or similar.

 

[Padutch5]

People don't like facts when it's easier to take a dump on your state. This is the most CT. thread ever, people talking about a small town like it's the drug capital of the world because somebody did a special on their drug problem 20 years ago. You can get a house now in CT. for so much less than you could have back in the day, retiring to CT. is not at all a terrible idea if you have no problem with the weather.

This board always reminds me that a lot of CT. people haven't travelled much, a lot of the country really sucks.

Sorry to bust your bubble. I’m a million Miller on United and almost there on American. I have seen much of this country.
There are a lot of great places in this country. When you see the vibrancy and growth in many areas you realize what is missing here in Ct. yes we have a great many natural resources here but we have saddled everyone with a state that has been a spendthrift and has nowhere to go but to raise taxes or declare bankruptcy. No one is going to bale the state out like the state bailed out Hartford .