Drawbacks of Retiring in California

Retirement in California is something that many people would love to do, but few people can afford to do. The cost of living is high; the crime rate is high; the tax burden is high, and the homes cost too much. However, the state also has great weather, beautiful people, and plenty of outdoor activities to keep a retiree happy for many years as he lives out his life. The important thing is to weigh the good and the bad when it comes to retirement in California. Here is a look at the drawbacks from choosing California as a retirement home.

Free Retirement Calculator: When Can You Retire? — Click Here to Find Out

1. High Cost of Living - When it comes to the United States, there are only four states plus the District of Columbia that has a higher cost of living rating than California. The rating for the state was 128.7, which is driven up by the housing costs, although all areas of living are more expensive in California. The grocery index, utilities index, transportation index and health index are all above normal. In most states, what a family could survive on for $75,000 will cost around $95,000 in California.
2. High Home Values - When looking at retirement in California, most people are not wanting to rent a home for the final years of their lives. However, if a senior wants to buy a home in California, they need to have a large savings built up because the median house price in the state of California is $440,700. However, when looking around the state, there are breaks to be found. One example is that Fresno has a home median less than the national average at $162,100. However, with the lower-priced homes comes another problem.

How Soon Can You Retire? Free Test Shows You When — Click Here

3. Crime Rates - When looking at homes in San Francisco, the median price runs around $931,100. While it is much more reasonable to find a home in Fresno for affordable rates, the crime rate there is horrific. Neighborhood Scout ranks every community in the U.S., and on a crime index with the safest city ranked a 100, Fresno ranks an eight. Every year in Fresno, there are 2,633 violent crimes and 23,363 property crimes. As a whole, the state of California lists 154,129 violent crimes a year. While this drops in certain areas, the more reasonably priced communities for retired seniors, and most other people, are dangerous places.
4. Tax Burden - There is one optimistic thing for retirement in California. There is no income tax on Social Security benefits for retirees. That is the only good thing about the tax burden of California residents. The state sales tax is the highest in the U.S. at 8.25 percent. The income tax rate is also very high at 9.55 percent. It costs a lot to live in California and the government makes it worse with what they take back.

An Extremely Simple Way to Determine If You're Ready to Retire — Find Out Now

Related Stories:

• Hunting in California: 3 Things to Know About Hunting on Private Lands
• 5 Great Attractions in California