Picking A Location For Retirement Involves Trade-Offs

Any consideration of where to retire really ought to include Las Vegas.

It’s No. 1 in most people’s book. Such is the indication, at any rate, of a preponderance of publications that conduct surveys, collate statistics, analyze data and crank out rankings of retirement places.

Bellingham, Wash.; Medford, Ore., and Coeur d’Alene also quite consistently make the top five or 10.

Spokane seldom if ever rates a mention.

Why so?

Well, it depends on who’s doing the picking.

“Spokane is not heaven, but it’s not hell either, at least not as far as taxes for people 65 and older are concerned,” says Alan Fox, co-author of “Tax Heaven Or Hell.”

This new book from Vacation Publications compares and ranks 149 major metropolitan areas and top retirement towns according to total state and local tax burdens on nine hypothetical couples of retirement age with varying incomes and home values.

The top tax heaven for all nine couples - Anchorage, Alaska. The absolute pit - Pittsburgh.

“The difference between cities can be staggering,” says Fox. “Take the case of a retired couple both age 65 who earn $34,000 a year and live in a home valued at $150,000. If that couple moves from Spokane to Santa Fe, N.M., and buys a similarly priced home, total state and local taxes will fall from $4,150 to $2099 - a drop of $2,051 or 49 percent!

“If the same couple moved from Spokane to Pittsburgh, total taxes would climb from $4,150 to $7,564 per year - an increase of $3,414 or 82 percent!”

Bertha Van Ryn holds an unsightly freeway view of the community partly to blame for Spokane’s absence from the retirement rankings.

The 76-year-old Hope, Idaho, summer resident (she and her 83-year old husband are seasonal migrants, “snowbirds,” who winter in Arizona) comments, “There is hardly a city in the country that looks more unattractive as you drive through.

“Entrances and exits from the interstate look difficult, and the signs motorists look for are in a congested ugly part of the city,” Van Ryn writes. “Granted these things do not directly affect the desirability of Spokane as a retirement place - but they do keep people from stopping to find out.”

Touche.

In their book, “The Complete Directory for Seniors and Their Families,” Gail and John Goeller of Spokane render this advice on what to keep in mind doing research and asking yourself before you move:

Temperature and climate.

Crime and safety.

Traffic.

Cost of living and affordability.

Pollutants and allergens.

Proximity to relatives and friends.

Available transportation.

Ability to maintain hobbies and interests.

Social opportunities and neighborhood compatibility.

Accessibility and quality of health care and medical facilities.

Community attitudes toward seniors and access to senior services.

A hefty new publication by the American Association of Retired Persons entitled “Planning Your Retirement,” cautions all considering a new locale to “experience it at all times of year, not just during the tourist season.

“Find out about the local cost of living, the available services and facilities, radio and television reception, local public transportation, airport and train facilities, and community and religious organizations,” the AARP counsels.

“It would help your research to subscribe to the local newspapers before moving,” advises the AARP. This, says the retirement expert, is the best way to inform yourself about local businesses, employment opportunities, crime, social life, and real estate values.

Beyond that, says AARP, “Determine how you want to live and where you want to live, then balance your dreams against your pocketbook by doing some realistic financial planning.”

, DataTimes MEMO: Associate Editor Frank Bartel writes on retirement issues each Sunday. He can be reached with ideas for future columns at 459-5467 or fax 459-5482.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Frank Bartel The Spokesman-Review