{"id":201395,"date":"2025-11-26T15:32:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T15:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/201395\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T15:32:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T15:32:07","slug":"we-struggle-were-66-active-and-ready-to-retire-but-we-want-out-of-florida-and-california-is-too-expensive-whats-our-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/201395\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We struggle.\u2019 We\u2019re 66, active and ready to retire \u2014 but we want out of Florida and California is too expensive. What\u2019s our move?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Question: <\/strong>\u201cMy husband and I are a young 66. We are very active and preparing for retirement. We have been consumed with careers, travel and adoption of two boys who are now on their own working. We sold our home of 23 years in Charleston to be with our parents in Florida. Thankfully, our home in Florida has appreciated since we bought it, but not as much as I would\u2019ve hoped. Now that our parents have passed and we are in good health, we don\u2019t want to stay in Florida. <\/p>\n

Our plan was always to return to Southern California where we started out after college. Since California taxes are high, it seems like Charleston might be a better option, but we don\u2019t love the energy of the East Coast anymore. We don\u2019t have much of a mortgage and we\u2019re debt free. We struggle with where to retire, where we can enjoy the outdoors, outdoor living and meet new folks. We also don\u2019t know how much we can safely spend and we need help on tax protection. I\u2019d build a home as there is an enormous shortage but money is expensive with current interest rates. We\u2019re conservative adventurers. How can we find an adviser who is a good match for us?\u201d<\/p>\n

Answer:<\/strong> At a high level, hiring a financial planner might be a good idea, especially for people like you who are preparing for retirement, pros say. You can use this free tool to get matched with financial advisers<\/a>, from our partner SmartAsset, as well as sites like CFP Board and NAPFA. \u201cRetirement spending is best set through detailed cash flow modeling that a financial adviser can help you with. At 66, you should assume around 25 years of spending and base the plan on taxes and all available income sources,\u201d says Bill Harris, founder and CEO of Evergreen Wealth. <\/p>\n

Have an issue with your financial planner or looking for a new one? Email questions or concerns to picks@marketwatch.com<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A good adviser would want to talk to you about everything from outdoor living, travel, spending time with grandkids, community and more, says financial professional and career strategist Trevor Houston at ClearPath Wealth Strategies. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen an uncertain couple comes to me at this moment, I always start with their monthly lifestyle budget before I analyze their full financial situation. What does a great month actually cost you?\u201d says Houston. \u201cYou need to be honest about the rhythm you want in retirement because everyone is different. Once you know that number [the monthly cost], you can test and evaluate its compatibility with Social Security benefits, investment withdrawals and all other available income sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Things to consider when deciding where to live<\/p>\n

As for moving to another state, you\u2019ll want to carefully choose where you end up. \u201cRelocating to a high-tax state [could be] doable if you model the full financial impact. Consider state income taxes, housing costs, healthcare and how your future investment withdrawals during retirement will be taxed,\u201d says Harris. <\/p>\n

That said, JB Beckett of Beckett Financial Group says you don\u2019t just want to move because of emotional reasons or because of recently lowered taxes. \u201cWith the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the temporary tax relief [referring to the expanded SALT deduction limits] is less of a strain on residents in states like California and New York, but what happens if the increased SALT exemptions go away? Taxes can be a huge issue when it comes to where to live for the long-term \u2014 and financially, moving to a state with historically high taxes can be a detriment to a thriving retirement. That\u2019s only part of the puzzle when it comes to not running out of money in retirement. It\u2019s also important to be sure you move for the right reasons,\u201d says Beckett.<\/p>\n

Moving to a high-tax state can certainly be viable. \u201cIt\u2019s just important to create a realistic estimate of the higher costs and make sure your financial plan can accommodate them. If you decide to move to California, factor in state income tax if you\u2019ll be relying on pre-tax retirement account withdrawals or investment accounts with large capital gains,\u201d says Matt Hylland at Arnold and Mote Wealth Management. <\/p>\n

Indeed, the tax bracket you end up in largely comes down to tax planning. \u201cYou can plan appropriately by leveraging daily screens for loss harvesting, proper asset allocation and using tax-gain harvesting to move appreciated stock into a donor-advised fund,\u201d says Harris. <\/p>\n

One plan that some pros recommend is test-driving places \u2014 by renting for 6 months or so \u2014 before you move full-time. You\u2019ll get to see if you enjoy the people, lifestyle and more. <\/p>\n

Should you build your own house?<\/p>\n

To plan for building a new home amid high borrowing costs, Harris says with the right tax-aware plan, you can set aside cash for the rebuild, keep your reserves intact and finance what\u2019s needed without liquidating long-term investments at the wrong time. <\/p>\n

Furthermore, the phrase \u201cmarry the house, date the rate\u201d comes to mind here, but when it comes to retirement, you don\u2019t want to have your budget go down to the penny just because of a high interest rate, says Beckett. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not uncommon for some form of borrowing to be advantageous to retirees in years with high expenses, says Hylland. \u201cIf a significant portion of your net worth is in a pre-tax retirement account, such as an IRA or 401(k), the tax costs could be very high to do a large one-time withdrawal,\u201d says Hylland. <\/p>\n

For this reason, you may want to compare the financing costs to the tax costs to see which is lower. \u201cGiven today\u2019s mortgage rates, paying 6% on a mortgage may ultimately be cheaper than jumping into a higher tax bracket,\u201d says Hylland.<\/p>\n

What kind of financial planner is right? <\/p>\n

Of course, not everyone needs a financial planner, but if you\u2019re ever going to get one, leading into retirement is a good time. \u201cA good adviser manages your money in an optimal way so you can focus on living your life and not worrying about your money,\u201d says Harris.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Working with a financial adviser should provide you with a detailed tax-efficient withdrawal plan and validation that your plan is in strong shape, says Hylland. \u201cEven if a long term relationship with an adviser is not warranted, a short term engagement focused on financial planning with a fee-only, flat fee adviser could help you walk away confident and equipped with a strategy going forward,\u201d says Hylland.<\/p>\n

When it comes to your finances, it may help to think of them the way you think about your health. \u201cConsider what might happen if you need major specialty surgery down the line. Would you go see a general practitioner or would you go to a highly rated specialist? The same goes with finances. It\u2019s vitally important to meet with an experienced financial adviser with the experience and know-how working with pre-retirees and retirees to know how much is safe to spend in retirement. Find someone with many successful years in the financial trenches helping people protect their nest eggs and helping people thrive in retirement,\u201d says Beckett.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re still considering whether it\u2019s worth it to outsource and hire a professional, Houston recommends asking yourself three essential questions: \u201cDo you fully understand it? Do you enjoy it? Do you have the time? If you answer no to any of these questions, chances are it would make sense to outsource to a professional who does,\u201d says Houston. You can use this free tool to match you with financial advisers<\/a>, from our partner SmartAsset, as well as sites like CFP Board and NAPFA.<\/p>\n

Have an issue with your financial planner or looking for a new one? Email questions or concerns to picks@marketwatch.com<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Questions edited for brevity and clarity. By emailing your questions to The Advicer, you agree to have them published anonymously on MarketWatch; they may appear anonymously in other media and platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Question: \u201cMy husband and I are a young 66. We are very active and preparing for retirement. We…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":201396,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[2552,79,13782,41565,18,47522,18131,19,41586,3442,41557,17,47521,234,235,2895,19363,41589,41574,41575,41590,41576,26243,10654],"class_list":{"0":"post-201395","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-analysis","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-corporate","11":"tag-corporate-industrial-news","12":"tag-eire","13":"tag-financial-investment-services","14":"tag-financial-services","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-industrial-news","17":"tag-investing","18":"tag-investing-securities","19":"tag-ireland","20":"tag-mpsmartasset","21":"tag-personal-finance","22":"tag-personalfinance","23":"tag-retirement-planning","24":"tag-securities","25":"tag-selection-of-top-stories","26":"tag-selection-of-top-stories-trends-analysis","27":"tag-suggested-reading-industry-news","28":"tag-suggested-reading-investing","29":"tag-suggested-reading-investing-securities","30":"tag-synd","31":"tag-trends"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}