Ten Best Cities To Live In Florida – Not

There are many wonderful places that should be considered among the best cities to live in Florida for a Florida relocation of any sort but the real thrust of this article is to identify cities that you may not want to consider or to scratch from your list if you were planning to make a move there and are open to just about anywhere in the state. If you are looking for where to retire or even if you are location independent, Florida has a reputation that involves the sun, the beach, fun, Disney and to a lesser extent other iconic places that are often portrayed in a favorable light. Unfortunately there is another side to Florida that is darker and less desirable in many respects.

What prompted me to write about this was a recent article I read about the 100 worst cities to live in and included cities all over the United States. Out of those I noticed there were several in Florida and thus this article was born in my mind.

Let’s jump right into what makes these cities the opposite of the 10 best cities to live in Florida or retire in Florida. Listed here are the 10 with the lowest crimes per thousand residents to the highest crime rates from these worst cities to live in Florida (taken from the afore mentioned worst 100 in the USA). Look carefully at the crime statistics and there is no doubt in my mind they will effect your thoughts about moving to one of them. They are definitely not the best places to retire in Florida.

City Crime Data		Violent Crime	Property Crime	Total Crime	Crime/ 1000	Crime/ sq mi
Ft Myers, Florida		1037	3749	4786	21.58	110
Miami, Florida		6461	24700	31161	17.82	602
Pompano Beach, Florida		1126	4943	6069	14.38	267
Miami Beach, Florida		1247	9182	10429	14.16	642
North Miami, Florida		750	4504	5254	12.49	490
Hallandale, Florida		399	1681	2080	11.55	435
Tallahassee, Florida		1564	9145	10709	10.39	105
Sarasota, Florida		508	3901	4409	9.67	169
Panama City, Florida		335	2354	2689	9.21	96
Melborne, Florida		591	3235	3826	8.28	101

Much of the data that is contained in this article comes from a post on neighborhodscoot [.] c0m. A paragraph from their website is below about how the crime data was compiled and what the limitations are concerning it. It was not about the top ten places to retire in but from a much larger list of the worst cities in the United States for crime. Read carefully and consider that statistics are an imperfect science and one that with every conclusion, there needs to be a reasonable scepticism since in some cases the conclusions that are drawn contain a element of subjective judgment. In turn, we cannot be responsible for the data or how you use it so put on your thinking cap before you use it to make any decision or for any important task and know that you are responsible for its use.

Here is a peek into how this data came about and if you are looking for the worst or the best cities to live in Florida you need to use more than just the data that purports to sell you on the best state to live in be it from this and other websites for that matter. Notice in the third to the last line it mentions ‘upwards of 87% accuracy’. If you turn that around that means in at least 13% of the time it is inaccurate and statically speaking that is a very significant number and one that could severely affect the direction of any conclusion. You get the idea by now I am sure. How is that for a shirking the responsibility?

Finding the best city to live in Florida or any state, region or county can be a real challenge but hopefully you will find here in this site a resource that can lead you to the best for you no matter what your criteria is. The list above should have given you a peek into what you do not want no matter if you are moving your whole family or are looking for where to retire and what statistics you want to focus on as you make your Florida relocation.

Retire Abroad in 2011!

Are you ready to Retire Abroad in 2011?

Deciding to retire abroad is an idea that many people are embracing for one of two reasons: it's because they're disillusioned with their home country for religious, social, political or economic reasons or they simply want to experience more of our world while they have the physical and financial resources to do so.

If you are seriously thinking of venturing out and finding a new home abroad in retirement there are a few key considerations you want to mull over prior to making that big commitment and moving overseas.

You don’t overlook any part of your plan that would be critical to your success as an expat. Think of this as your checklist to a new and wonderful life abroad in retirement!

Key Considerations for Retiring Abroad

Why Relocate in Retirement?

If you’re a foot loose and fancy free single that's one thinking but if you're married or in a committed relationship that's another. It's important to search your heart and your mind for the reasons you really want to move. If you are in a relationship make sure you do this individually without edit from your other half. Then compare notes and look for common reasons - hint - there better be a majority of them or you may be headed for trouble.  Whether you’re in a relationship or not you need to make certain you rationale for making the big move makes sense and that you have not only mutual harmony but individual harmony in your decision.

Now it's OK to have different motivators and reasons for moving abroad but again you want to look for compatibility and commitment. The goal is to make the move whereby everyone gets what they want and need.

Another reason to be very clear clear on your 'why' is so that you can find the right 'where'. If you don't know exactly what you want how will you know you've found it?

Change can be stressful - actually it's always stressful! Especially when you have spent some many years accustomed to your own culture and even the simplest things. When you move abroad our world will be turned upside down. At first it will seem fun and exciting but after the initial adrenalin rush wears off you  are sure to experience some trying times.  This is where your list comes in really handy. You can pull it out and remind yourself of all the reasons you wanted to leave your old home and all of the positives you are gaining from being in your new one.

Where are you going?

Quite often future expat retirees have a place in mind for their new life. It could be a place they have already been on vacation and have fantasized about ever since. Perhaps its somewhere that they already have some property maybe even a vacation home.  Or it may be a place they have never been before. It's very common for subscribers of the well known International Living Magazine to spend years reading and dreaming about a place they really want to call home.

In any of these examples it's easy to get tunnel vision. To get so focused and obsessed with just one idea or spot that you negate the possibility of living elsewhere.

This is a good time to pause and pull out your list and take the time to consider if this is truly the right choice for you. Here are a few things to think about -

• Weather - is 'better weather' a big factor for you? If the answer is yes, than think about this - What to you means ‘better’? Define it. Get a handle on it by looking at it from all angles. For many who are simply fed up with cold winter months its easy to swing the pendulum too far in the opposite direction. I mentioned in previous posts that I lived in the Republic of Panama - what many consider to be the best place to retire. Numerous times I met people who had chosen the dream of living beach side only to find themselves fed up with sand, endless air conditioning or showers three times a day. Their beachside dream melted into a pile of sweat! 
• Location-Transportation-Accessibility - sure I realize your goal may be to ‘escape the rat race’ and have the quiet enjoyment of living abroad but the reality is you will likely need and want to  return home for visits occasionally or maybe even often. There aren't very many retirees who move abroad without leaving friends and family behind. They will likely want to visit you and in many cases you will find you are more often visting them. If you have children and grandchildren they lead busy lives and are typically tied to work and other obligations. That means Grandma and Grandpa are going to have to come home if they want to see their next generation.  If you’ve settled in 'the middle of nowhere' not only will it be difficult to get out or for people to visit you it may be quite expensive too!
• Safety & Security - in North America and many other well developed western countries we have a well thought out rule of law but more than hat we have a well enforced rule of law. In many parts if the world where living is cheap you will still find rule of law but the financial resources fall far behind when it come to enforcement.  It doesn't mean the best places to retire can't also be safe but it does mean you need to be aware and do your homework first. 
• Quality of Life - if you've spent 50 or 60 years living in a modern developed nation like Canada or te United States than you probably take many things for granted like: infrastructure, health care, shopping, entertainment and cultural activities to name just a few. All of these 'little things' make the difference when we talk about Quality of Life and Standard of Living.  What things will have an impact on your quality of living?  You may think the idea of learning another language is romantic but after six months of struggling with a simple restaurant order you may find the stress can grow to be overwhelming. Or how about something as vital and important as electricity? When was the last time your power went out and what would it be like with this was a monthly, weekly even daily occurrence?
• Cost of Living - Many Americans may have thought they would retire in the U.S.A. but times they are a changin'. Now more than ever the cost of living is causing Americans to take pause and consider a cheaper life abroad.  But in years past the U.S. dollar was so strong it many a higher standard of living was almost assured.  Exchange rate fluctuations and the declining power of the U.S. dollar is changing the landscape. Even simple trips to Canada are no longer the bargain they once were with the dollar now valued at just 93 cents Canadian and falling.  Countries like Panama can be very attractie for Americans because they have adopted the U.S. dollar as their national currency. These factors can and will affect how much money you need to live comfortably. If you are moving abroad for retirement you likely have to live on a fixed income – the question is where will your money or savings buy you a lifestyle you really want? 
• Fitting In - some countries are easier to fit into than others. If English is your native language than finding an English speaking country, say you retire in Belize for example, that will present less of a challenge to retiring Americans expats than nations where you have to learn another language. It also important to consider more than just language. I chose to live in Boquete Panama which is a Spanish speaking country but there were many English speaking expats who who were making Boquete their new home. This made it easier to 'Fit in' and find a reference group I could identify with.  Sometimes following others is the place where are you more likely to make friends and enjoy life.

In the next few days I'm going to explore the Best Places to retire Abroad in 2011. Watch for that and let me know what you think! Oh and if you're from Canada or know Canada be sure to vote in our poll over there on the side bar for the Best Places to Live in Canada.

3 Tips To Create The Cheapest Place To Live

Many people spend countless hours and tremendous energy trying to find the cheapest place to live by searching on the internet and comparing one location to another but if you consider the cost of a move and factor it into the annualized cost of a new location compared to the old one, it may be cheaper to just stay where you are and make changes. Even if the move you are considering is only across town.

Here are three ideas that can help you to save or make money and in turn, make the home you are currently in cheaper to live in overall. These won't all work for everyone but some of them might help some at least until the move will pay off in a reasonable period of time.

There are some time tested methods that have been used forever that have some value if they perfectly fit your situation but we are going to step outside the safe zone for now and look for ways that are even more unconventional and may hold more value for the participant.

Work Closer To Home

This is not an option for everyone but for some that may not have the most rewarding job; it could prove to be a real bonus. If you spent some time and figured out a way to use your talent in a local way, it could significantly change your net income. If you work closer you would be able to spend less time and money commuting or maybe if you find a job close enough you could walk or ride a bike. Imagine the impact of that!

Don't Work At All

Sometimes people take jobs that don't ultimately contribute to the bottom line of the household income at all. We said we were going to be step outside the box and with this suggestion we are stepping the furthest away. A job may not ultimately contribute to the household income for several reasons but one is because the person may have taken the job out of desperation and another reason can be due to the hidden costs associated with having the job. Things like dry cleaning clothes, happy hour gatherings, eating out more often, child care, and cost of having work done at home that you would normally do yourself like oil changes, lawn care or house cleaning.

Of course one that most everyone forgets is the wear and tear on an automobile and the extra expense of the insurance for the extra mileage to and from work. These expenses are a huge extra burden and all need to be factored into the 'cost of having a job'. Once you have these numbers all accounted for you will know if it might be cheaper to stay at home. I looked at the true cost of owning my mid-sized truck for the first five years and when the original cost is compared to the true cost, the true cost is about 200% higher. I wonder how many people figure that into the cost of their job?

Start A Cottage Business

Especially if you are not working or if your job has proved to be marginally profitable, this option could be pure profit provided you make anything at all. Choose a field where you may have some knowledge or advantage already. For instance, you might sell your services to support small businesses with advertising if you are in that industry. Or you could become an affiliate to one of millions of companies where you have some connections already. Even if you make only a little money, it would all be a plus and could grow into something far better. In some cases even if you cleaned one or two average houses a week, you would be far better off in the long run.

These are just a few ways that you could lower your cost of living right where you are and in some cases have decrease your overall burden and increase your available time. When you consider what may be the psychological value of the reduced stress and potentially increased calm, these ideas could prove extremely valuable. Of course, all these factors are heavily influenced by personality and individual habits. The good news is when you start to factor in all the cost of moving and the ways that you could change your financial situation. The suggestions mentioned here and others may make you to rethink your thoughts about moving. The best place to live could be as close as your front door.

Cheapest places to live and do business in Canada

Money a subsidiary of Quebecor Media illustrated on Canoe.ca how Taxes can mean the difference when it comes to finding the cheapest places to live and do business in Canada.

Living in B.C.

If you bring in $70,000 in regular income, i.e. wages or interest income, than British Columbia is the best place to live. There you'll pay less than $15,000 on your earnings vs the next lowest taxes you'll find in Ontario at $15,492.

Alberta is Best for High Earners

Now if you're one of those elite Canadians whose earnings top $150,000 than the province of Alberta is your place to be. there you will pay $45,304 in taxes. Plus Alberta is a great place to die - not really I don't think any place is the best place to die! But if you're planning on leaving something behind your heirs will be happy as they stand the most to gain. In Alberta the probate fees are just $400 - the lowest in the country and far , far below the national average of more then $3,500.

Cheapest Places to Do Business in Canada

Alberta again gets top grade with the lowest corporate tax rate in the country at just 28%. But Ontario digs deep to entice R&D investors and also movie makers with big tax breaks. Plus Ontario continues to drop it's corporate tax rate which is supposed to be down to just 25% by 2013. That's a comfortable margin below the national average of over 30%. Ontario provides a 25% tax credit for production costs related to making a movie and a whopping 40% tax credit for those involved in digital media. British Columbia offers similar credits to entertainment businesses while Quebec also jumps on the movie making business with a 35% tax credit and complete tax holidays for those willing to invest in manufacturing business in remote regions of the province.

Cheapest Place to Buy a Home

If you're looking for to make a move but the average $3,500 land transfer tax has you turned off take a trip to New Brunswick where you'kl find the lowest Land transfer taxes in all the land. There you'll pay just over $1000 on a $400,000 home. New Brunswick is easy on the individual too with a falling income tax rate expected to be down to 23% by 2013.

Tax Rates lower than virtually any place in the U.S.

Can you believe that? While Canadians bemoan their tax burden and our American cousins south of the border look on with skeptical eyes to their 'socialist' partner to the north, this is the reality. Corporate Taxes in Canada range from 28 to 30% while it's not uncommon to see 45% in the U.S. For individual income taxes the spread is quite similar.

Now it's true that we don't exactly have apples to apples for comparison. In the U.S for example most homeowners can deduct mortgage interest from their income which can really add up. But Americans also have to pay a big chunk of their income for health insurance either in the form of deductibles whenever they visit the doctor or hospital or in the form of a co-share of premiums with their employer. In Canada healthcare is a social right whereby every Canadian is entitled.

Source: Canoe.ca | Money - Beat the taxman

The Best U.S. City for Retirement

It's time for a recap - last month we took a look at the Best U.S. Cities for retirees. Asheville North Carolina was ranked number one but I thought I would throw it out here and get your opinion. So, we ran a poll for the month of March to see what you thought. Here are the results of our poll along with the ranked list we started with which was complied by RandomForest -

Blog Poll for Best U.S. Cities

#1 Asheville, NC (26%)
#1 Ft. Myers, Fl (26%)
#2 Sarasota, Fl (13%)
#2 Prescott, AZ (13%)
#2 Winston-Salem, NC (13%)
#2 San Diego (13%)
#3 Paris, TN (6%)
#3 Beaufort, SC (6%)

Austin, TX and Green Valley, AZ received no votes.

Here's the original list from our article:

10 Best U.S. Cities For Retirees

1. Asheville, NC
2. Sarasota, FL
3. Prescott, AZ
4. Paris, TN
5. Austin, TX
6. Green Valley, AZ
7. Winston-Salem, NC
8. Beaufort, SC
9. San Diego, CA
10. Ft. Myers, FL

It was interesting and kind of fun watching the poll to discover your opinion and to compare it to the original rank. Of course it would have been nice to get more people voting. But we'll get there! It's our hope these fun and interesting articles help you as you think about and develop your Personal Retirement Plan.

This month we're going to do it again and this time we're looking at The Best Places to Live in Canada. So, have a look over at the side bar there on the right and cast your vote!

Best places to live 2011 - Canada

Rediscovering Yahoo! News

I love Google. I use all things Google from Gmail to Google Docs and my home page is iGoogle so sometimes I forget about those other wonderful sources of information - like Yahoo! and Bing, to name just two. Today I had one of those intuitive notions to surf over to Yahoo! and check out what was in the news. Much to my surprise, not really (I've grown to appreciate and trust this intuitive insights), they had some really cool articles about the best places to live.

Here's what I found:

Canada's Best Places to Live 2011

Yup, right on topic and just the kind of info I'm always looking for. Of course you known I'm Canadian and my home land holds a special place in my heart, just like most people. I've boasted about Vancouver, British Columbia being named the World's Most Liveable City, for two years in a row I might add. Curiously it doesn't make the MoneySense Top 10 list. And I've looked at some of the different sides, spaces and places this vast country has to offer including some of the cheapest places to live in America - North America that is.

Now this list by MoneySense is pretty current and as is typical quite well researched. They looked at every Canadian community that had more than 10,000 people living there which totally 180 and then rank ordered the whole list based on 20 categories to determine which places were the best to live in Canada. Things like house affordability, income, employment, crime and weather were just a few of the considerations.

As the authors pointed out, 'No Place is Perfect' and so no place got a perfect score. Additionally the premise of the study was not to be the definitive guide but to create a "fact-based comparison for people to make their own decisions about where they would like to live." And without further ado here are the...

10 Best Places to Live in Canada for 2011

1. Ottawa-Gatineau, Ontario: The nations Capital earns top spot for the second year in a row.
2. Victoria, British Columbia
3. Burlington, Ontario
4. Kingston, Ontario
5. St. Albert, Alberta
6. Fredericton, New Brunswick
7. Brandon, Manitoba
8. Edmonton, Alberta
9. Repentigny, Quebec
10. Winnipeg, Manitoba

And here's a little vid on Canada's Best Place to Live - Ottawa

Post Script - If you're curious about how things have changed since 2010 you can always look back on the MoneySense list of Canada's Best Places to Live in 2010. As always in Canada, there are few surprises or dramatic changes!


Over the coming weeks I'll spend a little time going more in depth in a profile of each of these wonderful Canadian communities.





Source: Canada's best places to live 2011

Cheapest Places To Live: Housing

There is a concept or idea that falls under the umbrella of cheapest places to live that we have never before discussed on this blog and that is the idea of creating a space to live in that is both cheap and livable provided a person can let go of some of the preconceived notions that have been cemented into the brains of the American people and in turn the brains of many of the worlds developed countries.
I am referring to housing that is non-conventional with objectives that include keeping costs down. Housing that makes as its priority to be both cheap and responsible. Cheap to make, operate and as well responsible to the environment. There are several methods that over time have been developed that you may find useful and interesting as you begin to pursue ways to live cheap in the world or even to look for the best retirement community, that is if you are looking for a place to retire.
One method is to convert shipping containers into living spaces. There are people that have simply used a shipping container as a shell to define the exterior walls of their home and gone on to make some of the most unexpected interiors that are both fiscally responsible and also amazingly beautiful. Others have combined several containers to make a larger space and mask them in such a way that one would hardly know the skeleton of the structure was once a box for shipping goods around the world.
How well these containers are masked in the construction is often by definition the determining factor in being able to describe them as a cheap place to live. Anything can be transformed if there is no limit on the budget but it is the pioneers who don’t add significantly to the cost as they transform the use of these shipping boxes that were once for moving things that define them as cheap places to live. It will be interesting to see if their use as housing units becomes popular. One factor that will most likely contribute to their acceptance is how well these artists are able to create a space that people want to live in.
Another new cheapest place to live method is being created in the ‘tiny house’ movement that works to remove the limit on how small a livable house can be. Making the space smaller dramatically reduces the cost. Of course there are still some core costs that make the price per foot go up in a tiny house but the overall cost is dramatically reduced. A tiny house definition is open to debate but some are comfortably living in spaces as small as 100 square feet.

Sometimes these homes are rooms in a building, which is basically a tiny studio apartment. Other times these tiny homes are built on trailers to get around building codes as they are often not acceptable as homes by the local code writers. Many of the design elements are taken from what has traditionally been referred to as cabins where utility is maximized and every square inch has been made useful as much as possible. There is a third cheapest place to live method that has gained traction over the last few decades and that is the use of recycled material like tires, can, bottles and even ground up newspaper to build with.
Sometimes these are in combination with other conservation methods like solar, passive heat, underground construction as well as others to maximize cost savings. All these ideas and methods have their believers and evangelists, as well as those that view them as a lunatic fringe of society that will never be acceptable. The good news is whether you adhere to their ways of thinking and living or not, there are some amazing new and now proven building methods and products coming out of the quest for cheapest places to live and being that is more in harmony with our world and our wallets.

Cheapest Place to Live in America

I was chatting with a good friend on Skype who had made one big move from what was once considered one of the Best Places to Live in America to one of the Cheapest Places to Live in America. It got me thinking about this dialogue we've had going for over three years now - not with him - but with you and me! Yes, you - here on this blog.

We started the discussion years ago when I moved to Panama. At that time America was getting so expensive and so filled with greed that the slogan, 'Escape from America' became a catch phrase. A few years and one big course correction later and we find America is in fact one of the cheapest and of course one of the best places to live. According to International Living Magazine we're back on top - #1 as the best place for Quality of Life. But America is one big place and we all known there is as much variation within this great country as there is land mass.

Americans on the Move

Yes many Americans are trading in their high cost city living on the coasts for laid back and cheaper lifestyles in mid and central America. States like North Carolina and Colorado are growing like weeds. Inland spots like Fort Worth Texas, upper Louisiana and Georgia are growing too.

Cheapest Places in America

On the Pacific side of the U.S. Spokane WA and Modesto CA are ranked highest as cheap places to live. I wrote a while back about Greeley CO and its attraction for those searching out a lower cost of living. If living in the eastern states is where you want to be checkout Knoxville TN or Louisville KY. Not fear of a little snow and cold weather in the winter? Head north to Ann Arbor MI or the burbs of Detroit like Farmington Hills.

And accoding to Forbes Magazine the Cheapest Place to Live in America - Manchester-Nashua New Hampshire. Albeit the Forbes data is a little, well.. dated! They put that piece out in 2009.