When deciding between two beautiful Southern states for retirement, there are countless factors to consider in your decision making. Between states like Georgia and Florida, you will need to evaluate the differences in feasibility, affordability, crime, weather, local amenities, tax breaks for retirees, overall retirement-friendliness, and more. So, where do you even start?
Should you retire in Georgia or Florida? Georgia and Florida are both considered great places to retire, but there are some distinct pros and cons for retiring in both areas.
Summary of Pros and Cons for Retiring in Georgia:
| Pros of Georgia Retirement | Cons of Georgia Retirement |
| Tax-friendly | Crime rates |
| Great culture | Hot summers |
| Great food | Humidity |
| Affordable cost of living | Mosquitos |
| Georgia peaches! | Obesity |
| Traffic |
Summary of Pros and Cons for Retiring in Florida:
This article focuses on presenting the pros and cons of retiring in both Georgia and Florida so that you can make the most informed decision possible regarding where you are going to retire.
| Pros of Florida Retirement | Cons of Florida Retirement |
| Also Tax-Friendly | Retirement rates are set to double |
| Arguably the best beaches in the nation | Crime rates |
| Very retirement friendly | When it rains, it pours |
| Great weather | High propensity for flooding, hurricanes, storms |
| Affordable cost of living | Higher homeowners’ insurance |
| Vacation destination | Property values decreasing along the coast |
Pros and Cons of a Georgia Retirement
The Pros of Retiring in Georgia are:
- It is incredibly tax-friendly – As one of the most tax-friendly states, Georgia offers people over the age of 65 a $65,000 deduction per individual on retirement income outside of social security and up to $130,000 per couple.
- There are no social security taxes.
- By 63, you no longer pay taxes.
- There are senior citizen exemptions for low-income households.
- Most retirees are exempt from school taxes.
- Georgia is ranked #10 in 10 Most Tax-Friendly States for Retirees 2018.
- You still have beaches, but they aren’t quite to the level of Florida’s infamous white sands.
- The state has excellent BBQ, down-south comfort food, and all-around fun culture that enjoys family, a slowed-down lifestyle, and tasty cuisine!
- You cannot forget Georgia peaches!
The Cons of Retiring in Georgia are:
- Crime rate – In Deb Belt’s article “Latest Georgia Crime Rate, Plus National Numbers,” Belt states, “The murder rate in Georgia was 6.7 per 100,000 people, higher than the national rate of 5.3%.” However, the state’s overall violent crime rate was lower than the national average.
- Summers are hot – It is very humid in the south, so if you don’t have a place to cool off, prepare for muggy weather, powerful sun, and lots of humidity for most of the year.
- Mosquitoes – There are tons of them. The Odyssey Online hilariously states, “[Georgia’s] state bird is actually the mosquito.”
- Obesity – Georgia is ranked as one of the Top 20 Fattest Places in America, and there is a high population of overweight residents and issues with obesity. This lends itself to more fast food places being open and less healthy options, which is a vicious cycle in itself.
- Traffic – Trafficis known to be bad, but if you’re not commuting to work in your retirement, this could be less of an impactful issue.
Pros and Cons of Florida Retirement
The Pros of Retiring in Florida are:
- The beach weather – Perhaps the largest selling point in favor of a Florida retirement is the incredible climate. It is warm nearly year-round.
- You would be living in the white-sanded paradise that people flock to for enjoyment. A record-breaking “111.8 million domestic visitors traveled to Florida in 2018, plus an estimated 10.8 million overseas visitors and 3.5 million Canadians.” There is a reason that the retirement population is set to double here in the next decade.
- Tax-Friendly – There is no state income tax (Florida is only one of seven states that offer this to its residents).
- There is no tax on your social security.
- You’ll have no pension or 401K taxation.
- There is no estate or inheritance tax.
- Retirement income is exempt from state taxation.
- The average tax rate on purchases made between state and local taxes is 6.80%, lower than Georgia’s combined rate of 7.23%.
- Average Cost of Living – The combination of Florida’s cost of living being 0.5% less than the national average and having no state tax makes the cost of living very reasonable.
The Cons of Retiring in Florida are:
- You’re not the only one – Many others are in love with the sunshine state as well, which is why it’s topped the retirement charts for decades as the best place to retire. The secret is out, and by 2030, Florida is expected to “have a population of 23.9 million, with 6 million of them age 65 and older – nearly twice the size of the current senior population.”
- Crime Rates – In the article “What are the Safest Cities in Florida,” published by Tuck, it is stated that “Overall, Florida’s violent crime went down 3.5% from 2015 to 2016, despite rising 3.4% nationally. However, the violent crime rate in Florida is still significantly higher than the national average, at 43.92 vs. 38.63 violent crimes per 10K residents.”
- Homeowners Insurance – Homeowners insurance rates are incredibly high because of the following reasons:
- It is not always sunny in Florida. Not only is Florida rated as the lightning capital of the U.S., but there are also rip currents, tornadoes during the dry season (spring through fall), and most commonly, hurricanes.
- There is a high possibility of your house flooding if you are located along the coast of Florida or if you’ve retired on the beach. Since the sea level is rising 1-inch every three years, “the sea level around Florida is up to 8 inches higher than it was in 1950.”
According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “hurricanes have made landfall in Florida 117 times,” compared to the next ranking states like Louisiana and Texas, which have had nearly half as many hurricanes make landfall.
- Mayor Jim Cason of the Florida city, Coral Gables, says, “In 30 years, Florida will see many more days of flooding, stronger storms, more extreme weather, and stagnant or declining coastal property values.”
The Verdict!
According to “These Are the Best and Worst States for Retirement” by Adrian Garcia, Florida is ranked fifth, and Georgia is ranked 28th. This figure is based on affordability, crime, culture, weather, and wellness, and that is quite a vast difference between the two states.
Our suggestion – Visit both! “How to Decide Where to Retire,” by Rachel Hartman from U.S. News, lists the following factors as what you should consider when choosing a retirement spot: cost of living, quality of life, tax environment, climate, travel plans, and starting with a trial run.
You won’t know which one you prefer until you experience for yourself what you enjoy. By immersing yourself and personally experiencing it, the decision should be more natural and instinctual for you. Don’t uproot your life for a place you’ve never been before because you could end up regretting your decision.
Consider if you want to be close to any family members, if you could live in Florida (just not right on the beach), or if you’d feel safer from weather-changes if you were more in-land, like in Georgia.
No state is perfect.
Remember that each will have good and bad qualities to accept, regardless of what state or country you choose. It will come down to the location you connect with the most and see yourself being the happiest in.