Trying To Decide Where To Re-Locate

[Quiganomics]

Ask me any questions about Louisiana and I will try to help you out.

Familiar at all with DeRidder or Plaucheville?

 

[Chasdev]

I would have to retain ready access to grocery stores and medical care.
As a younger person I dreamed of a plot of land away from the big city along with a barn, large garden a workshop and various critters and domestic animals.
Now I am addicted to multiple shopping choices, doctors and hospitals within a few minutes drive time. (Austin traffic notwithstanding).
My wife's aunt just passed away in rural Mississippi because she could not get to an emergency room in time to intervene with a
her heart attack.
They had a great homestead on a perfect piece of land which we could have bought for under 200k but had to pass due to the above.

 

[chef k-dude]

I would love to know the answer to "the best place to move/live".

I've kind of gamed it out a bit and most places have both positives and negatives. I dont like the direction of the politics in VA but I grew up and have always lived here and we have 10 acres of mixed forest in the rolling Virginia Piedmont. Nearly zero threat of flood coming from any direction, the hurricanes rarely cause major damage, we can have some winters with nearly zero snow (yet some with a LOT). There is basically zero crime in my neighborhood of all 10 acre plus properties (not rich people, but no squalor either), I dont even lock my shed or truck. We get 4 seasons, few earthquakes, have never had any significant forest fires where we are.

Cost of living and taxes are in question though. We have an income tax, but I just read an article about states with no income tax. They get their money from many other taxes and fees. Tennessee for instance, a beautiful place, has sales taxes combined state and local as high as 9.55% which really affects lower income people.

I want to liquidate our properties and do a retirement move someday. So it will be interesting to see what you finally decide.

 

[Bill'nCrosbyTX]

Familiar at all with DeRidder or Plaucheville?

DeRidder is close enough to Texas that you may want to consider crossing the Sabine to avoid state income tax.

 

[mike243]

I would love to know the answer to "the best place to move/live".

I've kind of gamed it out a bit and most places have both positives and negatives. I dont like the direction of the politics in VA but I grew up and have always lived here and we have 10 acres of mixed forest in the rolling Virginia Piedmont. Nearly zero threat of flood coming from any direction, the hurricanes rarely cause major damage, we can have some winters with nearly zero snow (yet some with a LOT). There is basically zero crime in my neighborhood of all 10 acre plus properties (not rich people, but no squalor either), I dont even lock my shed or truck. We get 4 seasons, few earthquakes, have never had any significant forest fires where we are.

Cost of living and taxes are in question though. We have an income tax, but I just read an article about states with no income tax. They get their money from many other taxes and fees. Tennessee for instance, a beautiful place, has sales taxes combined state and local as high as 9.55% which really affects lower income people.

I want to liquidate our properties and do a retirement move someday. So it will be interesting to see what you finally decide.

I think .05 of that is knocked off of food so poor folks are not hit hard, you start buying cars and boats high ticket items it can add up, you can control what you buy to reduce spending but you cant get away from a state tax. they will get their $$ lol.

 

[Quiganomics]

I think .05 of that is knocked off of food so poor folks are not hit hard, you start buying cars and boats high ticket items it can add up, you can control what you buy to reduce spending but you cant get away from a state tax. they will get their $$ lol.

And don't try to escape paying TN sales tax on high ticket items by purchasing out of state through LLC's....just ask WhistlinDiesel.

 

[creolesote]

Familiar at all with DeRidder or Plaucheville?

Lived in NE until I was 30. Now live outside Lafayette LA. Plaucheville is a small town. Fairly flat. Pretty agricultural. Nice people. Pretty redneck. I love the Lafayette are and southern St Landry Parish, North LafayettecPariah and north St Martin Parish. Very very interesting culture, hilly and rural but close enough to Lafayette when needed. Very friendly, lively place with a lot of affordable place to find 3-25 acres.

 

[indaswamp]

Familiar at all with DeRidder or Plaucheville?

Not really. My Dad lived there for a while as a kid. I am on the other side of the state between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

 

[okie sawbones]

Of all of those states, you are not going to escape winter except in Louisiana. My wife's family is from Louisiana, from Natchitoches on south.

Deridder, LA has a crime safety grade of C as of 2026. The overall crime rate is estimated to be 14% above the national average. Residents face approximately a 1 in 195 chance of being a victim of violent crime per year and a 1 in 34 chance for property crime. I'm sure some of this drifts down from Alexandria, which has really gone downhill the past 30 years, starting with the closure of England Air Force Base.
However, DeRidder was recently named the fifth safest city in the state of Louisiana by SafeWise, which studies crime data each year to determine the safest cities in each state. DeRidder rose from seventh place in 2025 to fifth in 2026.

Land is still relatively affordable. There are two pretty good restaurants in town, one Cajun, the other BBQ. People are friendly and conservative. And you are about midway between Houston and New Orleans, with Houston a bit closer. And if you like to fish, nearby Toledo Bend offers good fishing for bass, crappie, and catfish.

 

[Quiganomics]

Of all of those states, you are not going to escape winter except in Louisiana. My wife's family is from Louisiana, from Natchitoches on south.

Deridder, LA has a crime safety grade of C as of 2026. The overall crime rate is estimated to be 14% above the national average. Residents face approximately a 1 in 195 chance of being a victim of violent crime per year and a 1 in 34 chance for property crime. I'm sure some of this drifts down from Alexandria, which has really gone downhill the past 30 years, starting with the closure of England Air Force Base.
However, DeRidder was recently named the fifth safest city in the state of Louisiana by SafeWise, which studies crime data each year to determine the safest cities in each state. DeRidder rose from seventh place in 2025 to fifth in 2026.

Land is still relatively affordable. There are two pretty good restaurants in town, one Cajun, the other BBQ. People are friendly and conservative. And you are about midway between Houston and New Orleans, with Houston a bit closer. And if you like to fish, nearby Toledo Bend offers good fishing for bass, crappie, and catfish.

My old man was USAF, spent quite a bit of time in Bossier City as a kid at Barksdale. We used to camp and fish Toledo Bend quite a bit.

 

[Smoke-Chem BBQ]

We used this site quite a bit while deciding where to move in retirement. It made comparisons fairly easy. https://www.bestplaces.net/

 

[clifish]

Quig, I am of no help to you in this decision, but am following as we are in the "back 9" of our time left in NY. Getting awfully sick of $17K in property taxes, $1400/year single car insurance and $7k in electric.

States on our radar are NC, SC, TN and maybe FL? Politics will play a part as I am not a NY Lib in any way.

Also agree on being near medical, I spent an hour in an ambulance at my PA house when I had an anaphylactic reaction. Ambulance had to pick up the only medic in the county on the way to give me an IV.

Good luck with the relocation.

 

[okie sawbones]

Quig, I am of no help to you in this decision, but am following as we are in the "back 9" of our time left in NY. Getting awfully sick of $17K in property taxes, $1400/year single car insurance and $7k in electric.

States on our radar are NC, SC, TN and maybe FL? Politics will play a part as I am not a NY Lib in any way.

Also agree on being near medical, I spent an hour in an ambulance at my PA house when I had an anaphylactic reaction. Ambulance had to pick up the only medic in the county on the way to give me an IV.

Good luck with the relocation.

I was sure glad to leave WA State, and get to East Texas. Never been happier. No state tax, and no property tax due to VA disability. Mild winters.

 

[realdocBBQ]

Getting awfully sick of $17K in property taxes, $1400/year single car insurance and $7k in electric.

Holy SMOKES.

You're literally paying $1500 a MONTH in PROPERTY taxes????

WTF man.

I frigging hate our system sometimes. Not our country, our system. We really need to get away from expecting government to be our nanny, with all the associated costs. I mean that's frigging ridiculous - and I know some people pay a lot MORE than that. But that right there is more than my mortgage AND taxes! So you're paying more just for the privilege of owning your place than we're paying FOR our place. And that ain't including anything you paid or are paying FOR your place. It's just to exist.

Eff this man. I am so frigging sick of our .gov - every single one of them, state, local, federal, whatever. I'm sick and tired of it. The tax on existence is just sickening.

 

[Smoke-Chem BBQ]

Holy SMOKES.

You're literally paying $1500 a MONTH in PROPERTY taxes????

WTF man.

It can be worse. In neighboring NJ, known for the highest property tax (and car insurance) rates in the country, we were paying $22K/year on a 4 BR 2 1/2 BA house in a below-average school district.

Retiring to Idaho, we cut our property tax by 75%, even after buying much more house. Almost everything else is cheaper here, too. And it's an outdoor paradise!

 

[Quiganomics]

Holy SMOKES.

You're literally paying $1500 a MONTH in PROPERTY taxes????

WTF man.

I frigging hate our system sometimes. Not our country, our system. We really need to get away from expecting government to be our nanny, with all the associated costs. I mean that's frigging ridiculous - and I know some people pay a lot MORE than that. But that right there is more than my mortgage AND taxes! So you're paying more just for the privilege of owning your place than we're paying FOR our place. And that ain't including anything you paid or are paying FOR your place. It's just to exist.

Eff this man. I am so frigging sick of our .gov - every single one of them, state, local, federal, whatever. I'm sick and tired of it. The tax on existence is just sickening.

Agreed. The problem is those who have no skin in the game are allowed to vote.

We were up to $7500 in property taxes at our last place. When we moved in it was about $3k/year, but they wanted a new high school. Then they needed an indoor practice facility for the football team. Then a waterpark. And so on and so on. The majority of people voting in favor of these things were frombthe apartment complexes and did not own property, or they were just over the age of 18, eligible to vote, but lived with mom and dad and had no financial liabilities. When it comes to voting in local elections in terms of something that is going to raise taxes, land ownership should be a requirement.

In terms of other forms of taxation...honestly, I'd be in favor of eliminating payroll deduction for taxes. If people had the money in hand and then had to write the check out come tax time and actually see what their tax burden is, there would be a revolution.

 

[realdocBBQ]

I understand where you're coming from - but I would also say I don't think requiring someone to be a 'landowner' is 100% the answer, either.

For one thing, the way our society has evolved (or devolved some might say), lots of people do not and never WILL own property. Hell, I was... I think 35 before we ever bought our own home. While I do think people need to have a say in the governance of their own community, I also think there is a disconnect between what someone pays in rent and what their landlord is being charged for taxes - and thinking they are independent.

Sadly, I think we're on a bit of a downhill slide in this country when it comes to informed voters with a sense of personal responsibility, fiscal accountability and community pride.

Oh well... like I said, I don't think allowing only landowners to vote is the answer (this leads to an effective 'nobility class', after all) - but I will admit, I'm not exactly sure what is.

 

[chef k-dude]

Agreed. The problem is those who have no skin in the game are allowed to vote.

We were up to $7500 in property taxes at our last place. When we moved in it was about $3k/year, but they wanted a new high school. Then they needed an indoor practice facility for the football team. Then a waterpark. And so on and so on. The majority of people voting in favor of these things were frombthe apartment complexes and did not own property, or they were just over the age of 18, eligible to vote, but lived with mom and dad and had no financial liabilities. When it comes to voting in local elections in terms of something that is going to raise taxes, land ownership should be a requirement.

In terms of other forms of taxation...honestly, I'd be in favor of eliminating payroll deduction for taxes. If people had the money in hand and then had to write the check out come tax time and actually see what their tax burden is, there would be a revolution.

We had the same thing in our county. They wanted a new high school, and of course it has to be architecturally and ergonomically designed. We give our kids "good feels" and skylights and more and more of them are less intelligent as time goes on. And of course, the project had cost overruns we as a county had to borrow money for.

Our county plays the "equalized tax rate" game. They just jack up your assessment. They can claim they are keeping the rates low but still getting the amount of money they want. You can challenge it, and I did one year because we had just done some mortgage adjustments breaking off 2 acres of our land for a house for my parents. So I just happened to have a recent appraisal. Hard to fight county hall without some kind of backup like that.

Land ownership was the way the early Americans voted I think. I think it makes a lot of sense especially locally. In my county it's essentially property owners that pay the bills, so they should be the ones to decide on country actions. BUT, that includes the heinous car taxes, so really, anyone owning a car is a "property owner" paying taxes (Until a car is 20 years or older). Those people, could cry "taxation without representation" if only land owners could vote. Then there are business owners that may not own their building but are taxed on their "business personal property value".

Nationally, although it would be nice because we are on the land owning side of the argument, I dont think it's practical. What I WOULD like to see is proof of citizenship for a voter registration and a civics test...like at a minimum requiring passing the citizenship exam. Why should we allow people who cant even name the three branches of government to vote for the government they are completely ignorant about? From the "man on the beach" interviews at spring break, this would rule out a LOT of college students!

 

[realdocBBQ]

Land ownership was the way the early Americans voted I think. I think it makes a lot of sense especially locally. ...

Nationally, although it would be nice because we are on the land owning side of the argument, I dont think it's practical.

I realize I'm chopping out a lot of your post - don't think I'm trying to make it disingenuous. Just pointing out a couple things that some people would overhype if they were doing the "Gotcha!" soundbyte game.

If only people who owned land or property could vote - let's look at the inner cities. We'd have tens of thousands in each district, probably millions overall in each large city, who could NOT vote for their own elected representatives, and the only ones who COULD vote would be the ones who own the structures they all live in.

How would you feel if your slumlord and all his cronies voted in themselves and their friends to pass rules, laws and regulations that controlled your life?

Some of us would say there's a lot of that going on now anyways, but... the whole point of the Constitution was that each CITIZEN gets a say in who represents them. <shrug> It is what it is - you either believe in representation or you don't.

The problem with democracy is that things that are 'popular' aren't necessarily SMART. How many of us would vote for each single CITIZEN in our country to go into debt to the tune of $113,000. This is the breakdown of debt for every man, woman and child who is actually a citizen of the United States. Or $357,000 per TAXPAYER.

Additionally, we're expected to ADD to that another $6,000+ this year alone.

How many of us would agree to that if we were casting a ballot on it?

 

[Straw_Sticks_Bricks]

I don't know if I can call it the best out of your list, I am biased against Louisiana due to a month I spent on Fort Polk, but I live to the south west of Kansas City in Missouri and have to say it is a pretty good place to live. And I can give you some insight that may help you make a decision.

The support for homeschooling is pretty good, we did the home school thing from K through 8th grade. When it was time for high school we decided to go with a private academy. But that was due to things other than state laws.

As long as you stay out of KC and St. Louis I think you'll find your politics match the locals. That is an issue though, for anything big, KC and St. Louis tend to dominate, and they are much bluer than the state as a whole.

Based on your price range and land wants you would be pretty far out of the KC area. But since you have flexibility you can look near Joplin and Springfield. If I wasn't tied to a job in KC I'd be looking to move closer to Stockton Lake. If you like being on the water it is wonderful. One thing I will note if you decide on Missouri, consider getting 20 acres of land. Everyone I know, myself included, that got between 1 and 10 acres wishes they had gone for 20. The reason being that 20 acres is when you can qualify for agricultural zoning for property taxes, farmer deer tags, and other advantages.

If you have any questions please let me know.

*Edit* One thing I forgot to mention. The state currently does have an income tax but there is work going on to eliminate it. I'd like to say it has a good chance of happening, but as I said, KC and St. Louis dominate on the major issues. So I'm not optimistic.