Best in the West

Retiree magazine rates Kalispell as a 'Terrific Low-Tax Town'

Kalispell is listed as one of eight "Terrific Low-Tax Towns" in the January/February edition of Where to Retire magazine, but according to some local retirees, it would be more appropriate to herald the town for its terrific people.

Jerrel Hudson retired to the valley with his wife, Matie, from Tucson six years ago looking for natural beauty and a small-town experience.

They found both, plus another benefit that Hudson said has made them "quite happy with the choice we made to move here."

"There is also the friendliness of the local people, and people here are also so trusting," Hudson said. "I don't say that idly, I really mean that."

Hudson is among a number of retirees who chose the Flathead Valley over the traditional retirement hot spots in the southern part of the country.

"They still think I'm crazy to have moved north," Hudson said of friends back in Tucson. "And people I know here think I'm nuts; half of them go south to Arizona for the winter."

But according to Where to Retire [which calls Kalispell a "rugged" locale] , the area has plenty to counter the cold, offering "an outdoor-loving retiree's paradise." It was listed as a low-tax town because of its "low property taxes and no state sales tax."

According to the article, the estimated state and local tax burden for a retired couple living in Kalispell with an income of $60,000 and a home valued at $225,000 is $4,044 a year. The cost of living is called "above average."

Of the eight towns named in the Where to Retire story, Ashland, Ore., has the lowest tax burden for the same couple at $4,012 a year, while Gainesville, Ga., comes in at $4,994 a year as the highest of the group.

Kalispell Chamber of Commerce President Joe Unterreiner said that a listing such as the one in Where to Retire always is a public relations bonus and also gives those publicizing the area a new way of looking at things.

"It is nice to be seen from that kind of angle," Unterreiner said. "We're familiar with what's going on here, but we're not always able to put our situation in perspective with what's going on nationally."

The low-tax designation will be played up by the Chamber, Unterreiner said.

"These are the kinds of things we list in our community guide as honors or recognition that the community has received," he said. "We list them in publications or on our Web site and it helps inform people about what's unique or interesting or special about our community."

The local tax situation, though, had nothing to do with the Hudsons' desire to move to the Flathead Valley.

"I didn't pay attention to the monetary part of it, but it sure is nice not to pay sales taxes and to have the lower auto licensing fees," Hudson said. "In Tucson, there's a 7.6 percent sales tax, which is a whole lot of money over a year."

The Hudsons, who live off of Whitefish Stage Road, aren't outdoors crazy, especially in the winter, but don't mind the snow, either.

"I got a nice snow-removal machine and don't worry about it," Hudson said.

For Dave Handy and his wife, Susan, the outdoors was a major motivator when they built their retirement home in Lakeside in 2000.

"We knew early on that when it came to retirement, we weren't interested in a gated community or Florida or the desert," he said. "We wanted a place to find a sense of community and where we could find sporting and recreational opportunities on a year-round basis."

Handy is the incoming president of the Daybreak Rotary Club of Kalispell and is on the board of the Hockaday Museum of Art.

He said that jumping in as an involved member of the community made the move from the Midwest much easier. Susan Handy also is involved, working with neighborhood zoning issues and volunteering at John Paul II Catholic Church.

It also helped that the people of the Flathead Valley made them feel completely welcome.

"We didn't know a soul here and had no roots here, but the people have been very welcoming and we've found it a delightful place," he said. "We've made very strong friendships and it's surprised me, in a way, how quickly that has occurred."

Handy, whose career was in banking, said he and his wife were aware of the tax situation when they moved here, but it really played no part in their decision.

"I was aware of the lack of a sales tax, but there is a state income tax which is reasonably onerous," he said. "But I thought we got good value for our investment in the land."

One money-related aspect of life in the Flathead Valley, discovered while building their house, was somewhat unexpected, Handy said.

"I was impressed with the quality of the various building trades and those involved," Handy said. "People take pride in what they do here, and it became apparent to us as we moved through the process."

Tom and Mary Nelesen took an early retirement from their retail furniture business in Wisconsin to move to the Orchard Ridge development in Kalispell in 2004.

Mary Nelesen said they are both outdoor enthusiasts who love cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and hiking, and she has become heavily involved with the Audubon Society. They had taken vacations in Glacier National Park for years with their children, so were well aware of the opportunities for recreation.

They couldn't have imagined heading to a warm climate - the more snow the better for them, she said.

"Whenever it snows we are very happy," she said.

Money had little to do with their decision, Nelesen said.

"I guess the cost of living is comparable to where we came from. Financial thoughts were not an issue. We didn't look at that side of retirement, we just wanted to look for a place we would really enjoy living."

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com