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Best Town For Objectivists

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Michero

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  • 2 weeks later...
Last thing I knew, New Hampshire didn't have an income tax OR a sales tax. There may be an "unearned" income tax. NH does have high property taxes, though, thanks to all the refugees from Taxachusetts. I lived in NH for years, though. I liked the little towns, where town meetings did really control local taxes and schools. Danbury, up north of Concord, is a nice town. But I love Portsmouth, however overdeveloped and touristy it has become.

Hey, I live in Portsmouth! (By the way, hi everyone, haven't posted or read in quite a while - rarely get online for more than a couple of minutes, since I don't have a connection at home. Probably 'bout time to take me off moderator status, I'd think.)

Yes, Portsmouth is a great city. I think I'm actually kinda in love with this place. Portsmouthers have an attention to detail that blows most other towns out of the water. For instance, my favorite coffee shop (which roasts its own beans) actually puts a timer next to all the airpots to ensure that they're dumped in no more than an hour after brewing, to make sure that everyone gets the freshest cup possible. That's just one example, but the attitude is pervasive - it's the idea that even the little stuff should be treated as a luxury, because life is to be enjoyed. At the same time, it's not an anal-retentive, mechanical sort of care for details. People work hard, but they have fun doing it. It shows.

I have to disagree in part with "overdeveloped and touristy". I'm not even really sure what overdeveloped means - if anything, Portsmouth is underdeveloped. The city disallows building anything taller than the North Church in the downtown area, which means that housing has to expand horizontally rather than vertically. Given the high demand for living downtown, that means living here is wildly expensive. (I live with six other people in a five-bedroom house a little way outside of downtown, and I'm paying more than I paid for a one-bedroom apartment on the main street a couple towns over only three years ago.) It makes it hard for those of us who live and work downtown. So if anything, we need more (and better - i.e., freer) development. As for touristy, sure - because we're so awesome! Luckily it's a seasonal thing, so we have summer tourists and fall leaf-peepers come in and spend all their money during those times of the year, and we have the rest of the year to relax and hang out with the locals. It's not bad.

Back to the topic: is it the Best Town for Objectivists? No such thing, I'd think. It seems like the discussion here has focused on how few taxes & general economic restrictions one finds in one area as against another. Is that all there is to life? Hell no! (That said, it's true, there's no income or sales tax here, and it's pretty cool.)

Some people like cities, some people like towns. Some people like to be left alone, others like to live in a place where random strangers will say hi to you when you walk down the street. Some people want to live by the beach, others want to live in the woods. Point is - when you ask what the best town is for an Objectivist, you should first ask "which Objectivist?" Even if there were a town in the U.S. with literally no taxes, it wouldn't make it the Best Town For Objectivists. Maybe for some - but the diversity of people's interests just about guarantees that it wouldn't be best for everyone.

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  • 2 years later...
Personally, I 'd like to live in Irvine, CA so that I could attend the ARI classes in person without having to drive the long distance. Yes I know there's online classes...but I like the classroom experience.

The ARI classes would be the only thing worth coming over here for, unless you want to pay our taxes that go to give benefits to illegals (which we have plenty of) and who of corse are completly tax exempt. However, the city itself is very nice and the people are friendly (for the most part).

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Up here in Canuckistan your best bet would probably be somewhere in Alberta. Alberta doesn't have a provincial sales tax and when I lived in Red Deer there was an unpoken agreement in certain business's that if you paid in cash the owner would "forget" to add the much hated GST, our federal Goods and Services Tax - or as some refered to it the Gouge and Screw Tax.

What about a ship? One of those huge oceanliners, only have it as a nation unto itself. With technology today many people can work on the net and there would be some employment in the service sector at least. It could put into port at some of the most exciting cities in the world, travel following the sun so that you were always in summer (a personal wish... Arghhhh... the winter we've had here in Ontario - global warming my ass).

flotingcity1xm5.th.jpg

Edited by Zip
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New York City.

One must not judge a location solely by its taxes, but rather by how well that location gives you the opportunity to fulfill your values. It is entirely possible, and in fact quite common, for New Yorkers to have the opportunity to earn fabulous incomes that allow for a great standard of living despite paying the highest taxes and housing prices in the country.

I love New York for many reasons. It is the city of skyscrapers, the headquarters of American capitalism, and it is one of the top places where the best and brightest gather. There are lots of smart, ambitious people in this city. Working with them, interacting with them, and witnessing their achievements is energizing.

Having said all that, I can see living nearly anywhere in America and even in many parts of the world. It all depends on your own personal values.

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What about a ship? One of those huge oceanliners, only have it as a nation unto itself. With technology today many people can work on the net and there would be some employment in the service sector at least. It could put into port at some of the most exciting cities in the world, travel following the sun so that you were always in summer (a personal wish... Arghhhh... the winter we've had here in Ontario - global warming my ass).

Is that picture you posted a real project? I'd be very interested to here more about it.

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  • 2 years later...

There are other taxes: property tax, sales tax. Also, I suppose, the rules for taxes on businesses may be different from the rules for taxes on individuals.

Using tax-rates to decide where to live, here is a suggestion: live and work in Vancouver, WA. It is a suburb of Portland, OR. No state income tax in Washinton state. Then, do all your shopping in Portland and the Oregonian suburbs -- no sales tax. [We have some Portland folks here. I have a feeling they're going to tell me that this won't work, because the bureaucrats have covered this "loophole"].

No it works. I live in Vancouver and pay no state income tax. When I want to go shopping I just drive across the bridge into Portland where there is no sales tax.

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