New Jersey offers its residents a lot of positives including a great proximity to work, culture, and recreation. But when it comes time to retire, it also offers high taxes, which is one of the reasons Princeton-area residents Bill and Vickie Hawkins decided to move out-of-state upon retirement.

"We did what everyone else does - we looked at Florida first," explains Bill. "Once we visited we realized that, while it was close enough by plane to get back and visit our children and grandchildren, it was too expensive, too crowded and too hot."

So Bill and Vickie decided to expand their search to East Coast states from Georgia north. "We did a lot of research on-line and looked at a lot of communities," added Bill. "But there was always something we did not like. If we liked the area, we did not like the homes. If we liked the homes, we did not like the size of the community, etc."

Eventually the Hawkins had worked their way up way up the seacoast to Delaware. "Vickie looked into Delaware and found out that the State had low taxes," Bill added. In fact, Delaware has extremely low property taxes, no state sales tax, no state tax on social security and reduced taxes on pension and retirement earnings. This is a huge difference from surrounding states.

"Additionally it was close enough to drive to see our family - which is a lot less expensive than flying back from Florida, and yet not too close to the family," said Bill. "And the people we met here are so warm and friendly. We really felt welcomed."