I’m surprised nobody mentioned Tennessee.

OK, I will.

No state income tax
County real estate tax is 1/2 what I paid in Ohio for a property that is more valuable than I had in N.E.Ohio. I live just outside city limits so no city taxes.
Vehicle registration is very inexpensive. No personal property tax.
Electricity is CHEAP. I have a 2300 sqft house and a 2400 sqft shop both with heat pumps and our electric bill is way lower than it was in Ohio and we had natural gas in ohio.
I am 25 minutes from Bristol Dragstrip (Thunder Valley), maybe 20 minutes to Johnson City for bigger selection of restaurants and shopping.
Mountains are less than a mile away. You can see them from our porch. Six miles from beautiful Watauga lake. Several ski slopes in North Carolina less than 1 hour.
Great weekly car cruise less than 3 mi. away. Price of gas here is less than anywhere else around. You can get No Ethanol 87 and 93 octane.
Tennessee is a constitutional carry state. No permits required for open or concealed carry.
I hate big cities so this place works for me.

Just don't move to Horry county. The "beach" development is moving further and further inland. I'm in Marion county, which borders Horry, and land investment groups contact me almost weekly trying to buy land. Old farmland is constantly being turned into developments w/ cheap cookie cutter slab houses all sold before the concrete cures.

Well, I moved to North Carolina in 2017 (after retiring from work in Maryland). I am very happy with my decision.
1) Relatively affordable housing and cost of living. Property tax good, insurance costs good.
2) State Income tax planned reductions to 3.99% in 2027.
now 4.75% in 2023
was 4.99% in 2022 My state income tax was $65 this year, Withheld $1,000-$65=$935 refund. Since my pension is not taxed and I had low capital gains on my savings.
was 5.25% in 2021
was 5.25% in 2020
was 5.25% in 2019
was 5.499% in 2018
3) Plenty of 1/8 mile drag strips (except near the ocean, Wilmington). So Raliegh, Greeensboro, HighPoint, or outside Charlotte.
4) I like the lack of snow in winter. Yes, it might snow a couple days but then it melts.
5) Great highway system ! Lots of big multilane highways and mostly few cars = lack of crazy traffic. Few exceptions near city limits (Raliegh, Charlotte, etc).

I live 5 miles outside the Greensboro city limits and it feels more country, so you can affordably buy 2-20 acres and still be close to major stores, plumbing, metal supply, fabrication, etc.

Bring it!! I love it here! Been in SC for a decade now.

South Carolina hands down. Just talking tracks I have 3 1/8 mile tracks 45 minutes away that hold plenty of events from
March until about oct/nov and two that are open through the remainder weather permitting (typically 50° minimum temps) Then there are 2 1/4 mile tracks about 3 hours drive with the same operating parameters. Not to mention a bunch of 1/8 tracks scattered in each direction in under that 3 hour drive radius. All in NC/SC. Lots of engine shops, race shops, trans shops, head shops etc especially close to Charlotte, NC among other areas. Lots of lakes, countryside etc. You want services close by. No problem. You want desolate quite living yet not to far from those services? Again, no problem. Want to live really isolated and don’t mind a longer drive. It’s here.

My advice would be to do a VRBO, Air BnB, short term rental, extended vacation etc in any particular area and do some scouting around. Get a feel for the areas. You can find exactly what you want. Only thing is these days, the longer you wait and as time goes by the price goes up as with everything. There are no more deals or steals!

Wes, I met a racer in Florida that raved about Norwalk Speedway in Ohio, and Summit motorsports park is real close. Plus you would be centralized somewhat. Minnesota has BIR, in the middle of the state. If you locate close to the south east corner of Minnesota, you are not far from a number of tracks. Rockfalls raceway in Wisconsin, Cedarfalls in Iowa, Tri State, Iowa, Eddyville is in South East Iowa, Humboldt, Iowa. The area in southeast Minnesota is very beautiful rolling hills of the Mississippi River Valley. And Mayo Clinic is in Rochester. If you locate in Southern Minnesota, I am at most 130 miles away.

If/when we make the SoDak jump (bought 3 acre lot 3 years ago) I’ll be 25 min from an 1/8th mile track, but it isn’t anything fancy for sure (lots of gravel pit areas). Anything beyond that is 4-6 hrs away. We were contemplating on keeping our AZ home too, but with build costs we’ll be selling it. 27 years in the sun we’re excited for a change and with other outdoor interests it’ll be a good fit for us. We can leave our property on the RZR (street legal just like AZ) and hit 1000’s of miles of trails.

like everyone said Ohio is hard to beat. National Trail in Columbus, Norwalk, Edgewater in Cincinnati, Kil-Kare near Dayton, Muncie Indiana, and Bunker Hill, Marion Dragway is in Ohio

Great info, Greg. Thank you. I've been to Norwalk, and its a nice facility. I've also been to other Ohio area tracks.

One of my neighborhood friends from the teenage years in SoCal - we still keep in touch 50 years on - just moved from SoCal to somewhere around Lynchburg, TN and loves the area.
Money isn't an issue for him - he recently retired from the commercial construction business he built - and he's not a racer, but his photos are pretty endearing.

Wikipedia is handy for researching climate, population, median income, etc when considering an area.

Wes,

What prompted the move?

My daughter just finished her 1st year of college and when she finishes her 2yr degree, we are free to leave almost...My mom has had a bad 2 years, and we are waiting to see how this goes. Currently my only two reasons to stay for a bit more.

But for us here in Buffalo NY,. its the crap political climate that is forcing us out. They believe in running ever aspect of your life here and lots of taxes...Can't stand it anymore. Gonna make a web page when we leave of all the things wrong with NY...

Unlike you, I cannot afford to keep my current house, and buy another...We have chosen the great state of Tennessee to move to. And one of the cars will probably get sold to help with the move as well.

Good luck in your major move...

Since the original poster didn't mention Florida, I left it out.
I did consider FL for my retirement move, some pros and cons.
C- limited number of drag strips (spread out), narrow choices to your range from one of those.
C- home insurance is high. Wind damage threat as well as flooding and hurricanes.
C- real estate (home property) taxes are high. They do have a "home stead" partial exemption, so account for that in your calc.
C- sales tax is a little high, but since it only applies to what you spend (not income); it is not a big deal breaker.

P- No state income tax.
P- The weather is not that bad if you stay away from the interior. Yes, some humidity; but not as bad as gulf coast of LA & Mississippi.
P- Great "winter" weather, sort of like fall in more northern states.
P- Race tracks... Gainsville, Bradenton, Immokalee, North FL Motorplex (Powerhouse), Showtime, County Line

I’ll just add on thing about racing all year. In Pa and Ohio if you want to race there’s a race. And often three or four days of racing. If you aren’t the pick up the phone type of guy that orders an engine you will need an off season for maintenance.

The biggest issue with Florida I think is that everyone in the world goes to Florida. Lots of travelers, tourists year round. The beaches are packed. Ever walk to a supposed off the beaten path beach that requires you to walk a ways to get to it and there is actual foot “traffic” going both ways to and from the beach area? That to me sums up Florida. Crowded.

The biggest issue with Florida I think is that everyone in the world goes to Florida. Lots of travelers, tourists year round. The beaches are packed. Ever walk to a supposed off the beaten path beach that requires you to walk a ways to get to it and there is actual foot “traffic” going both ways to and from the beach area? That to me sums up Florida. Crowded.