It's time for my family to leave Colorado.... Moving to Idaho

[FoxtArt]

Not everything is all bad in Colorado. As HB stated above. But also, factor elder-age care in personal circumstances when planning moves. Not adovacating any one way, just plan on getting old.

If you are medicaid eligible, PACE is a good program that would let you age-in-home and not wind up in a nursing home: https://www.npaonline.org/find-a-pace-program

Also depending on your financial state, compare bankruptcy exemptions in your current and future state. The reason why is these are blanket protections, if you get sued in a personal injury case, that is your assets that are safe (even without ever filing BK). If you incur 500k in medical debt, that is your blanket (even without filing BK). And guess what, medical debt accounts for a crazy proportion of bankruptciies and other issues especially with elders.

Colorado is something like 300,000 in homestead equity that is exempt. That means you stay in your home even when cancer treatment backs up your finances by a quarter million, so long as your equity isn't > say 350,000.

Other states have as low as like 40,000 in homestead equity. If you get very ill there, if your finances can't handle it, you will, most likely, lose your house. Hopefully, you're OK with renting if that bridge is crossed, and can afford it.

Another consideration, consider medicaid inheritance rules and practices. If you end up on medicaid for any reason, does your state put a lien on your assets to repay that in probate? Does it pursue it by action? Can your heirs skirt it any way?

Move based on the big picture of why everything works for you or doesn't work for you. Neighborhoods aren't segregated by politics and ordinarily you can happily live next to a liberal. They can just as readily move right next to you out in the sticks, too. Moving somewhere and risking homelessness at age 78, maybe is something to also factor on the radar. I'd almost say more than politics, plan on getting old. Not advocating any one place, just advocating for a long term outlook.

If you're still working, also look at property tax vs sales tax vs income tax.