In response to a question at the Carolina Living message board a couple of weeks ago, I suggested that some people focus too much on tax rates when considering where to live.  Taxation is just one piece of the cost of living equation, and the most appropriate thing for any of us to do before considering a particular state and town is to assess the entirety of our finances and lifestyles, and then look at the entire cost of living equation. 

    For example, Tennessee and Florida are no-income-tax states, but if a retiree isn't generating a lot of income, why should he care about a state income tax (especially if she hates traffic jams and wouldn't want to pay higher insurance rates in coastal Florida, for example)?  On the other hand, a retired CEO may have large pension and capital gains income and would be foolish not to look seriously at a no- or low-income-tax state.
    The point is that total cost of living, or COL, is the more relevant piece of data.  There is a particularly helpful chart in the latest issue of Where to Retire magazine, a pleasant surprise since most of the publication reads like a marketing brochure for its advertisers.  Page 234/235 of the August issue contains a "Chart of Living Costs," a comparison of 100 cities in the U.S.  It is set up like one of those mileage charts on a road map; you find the city you live in currently on the vertical axis, and the one you might move to on the horizontal axis, and the intersection of the two tells you how much higher or lower (by percentage) your cost of living will be.  For example, if you are moving from Pittsburgh to Myrtle Beach, your COL will decrease about 5 percent.  Move to Wilmington, NC, from Pittsburgh instead, and your COL will increase 5 percent.  (Note:  Move virtually anywhere from Honolulu and New York City and your COL will drop dramatically.)
    The chart was compiled from data supplied by the research firm ACCRA and cross-referenced with chambers of commerce statistics.  At ACCRA's web site, you can purchase one single comparison of two cities for $7.95; every comparison after that one, assuming you use the same origination city, is $4.95.  The entire August issue of Where to Retire, which includes the chart, is just $4.95 at newsstands (I bought my copy at a Barnes & Noble).  The chart is missing some key southern cities for retirement like Savannah (but, oddly, includes Valdosta, GA), and Aiken, SC, but the chart is still a substantial bargain.
    Just don't take too seriously the other 260 pages of the magazine.  In a few days, I will explain how much of the rest of the August issue of Where to Retire does a disservice to its readers.

    So many golf courses, so little time.  With a little planning, you can build yourself a pretty nice personal golf trail along virtually any U.S. interstate.  Along I-81 from Pennsylvania to Virginia, for example, you will find excellent daily fee courses like Wren Dale in Hershey, PA; Dauphin Highlands, near Harrisburg, PA; and Rock Harbor in Winchester, VA.  (We know these by reputation and look forward to trying them on the way to visit our son at college in Virginia over the next four years.)  It is fun to explore new golf courses, and equally fun to try interesting restaurants along the way.
    Nothing tops off a nice day of golf like an excellent meal.  On Wednesday night, on the way to college, my wife, son and I dined at One Block West , one of the most highly regarded restaurants in Winchester, an attractive, bustling town in the northernmost part of Virginia.  OBW, as the locals call it, is located in Indian Alley in downtown Winchester.  Parking on a quiet weekday night was not a problem; most parking spaces were reserved for office workers who had long since left for the day.

    We considered ourselves lucky that Wednesday is Tapas Night at OBW.  We love the "little plates" of food that characterize this Spanish-inspired style of dining; they are a fine way to determine a kitchen's range and quality and to give you a hint of what you might order as an entrée on any return visit (for the record, we plan to return).  Tapas is also entertaining; the more people around the table, the more fun because of the sharing.  Everyone seems to become an instant restaurant critic when the plates are passed around.
    One Block West, which is decorated in brick and wood and the dark colonial colors of green and red, is owned by the affable Chef Ed Mathews.  On a quiet night, with just a half-dozen tables occupied both inside and in the comfortable outdoor seating area, Chef Mathews greeted us at the door when we arrived and came over to the table at the end of the meal to see how we had liked it.  He wasn't disappointed in our responses.  He and his restaurant passed with flying colors, on both taste and presentation.  Out of the 15 dishes we ordered ($5 to $10 each), only one was less than excellent, the lamb kebabs.  Although cooked to a tasty medium rare, the lamb was overly chewy, burdened by too much gristle; however, the Greek tzatziki sauce accompaniment was exceptionally tasty, with just the right yogurt and garlic zing.
    My marinated baby grilled fennel shared a long rectangular plate with hamachi seviche.  The fennel, served cold atop exceptionally fresh arugula, was a refreshing way to start the meal.  Neither the marination nor grilling did a thing to disturb the natural anise taste of the root vegetable, and the perfectly aligned grill marks showed careful attention to detail.  The hamachi, which had been steeped in a citrus marinade, was astringent and lustrous at the same time, the just-beyond-raw fish as fresh and sparkling as anything you will find in a sushi palace.  My wife and I split the aforementioned lamb, as well as separate dishes of grilled Surry sausage and Basque-style chicken.  The locally produced sausage - I assumed from the town of Surry, less than an hour away - was shot through with smoke tempered by a thin maple syrup sauce, the maple syrup also from Virginia.  It is always a good sign to see local produce and meats on a menu; you know they are likely to be fresh.  The Basque chicken was a good-sized thigh piece simmered in a light-tomato sauce with a hint of green pepper, a faithful rendition of a classic peasant dish.
    I glommed a taste of my wife and son's dishes as well, and they were all equally outstanding.  The most memorable were the grilled baby eggplant with spicy hummus, a nice marriage of the sweet flesh of the vegetable with the bite of the pureed chick peas; prosciutto-wrapped pork tenderloin with grilled plum, the pork easily the most tender piece of meat of the night (or the month); and the mini Thai-inspired crab cakes, packing more meat than filling and accompanied by a thin, spicy Asian sauce.
    OBW offers a wide range of wines by the glass, as well as by the bottle.  I went for a couple of glasses of sherry, a good choice with tapas.  The slightly nutty taste of the sherry matches well with virtually everything on a tapas menu, and after a seven-hour drive, I just wasn't in the mood to think about which whites and reds matched which dishes (I also didn't want to drink too much).  The Lustau oloroso and amontillado I ordered were both fine and reasonably priced, at just $5 per glass.  Three other styles of sherry were offered at equally reasonable prices.   

    If you aren't careful, the final bill for your evening of grazing on a tapas menu can go pretty high, in our case $120 for the 15 dishes we ordered.  But I didn't flinch when I opened the leatherette pouch with the bill.  Excellent meals seem to crowd out such worldly concerns.
    One Block West is located at 25 South Indian Alley in Winchester, VA.  Telephone number is (540) 662-1455.  Reservations suggested, especially on the weekends.  Web site is www.obwrestaurant.com.