Great Americans, Where should I retire?

[mercedesduran]

@dubschanging I'm also allergic to shellfish

 

[maggie321]

@snw Thanks, I checked out Biloxi and the cost of living it is very low: https://livingwage.mit.edu/metros/25060.

 

[toop]

@maggie321 From what I remember in Biloxi, gas and groceries were cheap. You're an hour from Mobile and hour from New Orleans. The local Gulfport Airport wasn't anything great. The ocean is 2 feet deep, even if you try walking 100 yards out. Alot of casinos that have special events and concerts. I used to get free tickets at the Hard Rock just for signing up for their rewards program.

 

[airbusman]

@maggie321 Nevada is a good spot. Be careful with Florida. Owning a home there is getting challenging as more and more insurance companies pull out of the state. Note: I do not live in Florida, I am just repeating news articles.

 

[syner]

@airbusman I have family in Florida. The insurance rate jumps for homes is completely insane. 70 percent increases in the down of a few years. Avoid like the plague.

 

[maggie321]

@syner Thanks, this seems to be a trend in states that have potential for severe weather if you look at that insurance comparison at Bankrate, many of the Midwest tornado alley states seem to be impacted too.

 

[o2blikehim]

@maggie321 I think you might benefit from the suburbs of MoCo Maryland, or some places in Northern Virginia. Yes it does get cold, but it rarely snows. Income taxes are relatively low.

Florida has been getting stupid with insurance, so that’s going to quickly negate your savings in income taxes.

Texas can be ok, but the support really isn’t there when it comes to government benefits and whatnot, especially for someone with health issues. Infrastructure during the winter is still really bad. And property taxes for anything below 100% disability will right away negate your lack of income taxes. Most of the state is also very humid so being outside between May and September sucks ass.

 

[cristiano316]

@maggie321 AZ seems like a great spot.

At Davis Monthan you have a nice big base. Tucson is about 10 degrees cooler than Phoenix and far less populated. No natural disasters to speak of and the upkeep on a home is cheap since there’s not much weather

 

[kik899]

@maggie321 You mention 10+ medications but you think you will only get 10%. That doesn’t add up.

With that number of meds you should be cruising around 80+, probably more.

While waiting to retire, make sure your Genesis medical record is 100% complete and includes any records from off post providers. There’s a bit of paperwork involved to do that, but the medical records department can help you, assuming they aren’t jerks. I just retired, and getting this part done is going to make working with the VA a LOT easier.

Medical records can pull your complete electronic record and send it to you for review electronically. You may be surprised at what you find in there. Mine was almost 800 pages.

Review the CFR for medical disabilities rated by the VA. There’s a lot in there. Keep in mind VA disability does not stop you from working and is 100% tax free. If you are rated over 50%, you will get retirement pay (taxed) and disability compensation.

I’m working on my claim now, and I want to make sure I don’t leave any money on the table.

 

[maggie321]

@kik899 I appreciate it, yes obviously hoping to get what I deserve, but with VA math I am not expecting to get to 100% at least initially. If I do get a 100% rating, I found that Texas and Florida extends the 100% property tax exemption to a surviving spouse, but Tennessee caps out the market value of the house to a max of $175000 with no provision for the spouse unfortunately: https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/exemptions/disabledvet-100-faq.php & https://www.tn.gov/veteran/veteran-...roperty-tax-relief-for-disabled-veterans.html

Thanks for the info on Genesis, there seems to be a lot missing when I download my medical records, but at least my ongoing issues are listed. I will see if medical records on base has some more that I can’t see in Genesis.

 

[mercifulfirebrand]

@maggie321 Las Vegas is great they will waive property tax for disabled vets too

 

[adrian232]

@mercifulfirebrand I 2nd this! The VAs out here are awesome as well. The biggest thing are the Summer Months CoL is still great in my opinion(compared to where I used to live in Chicago), and you're close to Cali, Utah, AZ, and NM. The Parks out here are awesome, and if you dont care for Vegas, Pahrump/Reno/Sparks are worth checking out.

 

[maggie321]

@adrian232 Property tax exemption for Clark County: https://www.clarkcountynv.gov/government/assessor/exemption.php

 

[mia2781]

@maggie321 Tacoma is butt

 

[gigglingtrout]

@mia2781 Tacoma itself is meh- but the general area is pretty nice - especially if you’re outdoorsy.

But it’s not cheap.

 

[intelligentthinking]

@maggie321 What do you mean by “moderate” climate? Most of those places are hot as hell! Sounds more like mid-Atlantic, SC/NC, VA, Delaware or Maryland

 

[maggie321]

@intelligentthinking I want to comfortably be able to go outside year round. My biggest concern would be a slip on ice, but can’t stay in the sun either due to increased skin cancer risk. If I can go outside at night I am happy with that. I left Anchorage AK off the list for ice/snow, but someone else might consider it, no income tax there either.

 

[everette16]

@maggie321 Definitely avoid Florida then, the summers are brutal

 

[matt007]

@maggie321 I’d avoid Tacoma unless you’re both extremely wealthy and enjoy stepping over homeless drug addicts while going damn near anywhere.

 

[timothy50]

@matt007 Awe man I was stationed here and I bought a house, I actually love it here! Tacoma is definitely unique and has its own characteristics for sure haha. Perhaps it’s the state and all its attractions to be specific that I’m in love with! And I also bought in an area with a more…underserved community, but luckily I’m a homebody and don’t leave my house after 8pm/dark oh yeah and the VA here is good to me