BEST places to RETIRE-

[RussBow6]

My in-laws are doing this sort of thing. They leased out their house on dry land, bought a boat and have become full-time cruisers. Going on 4 years since they've lived on land and they have no intentions of ending anytime soon. Although, the lifestyle comes with constant maintenance work and continual expensive to keep the house afloat. And their insurance prohibits them from being anywhere near the Caribbean during hurricane season; apparently it's a ton more expensive to be inside the hurricane box in the summer.

wow thats awesome. i'm real jealous... minus the maintenance. its all part of the gig though, working on a boat always was relaxing for me... as long as i had a cooler full of high life to keep me company

definitely a goal of mine to retire like that... now i just have to find a wife that'll be ok with it. actually it might be better to cruiser the caribbean wifeless. hmmm decisions decisions

 

[villanelle]

I have family in the FL Keys and every time we visit, Ithink it would be a great palce to retire. Yes, you do have the occasional hurricane scare, but mostly that leads to great parties and litle else.

Fabulous weather, amazing diving, and a very mellow, slow pace to life. My uncle does not own pants--dressin gup means puttin gon the good shorts. Houses on the water have become ridiculously expensive, but a dry lot is still very affordable.

And you are only a reasonable drive away from Miami for all the big city culture you want. I mean, it's now Pensacola, but they manage.

And since it was on your list, there is a base nearby.

My parents retired to Vegas, were ther is no state income tax and living is pretty cheap. You've got culture and, well, VEGAS!!! Ridiculously hot in the summer, but you can stay inside or hit your pool and it is fine. And another place that has your base nearby if you want it (Nellis). They are so happy there. (Dad is retired AF, but I don't like to admit that around these parts.)

 

[FMRAM]

I lived in Southern Oregon for my 4 years of high school and loved it. Even Ashland has its charms. I the handful of times I visted the Rouge Valley we ended up partying at least one night in Ashland and had a blast.

 

[Stearmann4]

Coincidentally, we just went through an agonizing year of retirement preparation and planning. We currently live in Olympia, WA but I was offered a great flying job in central Illinois. It paid very well, but it was located in a very small farm town and while crime was low and housing averaged from 35K - 65K (tells you something), there was nothing nearby but a Cracker Barrel, Super Walmart and a Dairy Queen.

Being from the area, I was in hog heaven. my wife thought I was kidding her. There just wasn't any of the amentities we've grown accustomed to over the last 21 years. Also turns out that gun laws are very restrictive in Illinois and property taxes are outrageous.

Most of our family lives in SCal, but that was out since CA tax laws would rape most of my retirement and I refuse to finish raising my kids in a state with the worst school system in the country.

So, after much debate, we decided to stay in WA as housing is still somewhat reasonable, taxes are acceptable, they don't tax military retirement, and it's easy to get a concealed carry permit.

That said, we often curse the region during the winters, but the schools are excellent and there's just about anything you could want to see or do within a reasonable distance.

We do have to endure the greenies and anti-war protests periodically, but no place is perfect.

Lastly, as one poster said, it may not matter, you might just have to go where the job is, we were just fortunate to find one where we liked living.

MR-

 

[ODSCandidate]

Oregon, Washington, or a Cruiser

Thanks everyone for your input. I especially liked hearing about WA and OR. I hear the wine tastings in both regions are suppose to be fantastic! A boat sounds good too (given we're in the Navy!). I wonder if you can take a piano on a boat (hmmm?). I guess the boat would have to weigh more than the piano!

I've heard St. Pete, FL is good too. Near water! I know there's a huge installation down there that pretty much caters to the military (I think it's a Coast Guard base)?? No one seemed to want to mention Norfolk, guessing "too" much Navy.

Taxing on retirement, really good issue. Here is a site that specifically tells you which states are exempt from taxing military retirements http://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/rpt/2005-R-0131.htm AND they tell you if it's a "No State Tax" state. There are roughly 12-14, given my quick skimming of the list. This is from 2005, but I'm sure there's a newer list somewhere on the web, but this gives you a good estimation of who does and does not tax military retirement.

Hope this helps! Feedback was nice, thank you.