You bet…is it your asshole, pecker, or just generic aches and pains?
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Your retirement plans . . .
- Thread starter robav8r
- Start date
Exactly where I am (not on SS yet) except no rental property.
I don’t have a rental property (yet) either. That’s a longer term goal.
5 MG of daily Cialis is the gouge! Remove the urgency to pee in the middle of the night and benign prostate enlargement that is typical as we age. Not to mention the other positive effects!!!! Cheap (free) and effective.
Fuck me…you win.
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
I have never had an issue with Tricare Prime since I have been retired. My frustrations have been with certain specialist, to be specific those that do the colonoscopies. I have been trying for a few years to get one and what I have found is even though they will call you back they won't. In one case they prescribed what I was supposed to take prior to the exam and said we will call you later to schedule you, they never did. Still trying and it is like getting placed on the endless hold, that is until it hits the end of the day then they just hang up on you.
First, make sure you're asking about the particular Tricare program you want. It seems reading posts here that there's some confusion. Prime is a one time annual fee. Select is the closest equivalent to civilian healthcare, requires a nominal (but annoying out of principle) monthly fee, plus co-pays. However Select also allows you to go VFR direct to a specialist without a referral. You may still need a prior-auth for certain procedures, though.
Personally, I refused to continue to participate in the Navy's healthcare system when I retired because I was so frustrated how bad it was. Since I live in a fleet-concentration area, I would be forced to go to the local MTF, which is who I had been dealing with prior to retiring. To get anything addressed would typically take 6 months of referrals, appts, etc.
With Select, I've dealt with multiple (mostly ortho) issues quickly with providers I choose. It does cost a little more, but it's still cheaper than most private plans. My wife was hospitalized several years ago for a very significant issue for a little over a week with multiple follow ups and I think her hospital stay and procedure was less $1000 out of pocket. If I'm incorrect in that number, it's only by ~$500.
If you're not in a fleet concentration area (think not within 50 miles of any DoD MTF), then Prime allows you to go out in town, however you still have to follow all of their referral rules. This is where people run into the issues that Chuck mentioned...providers aren't very friendly to Prime.
When I retired, I already had an ortho appointment the next business day thanks to Select because I knew I had a problem that the Navy took too long to diagnose. Personally, I haven't looked back.
Sorry, I contributed to the confusion…I wrote Prime when I utilize Select. I like select.
I'm on Medicare with Tricare for Life as a secondary. I've had 5 back surgeries, a surgically repaired zenker's diverticulum (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenker's_diverticulum), 2 shoulder surgeries, 2 carotid endarterectomies (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carotid_endarterectomy), a few colonoscopies, some broken bones and lacerations with associated ER visits, and my out-of-pocket expense for all of this has been negligible. It has been a lifesaver for me. And yes, this is the thread where us old farts can commiserate.
Been on a quest lately to find some tools and resources that can help provide a comparative analysis for the best places to retire. Some of the resources below (Thank You ChatGPT) are pretty useful:
Sources for each column:
1. Comprehensive "Best Places to Retire" Comparison Tools
🏆 Best Places Rankings
- U.S. News Best Places to Retire
- Criteria include affordability, healthcare quality, desirability, happiness, job market, and retiree taxes.
- Easy comparison between cities.
🌎 Best Places (bestplaces.net)
- www.bestplaces.net
- Very granular data on:
- Crime rates
- Climate
- Cost of living
- Healthcare
- Air quality
- Transportation
- Housing
- You can do side-by-side comparisons of up to 4 locations.
- Free version is very good; deeper data available with subscription.
- Very granular data on:
📊 2. Data & Analysis Tools (more DIY / spreadsheet-friendly)
Niche
- www.niche.com
- Focuses on cities, suburbs, and towns.
- Ratings on:
- Public schools
- Crime & safety
- Housing
- Healthcare
- Retiree friendliness
- Commute
- Nightlife, outdoor activities
- Visual maps and comparisons.
City-Data
- www.city-data.com
- Very detailed statistics for U.S. cities/towns.
- Includes:
- Crime
- Healthcare facilities
- Airports
- Demographics
- Photos & forums
- Can be used in tandem with spreadsheets to build your own analysis.
Numbeo
- www.numbeo.com
- Global data, useful if considering international retirement.
- Covers:
- Cost of living
- Crime
- Healthcare
- Traffic
- Pollution
- Quality of life.
🗺️ 3. Visual / Mapping Tools
Walk Score
- www.walkscore.com
- Gives ratings for walkability, public transit access, and bike friendliness.
- Very helpful for evaluating neighborhoods within cities.
NeighborhoodScout (paid for full version)
- www.neighborhoodscout.com
- Crime maps (down to neighborhood level)
- School ratings
- Real estate trends
- Demographics.
📋 4. Build Your Own Comparative Spreadsheet
If you want a highly tailored analysis, you can combine data from these sources into a spreadsheet.| Location | Crime Rate | Healthcare Access | Cost of Living | Airport Access | Shopping | Climate | Walkability | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City A | High | Good | Medium | 30 min drive | Good | Mild | Very good | |
| City B | Low | Excellent | Low | 45 min drive | Fair | Cold | Poor |
Sources for each column:
- Crime: BestPlaces, NeighborhoodScout, City-Data
- Healthcare: U.S. News hospital rankings, BestPlaces, Niche
- Cost of Living: Numbeo, BestPlaces
- Airport: Google Maps (distance), BestPlaces "Transportation"
- Shopping: WalkScore, Niche
- Climate: BestPlaces, NOAA
- Walkability: WalkScore
🗂️ Summary Recommendations
If you want an easy start:- Use BestPlaces.net for side-by-side basic comparisons.
- Use Niche and City-Data for deeper dives.
- Use WalkScore and NeighborhoodScout for more fine-grained neighborhood analysis.
- If considering international: add Numbeo.
Not bad. Probably also want to ask Chatgpt to refine these results, and take into account states that do not tax military pensions, waive property taxes for disabled veterans, etc.
Damn brother…maybe you should get a house with stairs?
I have friends who ask, "How have you managed to live this long?" After my last ER visit 2 weeks ago (only required 3 stitches in my ankle), my son in CO responded, "I'm getting tired of getting these messages."😎
Time to hire a stunt double...probably less costly than medical bills at this point.
