USA -- low budget repatriation specific locations that aren't horrible

[Jingthing]

I've already rejected Denver.

I don't smoke pot.

[Scott]

An inflammatory post has been removed.

[Gary A]

 

Brandenton Florida, near Sarasota, causeway to St. Petersburg on the Gulf coast.

Seems to have some affordable real estate.

Any feedback?

 

My mother and father wintered there for probably fifteen years. They owned a small trailer in a senior trailer park. It is the only place my father ever got mugged. He was an old man mugged and injured by a violent armed young man They loved their trailer and their little community. Admittedly he could have gotten mugged almost anywhere else but that incident ruined their winter retirement home. They sold their trailer and never returned. Criminals had found it easy to prey on the old folks.

[Jingthing]

 

Brandenton Florida, near Sarasota, causeway to St. Petersburg on the Gulf coast.

Seems to have some affordable real estate.

Any feedback?

 

My mother and father wintered there for probably fifteen years. They owned a small trailer in a senior trailer park. It is the only place my father ever got mugged. He was an old man mugged and injured by a violent armed young man They loved their trailer and their little community. Admittedly he could have gotten mugged almost anywhere else but that incident ruined their winter retirement home. They sold their trailer and never returned. Criminals had found it easy to prey on the old folks.

Yes, I understand being spooked by that.

I'll look into the crime rates there, but there is no way it's worse than Tucson.

As I'd plan to live there all year, the other issues would be the summer hot weather and the hurricane risk.

It's one of the many places where buying is a better deal than renting ...

How much is hurricane insurance?

Looking at the area, I read that St. Pete has become a more interesting place to live in recent years. Before only known for retirees and spring breakers, apparently they've added stuff.

Any feedback on St. Pete?

For some reason I don't think Tampa appeals and Sarasota itself seems too expensive.

If I could afford it, I'd prefer Ft. Lauderdale on the Atlantic coast ... but, oh well.

Edited February 19, 2016 by Jingthing

[Gary A]

 

 

Brandenton Florida, near Sarasota, causeway to St. Petersburg on the Gulf coast.

Seems to have some affordable real estate.

Any feedback?

 

My mother and father wintered there for probably fifteen years. They owned a small trailer in a senior trailer park. It is the only place my father ever got mugged. He was an old man mugged and injured by a violent armed young man They loved their trailer and their little community. Admittedly he could have gotten mugged almost anywhere else but that incident ruined their winter retirement home. They sold their trailer and never returned. Criminals had found it easy to prey on the old folks.

Yes, I understand being spooked by that.

I'll look into the crime rates there, but there is no way it's worse than Tucson.

As I'd plan to live there all year, the other issues would be the summer hot weather and the hurricane risk.

It's one of the many places where buying is a better deal than renting ...

How much is hurricane insurance?

Looking at the area, I read that St. Pete has become a more interesting place to live in recent years. Before only known for retirees and spring breakers, apparently they've added stuff.

Any feedback on St. Pete?

For some reason I don't think Tampa appeals and Sarasota itself seems too expensive.

If I could afford it, I'd prefer Ft. Lauderdale on the Atlantic coast ... but, oh well.

 

I worked and lived in Coral Springs for three years. Rents were outrageous, I think mainly because property taxes and insurance are so high. Naturally those expenses get passed down to the renter. Condos were relatively cheap to buy but that advantage was lost on the maintenance fees and taxes. I did buy a condo there.

ADDED - I did like the Fort Lauderdale area more than California but wouldn't care to live there again. That said, it's different strokes for different folks.

Edited February 19, 2016 by Gary A

[Jingthing]

Aha. Property taxes. Didn't look at that yet. Earlier in this thread I was shocked at the high property taxes in Cleveland.

That's one thing I find surprising in some cities like Tucson, ABQ, and San Antonio. The rents still seem OK relative to buying. Nationally it seems rent demand is causing inflated rents relative risk buying.

[lopburi3]

Actually property tax in Florida is mostly offset by being a resident and claiming exemption - but there are plenty of other tax - just a phone or cable bill will have a page of them listed under fair disclosure rules (or at least they did 23 years ago when I last lived there). Am sure insurance is high - my house was in Homestead when Andrew hit so it required a bit of repair prior to selling - am sure that did nothing to lower insurance rates..

[Gary A]

I have a good friend who in now retired. He is quite well off and lives in a million dollar home that he says he would be lucky to sell now for 600,000. His home is in Plantation. His taxes and insurance are far more than it costs me to live here in Thailand. He usually visits here at least once a year. I think he feels trapped by his home. His brother lives in Chiang Mai.

[Jingthing]

I have a good friend who in now retired. He is quite well off and lives in a million dollar home that he says he would be lucky to sell now for 600,000. His home is in Plantation. His taxes and insurance are far more than it costs me to live here in Thailand. He usually visits here at least once a year. I think he feels trapped by his home. His brother lives in Chiang Mai.

You can get trapped by a real estate investment in Thailand too.

In any case, as per this thread, I am feeling strong forces calling me stateside, for better or worse, and obviously there will be a lot of worse.

[BruceMangosteen]

Any feedback on St. Pete?

For some reason I don't think Tampa appeals and Sarasota itself seems too expensive.

If I could afford it, I'd prefer Ft. Lauderdale on the Atlantic coast ... but, oh well.

St. Pete and Tampa aren't what you call "gay friendly" or as Justice Scalia said "so-called homosexual rights" areas. No hitch hiking in St. Pete and Tampa is just Tampa, a "straight" culture. Even the Walmart's won't hire gay greeters and have signs on the bathroom doors "no sex in the bathroom". No, if you want "gay friendly" you are stuck with San Francisco or I guess parts of New York City, both of which are very expensive.

[MiclB]

I sent a response, in good faith, early in this thread. After checking back into it just now, I suspect you just generated an automatic "evergreen sub-blog" which will generate a bazillion good faith posts and possible generate a high number of posts for you and another year's BS winner. I smell a skunk. 'hope its not true.

[Jingthing]

Any feedback on St. Pete?

For some reason I don't think Tampa appeals and Sarasota itself seems too expensive.

If I could afford it, I'd prefer Ft. Lauderdale on the Atlantic coast ... but, oh well.

St. Pete and Tampa aren't what you call "gay friendly" or as Justice Scalia said "so-called homosexual rights" areas. No hitch hiking in St. Pete and Tampa is just Tampa, a "straight" culture. Even the Walmart's won't hire gay greeters and have signs on the bathroom doors "no sex in the bathroom". No, if you want "gay friendly" you are stuck with San Francisco or I guess parts of New York City, both of which are very expensive.

You are very misinformed about the meaning of gay friendly. Sex in bathrooms? Come on, that's offensive and you KNOW it, you can do better than that. You seem to have a bug in your arse about the gay thing. It's like all the other aspects I've been considering don't exist in your head. Weird!

I don't know what you mean by Tampa is just Tampa, as I've never been to the area, except I remember visiting Marco Island as a child. In the summer so I was amazed at how HOT the gulf water was!

Yes I know some cities have more gay cultural appeal than others. Obviously, Fort Lauderdale would be better than Pensacola (more like the DEEP SOUTH culturally than Florida). I realize this Gulf area I am looking at isn't Fort Lauderdale but I don't think they are as bad as Pensacola either.

Ironically, before I moved to Thailand, I almost moved to Fort Lauderdale and was seriously shopping for some inflated real estate, which I could have afforded then. But I can't afford that area now. Again, oh well.

Anyway, St. Pete doesn't sound all that gay hostile based on this:

http://cltampa.com/potlikker/archives/2015/06/25/pride-issue-2015-za-gay-guide

Edited February 19, 2016 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

I sent a response, in good faith, early in this thread. After checking back into it just now, I suspect you just generated an automatic "evergreen sub-blog" which will generate a bazillion good faith posts and possible generate a high number of posts for you and another year's BS winner. I smell a skunk. 'hope its not true.

It's a long thread. Please remind me what your old post was about and I can respond to that specific apparent complaint.

I don't have any blog anywhere and this is the first time I ever heard of an evergreen sub blog. Believe me or not. So please don't bother with continued personal accusations. If this thread doesn't please, or your suspicions continue (take a pill?) then of course you are welcome and free to ignore the thread.

As far as having a lot of posts here, that provides no benefit to me. Sometimes, as above, the opposite.

Edited February 19, 2016 by Jingthing

[Gary A]

Maybe you have to look at a new place to live as an adventure. The US is a big country and I'm sure you could find some place that suits you very well. We are likely total opposites as far as what is important. I would choose a rural setting with outdoor activities at the top of my preferred list. I am not the cultured type. I care nothing about theatre or fancy restaurants. Meat and potatoes suit me just fine. I would never consider New Orleans and all the activities available there. My friend loves the Mardi Gra and in contrast, I wouldn't consider going out of my way to see it. I don't picture you as the hermit type. I do happen to enjoy my own company and if I had to dress up to go somewhere, I wouldn't go. I have spent a few hours surfing the Internet and enjoyed looking at many different places and life styles. I would just advise you to carefully research and not to choose somewhere for just the cheapest living.

[Jingthing]

Well, I would try not to pick just on being the cheapest, but on the other hand, a large part of the country will be way out of my reach. So need to be realistic. I also don't like to dress up. After living in Pattaya area so long where you can wear shorts everywhere, that's an appeal for a place like Tucson which based on my research is similarly casual. I'm really not into "fancy" restaurants at all. More like dives with good "ethnic" food!

Possibly most of the destinations mentioned already might work. But each choice would involve different tradeoffs. So if I go in this direction in the next few years (not planning on an immediate move) it'll need to be ONE choice. So it is kind of fun to consider and research the different options. But on the other hand, the U.S. is so big, it's arguably TOO MANY choices. Also as my resources are limited and the U.S. so big, I don't want to spend much on any direct research at destinations I don't know. It's not inconceivable that I might start a move to a place without ever visiting it. Not wise and desirable, I know.

Where I'm at now is more confused. I had kind of singled it down to Tucson mostly so a visit to Tucson started to make sense. But now with the monkey wrench thing of non-expanded Medicaid states coming into the picture, it got messy again. Because Florida, Texas, and Georgia (see below) got added.

Compare to Thailand where for me personally came down to only four choices of places I already knew pretty well:

Pattaya

Chiang Mai

Bangkok

Phuket

quickly edited to only between Chiang Mai and Pattaya. From there the smoky air in CM was unacceptable to me ... so EASY choice.

To add, I am also considering the suburbs of ATLANTA. In that case, I really don't need any feedback here. I'm already very familiar with the place.

For those that don't know it who might be looking for a more affordable metropolitan experience, you may want to check it out. The summer weather is awful though.

Edited February 19, 2016 by Jingthing

[lopburi3]

To add, I am also considering the suburbs of ATLANTA. In that case, I really don't need any feedback here. I'm already very familiar with the place.

For those that don't know it who might be looking for a more affordable metropolitan experience, you may want to check it out. The summer weather is awful though.

I suspect after your time in Thailand the summer weather would be much less a factor - we do adapt (better to heat than cold IMHO) and these days air conditioning is available to most.

[canthai55]

One thing to consider - make a short list. When you do go back, rent for a month or whatever time you need to check the place out. For me a month is more than enuf. Still undecided - try place #2. Then #3 ... I liked Chiang Mai the first time I went there - just had a good feeling about it for whatever reason. Met my wife there, and the rest is history. You just may - in your travels - find the same thing. Good luck with your decision.

[Gary A]

In the US, I could easily rule out most of the country. The only place I ever want to see ice again is in my glass. I was born and raised in northwest Ohio so I have had my share of miserable weather. Some winter cold is bearable but the bitter below zero freezing would be totally out of the question. Frozen pipes, ice covered roads, ice covered broken down trees, downed power lines and blizzards are nightmares I choose to forget. My son lives in rural West Virginia. (BOONIES) It is beautiful but during the winter he has to park his 4X4 Polaris ATV at the bottom of the hill leading to his house. Even his 4X4 pickup cannot get up the hill after a heavy snow or ice storm. He heats his house and hot water with a sophisticated wood burner. He also has a fairly large generator. If not for those, his house would not be livable during a hard winter.

[craigt3365]

In the US, I could easily rule out most of the country. The only place I ever want to see ice again is in my glass. I was born and raised in northwest Ohio so I have had my share of miserable weather. Some winter cold is bearable but the bitter below zero freezing would be totally out of the question. Frozen pipes, ice covered roads, ice covered broken down trees, downed power lines and blizzards are nightmares I choose to forget. My son lives in rural West Virginia. (BOONIES) It is beautiful but during the winter he has to park his 4X4 Polaris ATV at the bottom of the hill leading to his house. Even his 4X4 pickup cannot get up the hill after a heavy snow or ice storm. He heats his house and hot water with a sophisticated wood burner. He also has a fairly large generator. If not for those, his house would not be livable during a hard winter.

Due to lower prices, we took a trip to the Czech Republic and Poland a few years ago in the late fall. It was freezing! My wife was OK, but I hated it. Like you, I'll never live somewhere it snows again! LOL

[Jingthing]

Well, West Virginia is definitely out.

St. Pete Florida has risen in my radar quite a bit.

My initial impression is that it would be somewhat more expensive to live in decently than Tucson but it may be a location that makes more sense to me.

The cultural, demographic makeup would be more like home for me. Many transplants from the U.S. Northeast as opposed to the midwest.

Many retirees. Great beaches. A city that had declined but is reportedly coming back.

Negatives of course. High crime, segregation of classes, lots of rough neighborhoods, hot humid summers of course.

More than enough "cultural" stuff both in St. Pete and nearby in Tampa.

A plus seems to be there are a number of more affordable maybe "up and coming" neighborhoods that if lucky could be good places to buy. But risks of course.

With Bradenton, that would be close to Sarasota so I doubt living there I would go often to St. Pete or Tampa. (Too far.)

I get the feeling that the diversity in more urban St. Pete / Tampa would be a better fit.

The ethnic restaurant scene also seems to be quite a bit better in St. Pete / Tampa than Sarasota area.

Trouble in paradise?

Sure.

It would more expensive to make it happen in St. Pete. The rents are very high relative to buying so buying would be a necessity. But renting a place short term while looking would likely be a lot more expensive than Tucson.

Knowing what I'm getting into?

Well, I have a good idea of what coastal Florida is like in general including the crappy aspects of it and some of it is quite crappy, so probably less a culture shock, x factor surprise compared to desert city Tucson.

Edited February 20, 2016 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

So has anyone here spent time in St. Pete in the last 5 years? Reportedly it's improved alot in recent years so older impressions would be dated.

[Gary A]

I have never looked at St. Pete before but it does indeed look good. The problem I see is the real estate and rentals are pretty expensive. That could likely be remedied by finding a room mate who has a nice place. Splitting expenses would allow you to live in a much nicer place than if you were living alone. As long as you have your own bedroom, it should be no problem.

[Jingthing]

I have never looked at St. Pete before but it does indeed look good. The problem I see is the real estate and rentals are pretty expensive. That could likely be remedied by finding a room mate who has a nice place. Splitting expenses would allow you to live in a much nicer place than if you were living alone. As long as you have your own bedroom, it should be no problem.

Of course.

An idea I've had is to buy a place big enough to have the option to include a paying somebody.

[Jingthing]

Here's a good MAP of the area.

I kind of like how it looks like an upside down San Francisco peninsula with really good beach islands to the west.

I don't like the name, St. Petersburg. Would have to get over that. After living in Jomtien, the last thing I would want is to be reminded of Russia every day. A superficial issue, obviously.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/florida/st-petersburg/map

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/florida/st-petersburg/introduction

Long known as little more than a bawdy spring-break party town and a retirement capital, St Petersburg is now forging a new name for itself as a culturally savvy Southern city. Spurred on by its redeveloped waterfront, revitalized historic district and stunning Dalí Museum, the downtown energy is creeping up Central Ave, spawning sophisticated restaurants, craft breweries, farmers markets and artsy galleries, all of which are attracting a younger professional crowd and a new wave of culturally curious travelers.

Edited February 20, 2016 by Jingthing

[SpokaneAl]

This seems like a great criteria to add to the mix . . .

http://krqe.com/2016/02/19/albuquerque-ranked-nations-kindest-city/

[Jingthing]

An interesting map showing every county in the U.S. rated by level of natural amenities.

Pinellas County Florida (where St. Petersburg is) rates very high.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/08/17/every-county-in-america-ranked-by-natural-beauty/?tid=a_inl

[55Jay]

An interesting map showing every county in the U.S. rated by level of natural amenities.

Pinellas County Florida (where St. Petersburg is) rates very high.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/08/17/every-county-in-america-ranked-by-natural-beauty/?tid=a_inl

Florida is a trip. I've been staying in NW Florida/panhandle for the past 3+ weeks on vacation, just had a storm go tearing through yesterday/last night. Tornadoes and damaging wind storms across LA, MS, AL and not far from where we are. Was a bit worried about forecasted large hail smashing up the rental car in the driveway, but thankfully, didn't materialize.

I'm from CA, but I like it, a lot of boating/fishing opportunities, could probably live here and be happy. But freaky weather, annual hurricane season anxiety, and higher house insurance costs, is a consideration. Far as hot/humid/insects (and gators?), well, we live in Thailand...... so less of an adjustment I suppose.

[Jingthing]

This definitely doesn't sound horrible.

http://www.tbo.com/pinellas-county/st-pete-gaining-global-fame-as-hip-destination-20140119/

St. Pete gaining global fame as hip destination

ST. PETERSBURG —The vibe has changed in this city once mocked as “God’s waiting room,” and the world is taking notice.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestravelguide/2014/02/20/sampling-st-petersburgs-new-art-and-food-scene/#4ff205572017

Given all the “best beach” lists the St. Petersburg, Fla., area has topped over the years, you could be forgiven for thinking the Gulf Coast town is all sand and no substance. But beyond the 35 miles of coastline, which reaches from Caladesi Island in the north to Fort De Soto Park in the south, it’s not a stretch to say that St. Pete is experiencing an art- and food-fueled renaissance

"Try to resist it"

On second thought ...

Edited February 26, 2016 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

To add, for me getting older I would still look at St. Pete as a retirement destination. Overall, the demographic of the area is trending younger but there is still lots and lots of (well established) over 55 housing complexes, and as the younger can't live there, there appears to be a favorable supply and demand situation in those complexes, at least for now. Compared to Tucson I still think if spending 75K you can get a nicer place than in St. Pete, but not that much nicer. You can definitely get a liveable place in that range, and if desperate, a basic roof over your head small place for 30K. There are lots of mobile home parks as well, of course, but the idea of living in one in a hurricane region doesn't sound so good.

The HOAs in such complexes are sometimes very high, but sometimes not so bad. Yes, there is shuffleboard.

In St. Pete living in or near downtown would now be expensive, but there appears to be lot of budget options in the area between downtown and Madeira Beach (10 minute drive to downtown) and also north of St. Pete in the Pinellas Park area (another city), which interestingly includes one the largest concentrations of Asian people in the Southeast.

Another surprise, Pinellas County (where St. Pete is) is the most densely populated county in Florida.

If I was wealthy, sadly not, I'm pretty sure Tucson wouldn't be on my radar. But St. Pete might be.

Edited February 26, 2016 by Jingthing

[loppylugs1]

Parker AZ,middle of nowhere,my little paradise