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

[Jingthing]

To add, as I've been comparing Tucson, AZ to Pinellas County (not only St. Pete), generally my research has shown the overall costs are higher in the Florida choice. But that's all relative. 

[craigt3365]

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

To add, as I've been comparing Tucson, AZ to Pinellas County (not only St. Pete), generally my research has shown the overall costs are higher in the Florida choice. But that's all relative. 

As you know,  Tucson has some really dodgy areas. And not much nearby. It's pretty isolated. Within a few hours of St. Pete,  you've got lots of great places to visit. Lots.

 

Tucson and the surrounding area is brutal in the summer. Brutal. I'd have to leave. Which is what we did when living in Vegas. 

[Jingthing]

As you know,  Tucson has some really dodgy areas. And not much nearby. It's pretty isolated. Within a few hours of St. Pete,  you've got lots of great places to visit. Lots.
 
Tucson and the surrounding area is brutal in the summer. Brutal. I'd have to leave. Which is what we did when living in Vegas. 

Yeah I realize but hurricanes, floods, and wandering gators are no picnic either.

[anotheruser]

Given the choice of Tuscon or St. Petersburg I have to choose Florida there. I tried living in Arizona before. It is a pretty weird place.

[BruceMangosteen]

I've received confirmation Las Vegas is "horrible" if you are on a budget of any kind. It's simply the haves and have not's. Included in the have not's are gangs, drugs, beggars, and violent homeless(unfortunate as homelessness is). It's "damn near impossible" to avoid it unless in a nice neighborhood or nice condominium complex or of course, nice hotel suite long term such as MGM or Vadara? God Bless You and stay clear of Las Vegas if budget and cost of living matter at all. 

[craigt3365]

3 hours ago, BruceMangosteen said:

I've received confirmation Las Vegas is "horrible" if you are on a budget of any kind. It's simply the haves and have not's. Included in the have not's are gangs, drugs, beggars, and violent homeless(unfortunate as homelessness is). It's "damn near impossible" to avoid it unless in a nice neighborhood or nice condominium complex or of course, nice hotel suite long term such as MGM or Vadara? God Bless You and stay clear of Las Vegas if budget and cost of living matter at all. 

I've lived in Vegas off and on since 1975. My parents were there full time from then on. I know it very well. There is a great budget part of Vegas.  Just away from the strip. North Vegas can be rough.  But other areas are great. And extremely easy to avoid the rough parts.  Super easy.  

 

Locals don't go to the MGM. Nor most of the strip. 

Edited April 30, 2017 by craigt3365

[craigt3365]

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Yeah I realize but hurricanes, floods, and wandering gators are no picnic either.

No worries about gators. But hurricanes are a big deal. My friend who lived in Orlando bought a big generator. And he's used it several times. 

[moe666]

The big problem about states with no personal income tax they usually have a very high sales tax and property tax. 

[sirineou]

38 minutes ago, moe666 said:

The big problem about states with no personal income tax they usually have a very high sales tax and property tax. 

Not always true

The sales tax is set by counties not states , so in Flagler county FL (a state with out income tax )the sales tax is 7% lower than the sales tax in Orange county NY ( a state with sales tax) 8.125%

so are the property taxes,  that are set by about 80%  of the property value which gives you the assesed  value times the local millage . So if you did a CMA (comperative market analisis) , you take 80% of the CMA , if homsteaded and over 75,000 deduct 50,000, if less deduct 25,000 multiply by the local milage and you will have a close number of what your property tax will be.

. In Florida state under the "Homestead exemption"  your primary residence enjoys some protections such as, a deduction of 25,000 of your assessed property value, if your house is assessed more than 75,000  (most homes are) an additional 25,000 deduction for a total of 50,000. but more importantly your property tax can not increase more than 3% per year. Certain disabled veterans pay no property tax,  totally and permanently people pay no property tax. etc

http://floridarevenue.com/dor/property/taxpayers/exemptions.html

Edited April 30, 2017 by sirineou
typos

[Issanman]

32 minutes ago, moe666 said:

The big problem about states with no personal income tax they usually have a very high sales tax and property tax. 

The $100K house pictured above in post #930 had a 2016 property tax bill of $1750.

It is a rental, so there were no deductions for homesteaded property. 

The sales tax in Pinellas County is 7%.

Florida has no state income tax.

BTW, Pinellas County has not suffered a direct hit from a hurricane since 1921.

[sirineou]

15 hours ago, Issanman said:

$100K including the 20 ft x 20 ft garage in the back.

This neighborhood is 55 feet above sea level. One of the highest areas in south Pinellas County and St Petersburg.

I purchased this 17 year old property (cash deal for a quick sale) last August in a good neighborhood 15 min from the beach in flagler FL county for 126.000  a year later it is assessed  at 150,000

 

[gk10002000]

The trick is to combine resources.  A good sized and I mean good sized 2 br 2ba can be shared, and priced decently, but it still won't be $400 a month!  And eating out is no longer cheap or inexpensive. Dining out is relatively expensive here in FL.   One would have to scour for those senior citizen discounts, or lunch specials.  And of course you have to have a car to drive anywhere because there is no usable public transport and there are no baht busses which really were a great cheap useful feature of Pattaya.  In brevard county up and down the space coast where I am now, there are some decent house prices, but the quality is below PAR.  I think I have to buy here for the future semi or even full retirement, although I really prefer north palm beach county.  Rentals in Brevard are getting out of hand and I think a house purchase here is a good investment, especially with Northrop Grumman sucking up people and contracts.  Now just debating to go no down payment and use my VA benefits or putting more down up front so I will have less to little mortgage payments in the future.  Every dollar I invest even in my tax free munis, I think would yield a higher overall return and benefit for me in the long run if I  put that dollar towards the down payment.  Especially later on when I am taking social security and my tax free income is added in when they figure how much of my social security is taxed. 

[Issanman]

Before finally deciding to buy a house here, I looked at a possible mobile home purchase in a restricted 55+ park. There are dozens of such parks around Pinellas County. The prices to buy a mobile home go from $500 for a handyman special, on up to as much as you want to spend. You can get a pretty nice used one for about $7500 and up. 

BUT don't forget that you WILL be paying to rent the space in the park. Around here that runs from $230 up to around $600+ per month for the lot rent and the use of whatever amenities that the park happens to have. That is a constant expense that doesn't go down, but can go up. At many parks, your water/sewer and garbage collection is included in the monthly rent. 

However, the parks are usually very clean and the restrictions in the park keep things that way. Before you are even allowed to buy in a particular park, the park management will run a credit and background check on you to see if you are qualified to live in their wonderful park. And you will usually pay a fee to the park in order to get qualified to live in that park. Many have organized activities like bingo, shuffleboard, cookouts. Many parks do not allow motorbikes of any kind. And there are some very nice waterfront parks and homes.

 

My point is that mobile homes are a very affordable retirement option for people that want to live in a certain area, but are unable or unwilling to buy a conventional home. 

 

Here is a mobile home that I looked at for $14000 in a park with only a $230 lot rent. https://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/reb/6095009248.html

Very nice, completely furnished and motorbikes are allowed in this park. The deal killer for me was the fact that this parks lease runs out Aug 2025 and what happens after that?  Very possibly the end of that particular park, because of the prime commercial location of the park. But no one knows for sure. Too bad. It was a great deal on a well-kept home.

But around here, there is a huge selection of mobile homes available for someone looking to live inexpensively in a nice clean and safe environment with lots of nearby attractions.

BTW, Pinellas County has a very usable bus system. The bus stop is less than a block from this home.

Edited April 30, 2017 by Issanman

[utalkin2me]

On 11/24/2016 at 3:36 PM, lannarebirth said:

 

When I returned to the US I learned that I had a credit rating of "0". That sounded pretty bad but I didn't really care because I don't utilize credit. I did learn a couple of things though. A credit rating of "0" indicates you have no credit rating and it is better than having a "bad" credit rating. Through not much effort of my own it is now in the 800's after 4 years. The other thing I learned is that now in the US your credit rating applies to more things than just acquiring credit. Insurance premiums for one. My premiums for both home and car have been going down every year as my credit rating goes up. Seems stupid to me, but I'm sure they have their reasons.

Of course they have their reasons. 

 

Can you imagine opening a business, and every citizen in the country of your business MUST use your product. Not only that, but citizens MUST be in good standing with your company to do even the simplest of things, like finding a place to live. So, if you had a hamburger stand, every person in the country would have to eat your hamburgers, and they'd have to pay for them and be in good standing with you to live. That is the business model the credit card companies have created for themselves by way of their credit scores. I think there have been revolutions for less. 

 

But, it doesn't stop there. Imagine if your hamburger stand made a bunch of horrible business decisions. Well, guess what, your stand and your tasty hamburgers are going to be revived by way of taxpayer dollars. What a beautiful business model. And yes again, of course they have their reasons which revolve around complete control over who must use their products, and pay for them in ways they see fit. Because, if you don't eat my hamburgers, and pay for them in a timeframe that I see fit, you can't live. Welcome to America. 

Edited May 1, 2017 by utalkin2me

[Jingthing]

9 hours ago, Issanman said:

...

That deal maybe isn't that bad. If you assume the worse case scenario of the park closing in 2025, the purchase price could be seen as additional "rent" for that period of 150 per month. Of course like you said the park fees can always go up and those park fees are unusually low. Mobile homes in hurricane country, that's another real issue. As far as lack of direct hits in Pinellas, I don't take that as great comfort considering climate change. The past isn't all that predictive now. 

Edited May 1, 2017 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

11 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

The trick is to combine resources.  A good sized and I mean good sized 2 br 2ba can be shared, and priced decently, but it still won't be $400 a month!  And eating out is no longer cheap or inexpensive. Dining out is relatively expensive here in FL.   One would have to scour for those senior citizen discounts, or lunch specials.  And of course you have to have a car to drive anywhere because there is no usable public transport and there are no baht busses which really were a great cheap useful feature of Pattaya.  In brevard county up and down the space coast where I am now, there are some decent house prices, but the quality is below PAR.  I think I have to buy here for the future semi or even full retirement, although I really prefer north palm beach county.  Rentals in Brevard are getting out of hand and I think a house purchase here is a good investment, especially with Northrop Grumman sucking up people and contracts.  Now just debating to go no down payment and use my VA benefits or putting more down up front so I will have less to little mortgage payments in the future.  Every dollar I invest even in my tax free munis, I think would yield a higher overall return and benefit for me in the long run if I  put that dollar towards the down payment.  Especially later on when I am taking social security and my tax free income is added in when they figure how much of my social security is taxed. 

Previously in this thread, I have said that buying a "roommate" plan 2 BR, 2 bath place would be more ideal because then you have flexibility and potential income with that space. I realize some people would rather die than deal with that kind of thing which again highlights how personal these kinds of decisions are. 

[Jingthing]

An interesting U.S. destination idea that I would have never thought of myself --

Quote

 

Gulfport, Mississippi

Monthly cost of living: $2,200
OK, so compared to developing countries in Asia and Central America, Gulfport ain't exactly a bargain. But not everyone looking to live cheaply by the coast wants to leave the US of A. Gulfport has the cheapest housing cost of any coastal community in America, and it's smack in the middle of one of the country's greatest (and funkiest) art regions.

 

 

https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/cheapest-beach-cities-to-live-in-world

 

Quote

THE MISSISSIPPI ARTIST PARADISE YOU HAD NO IDEA EXISTED

https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/music-and-arts-on-the-mississippi-gulf-coast-post-hurricane-katrina

 

 

[craigt3365]

33 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

An interesting U.S. destination idea that I would have never thought of myself --

 

https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/cheapest-beach-cities-to-live-in-world

 

https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/music-and-arts-on-the-mississippi-gulf-coast-post-hurricane-katrina

 

 

I had some friends who lived in Gulf  Shores, Alabama. They loved it but said the "Bubba " factor got to them sometimes. 

[craigt3365]

Interesting article.  We spent about 5 days in Grenada,  nicaragua. Crime is quite bad. Shopping is terrible. 

[Jingthing]

Interesting article.  We spent about 5 days in Grenada,  nicaragua. Crime is quite bad. Shopping is terrible. 

Yes I considered visiting there to check it out as an expat option but ultimately backed out. I asked myself would I ever seriously want to live in Nicaragua and the answer was no.

That said this thread is only about U.S. destinations. It happened that link was mostly about expat options but it was only included here because of Gulfport.

[tutsiwarrior]

4 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

Interesting article.  We spent about 5 days in Grenada,  nicaragua. Crime is quite bad. Shopping is terrible. 

I was in Grenada for a weekend about 30 years ago and some maniac was runnin' around firing bursts from an AK - 47...unarmed sandinista police managed to calm him down and disarm him...

 

pretty much of a dump...cheap livin' though...flop hotel with one toilet in the courtyard and fritanga street food and watermelon...and plenty of cheap flor de cana rum...

 

 

[anotheruser]

We are getting pretty close to replicating a dozen of threads about Thailand alternatives. this is about places in the USA.

[Jingthing]

I knew Houston was diverse, but didn't realize it was THIS diverse.

As I've stated before, I highly value diversity. Humidity, not so much.

 

 

Quote

 

How Houston has become the most diverse place in America

...

“I honestly feel like I live in a bubble, because Houston is so diverse,” said Battle, who is black. Before her family visited, she said, they thought of Houston as “some hick town, cowboys, cows everywhere.”

That may be true in some of the rest of Texas, she’s learned, but when she ventures into the rest of the state, she takes a bit of Houston with her.

“I go wave and smile and say hi to everyone,” she said. “Because that’s just how we do here.”

 

 

 

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-houston-diversity-2017-htmlstory.html

[craigt3365]

Just now, Jingthing said:

I knew Houston was diverse, but didn't realize it was THIS diverse.

As I've stated before, I highly value diversity. Humidity, not so much.

 

 

 

 

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-houston-diversity-2017-htmlstory.html

I got recruited by a company based in Houston. Very good job offer,  but had to live there. They paid for me to stay there a week to check it out.  No way. Use to work for Texas  Instruments. Refused to move to Dallas also. 5555

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

37 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

I got recruited by a company based in Houston. Very good job offer,  but had to live there. They paid for me to stay there a week to check it out.  No way. Use to work for Texas  Instruments. Refused to move to Dallas also. 5555

Why the thumbs down on Houston and Dallas, Craig?

 

I've never been to either. But Texas does have the advantage of being a no state income tax state, and for those who want to keep their old bones away from snowy winters, the warm weather in TX fits that bill as well.  And I presume it's got the Southwestern-TexMex food style in abundance for cuisine. What did you find so un-attractive about the general area?

 

One man's pudding is another man's poison.

 

 

[anotheruser]

After 48 pages if JT hasn't found his retirement haven he isn't likely to. The value of this thread now is for people with more options to choose from or are less fussy. What do people think of somewhere like Nashville? 

 

I spent some time there and it was actually over all pretty nice. The weather can be a little cold for a place that far south. 

[Hereinthailand]

Outside of Tucson AZ there are many small communities of mobile homes in the desert really nice and affordable. And yes the over 55 parks are great deals. I will be blowing out of here first of next year after 9 years here full time and can say in the midwest where I am from everything is cheaper, food, housing, fuel, electricity etc. the only thing more expensive is taxes but thats why I can drink the water and the streets are clean etc.  Oh and that freedom thing is something I really miss.

[BruceMangosteen]

11 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

What did you find so un-attractive about the general area?

 

 

 

I'm not Craig, but suffice to say if you are in those areas on a "budget" you are in with illegal Mexicans(crossed the river, in the USA illegally) and "blacks"(think welfare is a right). Nothing is safe and gangs rule the streets. Of course if you have money most places are very nice in the USA. God Bless You and OO.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

31 minutes ago, BruceMangosteen said:

I'm not Craig, but suffice to say if you are in those areas on a "budget" you are in with illegal Mexicans(crossed the river, in the USA illegally) and "blacks"(think welfare is a right). Nothing is safe and gangs rule the streets. Of course if you have money most places are very nice in the USA. God Bless You and OO.

 

Dallas and Houston are large sprawling cities, each with lots of smaller adjoining cities surrounding. While I'm sure there are some slum-type areas within those cities, I'm also assuming there are decent, affordable housing options/locations available in the broader metro areas of those two locations.

[ubonjoe]

A inflammatory post has been removed.