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

[craigt3365]

13 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

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.

 

 

A variety of factors turned me off. I've spent a fair amount of time in Dallas, just a bit more than 2 weeks in Houston. Understand I was living in San Diego at the  time. Mid 80s to about 2000.

 

San Diego is an awesome place to live. Near beautiful beaches, great deserts, mountains not too far away, Mexico nearby,  LA close, and some of the best weather in the world. Houston and Dallas just couldn't compare. 

 

I didn't like the Texas drawl, the attitude that Texas is #1 in everything. And it's all new and  sterile. Seemed highways were everywhere and not going anywhere very interesting.  No soul, IMHO. I took a trip to Galveston to check out the sea. You think Pattaya has bad beaches. 555555 Terrible  there.

 

I've heard Austin is cool, but mainly from a party point of view. 

 

I never saw any crime nor had any problems. My parents were both from Texas.  Neither liked it and during all of their extensive travels around the US,  never spent time here.

 

It is all down to personal choice. The only way to find out is to go there. I'm still looking for the perfect place to live. In Belgium now,  headed to Luxembourg  tomorrow.  But I won't comment as that seems to upset some members.  Though I think comparisons like that can be useful.  At least they are for me. 

[craigt3365]

Rent is indeed cheap here in Thailand. Though I've yet to see anything acceptable to me for less than 25k Baht or so. 

 

There is a member here living in a 1 bedroom apartment a few blocks from the beach in San Diego for about 1,200 USD a month. San Diego is a great place to live. Not cheap,  but not exactly expensive for something like that. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

15 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Rent is indeed cheap here in Thailand. Though I've yet to see anything acceptable to me for less than 25k Baht or so. 

 

There is a member here living in a 1 bedroom apartment a few blocks from the beach in San Diego for about 1,200 USD a month. San Diego is a great place to live. Not cheap,  but not exactly expensive for something like that. 

 

My home was California. All of my U.S. life there, so that would be the easiest place for me to return to.

 

But from a retirement perspective, I'm inclined to think someplace else with better state tax and cost of living dynamics would be better. There are lots of places I could think to live in California if money were no object. But once you're retired and have a wife, I think you need to think about maximizing what you get for the money you spend.

 

It doesn't make any sense to be cash poor in an otherwise pleasant high cost place. But it likewise doesn't make any sense to be cash rich in a miserable low-cost place. The trick in retirement, I think, is finding the right balance of the two.

 

Edited May 16, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Jingthing]

Like many politically liberal more "coastal" non-Texans, I have a certain bias against Texas.

But I like big cities, warm weather, and ethnic diversity. 

As my interest is a retirement destination,  cold northern places like Chicago are naturally going to be less desirable just based on cold weather alone. 

Of course Austin has a great rep as a cool place, but it's become expensive.

Learning about Houston's great diversity, I put it roughly in the class of red state, sunbelt large cities that have things going on that would have some appeal to more liberal people. 

Other cities that might fit into that class include Atlanta and Tampa.

To add, I think I posted before on this thread that the Washington Post this year awarded HOUSTON as the top food city in the country. 

People generally assume that would always be New York or San Francisco.

So perhaps there really is more to Houston than the old stereotypes indicate. 
That said, I don't think Houston or Dallas are really "cheap rent" places. There is a national crisis of affordable housing and I'm pretty sure Houston and Dallas are including in that. Of course, that's relative to very high rent places like coastal California cities.

BTW, there was a recent Frontline show getting into the details of the affordable housing crisis and it was set in Dallas and surroundings. 

Edited May 16, 2017 by Jingthing

[craigt3365]

19 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

My home was California. All of my U.S. life there, so that would be the easiest place for me to return to.

 

But from a retirement perspective, I'm inclined to think someplace else with better state tax and cost of living dynamics would be better. There are lots of places I could think to live in California if money were no object. But once you're retired and have a wife, I think you need to think about maximizing what you get for the money you spend.

 

It doesn't make any sense to be cash poor in an otherwise pleasant high cost place. But it likewise doesn't make any sense to be cash rich in a miserable low-cost place. The trick in retirement, I think, is finding the right balance of the two.

 

I spent a lot of time in California.  Most of my adult life. I love it. Use to ski during the day and grab the board late in the afternoon to hit the waves. 555

 

NOT a cheap place to live. But talk about diversity. Loved it. As you say, definitely not a budget destination and for sure out of my price range. Sadly.

[Jingthing]

As posted before, my personal "finalists" for potential repatriation destinations are in Arizona and Florida. 

There is new t.v. show called Claws that is set in Manatee County which is where Bradenton (mention on this thread) is located.

It's north of Sarasota and south of St. Pete and Tampa.

The t.v. show is fictionally set in Manatee County but filmed in New Orleans.

It's interesting (though not surprising) that parts of New Orleans can pass for Florida.

 

Quote

 The series was shot largely in the New Orleans area, but it screams off-the-beaten-path Florida, in color, in style and in its sprawl.

http://www.nola.com/tv/index.ssf/2017/06/claws_review_tnt_drama_plays_l.html

[craigt3365]

Off topic but perhaps interesting.

 

There's a big sale on Puerto Rican homes

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/21/investing/puerto-rico-foreclosure-crisis/index.html

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

Off topic but perhaps interesting.

 

There's a big sale on Puerto Rican homes

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/21/investing/puerto-rico-foreclosure-crisis/index.html

That is interesting, and perhaps worth a closer new look. I recall I had looked into PR in the past and overall it didn't seem very attractive (cost-wise) as a retirement destination. But bargain housing might make a difference.

Comparing to Detroit as in the article, there was a phase where a lot of real estate there was almost free but that didn't necessarily mean that overall it was a good (or affordable) place to live.

 

Of course, P.R. is in the news now because they had a vote requesting statehood, but that doesn't mean it will actually become a state, any time soon (almost definitely not), or ever. 

Edited June 12, 2017 by Jingthing

[Mike45]

15 hours ago, Jingthing said:

As posted before, my personal "finalists" for potential repatriation destinations are in Arizona and Florida. 

There is new t.v. show called Claws that is set in Manatee County which is where Bradenton (mention on this thread) is located.

It's north of Sarasota and south of St. Pete and Tampa.

The t.v. show is fictionally set in Manatee County but filmed in New Orleans.

It's interesting (though not surprising) that parts of New Orleans can pass for Florida.

 

http://www.nola.com/tv/index.ssf/2017/06/claws_review_tnt_drama_plays_l.html

I checked out Bradenton last March. Interesting place. Very difficult to establish residency there and get a Florida drivers license. The girl in Manatee county actually told me to go to Sarasota next county over and they would give me what I needed that day. She was right.

[Jingthing]

I checked out Bradenton last March. Interesting place. Very difficult to establish residency there and get a Florida drivers license. The girl in Manatee county actually told me to go to Sarasota next county over and they would give me what I needed that day. She was right.

Interesting. I have read about the steps needed to get Florida residency and it does seem rather a pain. Especially if you've been living abroad for ages.

[amvet]

On 6/12/2017 at 3:27 PM, Jingthing said:

As posted before, my personal "finalists" for potential repatriation destinations are in Arizona and Florida. 

There is new t.v. show called Claws that is set in Manatee County which is where Bradenton (mention on this thread) is located.

It's north of Sarasota and south of St. Pete and Tampa.

The t.v. show is fictionally set in Manatee County but filmed in New Orleans.

It's interesting (though not surprising) that parts of New Orleans can pass for Florida.

 

http://www.nola.com/tv/index.ssf/2017/06/claws_review_tnt_drama_plays_l.html

Manatee county Newtown.

 

1) Hey man.... are you a tourist, give me that wallet

2) Stay in Newtown on the cheap, we got Government housing

3) Leave your cameras at home! We just got 40 new ones in the projects

4) Are you scared and confused? Dont be, it only takes the police 6 minutes to get here after gunshots are fired

5) Come to Newtown, experience the culture of Sarasota

6) All of our children are good kids, they are just misunderstood

7) Dont risk smugglin drugs on the plane, we got all you need and then some

8) What happens in Newtown stays in Newtown, until the British tabloids get hold of something

9) Shoot, we promise you the time of your life, even if it kills us

10) No we cant all just get along, now get the hell out of the car before I cap your *****

 

[Jingthing]

The not horrible thing suggested by this thread is indeed a challenge.

 

Newtown isn't the whole story of Sarasota any more than the South side is the whole story of Chicago.

 

St. Pete also has very high crime areas.

 

Just like most US cities.

 

[amvet]

22 hours ago, Jingthing said:

The not horrible thing suggested by this thread is indeed a challenge.

 

Newtown isn't the whole story of Sarasota any more than the South side is the whole story of Chicago.

 

St. Pete also has very high crime areas.

 

Just like most US cities.

 

Newtown is not in Sarasota.  Sarasota is rents and property sky high.  Newtown is in Bradenton which is rednecks and homeboys battling over crack ladies working out of abandoned bowling allies. You do like the Cotton eyed Joe don't you?

 

[Jingthing]

Newtown is not in Sarasota.  Sarasota is rents and property sky high.  Newtown is in Bradenton which is rednecks and homeboys battling over crack ladies working out of abandoned bowling allies. You do like the Cotton eyed Joe don't you?    

 

Whatever. I'm well aware that Bradenton is known as a lower end and higher crime locale explaining the lower priced real estate.  

 

 

"Sitting in his home Wednesday afternoon, Murray spoke about his latest focus: working to empower the residents of Newtown, a heavily African-American community in Sarasota where he goes to church."

 

 

http://www.bradenton.com/news/local/article34802538.html

 

Had your fun? Good.

In any case I'm more interested in Pinellas County anyway and yes I know there are high crime areas there too.

Cheers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[IMA_FARANG]

I had a friend named Lou.

We worked together.

he read all the books on "How To Get Rich in Vegas"

He went two times to Las Vegas, winning a small amount each time.

Then he went again with a big bankroll thinking he would win some serious money

He lost over 7500 dollars in 3 days.

Fortunately,  that was all his entire bankroll.

 

[Rimmer]

An off topic post potentially hijacking the topic,  and one reply discussing jumping out of windows in Pattaya have been removed

[gk10002000]

On 6/13/2017 at 9:03 AM, Jingthing said:

Interesting. I have read about the steps needed to get Florida residency and it does seem rather a pain. Especially if you've been living abroad for ages.

I live in Florida and it was a pain to get my driver license renewed and I had it for 10 years, gotten the extension on line etc. But a few years ago Florida went to that new ID thing that the TSA was promulgatin.  So to get the new license, had to show up in person at a DMV, and you better had made an appointment.  Bring two bills showing your name and address on them, your birth certificate or Passport.  I had brought three bills, lucky to because they would not accept my health insurance bill!  I pay the premium every two months, and the bill I had was my last one and it was over 30 days old and they would not accept it.  Of course they hadn't told me that, and I checked and called before I made the appointment because I was actually working out of state at the time and had flown home to get this done.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just a data point in terms of health issues for those who might be considering Florida or Texas for their future homestead -- the zika virus is showing up in both state pretty prominently.  See the maps and article below:

 

 

 

 

https://www.healio.com/infectious-disease/emerging-diseases/news/online/{eeb0df02-9a0b-4c50-ba90-f4e3d8f4eb10}/updated-cdc-map-shows-21-increase-in-us-counties-reporting-mosquito-that-transmits-zika

[Jingthing]

The recent Phoenix heat wave from hell isn't exactly an advertisement for living in AZ. Without getting into a political debate about climate change I've read this is a real trend.

[Jingthing]

As so much of the early part of this thread was about health care access issues I think it's the ethical thing to update on that.

Personally I can't move back to the US without health care access and I'm under 65 Medicare age.

I had figured out how I could manage under ACA.

A private market ACA plan that would be subsidized based on low income. That's why I decided Florida was OK even though it hadn't opted for expanded Medicaid.

Well anyone watching the news knows things might be changing soon.

If so all indications show that the private market subsidies will be much less for low income and older under 65.

To add anyone that falls into more severe poverty or is already there that is considering repatriation should be aware under the proposed changes that expanded medicaid in the states that offer it will be phased out entirely and classic medicaid will be starved of funds and new enrollment will be much more restricted.

So this is very much on hold for me until the US health access thing maybe gets resolved in some way.

Complicating this is real estate prices are going up and that seems a real trend maybe even the beginning of a bubble.

So personally I may never be realistically able to repatriate or at least until I'm 65.

But I'm only one person.

I'm still interested in the destination discussions and I imagine others may be as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jingthing]

Some like it hot.

 

Quote

Still, humans continue to relocate to warm places like the Southwest, drawn by the temperate climate. In the coming decades, many climate researchers expect that pattern to reverse, as those once-desirable locations become too hot, flooded or otherwise uninhabitable. In some locations, particularly in the West, people will soon need to decide whether to rebuild for the new reality — or relocate elsewhere.

 

 

 

http://time.com/4830147/extreme-heat-climate-change/
 

[swissie]

Uh! 982 Posts and JT stll not knowing where to park his ass in the US. My condolences.
Papua-New Guinea as a last resort maybe?
Cheers.

[Jingthing]

18 minutes ago, swissie said:

Uh! 982 Posts and JT stll not knowing where to park his ass in the US. My condolences.
Papua-New Guinea as a last resort maybe?
Cheers.

This is about U.S. destinations.

If you don't have anything productive to add here, please do not post. 

 

To add, yes, I have some very good ideas now on where to repatriate to in the USA now, but my personal decision is on hold largely because of the health care access situation which is now in a state of deep uncertainty and possible great change. 

 

So there is a good chance I would need to delay such a move until age 65 (or never) in which case the situation in the destinations could then be very different, impacting on the range of realistic choices. 

 

But the topic is not only about my personal decision and choices. It is open to all that are sincerely interested in the topic.

 

You don't seem to be in that group.

 

Destination ideas in other nations have been covered quite well in other threads over the years. That wouldn't fit here because this is the home country forum and the home country being referred to here is the USA. 

 

Cheers. 

Edited June 26, 2017 by Jingthing

[GinBoy2]

So, I'm jumping back in, not really to offer any advice on locations, already done that, just to my 2 cents on moving back.

 

So mine and JT's circumstances are probably totally different, but the desire to move home probably not.

 

So I already had a house in the US which I'd been renting out and we decided it was time to move back, not 100% of the time, but probably 50:50.

 

So we've been here now close to 4 months and finally my sanity is returning. It's when you're away from Thailand for a prolonged period that the true insane nature of the country finally catches up with you.

 

Now I just check in periodically to read Thai news, but now it invokes more of an hysterical laugh than outrage. Friends have asked me constantly about the 'crop top' incident, the very fact that I can't even mention it here is partially why I'm glad to not be there.

 

We'll return to Thailand to spend the winter there, but the decision to return and not be there full time is not a decision I think I will regret

[1happykamper]

I have not read all 99 pages of comments.. A lively discussion for sure. My favourite all around city I lived in was Tucson... Sure laguna Beach and Santa Barbara were awesome in the 70 a and 80s.. Back when I had a good income and you could easily find parking at the beach. Tucson would be my goto place in USA. Big question.. What is your monthly budget after you reach 65??

[Jingthing]

I have not read all 99 pages of comments.. A lively discussion for sure. My favourite all around city I lived in was Tucson... Sure laguna Beach and Santa Barbara were awesome in the 70 a and 80s.. Back when I had a good income and you could easily find parking at the beach. Tucson would be my goto place in USA. Big question.. What is your monthly budget after you reach 65??

Poverty level. Basic social security check plus withdrawals from IRA which would be drained with longer longevity. No point in sugar coating it. Which is why I feel owning some housing would be important but not sure that is realistic any more because of rising markets.

[Kim1950]

Can't let the slights on Mexico go by, over a million Americans live in Mexico, for sure, there is tough territory, but not everywhere. Not much different than any US inner city. 

 

"You would need around 2,120.54$ (71,886.36฿) in Chiang Mai to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with 1,694.07$(30,000.00MXN) in Puerto Vallarta (assuming you rent in both cities." Numbeo.com

 

Of course, for me there are other factors which favor Thailand. Though in your 70's your are quick flight to Medicare, elderly care, or meals on wheels. 

Edited July 14, 2017 by Kim1950

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, Kim1950 said:

Can't let the slights on Mexico go by, over a million Americans live in Mexico, for sure, there is tough territory, but not everywhere. Not much different than any US inner city. 

 

"You would need around 2,120.54$ (71,886.36฿) in Chiang Mai to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with 1,694.07$(30,000.00MXN) in Puerto Vallarta (assuming you rent in both cities." Numbeo.com

 

Of course, for me there are other factors which favor Thailand. Though in your 70's your are quick flight to Medicare, elderly care, or meals on wheels. 

Yeah, OK, but this thread is limited to discussion of USA destinations. There have been other threads on Thaivisa about third country not Thailand options though. None currently active but you could search. 

[Jingthing]

Five Myths About Florida!

 

As I suspected, real estate is hotting up there in a possibly bad way for buyers long term (again) --

 

Quote

 

- The Florida housing market has learned its lesson.

That the Orlando Business Journal wants to let you in on "4 lessons learned" from Central Florida's real estate bubble, and Florida Today is already advising caution for home buyers based on the last big real estate bust, might make you think Florida has learned its lesson when it comes to inflated markets. But it doesn't look that way.

 

 

http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/article/Five-myths-about-Florida-11289315.php

Edited July 15, 2017 by Jingthing

[meechai]

25 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

As I suspected, real estate is hotting up there in a possibly bad way for buyers long term (again) --

 

Not to criticize you but You started this thread nearly 3 years ago

About a year after you started it we sold out business & home in Thailand & moved back to the US

 

We have a home & are settled nicely now but for you I would say the one thing about waiting too long in Thailand is that it does not get easier

due to age to move nor does it get cheaper to live back in the USA as time passes you by.

 

Just look at the differences since you started the thread & today.

It was a task yes but we are glad we did not leave it any longer than we already did.

Reading many of your other posts I would also say your fears about medical are out of proportion

It is quite easy ^ depending on your income there are always options. But I do not want to get into all of that.

 

Good Luck to you & I hope 3 more years from now your not still analyzing as it will truly be paralyzed by then