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

[Jingthing]

It's kind of an interesting location. Just above hillbilly country. Some people like nearby Kentucky better.

 

It's got a lot of high brow culture like live theater relative to its size.

 

 

[amvet]

23 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

It's kind of an interesting location. Just above hillbilly country. Some people like nearby Kentucky better.

It's got a lot of high brow culture like live theater relative to its size.

The bad news is, Cincinnati may be the most sexually restrictive big city in the country. There are not adult bookstores, no peep shows, no nude dancing clubs; residents cannot buy Hustler magazine or X-rated videos.

[Jingthing]

The bad news is, Cincinnati may be the most sexually restrictive big city in the country. There are not adult bookstores, no peep shows, no nude dancing clubs; residents cannot buy Hustler magazine or X-rated videos.

So what? Heard of the internet?

[mogandave]

The bad news is, Cincinnati may be the most sexually restrictive big city in the country. There are not adult bookstores, no peep shows, no nude dancing clubs; residents cannot buy Hustler magazine or X-rated videos.

That's a negative?

[Jingthing]

37 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

That's a negative?

 

It kind of is. It indicates the morality hypocrites have too much power there.

[mogandave]

It kind of is. It indicates the morality hypocrites have too much power there.

Would you want to live next to a strip-joint? Particularly with all the drugs and other nonsense that goes along with it?

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, mogandave said:

 

Would you want to live next to a strip-joint? Particularly with all the drugs and other nonsense that goes along with it?
 

 

That's a loaded question. Nobody said next to. 

[mogandave]

That's a loaded question. Nobody said next to. 

So not next to you, but in the same town, down the road next to your neighbor? How far?

I enjoy a gash-show as much as the next guy, but the world would be a better place without them.

[MajarTheLion]

9 hours ago, mogandave said:

 

That's a negative?

 

 

Amen, dude. I don't care about sex-oriented businesses at all. If a city wants to ban them, so be it. I would never put that on my list of concerns when looking for a place to live. I'm not judging- to each his own.

About once a decade, some friends manage to drag me to a strip club. Every time I go, two things happen:

 

1) I'm reminded why I don't go to strip clubs.

 

2) There's always that one guy in the group that thinks one of the strippers really likes him. 

Edited September 13, 2017 by MajarTheLion

[Jingthing]

Yes, I'm looking at the midwest some more. 

Anyone live in St. Louis, MO recently?

I've never been there but saw the arch from an airplane. 

Yeah, tornadoes, floods, and high crime, but no place is perfect!

Speaking of MO, Columbia MO looked interesting to me before as blue island kind of thing, but ultimately maybe just too boring. 

 

Quote

... our top 10 reasons why St. Louis is actually a sweet place to live.

 

 

http://www.laweekly.com/news/10-reasons-why-st-louis-is-actually-great-and-were-total-<deleted>-4175835

 

 

 

 

[mogandave]

I get to KC MO for work now and then, I like it.


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[swissie]

In the end, going home in this fast moving world is not easy. These days, a 10 year absence from the home country is a lifetime.
Everything will have changed, including the cost of living.

Having retained some property/friends/old connections will help a great deal. Otherwise, it's starting from scratch.
Not sure, if I would want to return to my home-country without some personal infrastructure at the age of 85 and start out from scratch.

I was told, that a tropical climate favours procastination among other things.

It is entrely possible that this wisdom has already been displayed by other posters. In this case =sorry!
Cheers.

[Jingthing]

85 would be pushing it.

On the other hand, everyday quite old westerners move to Thailand starting from scratch.

 

[GinBoy2]

Well if the Midwest is back on the agenda, cant say much about St Louis, but I'm also echoing comments about Kansas City, MO

I first went there back in the 80's when AT&T had a manufacturing plant there, and kept friends there ever since, so periodic trips over the decades.

The Fed's are pretty big there as an employer, so there is cash in the economy. Downtown is pretty vibrant and there is a flourishing Arts scene.

As for housing costs, no clue, thats for you to research

Edited September 14, 2017 by GinBoy2

[GinBoy2]

5 hours ago, Jingthing said:

85 would be pushing it.

On the other hand, everyday quite old westerners move to Thailand starting from scratch.

 

Yeah, but that tends to be a case of old men thinking with the 'little brain'.

 

I think the move in the other direction tends to be a lot more rational for older folks

[mogandave]

Well if the Midwest is back on the agenda, cant say much about St Louis, but I'm also echoing comments about Kansas City, MO
I first went there back in the 80's when AT&T had a manufacturing plant there, and kept friends there ever since, so periodic trips over the decades.
The Fed's are pretty big there as an employer, so there is cash in the economy. Downtown is pretty vibrant and there is a flourishing Arts scene.
As for housing costs, no clue, thats for you to research

Once you get out of the city proper and nicest subs it's pretty cheap.

Arguably the best beef and barbecue in the world...Chicago might be better for beef, but certainly not barbecue....

[GinBoy2]

2 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

Once you get out of the city proper and nicest subs it's pretty cheap.

Arguably the best beef and barbecue in the world...Chicago might be better for beef, but certainly not barbecue....
 

 

Double ditto for the barbecue. I'd almost forgotten that guilty pleasure on my visits to KC

[mogandave]

Double ditto for the barbecue. I'd almost forgotten that guilty pleasure on my visits to KC

What guilt? I only eat beef from vegan cattle...

[Jingthing]

Well, Kansas City is really not on my current radar, but Cincinnati and St. Louis are.

I just read a long forum comparison between those two as they are considered somewhat related cities. 

There were passionate advocates for both, but overall from my POV St. Louis is sounding more interesting to me. 

Why?

St. Louis now has a decent urban rail system including very cheap all inclusive passes for seniors including rail and bus. 

Cincinnati doesn't.

St. Louis is flatter and Cincinnati more hilly. I don't really care but that means because of topography neighborhoods are more isolated from each other.

The metro area of St. Louis is overall more blue than Cincinnati. There is a consensus that Cincinnati is definitely the more conservative city. 

There is a consensus that St. Louis is more, please don't cringe, happening. 

Food wise they both seem pretty good but checking the listings St. Louis sounds better on the ethnic food front. 

Downsides for St. Louis, Covington KY is more interesting than East S.L, Illinois. St. Louis is on the New Madrid earthquake fault. 

Another good sign, if I was just a tourist, I think I would actually want to visit St. Louis and probably Cincinnati not so much. 

There is a close in suburb of St. Louis called University City that caught my eye. Why? Because of a concentration of Asian restaurants and also has a rail station. It's quite a big city though so I'm sure there would be many interesting areas. 

Edited September 15, 2017 by Jingthing

[GinBoy2]

But JT, sooner or later you just have to get on a plane and commit to a couple of weeks actually checking out some of these places for yourself.

One mans opinion, let alone a boat load of yelp reviews don't really mean very much if it doesn't work for you.

The Internet is a wonderful thing to do research, but ultimately you still have to narrow it to a shortlist of 5 or so, then just go and do a look see. No way around it.

Pictures on the web don't really tell you that much either. I'm always amazed how TV can make LA freeways look good....yet we all know thats a crock of s**t 

[Jingthing]

16 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

But JT, sooner or later you just have to get on a plane and commit to a couple of weeks actually checking out some of these places for yourself.

One mans opinion, let alone a boat load of yelp reviews don't really mean very much if it doesn't work for you.

The Internet is a wonderful thing to do research, but ultimately you still have to narrow it to a shortlist of 5 or so, then just go and do a look see. No way around it.

Pictures on the web don't really tell you that much either. I'm always amazed how TV can make LA freeways look good....yet we all know thats a crock of s**t 

I don't have to do anything.

As I've posted many times, I'm not committing to repatriating at all.

I'm quite clear that repatriating would mean a massive decline in my quality of life and quite risky, even a risk of homelessness (which to me basically means game over). 

Where I'm at now, is that such a trade off is probably less than rational (unless I feel somehow "forced" out) before I reach Medicare age. 

I also have not completely ruled out a third country, but that would only make sense if somehow "forced" out of Thailand and not willing to take the horrific quality of life hit.

 

But you're right, as a generality for all, ideally you should thoroughly check out places before moving there. Obviously. 

 

I realize many people will think it strange that I've done all this research on all these varied USA destinations, but it's been quite enjoyable to me. I feel I know more about the massive breadth of USA options than I ever did when I lived there! Living there, my perceived choices felt much more limited based on practicalities such as where's the job, where's the school, where sounds the most new and exciting?  

 

More on to point, IF it does come to the point where I do repatriate, it's entirely possible that I would attempt to relocate to a new place without ever visiting the place before. Not ideal by a long shot. 

 

One time in younger life I did try to relocate to New York City on my first visit. I aborted that idea after a few days. But I have moved to other cities without knowing them with better results. 

Edited September 15, 2017 by Jingthing

[mogandave]

I've been a lot of places, and life oils pretty much what you make it wherever you are.


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[Jingthing]

As this thread is largely focused on Americans with lower wealth/income levels considering or needing to repatriate, I want to mention HUD senior housing again. 

 

As is totally obvious, if coming from Thailand back to the USA and you're lower wealth/income you're looking at a cut in your quality of life (at best). 

 

The main reason older Americans expatriate is probably a better quality of life for their money, so the reverse also applies.

 

Which is why I bring up HUD senior housing. 

 

The HUD program offers subsidized rents based on percentage of income at units nationwide. Some of these places are not nice and some are nice. They are typically affiliated with some kind of religion, but there is no requirement to be of that religion or participate in it. There is even one in downtown L.A. that is gay affiliated (very long waiting list).  There is a rather onerous and bureaucratic application process, it being a government program. Typically there are waiting lists from months to multiple years. Obviously, the nice places would probably have longer waiting lists. Some places even freeze the waiting lists when the list is very long. 

 

There is often a support community built around these buildings. You might not need it now, but if you live to 80, you probably will.

 

These buildings are for relatively independent seniors only. They are not nursing homes. 

 

Anyway, my point being, later in life you might feel the need to repatriate and think there is never any hope of finding decent affordable housing. But there might be with this HUD program. 

 

So even if it isn't a plan of first choice, repatriating to a new place and getting established in a new community might be a step towards getting on a waiting list in HUD senior places, which for many people is probably a life saver.

 

Cheers. 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 15, 2017 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

52 minutes ago, mogandave said:

I've been a lot of places, and life oils pretty much what you make it wherever you are.


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I agree but it's not a bad idea to increase the odds by choosing places that seem to support your interests. 

[amvet]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Well, Kansas City is really not on my current radar, but Cincinnati and St. Louis are.

I just read a long forum comparison between those two as they are considered somewhat related cities. 

There were passionate advocates for both, but overall from my POV St. Louis is sounding more interesting to me. 

Why?

St. Louis now has a decent urban rail system including very cheap all inclusive passes for seniors including rail and bus. 

Cincinnati doesn't.

St. Louis is flatter and Cincinnati more hilly. I don't really care but that means because of topography neighborhoods are more isolated from each other.

The metro area of St. Louis is overall more blue than Cincinnati. There is a consensus that Cincinnati is definitely the more conservative city. 

There is a consensus that St. Louis is more, please don't cringe, happening. 

Food wise they both seem pretty good but checking the listings St. Louis sounds better on the ethnic food front. 

Downsides for St. Louis, Covington KY is more interesting than East S.L, Illinois. St. Louis is on the New Madrid earthquake fault. 

Another good sign, if I was just a tourist, I think I would actually want to visit St. Louis and probably Cincinnati not so much. 

There is a close in suburb of St. Louis called University City that caught my eye. Why? Because of a concentration of Asian restaurants and also has a rail station. It's quite a big city though so I'm sure there would be many interesting areas. 

St Louis ranks #1 (cities to run away from) http://www.citiesjournal.com/top-15-cities-you-should-move-away-from/

 

I worked there for a year.  Too cold in the winter.  Too hot in the summer. I will always remember the bar that had a uni sexual toilet with a mirrored floor.   The best Italian restaurant in town used Ragu spaghetti sauce for a base for all their pasta sauces. 

 

If you miss Thai justice St. Louis is for you,  In 1976 Busch IV’s uncle Peter fatally shot his friend David Leeker in a bedroom at the family’s Grant’s Farm mansion in Missouri. He said the pistol fired accidentally as he tossed it on a bed, admitted manslaughter and received five years’ probation.

 

Another Busch

As a 19-year-old college student in 1983, he was at the wheel of a black Corvette sports car which crashed – throwing Michele Frederick, a 22-year-old bartender he had picked up from a local club, to her death.

He hitchhiked home, later telling detectives he had amnesia and could not remember what had happened.

Police failed to check his blood and urine for alcohol or drugs until nearly 12 hours after the accident. Then the hospital somehow lost the urine sample and ruined the blood test, making it impossible to tell whether he was under the influence at the time.

 

Two years later, Busch IV was involved in a high-speed police chase in St Louis during which he was accused of trying to run down two detectives and which ended with an officer shooting out a tyre on his Mercedes-Benz. A jury acquitted him of assault charges after he testified to fleeing in fear that unmarked police cars chasing him carried would-be kidnappers.

Edited September 15, 2017 by amvet

[amvet]

On 9/13/2017 at 10:51 PM, mogandave said:

 

Would you want to live next to a strip-joint? Particularly with all the drugs and other nonsense that goes along with it?
 

I lived on Soi Six Pattaya between two strip clubs on the top floor of a brothel.  It was great.  Nice people.  Great times.  I will always cherish the memories.  

[Jingthing]

29 minutes ago, amvet said:

St Louis ranks #1 (cities to run away from) http://www.citiesjournal.com/top-15-cities-you-should-move-away-from/

 

I worked there for a year.  Too cold in the winter.  Too hot in the summer. 

Yeah, I'm aware of the weather issues. I have lived in the midwest before.

Interesting link. Maybe in that case, it would be better to visit first. 

 

Anyway, currently yes St. Louis has the highest murder rate in the country. In that comparison debate between St. Louis and Cincinnati it was mentioned that the latter is definitely safer. 

Edited September 15, 2017 by Jingthing

[mogandave]

I lived on Soi Six Pattaya between two strip clubs on the top floor of a brothel.  It was great.  Nice people.  Great times.  I will always cherish the memories.  

Why'd you move?

Anyway, we're talking about living next to a strip-club in the US, big difference I think.

I traveled with a carnival and lived on a train full for ten years, it was great until it wasn't...

[Jingthing]

Nothing good lasts...

[amvet]

53 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

Why'd you move?

Anyway, we're talking about living next to a strip-club in the US, big difference I think.

I traveled with a carnival and lived on a train full for ten years, it was great until it wasn't...

Why would any sane person go to a US strip club?  That is why all these men move to Thailand.