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

[Jingthing]

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

No passport?
With due respect this thread is not really about sleazy sex venues in the USA, Thailand, or Mars for that matter.

[Jingthing]

Back to St. Louis, if it's really that bad with everyone murdering each other and desperate to leave town maybe that will open up lots of great housing opportunities. Joking kind of. The reality is I don't even want a place that's excessively desirable. For my purposes lots of sucky aspects may be a feature. Like Raleigh sounds interesting and I'll surely look into it. But if it's that good it's bound to get pricey faster. OK if you can afford to buy in at right time.

 

 

[amvet]

3 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

No passport?
With due respect this thread is not really about sleazy sex venues in the USA, Thailand, or Mars for that matter.

Oh I thought it was about low budget locations that aren't horrible.  In my view a location without a low budget strip club/brothel would be horrible and I imagine I'm in the majority of Western men who move to Thailand.  Why do you think men come to Thailand?  Cheap food, sex and living expenses. The same would have to be available to move back to or the location would be horrible.  Would you move to Yemen, Iran or Nigeria?  Sleazy sex I would suggest is in the eye of the beholder.  Unless you want to discriminate against me.  Yemen and Iran and Nigeria find homosexuality sleazy I don't.  So I feel in the interest of reality one must allow the definition of horrible to be a personal one and not dominated by one persons life view. 

[amvet]

8 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Back to St. Louis, if it's really that bad with everyone murdering each other and desperate to leave town maybe that will open up lots of great housing opportunities. Joking kind of. The reality is I don't even want a place that's excessively desirable. For my purposes lots of sucky aspects may be a feature. Like Raleigh sounds interesting and I'll surely look into it. But if it's that good it's bound to get pricey faster. OK if you can afford to buy in at right time.

East St Louis even better. 

[Jingthing]

East St Louis even better. 

No thanks. There's a sweet spot I'm looking for and I don't think that's it.

[amvet]

5 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

No thanks. There's a sweet spot I'm looking for and I don't think that's it.

1. Detroit, Michigan
2. Birmingham, Alabama
3. Flint, Michigan
4. St Louis, Missouri
5. Memphis, Tennessee
6. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
7. Albany, Georgia
8. Hartford, Connecticut
9. Merced, California
10. Wilmington, Delaware 
11. San Bernardino, California
12. Springfield, Missouri
13. Stockton, California
14. Baltimore, Maryland
15. Jackson, Mississippi
16. Rockford, Illinois
17. Miami Beach, Florida
18. Springfield, Massachusetts
19. Pueblo, Colorado
20. Canton, Ohio
21. Youngstown, Ohio
22. Buffalo, New York
23. Knoxville, Tennessee
24. Fort Smith, Arkansas
25. Cincinnati, Ohio
26. Little Rock, Arkansas
27. Paterson, New Jersey
28. Tucson, Arizona
29. Gary, Indiana
30. Chattanooga, Tennessee
31. Syracuse, New York
32. Salt Lake City, Utah
33. Reading, Pennsylvania
34. Rochester, New York
35. Lansing, Michigan
36. Waterbury, Connecticut
37. Atlanta, Georgia
38. Fall River, Massachusetts
39. Indianapolis, Indiana
40. Medford, Oregon
41. Lubbock, Texas
42. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
43. Lawrence, Massachusetts
44. Albuquerque, New Mexico
45. Gastonia, North Carolina
46. Shreveport, Louisiana
47. South Bend, Indiana
48. Camden, New Jersey
49. Kansas City, Kansas
50. Columbus, Georgia 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4659604/Worst-cities-America-revealed-Detroit-No-1.html

As of July 2017

Important information.  I'd cross these cities off of any potential list.  

[Jingthing]

Such lists can be very subjective. I see a number of those that are quite decent choices. Such as Medford, Albuquerque, Atlanta metro, etc.

A major point cities are about much more than their cores.

 

The article also seems to assume it's about people in career phase of life. Tucson is on that list but often regarded well as a lower cost retirement spot.

 

 

[amvet]

3 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Such lists can be very subjective. I see a number of those that are quite decent choices. Such as Medford, Albuquerque, Atlanta metro, etc.

If you like drunk out of work loggers you'll love Medford.  Try staying there on a weekend without an Indian guide. 

[Jingthing]

If you like drunk out of work loggers you'll love Medford.  Try staying there on a weekend without an Indian guide. 

I've been there.. Boring but pleasant.

[lannarebirth]

31 minutes ago, amvet said:

If you like drunk out of work loggers you'll love Medford.  Try staying there on a weekend without an Indian guide. 

I don't know when it was, the last time you were in the Rogue River Valley, but  is a fantastic place to live. Very temperate climate and nearby Ashland is a theater arts destination for many people.  The whole area has blown up and yeah central Medford is a little seedy but even that is being updated one project at a time. The downside for the area is (like so many areas now) not enough middle class. Lots of cheap living options and lots of million dollar plus options too. It is about as good as it gets for living near the West Coast cheaply.

[Jingthing]

I reckon the moral of the story is that different places are better for different people at different phases of their life. 

 

Like recently I saw a list of the best places for people that are renters on a fixed social security income. Obviously those aren't going to be the overall "best" places. Some may be on many "worst" places lists as well! 

Edited September 15, 2017 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

A taste of University City, older inner suburb of St. Louis. 

Historically a heavily Jewish neighborhood and now the location of the new St. Louis Chinatown, moved from downtown. 

Jews and Chinese food, it makes sense.

Then there is the Delmar Loop which is in University City --

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_City,_Missouri

 

I looked at a number of videos of that area. The older part reminds me of the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago. This suburban "Chinatown" reminds me of the International District on Buford Road, suburban Atlanta.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 15, 2017 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

Another cool thing about U.C. is they're building an old style street trolley system connecting different neighborhoods that also feeds into the main Metro Train station connecting all over the city. They're actually looking to attract people including retirees that don't want to be so car dependent.

Affordability? Perhaps challenging.

It's not the kind of area like Tucson where you can resort to a mobile home park. 

Edited September 15, 2017 by Jingthing

[amvet]

8 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

I don't know when it was, the last time you were in the Rogue River Valley, but  is a fantastic place to live. Very temperate climate and nearby Ashland is a theater arts destination for many people.  The whole area has blown up and yeah central Medford is a little seedy but even that is being updated one project at a time. The downside for the area is (like so many areas now) not enough middle class. Lots of cheap living options and lots of million dollar plus options too. It is about as good as it gets for living near the West Coast cheaply.

I was there to repossess a property and take over management because of non payment so I'm sure I didn't see the city in it's best light. 

[Jingthing]

Another interesting feature of that University City area is it's proximity to the large and nationally very prominent Washington University. That video of the Delmar Loop district reminds me of parts of Berkeley, California. I also read that there is college town aspect of the area but that the busineses aren't overly dependent on the college crowd. 

Yes, there are some disturbing things about the actual city of St. Louis. Shocking decline in population in recent decades but that's attributed a lot to people moving to the suburbs. Yes, of course there are well publicized race tensions in the area, but you can say that about a lot of cities. The city itself has less than 400K people but the metro area is over two million. 

Overall, I'm not so freaked out by the negatives yet to eliminate the area. Especially the general University City area which includes other adjacent suburban areas seems to have an appealing diverse cultural mix that would be a much better fit for me than a place like Tulsa, OK. 

Also there are some senior HUD options in the area, but those can't be counted on anywhere as far as openings and acceptance. 

Of course the weather is unpleasant most of the year, but back to the reality, an area with features of that area with wonderful year round weather would be totally out of reach for me. 

One odd thing about St. Louis in general is the small percentage of LATINOS living there. Being around lots of Latinos is one of the things that I associate with back home.

Edited September 16, 2017 by Jingthing

[mogandave]

Have you ever been around HUD housing?

The reason the percentage of Hispanics is so low is because of the high percentage of blacks.


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[Jingthing]

36 minutes ago, mogandave said:

Have you ever been around HUD housing?

The reason the percentage of Hispanics is so low is because of the high percentage of blacks.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

Sounds like you're thinking of the old style public housing projects like Cabrini Green was in  Chicago. Yes, hellish.

 

Could be you're just not familiar with what I'm talking about here. Senior housing with HUD subsidies based on rent, usually with a religious affiliation. Some of those places are wonderful. I am very familiar with such places. They're a fantastic option for many low income seniors. But the trouble is there are a lot more people interested than units.

 

Also, not to suggest a political debate, but the HUD department under the new government is under potential very heavy cuts. How that impacts these wonderful senior housing opportunities I don't know. Again, they're not for everyone. There is a maximum income and there is some pretty heavy screening on top of the long waiting lists. People can't count on them being a sure thing. Also you need to re-qualify every year to determine your current income based rent. 

 

Here is an example of a really good one outside Atlanta. It's especially good because it's right in the middle of a vibrant small city of Decatur so residents can walk many places and also take convenient subway mass transit all over Atlanta metro. 

 

http://www.philipstower.org/

 

 

Edited September 16, 2017 by Jingthing

[mogandave]

Sounds like you're thinking of the old style public housing projects like Cabrini Green was in  Chicago. Yes, hellish.
 
Could be you're just not familiar with what I'm talking about here. Senior housing with HUD subsidies based on rent, usually with a religious affiliation. Some of those places are wonderful. I am very familiar with such places. They're a fantastic option for many low income seniors. But the trouble is there are a lot more people interested than units.
 
Also, not to suggest a political debate, but the HUD department under the new government is under potential very heavy cuts. How that impacts these wonderful senior housing opportunities I don't know. Again, they're not for everyone. There is a maximum income and there is some pretty heavy screening on top of the long waiting lists. People can't count on them being a sure thing. Also you need to re-qualify every year to determine your current income based rent. 
 
Here is an example of a really good one outside Atlanta. It's especially good because it's right in the middle of a vibrant small city of Decatur so residents can walk many places and also take convenient subway mass transit all over Atlanta metro. 
 
http://www.philipstower.org/
 
 

Yeah, I'm sure it's really great now.

If qualify for HUD, the you qualify for Medical, why not just move to California?

[Jingthing]

17 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

Yeah, I'm sure it's really great now.

If qualify for HUD, the you qualify for Medical, why not just move to California?

 

On the senior HUD buildings, not all of them are as nice as that place in Decatur of course. But some are. Location also matters like any housing.

 

On the Medical thing, that's way too presumptuous about my current age and economic position and not worthy of a reply. 

 

HUD senior housing for general info for people requires minimum age 62 and annual income under some kind of floating figure, probably about 40K. 

 

Destination-wise, I've ruled out California just based on overall high costs. Like I said there is a very good senior HUD building in downtown LA catering to LGBT people but you couldn't move into that direct from Thailand and the waiting list is years and years. 

 

I'm not counting on ever being in such a HUD subsidized senior building anywhere and nobody else should either. But I think it's worth looking into as a potential "later" option when looking at different destinations. For example, I know of at least three good ones in or near Atlanta. I suppose in some cities, there are no good ones or none at all. Just another something to keep in mind for the non-wealthy getting older set looking at repatriation. 

Edited September 16, 2017 by Jingthing

[amvet]

San Francisco HUD extremely low income for one person is 47,000 so how does that work?  If you make under 47 grand they give you an apartment?

 

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmrs/FY2018_code/2018bdrm_rent.odn?year=2018&cbsasub=METRO41860MM7360&br_size=0

Edited September 16, 2017 by amvet

[Jingthing]

13 minutes ago, amvet said:

San Francisco HUD extremely low income for one person is 47,000 so how does that work?  If you make under 47 grand they give you an apartment?

No. I am talking about the SENIOR buildings only. I don't really  know about other HUD programs, section 8, etc. 

Yes, the max income for SENIOR (age 62 up) buildings is probably location cost of living dependent. 

Anyway the rent is determined as a PERCENTAGE of your income. I forget exactly. Maybe 1/3. Obviously a more life saving benefit for someone on a 1,000 dollars a month social security check than someone making 46 with a 47 cutoff.

These places are more than OK with you having assets such as IRA accounts because if low income that increases your chances of being able to afford to stay there at all. I think income created from withdrawals from IRAs does count as income. 

Also people with any eviction record are to my knowledge generally rejected. 

Many of them have all kinds of other services attached to the building. Social stuff, religious stuff depending on the affiliation, transport/shopping services, meals programs often low cost, volunteer programs, etc. etc. 

These places do NOT cater to people that need significant assisted living, and don't accept them either. That's where things get really sad. 

 

Edited September 16, 2017 by Jingthing

[amvet]

That's cool.  I didn't know about HUD.  https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2013/11/14/state-aims-at-recovery-housing-for-mentally-ill/

 

http://onefatherslove.com/low-income-senior-housing-sacramento

 

Edited September 16, 2017 by amvet

[swissie]

On 14.9.2017 at 8:37 PM, Jingthing said:

85 would be pushing it.

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

 

While this is true, there is a difference.

Most Farangs setteling in Thailand to start "from scratch" arrive with a full wallet. When heading back home, their wallet may have undergone a fitness program making the wallet slim and trim.
If "procastination" comes into play, at some point the wallet may have become so slim and trim, that a return to the home-country is no more possible. That's the difference.

Everybody having lived in Thailand for any lenght of time must have come accross such "extreme situations" affecting fellow Farangs.
Once this stage is reached, an old Alice Cooper song comes to mind "Welcome to my nightmare".
Cheers. 

[Jingthing]

While this is true, there is a difference.

Most Farangs setteling in Thailand to start "from scratch" arrive with a full wallet. When heading back home, their wallet may have undergone a fitness program making the wallet slim and trim.

If "procastination" comes into play, at some point the wallet may have become so slim and trim, that a return to the home-country is no more possible. That's the difference.

 

Everybody having lived in Thailand for any lenght of time must have come accross such "extreme situations" affecting fellow Farangs.

Once this stage is reached, an old Alice Cooper song comes to mind "Welcome to my nightmare".

Cheers. 

All fair points. Also even if can afford the flight back and are healthy enough to fly if you're totally broke you'll be in a begging position with friends and relatives. Many flavors of worst case scenarios. We can try to avoid those but the best made plans ...

 

 

 

[swissie]

50 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

All fair points. Also even if can afford the flight back and are healthy enough to fly if you're totally broke you'll be in a begging position with friends and relatives. Many flavors of worst case scenarios. We can try to avoid those but the best made plans ...

 

 

 

Yes JT, the plans of men and mice.

- No Farang setteling in Thailand made plans to end up in "Dire-Straits". All it takes are a couple of "bad decisions" and a couple of "bad aquaintances".

 

PS: Look at Casa Grande, Arizona. Located halfway between Phoenix and Tucson. Mid sized  fast growing town with all the comforts you are looking for ( even some modest "Cultural-Events").  A few miles out of town = rents still affordable. Desert climate, so "swamp-coolers" work very well. (Low electricitiy cost). 

Phoenix or Tucson are only a little over an hour away.

- A very "liberal-minded" population. (Live and let live).

= I can't see you setteling somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by some Hillbillies, just because the rents are low.

Cheers.

[Kim1950]

3 hours ago, amvet said:

That's cool.  I didn't know about HUD.  https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2013/11/14/state-aims-at-recovery-housing-for-mentally-ill/

 

http://onefatherslove.com/low-income-senior-housing-sacramento

 

My daughter has a mental health disability and is eligible for Section 8 in Massachusetts. In her case, it took nearly a year for us to document her problem by private clinicians and then to be further diagnosed by state clinicians. For starters you must have lived in the state for some time and once approved the waiting list is a minimum one year, maybe longer depending on the quality of the place.  And, we had some connections. They would also determine if you can perform any type of work and they would help you find work. Without connections you would have a tough go getting any decent elderly housing or even elderly group housing.

 

If you are a veteran, your local VA Health Care Center does provide housing assistance with priorities for disabilities and age though they will offer help for any veteran. Some states have 'No Homeless' Programs. By the way, this is decent housing, not cinder block complexes.

 

Simply flying into a city, any city, with marginal resources and no connections would be painful. And simply getting started would require incremental costs. You know this situation is tough because homeless rates in the US are on the rise due to increasing income disparity and dwindling middle-class income. In my town they do have a HUD program but that is primary for the town's service workers, police or firefighters who can't afford the town. As I've said, one needs a connection or affiliation. At one time, I even used a dating service and matched for people in my interested destination. You would be surprised how many were willing to help me.

[Jingthing]

I have to admit there are a few almost inexcusable faults in St. Louis. Top of the list is this provel "cheese" thing. 

 

Quote

"It's not even legally cheese," Friedlander tells The Salt. "It's melted plastic from the '80s."

 

 

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/02/13/171942864/one-city-s-love-affair-with-processed-cheese

 

On the other hand they have this thing called a St. Paul sandwich that is an egg foo young patty on white bread served only at Americanized Chinese restaurants. I kind of like that idea. 

 

It's kind of fusion. Why not? The other day I had an Indian samosa stuffed with fried Chinese chow mein noodles. Similar concept. 

 

It's called a St. Paul but it's not from Minnesota. Go figure.

 

Oh, about the weather, word is the winters are getting milder but the summers are getting hotter.

Edited September 16, 2017 by Jingthing

[lannarebirth]

8 hours ago, amvet said:

San Francisco HUD extremely low income for one person is 47,000 so how does that work?  If you make under 47 grand they give you an apartment?

 

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmrs/FY2018_code/2018bdrm_rent.odn?year=2018&cbsasub=METRO41860MM7360&br_size=0

 

Unless one is talking about "The Projects", HUD is a public/private partnership. My uncle got in one of the nicer downtown SF buildings. Rather than wait 18 months he simply paid the bureau gatekeeper a $7,000 gratuity and was moved in in a week. The owner of his building is paid $3,400/mo by the govt. for his apartment. He also receives all manner of other freebies including medigap, food vouchers and taxi chits. The City is a wonderful place if you're rich enough, or poor enough.

[mogandave]

 
Unless one is talking about "The Projects", HUD is a public/private partnership. My uncle got in one of the nicer downtown SF buildings. Rather than wait 18 months he simply paid the bureau gatekeeper a $7,000 gratuity and was moved in in a week. The owner of his building is paid $3,400/mo by the govt. for his apartment. He also receives all manner of other freebies including medigap, food vouchers and taxi chits. The City is a wonderful place if you're rich enough, or poor enough.

Yes, HUD is not only "The Projects", it is also used to subsidize rich property owners and drive up the cost of real estate.

[Jingthing]

Continuing to look at that area on the edge of St. Louis -- University City / Forest Park / Olive Street Asian food haven and it keeps looking good. 

Another thing I didn't realize before is that the area is so close to Forest Park, a great urban park, perhaps the Golden Gate Park / Central Park of the city but not in the center of the main city (neither is GG park).

Now I know the cost of living there (housing mostly) is going to be much less than an "A list" city like San Francisco, Boston, LA, etc. but just randomly checking the rents and sales they seem on the lower end for any large city with amenities, but of course not nearly the cheapest national option. 

There are lots of places with all of these features in a city, but the concentration in that general area along with possible public transportation options, without A list prices, I'm not sure I've seen another option like that anywhere. 

 

So, yeah, for now, St. Louis (inner suburbs) has bumped up from off my radar to the higher tier. 

 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2017 by Jingthing