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

[smokie36]

A good case for not buying a "mobile" home in a leased space park. Of course, most are. These residents seemed to have quite a decent situation ... until now.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/scottsdale/2015/06/04/wheel-inn-ranch-residents-evicted/28372227/

Mobile home living in the south of England is fairly attractive for nine months of the year....decent weather...low crime...and near Brighton might suit you with a vibrant gay scene.

[Jingthing]

Okie Dokie.

I don't think England has expanded Medicaid.

[gk10002000]

A good case for not buying a "mobile" home in a leased space park. Of course, most are. These residents seemed to have quite a decent situation ... until now.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/scottsdale/2015/06/04/wheel-inn-ranch-residents-evicted/28372227/

never buy a mobile in a rented space. It is literally the worst of both worlds. Leases in the better trailer parks are not cheap. Lease costs are NOT deductible as a home mortgage payment is. The buying and selling and required upkeep and fine print about selling your home or having to take it with you if you move often surprises people.

[Digitalnomade]

buy or rent a land and buy a mini house on wheel. keep all you cost low by using bicycle. grow vegetables. get prepaid cellphone and borrow Wi-Fi from Neighbours. get a job in a movie theatre part time so you can watch movies for free.

[SpokaneAl]

buy or rent a land and buy a mini house on wheel. keep all you cost low by using bicycle. grow vegetables. get prepaid cellphone and borrow Wi-Fi from Neighbours. get a job in a movie theatre part time so you can watch movies for free.

Relying a bike for transportation, working in a theater for the free movies, stealing wifi from the neighbors - not my idea of the golden years. Edited December 4, 2015 by SpokaneAl

[55Jay]

buy or rent a land and buy a mini house on wheel. keep all you cost low by using bicycle. grow vegetables. get prepaid cellphone and borrow Wi-Fi from Neighbours. get a job in a movie theatre part time so you can watch movies for free.

Thanks, Chong, spark up another doobie then take a nap.

[BKKSnowBird]

buy or rent a land and buy a mini house on wheel. keep all you cost low by using bicycle. grow vegetables. get prepaid cellphone and borrow Wi-Fi from Neighbours. get a job in a movie theatre part time so you can watch movies for free.

Dont forget to always get extra napkins to use for toilet paper.

[gk10002000]

ketchup and mustard and salt and pepper from the occasional visit to McDonalds, Wendy's, or any other fast food restaurant. No need to stuff one's pockets. But it is easy to take enough home so as to not have to buy any. Napkins also. Read "Possum Living" by Dolly Freed. Interesting philosophy and some valid real world examples of cheaper and often better living. "It is usually easier to learn to live without than to go out and work to earn to get all that other stuff". Something like that. It is basically impossible for this younger generation to conceive of what the older generations did NOT have. They can't imagine not spending money.

[NeverSure]

So I'm paying $269 per month for my Medicare but the worst that could happen to me is that I pay a $10 co-pay for a non-generic prescription drug.

I spoke yesterday with a friend of mine in North Carolina. She turned 65 in September, signed up for Medicare, and with all of the "add on's" is paying close to $400 a month.

I don't have vision or dental coverage and I don't recall what that would have cost. Perhaps she does. She has something that's gold plated.

JT - The below is on topic if only because supplemental Medicare plans (Advantage, Medigap, etc.) vary state to state and each insurance company is licensed by each state. They can't sell insurance across state lines, but must get licensed in each state the do business in. It would pay to check around and get quotes.

Medicare Advantage (Medicare C) is cheaper - Maybe $200 pm including A and B, but it has annual deductibles and co-pays. It pays to shop around because there are usually several private insurers in each state.

Advantage has a disadvantage in that it's like an HMO. You have to go to a provider who belongs to that group unless you are out of the area and treatment is immediately necessary. So you don't necessarily get to keep your own doctor but may have to get a new one who's in the group.

I dodged all of that by going for F - Medigap which is from an actual insurance company and I can choose any doctor who accepts Medicare (most do) and pay nothing out of pocket.

Note that almost all hospitals and most doctors are required to accept Medicare. That's because the feds give grants to hospitals and anyone receiving such a grant must accept Medicare. This spills over to doctors who practice in that hospital including making patient visits.

My regular doctor who I'd see for routine things works for a hospital group that has its own HMO and Medicare C plan. The hospital owns the big clinic. Still, they have to accept my Medicare because of federal grants.

Cheers.

[JLCrab]

ketchup and mustard and salt and pepper from the occasional visit to McDonalds, Wendy's, or any other fast food restaurant. No need to stuff one's pockets. But it is easy to take enough home so as to not have to buy any. Napkins also. Read "Possum Living" by Dolly Freed. Interesting philosophy and some valid real world examples of cheaper and often better living. "It is usually easier to learn to live without than to go out and work to earn to get all that other stuff". Something like that. It is basically impossible for this younger generation to conceive of what the older generations did NOT have. They can't imagine not spending money.

Personally, I would rather aspire to the example of insomniac Howard Hughes who, when vexed that there were no all-night TV stations in Las Vegas to show Western movies, went out and bought one of the Las Vegas stations and told them to stay on all-night and show Western movies.

Edited December 4, 2015 by JLCrab

[Jingthing]

OK, if I ever do move to Phoenix, I think I might be found here:

http://phxfoodnerds.com/index.php

This area sounds good:

http://www.mekongplaza.com/directory.html

Unphogettable!

[BruceMangosteen]

Dont forget to always get extra napkins to use for toilet paper.

I"m sure they've got squirt things by now in the U.S.A.. If not, for a couple hundred bucks a plumber can install one. Bring the package back with you if need be.

[wpcoe]

Are there many tourists that do not describe Pattaya as hot as hell? Do not believe we would find Phoenix hot after the humid heat of Thailand - I lived in Delhi for several years and it was much hotter than here - but did not feel it.

I like Pattaya weather. But I've got a sea breeze ... and it cools off at night even in the hot season. So I don't think you can compare to the desert.

Still between too hot and too cold, especially if the too hot is "dry" heat, for me, too hot wins.

The desert cools off at night, too. I lived in Las Vegas twice, and my routine was to open the windows at about 1000pm and leave them open until about 1000am. Without using air con, the apartment would stay cool until early afternoon. Homes there tend to be very well insulated.

The problem with that routine was the *dust*! The desert is a dusty place.

And, yeah, while staying cool indoors is not so difficult, going out mid-day in 120* F heat is a real experience. That said, I used to go to the nude beach on Lake Mead when it was that hot and survived. Ahhh, to be young again...

[losworld]

Should have gone with a Canadian system. Lower cost overall and covers all. But probably not for another 100 years.

Medicare is popular though.

Agree. I have lived in Canad and in the U.S. and I have seen both systems and believe the Canadian system much better. On a cost per basis delivery is far more efficient and you get one hundred percent coverage. Here is a classic example. If you are feeling sick or something is wrong most Canadian cities have 24 hour doctor clinics or easily accessible clinics where you can get in and out in an hour or less at no cost. So you have incentive to get yourself checked.

I lived in Los Angeles and had premium insurance but it would take me days or even weeks to see a doctor and with appointment. Then there would be a copay on top of it.

So to put this into perspective if a woman had a lump in her breast in Canada she could go to the clinic they would discovery it and first stage cancer would be removed. In the U.S. there is a possiblilty she would not go because of initial costs or her insurance going up or takes weeks for an appointment. So she might return when the condition has worsened and now you would have 3rd stage cancer which is far more expensive and could kill her.

Another expample I had food poisoning and the only place to go at night is the emergency ward of a hospital in Los Angeles. One bag of IV cost my insurance over 1000 u.s. Ridiculous.

Clinton backed down on creating a viabale national health plan and Obama has done the same. I am sorry but this hybrid model they introduced will continue to make the insurance companies rich as usual at the expense of the taxpayer. National healt care like Canada or England is the only solution.

Like many things else American, the quality of health care depends a great deal on where one lives. We certainly have never waited weeks for any kind of appointment up in my neck of the woods. Most times we see a doctor with a couple of days unless it is urgent and then get seen very quickly.

Funny thing is that in Canada as mentioned I can get into see a doctor in hours in any major center. In the U.S. and we are talking Santa Monica or Newport Beach it takes days or weeks to see a GP. The GP is the first line of defense in correcting the problem before it becomes more serious. The US health care system is not effective for average Americans. I wish Americans would wake up and see how their media and the corps dumb them down and feed them misinformation to pad their wallets.

[NeverSure]

Like many things else American, the quality of health care depends a great deal on where one lives. We certainly have never waited weeks for any kind of appointment up in my neck of the woods. Most times we see a doctor with a couple of days unless it is urgent and then get seen very quickly.

Funny thing is that in Canada as mentioned I can get into see a doctor in hours in any major center. In the U.S. and we are talking Santa Monica or Newport Beach it takes days or weeks to see a GP. The GP is the first line of defense in correcting the problem before it becomes more serious. The US health care system is not effective for average Americans. I wish Americans would wake up and see how their media and the corps dumb them down and feed them misinformation to pad their wallets.

"It is rare that a simple matter of patient choice causes an international flap.

But that's what happened when 60-year-old Danny Williams of St. John's, Newfoundland, decided to go to the U.S. for heart surgery.

That's because Williams isn't just any old Newfoundlander -- he's the premier of Canada's easternmost province, the head of its government.

The disclosure Tuesday that Williams was in an undisclosed location in the U.S., having an undisclosed procedure that he couldn't get in Newfoundland, brought catcalls from both sides of the border."

LINK

[CaptHaddock]

Like many things else American, the quality of health care depends a great deal on where one lives. We certainly have never waited weeks for any kind of appointment up in my neck of the woods. Most times we see a doctor with a couple of days unless it is urgent and then get seen very quickly.

Funny thing is that in Canada as mentioned I can get into see a doctor in hours in any major center. In the U.S. and we are talking Santa Monica or Newport Beach it takes days or weeks to see a GP. The GP is the first line of defense in correcting the problem before it becomes more serious. The US health care system is not effective for average Americans. I wish Americans would wake up and see how their media and the corps dumb them down and feed them misinformation to pad their wallets.

"It is rare that a simple matter of patient choice causes an international flap.

But that's what happened when 60-year-old Danny Williams of St. John's, Newfoundland, decided to go to the U.S. for heart surgery.

That's because Williams isn't just any old Newfoundlander -- he's the premier of Canada's easternmost province, the head of its government.

The disclosure Tuesday that Williams was in an undisclosed location in the U.S., having an undisclosed procedure that he couldn't get in Newfoundland, brought catcalls from both sides of the border."

LINK

And your point is?

On the whole, Canadians are not flocking to the US for health care:

An estimated 52,000 Canadians — half of those from Ontario — left the country to receive non-emergency health care in 2014, according to a report titled Leaving Canada for Medical Care.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/estimated-52-000-canadians-sought-medical-care-outside-canada-fraser-institute-says-1.2997726

From a population of 35 million that would be 0.15% of the Canadian population seeking treatment in all countries abroad.

On the other hand Californians do indeed flock to Mexico for health care or, at least they did in 2009. One hopes the flow has been reduced by the ACA.

Driven by rising health care costs at home, nearly 1 million Californians cross the border each year to seek medical care in Mexico, according a new paper by UCLA researchers and colleagues published today in the journal Medical Care.

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/nearly-one-million-californians-92807

The population of California is 38 million. So, that means 2.63% of Californians sought treatment abroad, or 17 times as many Californians as Canadians. Not exactly a resounding endorsement of the US healthcare system.

[Jingthing]

I had assumed that Vegas is not quite as hot as Phoenix.

This confirms that:

http://www.bertsperling.com/2013/07/02/sizzling-cities-ranked-our-new-heat-index/

I'm kind of bummed that my "final" choices seem so limited.

I guess I've ruled out Cleveland and Pittsburgh (too cold) so it's basically down to Phoenix vs. Vegas.

But way too hot ... but too hot beats too cold in my book.

Phoenix is so incredibly spread out. Like you live in Mesa and you want to do something in Glendale, like an event or restaurant, you're in for a LONG drive, I think even an hour. Within the same basic urban area.

Henderson NV seems better that way.

A decent amount of stuff to do there and you want some excitement or culture, drive to Vegas strip or downtown. I think about 20 minutes.

There does seem to be a cool walkable more urban area of Phoenix, basically in a part of Tempe near ASU, but no surprise, the housing in that more desirable area is way too expensive for me.

I like that Phoenix has a modern light rail system but chances are I wouldn't be living close enough to it to rely on it ... it goes as far as Mesa and will expand to Glendale in 10 years.

This full system light rail of Phoenix video perhaps provides some idea of the feel of the place. It was filmed on a VERY HOT day. Notice how few people are on the streets! For the most part, this doesn't seem like a "real" city ... more like a huge suburban sprawl with some concentrated zones. Which I guess I already knew. Oh well!

Edited December 5, 2015 by Jingthing

[sirineou]

Like many things else American, the quality of health care depends a great deal on where one lives. We certainly have never waited weeks for any kind of appointment up in my neck of the woods. Most times we see a doctor with a couple of days unless it is urgent and then get seen very quickly.

Funny thing is that in Canada as mentioned I can get into see a doctor in hours in any major center. In the U.S. and we are talking Santa Monica or Newport Beach it takes days or weeks to see a GP. The GP is the first line of defense in correcting the problem before it becomes more serious. The US health care system is not effective for average Americans. I wish Americans would wake up and see how their media and the corps dumb them down and feed them misinformation to pad their wallets.

"It is rare that a simple matter of patient choice causes an international flap.

But that's what happened when 60-year-old Danny Williams of St. John's, Newfoundland, decided to go to the U.S. for heart surgery.

That's because Williams isn't just any old Newfoundlander -- he's the premier of Canada's easternmost province, the head of its government.

The disclosure Tuesday that Williams was in an undisclosed location in the U.S., having an undisclosed procedure that he couldn't get in Newfoundland, brought catcalls from both sides of the border."

LINK

I know that simple minds are easily amused, and in the case of Americans , manipulated by the elite. But when you are done laughing please re-read the post you are replying

"The US health care system is not effective for average Americans."

the operative word here being "Average" for others , the US healthcare system is the best that money can buy

.

[Jingthing]

A funny (true?) quote from the Phoenix light rail video:

Kudos to Phoenix for providing mass transit from One crap hole suburban un walkable area to another!

[SpokaneAl]

I suppose that Las Vegas is technically not as hot as Phoenix, but after having spent time in both locations, I find myself hard pressed to differentiate between the two, especially during the summer months.

Edited December 5, 2015 by SpokaneAl

[Heng]

Austin, TX. Not cheap but it's a vibrant city with an excellent mix of people. We're also tolerant of people like Jingthing. You know... food critics.

[Jingthing]

Austin, TX. Not cheap but it's a vibrant city with an excellent mix of people. We're also tolerant of people like Jingthing. You know... food critics.

I get the appeal of Austin but have judged it too expensive (for me).

Also no expanded Medicaid.

I was looking at McAllen because it's near the border.

Edited December 5, 2015 by Jingthing

[Heng]

Well, that's one way to go. At least legally speaking, you'll still be in America.

[CaptHaddock]

Austin, TX. Not cheap but it's a vibrant city with an excellent mix of people. We're also tolerant of people like Jingthing. You know... food critics.

I get the appeal of Austin but have judged it too expensive (for me).

Also no expanded Medicaid.

I was looking at McAllen because it's near the border.

McAllen? Which has the reputation as having one of the highest per capita health care costs in the US?

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/06/01/the-cost-conundrum

[Jingthing]

Austin, TX. Not cheap but it's a vibrant city with an excellent mix of people. We're also tolerant of people like Jingthing. You know... food critics.

I get the appeal of Austin but have judged it too expensive (for me).

Also no expanded Medicaid.

I was looking at McAllen because it's near the border.

McAllen? Which has the reputation as having one of the highest per capita health care costs in the US?

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/06/01/the-cost-conundrum

Sure.

But as I've said the plan was to access the medications I need in Mexico, cheaply, and try to avoid the U.S. health care system before age 65.

I'm not really serious about McAllen but the border access is a feature.

Look as far as I'm concerned the entire U.S. health care system is a disaster, pre-Obamacare and post-Obamacare. That was a big part of the reason that I "escaped from America" in the first place (and I know I am not unique in that). But for people living there, they need to adapt to it, and my adaption when I did live there often involved Canada and Mexico.

The Canada part is out now ... they made the import of meds illegal.

People can get all ideological about this all they like, but that was my experience and it radicalized me. Sure doctors deserve to be well off, but the vast majority of health care money shouldn't be spent for end of life time either.

Edited December 5, 2015 by Jingthing

[CaptHaddock]

Austin, TX. Not cheap but it's a vibrant city with an excellent mix of people. We're also tolerant of people like Jingthing. You know... food critics.

I get the appeal of Austin but have judged it too expensive (for me).

Also no expanded Medicaid.

I was looking at McAllen because it's near the border.

McAllen? Which has the reputation as having one of the highest per capita health care costs in the US?

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/06/01/the-cost-conundrum

Sure.

But as I've said the plan was to access the medications I need in Mexico, cheaply, and try to avoid the U.S. health care system before age 65.

I'm not really serious about McAllen but the border access is a feature.

Look as far as I'm concerned the entire U.S. health care system is a disaster, pre-Obamacare and post-Obamacare. That was a big part of the reason that I "escaped from America" in the first place (and I know I am not unique in that). But for people living there, they need to adapt to it, and my adaption when I did live there often involved Canada and Mexico.

The Canada part is out now ... they made the import of meds illegal.

People can get all ideological about this all they like, but that was my experience and it radicalized me. Sure doctors deserve to be well off, but the vast majority of health care money shouldn't be spent for end of life time either.

I dread the thought of ever being subject again to the US healthcare system. Beyond the outrageous costs, the quality is sub-standard, except for the top-level. Doctors are entitled to a living wage, but are not entitled to make up 40% of the top 1% of the US.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Funny thing is that in Canada as mentioned I can get into see a doctor in hours in any major center. In the U.S. and we are talking Santa Monica or Newport Beach it takes days or weeks to see a GP. The GP is the first line of defense in correcting the problem before it becomes more serious. The US health care system is not effective for average Americans. I wish Americans would wake up and see how their media and the corps dumb them down and feed them misinformation to pad their wallets.

I'm an American, and I do think the American system has a range of faults -- too expensive, not providing coverage for everyone, etc etc.

However, I have no idea where you're getting your idea above about it taking days or weeks for an average person to make a GP appointment.

I lived in the areas you mention, and my father still does to this day. I had employer PPO medical insurance, and my father has private a senior citizen Medicare supplement health plan. And basically, if either of us wanted to see a GP, we typically could do so within a day or so.

I lived there for 30+ years, and never waited more than a couple days -- at the longest -- to see any regular doctor.

[rsokolowski]

I would recommend western Oregon. Mild weather, a lot less rain than Washington state (Portland has about 100 less days of rain than Seattle). Portland is a nice (although pretty strange) city, unfortunately the close you live to it the higher your expenses will be.

[rsokolowski]

Dont forget to always get extra napkins to use for toilet paper.

I"m sure they've got squirt things by now in the U.S.A.. If not, for a couple hundred bucks a plumber can install one. Bring the package back with you if need be.

Just search google for "hand bidet" you will find plenty of selection and they come with fittings to attach to a standard toilet water supply. No plumber required if you have even basic handyman skills.

[NeverSure]

I would recommend western Oregon. Mild weather, a lot less rain than Washington state (Portland has about 100 less days of rain than Seattle). Portland is a nice (although pretty strange) city, unfortunately the close you live to it the higher your expenses will be.

And Medford has 1/2 the annual rainfall that Portland does.

JT, are you aware of Ashland, Oregon? It's amazing, and while googling, check out Lithia Park too. It's danged expensive but I don't think that nearby towns of Phoenix (Oregon) and Talent are. On the other side is Medford which has all of the shopping etc. you could ask for. It has my favorite American Thai restaurant.

Those are my old stomping grounds as a young adult after leaving home. I think it's the best place to live in the US, bar none.

Ashland is often called a mini San Francisco and is very gay friendly. If you could find affordable housing in Talent or Phoenix you'd have great weather but with four seasons, very good health care with two big hospitals in Medford and one in Ashland. There are several very good medical clinics with lots of good doctors.

Lithia Park is the most amazing thing I've ever seen attached to a smaller town. They have summer concerts in that park.

Ashland has a renowned outdoor Shakespearean theater and festival that brings people from all over the world.

Mount Ashland offers great snow skiing if you're into that.

Nearby is Jacksonville which is so western looking that a couple of big name western movies have been filmed there. It was a gold rush town on the Old Stage Road. It has a summer music festival in an outdoor park and they bring in a big variety of famous and good musicians for a few weeks in the summer. It's called Britt Music and Arts Festival.

Edited December 6, 2015 by NeverSure