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NFT: Places to Retire after the military

Boatie Warrant : 6/29/2015 7:13 pm
I'm going to check out the Charleston SC area this coming weekend but I thought I would ask the rest of BBI's ex military (or friends of ex military) where they ended up and why?
Most of my friends or former supervisors  
JOrthman : 6/29/2015 7:32 pm : link
have went wherever the jobs where located. That is what will probably drive my decision.
You could always go to Portsmouth, NH...  
Dunedin81 : 6/29/2015 7:38 pm : link
a small CG presence so you wouldn't feel alone.

What are you looking to do?
I would love to  
Spree_8 : 6/29/2015 8:15 pm : link
retire up to Portsmouth, NH. Served at NAS Brunswick and have loved that area since. My wife is from NH and our goal is to head back up north after we both retire from active duty.

But reality is we will probably just follow the jobs to wherever that may take us.
depends on what you want..  
bbfanva : 6/29/2015 8:30 pm : link
We are looking at states that don't tax military retirement income. As for NH, I'm biased against it. didn't have a pleasant stay up there for our TOD but to each his own.
I always wanted to settle near the SC coast but the wife has seriously been considering living the expat life in South or central America.
anywhere you want  
Zig in CT : 6/29/2015 8:31 pm : link
is good.
for me it is  
Gross Blau Oberst : 6/29/2015 8:40 pm : link
Pennsylvania, followed by North Carolina. Retirement pay is not taxed in either state and both states still experience all four seasons with access to military health care.

What criteria is important to you for your retirement location?

I stayed in No VA immediately after retiring due to transition job search and to build capitol to allow the next retirement move to PA.

Charleston is awesome.  
charlito : 6/29/2015 9:13 pm : link
They have so much history. Volley beach, bars,the best restaurants(Magnolias and plenty of seafood restaurants). Very chill.
Don't retire in Raleigh North Carolina.  
charlito : 6/29/2015 9:19 pm : link
I haven't visited my brother in 2 years because everything seems so far away and it's pretty boring.The cost of living is much cheaper south of Northern Virginia. Good luck.
I'm hearing a lot of good things about  
montanagiant : 6/29/2015 10:14 pm : link
Huntsville, AL
It really comes down to what your plan is post retirement...  
RC02XX : 6/29/2015 10:19 pm : link
Are going to find full time work and start a second career? Or are you going to live within your retirement budget and maybe get a part time job or start your own business?

In my field, almost everyone I know ended up near DC, MD, or NOVA...although some ended up down in Tampa or Bragg.
My uncle the Colonel retired  
SwirlingEddie : 6/30/2015 12:01 am : link
to a lake house is North Carolina. It's fishing, church and community theater for him now, not necessarily in that order.
I  
jtfuoco : 6/30/2015 1:26 am : link
Retired in March and that was the hardest decision for me to make because after the last 20 years no single place felt like home at the moment I am staying around the place I got out Rock Island and picked up a GS13 job but I can see me heading somewhere down south in the next few years. Good luck on your decision putting up the uniform has been more difficult then I ever thought it would have been.
RE: I  
RC02XX : 6/30/2015 8:26 am : link
In comment 12348733 jtfuoco said:
Quote:
Retired in March and that was the hardest decision for me to make because after the last 20 years no single place felt like home at the moment I am staying around the place I got out Rock Island and picked up a GS13 job but I can see me heading somewhere down south in the next few years. Good luck on your decision putting up the uniform has been more difficult then I ever thought it would have been.


Congrats, man! Didn't realize that you had just recently retired. And I hear you on no single place feeling like home, especially if you weren't even home that much during your time in. While not retired (far from it actually), I just tried to pick a place that I enjoyed that was right for my family.
couple of points  
fkap : 6/30/2015 9:13 am : link
my wife works in army HR. one common complaint is the culture shock when transitioning to the civilian world. while every asset of life in both worlds has a form for everything, the military is much more regimented in helping figuring out the necessary form and helping fill it out. just call the chaplain, he'll point you in the right direction. there's a program for everything. you may not always qualify. there are programs everywhere in the civvy world, too, but good luck navigating to them. most people handle it well. some don't and suddenly find out in the civvy world that life is not always that helpful.

the other thing is that military civilian jobs are rather tight right now. a lot of military retirees find jobs working for the military, and usually are given preference over non military applicants. However, I'm under the impression there's a lot of leaving jobs empty whenever possible, and reducing positions through attrition.
I know one thing  
Greg from LI : 6/30/2015 9:45 am : link
There are a TON of military retirees, particularly Navy and AF, living in the Florida panhandle west of Tallahassee.
RE: It really comes down to what your plan is post retirement...  
njm : 6/30/2015 9:57 am : link
In comment 12348642 RC02XX said:
Quote:
Are going to find full time work and start a second career? Or are you going to live within your retirement budget and maybe get a part time job or start your own business?

In my field, almost everyone I know ended up near DC, MD, or NOVA...although some ended up down in Tampa or Bragg.


That's the key question. Just to add, the more tax friendly states (particularly with reference to retirement income) are New Hampshire, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, Nevada and, currently, Washington (though there are rumblings there).
doesn't NH downplay the income tax  
fkap : 6/30/2015 10:05 am : link
but tax the shit out of everything else? so that you're still paying one way or another?

NY has the worst of all worlds: high income, high property tax, high consumer taxes.

For me, the property tax is the hardest to get around, IF you want to own. I can control my consumerism. the difference in my income tax in tennessee vs NY is nowhere near the difference in property taxes on a similar value house in both.

Point being, there's more than just income taxes to work into the equation.
Do military people tend to retire together  
Mike in Long Beach : 6/30/2015 10:10 am : link
or in specific places?
RE: doesn't NH downplay the income tax  
Dunedin81 : 6/30/2015 10:12 am : link
In comment 12348961 fkap said:
Quote:
but tax the shit out of everything else? so that you're still paying one way or another?

NY has the worst of all worlds: high income, high property tax, high consumer taxes.

For me, the property tax is the hardest to get around, IF you want to own. I can control my consumerism. the difference in my income tax in tennessee vs NY is nowhere near the difference in property taxes on a similar value house in both.

Point being, there's more than just income taxes to work into the equation.


It's still a lower net tax burden, but yes their property taxes are high. They have no sales tax, but there are numerous taxes on specific transactions (vehicles, meals, etc).
to a certain extent, yes  
Greg from LI : 6/30/2015 10:16 am : link
Many retirees get jobs as DOD civilian employees, so you see a fair number of them in military towns like Fayetteville NC, Columbus GA or Pensacola. Beyond that, if you've spent 20+ years in the military you've moved around quite a bit and lived in many different places, so after you retire you might want to move back to one you particularly liked. That's what my uncle did when he retired from the army - they loved South Carolina when he was at Fort Jackson, so after he retired they moved to Lexington.
RE: Do military people tend to retire together  
RC02XX : 6/30/2015 10:18 am : link
In comment 12348970 Mike in Long Beach said:
Quote:
or in specific places?


As my post yesterday points out, it really depends on what your plan is post-retirement as well as possibly what field you were in.

If you are planning on starting a second career either in the government or federal contracting, you'll most likely end up in one of the military/government hubs like DC, MD, VA, NC, or FL. For instance, most with intelligence background (or senior level planning) will end up in DC, MD, or VA.

However, many also go into private corporations, which will open up far more location possibilities. And as a transitioning military, this is actually relatively easy since you aren't tied down to a geographical location during the transition.
Thanks RC02XX  
Mike in Long Beach : 6/30/2015 10:23 am : link
I misread the post and thought he was retiring retiring.
Most guys who retire from the military are in their 40s  
Greg from LI : 6/30/2015 10:26 am : link
They're not going to be retired in the Del Boca Vista sense.
Charleston is a great city.  
Sneakers O'toole : 6/30/2015 3:08 pm : link
I'm not personally military but there are a lot of military folks in the area, both active and retired. Great food and beverage city, good people, lots to do and see and access to the beach and ocean. Cool downtown area, good nightlife. It's a great place to live. Definitely a city on the rise.

Downsides would be heat and humidity as you would expect in the South East coastal region. Mosquitoes and pests are a nuisance, and there are some areas to steer clear of in places like North Charleston.

But the plusses far outweigh the negatives. You can find reasonable housing here too.
Philippines  
chris r : 6/30/2015 3:10 pm : link
.
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