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Old 01-19-2018, 05:33 AM   #1
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Retirement locations & Airstreaming

Hello fellow Airstreamers,

My wife and I are approaching retirement and are having a hard time deciding where to call home, based on our desire to house our Airstream on our own property and travel in it roughly half the year. We've seen advertisements for various RV communities that have houses with attached RV garages, for example. We aren't sure of the pros/cons of being in a retirement community versus owning our own home in a regular neighborhood. We just wanted to see if anyone out there has any advice or a particularly good retirement story.

We are both retired US Air Force, which is also a factor, as we would prefer to live in a state that is "Veteran-friendly," i.e., good VA support and favorable taxes on military retirement incomes.

Dex & Kelly
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Old 01-19-2018, 05:54 AM   #2
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Any "community" will have many restrictions, so if you go in this direction be sure to do your due diligence. Even in some areas, what looks like a normal neighborhood, is a planned community (no senior designation) and had tons of restrictions. I met one couple, right up to the point of purchasing a trailer, owned a $1.4 million dollar house on 2.5 acres and found it they couldn't keep it on their property, anywhere. The only way around this is to make sure it fits, unseen, in a closed garage...
Not being of retirement age, but having done the research, Florida, Texas, and South Dakota are your friends for tax purposes, I'm not sure about medical stuff though. My F-I-L loved the Florida panhandle, the military base is sufficiently large enough at Pensacola that it's hospital was really good, according to him. Good luck.
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Old 01-19-2018, 06:03 AM   #3
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I'm retired in Tennessee. Some wonderful lakefront and mountain properties available for very reasonable prices. I retired here from California, and enjoy about a 50% cut in the cost of living for food, utilities, fuel, etc. I located next to a medical teaching college that runs local med centers with first class medical care, and for major stuff, I am an hour away from Knoxville. There are several military bases in the state, and I am sure you could find something very reasonable nearby if you wanted to stay a part of that community.
Tennessee has a personal income tax, not a state income tax. It is the only tax on personal income in Tennessee, which does not levy a general state income tax. The tax rate prior to 2016 was 6 percent, applied to all taxable interest and dividend income over $1250 per person ($2500 for married couples filing jointly). I do not have enough investments to reach that, so all good.
The countryside is gorgeous, with four full seasons. The people are friendly, the history is rich and full of discovery.
Give it a look.
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Old 01-19-2018, 08:08 AM   #4
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We've been retired about five years now and have been traveling with our Airstream for 8 to 10 months per year returning home to Michigan for some part of the summers. At first we also thought that we'd want to move to someplace else for our home base. After five years, we've decided that our Michigan home base suits us fine and we continue to travel for 8 to 10 months per year.

My advice to you is to keep your current place for at least the first year of your travels. Visit some of those RV-friendly retirement communities (most seem to be in FL, TX and AZ.) All of them offer some form of RV parking for transient visitors and will "wine & dine" you in some fashion in an effort to recruit you. Once you've seen and stayed in a few of these places you'll know whether this is your cup of tea and then you can make an informed decision.

Go slow! It's relatively easy to buy a new house or piece of property. It can be difficult to sell one you no longer want.
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Old 01-19-2018, 09:16 AM   #5
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We chose to live in Tucson AZ because we like the town and area and also because there are many interesting places to camp within a day's drive. We are in a regular house not a retirement community and our AS lives in a covered storage lot 20 min away. Having it off site is not necessarily a bad thing. We know it is safe and secure at all times and our storage facility has a dump station and fill station for drinking water for our tanks. This is quite a convenience and lets you start and end trips on a good footing. If we want to shake down the rig before a long trip we set it up in the local state park for a night which is even closer to home. Works for us.
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Old 01-19-2018, 09:44 AM   #6
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Bella Vista, AR

My wife and I looked for many years to find what we felt like would be the ideal spot to retire. Bella Vista, AR fit all our requirements for a place to live part of the year and travel in our Airstream much of the rest of the time. While there is storage facility available through the POA, we opted to build the garage large enough to store ours. If you enjoy hiking, fishing, golf, you might want to check out Bella Vista. It has been listed in several publications as one of the best areas to retire in.

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WBBC #5663
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Old 01-19-2018, 09:46 AM   #7
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Retirement with an Airstream

Come visit us on Lake Sam Rayburn at Texas Airstream Harbor. You will be very surprised.
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Old 01-19-2018, 09:54 AM   #8
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We just bought property in Lee County, near Broadway, North Carolina to retire. Living in the Airstream while we build out in the country. Freedom, gun rights, and property rights are still highly valued in this county. Veterans and active duty from all branches move and retire here due to proximity to eastern NC's military bases.

Easy drive to Fort Bragg. Sanford is close with everything we need. So is Raleigh if we need to be reminded of why we escaped there in the first place .

Retirement tax equations are complicated as you may have found out by now but NC , in general, is military friendly.
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Old 01-19-2018, 09:55 AM   #9
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Following post.

We are full time going on 2 years now. Looking at buying land to make a "home base" with water, elec, sewer, maybe a workshop.

Thanks,

Pau & Holly
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Old 01-19-2018, 10:09 AM   #10
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Colorado is veteran friendly, has lots of military bases (and the Air Force Academy north of Colorado Springs) and has preferred tax rules for veterans. Most communities are RV friendly (if you get out of suburban Denver). Lots of camping and fishing in the state. The Veterans Administration in Colorado, however, has a bad reputation (hopefully to be fixed).
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Old 01-19-2018, 10:31 AM   #11
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A group of us are planning an Airstream community of small houses in Southern California within two hours of Los Angeles. Message me if you would like to be part of our email group.
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Old 01-19-2018, 10:42 AM   #12
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I'll be happily retiring here in Wyoming. There is no State income tax. Veterans get $300 veterans property tax credit, which accounts almost 25% of my property tax. That will vary with each county. I think property tax in Teton county is pretty high, but I think the rest of the state is pretty low compared to the rest of the country. I can't quote numbers though. Sales tax is around 6% depending in community.

Many people can't cope with the remoteness of Wyoming. Big cities are Cheyenne and Casper, which by many peoples standards are small towns. There are VA hospitals in Cheyenne and Sheridan. The VA in Sheridan is great, I use them regularly. It is a smallish facility with limited resources, but they are friendly and helpful. For serious VA medical needs they often send vets to Denver or Salt Lake.

Wyoming is the lowest population state in the U.S. Relative to the rest of the U.S., regulations are low. You're not likely to find too many places that tell you that you can't store your camper on your property.
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Old 01-19-2018, 11:04 AM   #13
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We just retired and picked.... TEXAS. Bought a place at North Texas Airstream Community (NTAC). We also liked Lake Sam Rayburn at Texas Airstream Harbor. But we picked NTAC due to its location between Waco (Baylor Medical) and Dallas. Gated, mail forwarding, age restricted and lots of Airstreamers to travel with.
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Old 01-19-2018, 01:04 PM   #14
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Thumbs up RV Friendly Housing

My Wife and I just built a Casita in "Superstition Views" in Gold Canyon, Arizona where we will travel 6 Months and Hang in AZ 6 Months. Beautiful Location. RV Pad Next to House lot's of nice people and Snowbirds. Montesa, Canyon Vistas and Superstition Views all next to each other. All Price Ranges all RV oriented.
Getting our Globetrotter soon..
1/2 hour to Phoenix. 10 Minutes to Mesa.
Check it out!
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Old 01-19-2018, 01:38 PM   #15
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AnnArborBob’s advice is right on the money.

Change as little as possible, take it slow, explore, and make your decision over a year or two of exploring different communities while you travel.
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Old 01-19-2018, 01:45 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by easler7267 View Post
Hello fellow Airstreamers,

My wife and I are approaching retirement and are having a hard time deciding where to call home, based on our desire to house our Airstream on our own property and travel in it roughly half the year. We've seen advertisements for various RV communities that have houses with attached RV garages, for example. We aren't sure of the pros/cons of being in a retirement community versus owning our own home in a regular neighborhood. We just wanted to see if anyone out there has any advice or a particularly good retirement story.

We are both retired US Air Force, which is also a factor, as we would prefer to live in a state that is "Veteran-friendly," i.e., good VA support and favorable taxes on military retirement incomes.

Dex & Kelly
Taxes- Suggest Texas or Florida for sure; usually great winter climates, except this year! There are several +55 RV communities in both locations that also are Military friendly...medical services, etc.. In law has 3 RV lots he purchased in Brownsville retirement community area, where he developed a "casita" on one with his 5th wheel, has his 44' motorhome on the other, and rents out the third for $800/month to snow birds. Been there 6 years now and loves it. I have not been there. In FL., we found several of these +55 communities where you can either rent or purchase a spot for your RV for the winter. All of these have pool, spa, laundry, shopping close by, and several activities. Lots of Canadians in these spots in winter, so if you speak some French, you are good to go! LoL
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Old 01-19-2018, 01:50 PM   #17
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Consider San Antonio, Tx. Many Air Force veterans retire in San Antonio. We have not lived there in many years but still visit at least once a year. If you live there your family and friends will like to visit.
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Old 01-19-2018, 03:17 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by us3rnam3 View Post
Consider San Antonio, Tx. Many Air Force veterans retire in San Antonio.
The presence of a very fine Air Force hospital may be a deciding factor. Along with the fact that Texas doesn't tax military retirement income.

One reason I remained in the New Orleans metro area after I retired was the quality of medical care. Plus it's easier to keep all of my same pre-retirement doctors (ophthalmologist, cardiologist, endocrinologist, podiatrist, all of the other "ists").

Another reason I stuck around is that like several other states, Louisiana doesn't tax a Federal retirement pension.

A third reason is that it's often better to be FROM Louisiana than to be IN Louisiana, so the state makes a great home base for exploring the REST of the USA!
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Old 01-19-2018, 03:48 PM   #19
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Might want to check out a place called “The Great Outdoors RV community and Golf Resort” in Titusville, Florida. It’s an option.
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Old 01-19-2018, 07:12 PM   #20
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My Wife and I are looking in Florida for a place to call "once in awhile" home. The problem we're running into is theres a lot of new,nice developments that want to only allow motor coaches.We're going to keep looking thou.
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