What are the three biggest factors influencing where you live after transitioning from Active Duty?

CDR Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:40:33 -0400

Are you more likely to live somewhere you've lived before? How much does your spouse or other family influence the decision? Perhaps: "I'll go anywhere I can find a job"?

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Sep 30 at 2015 3:42 PM

SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:42:02 -0400

CDR Private RallyPoint Member I would say the economy, job and family.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 30 at 2015 3:58 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:58:25 -0400

1) The wife

2) The wife

3) The wife

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 30 at 2015 4:01 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 16:01:41 -0400

#1 - How well you prepared. If you prepare well over time, you can live almost anywhere you choose.
#2 - What environment you want to live in. Location, family, schools, mountains, beach, etc
#3 - What you want to be doing. Work, truly retired, in between

Response by MAJ Raúl Rovira made Sep 30 at 2015 4:15 PM

MAJ Raúl Rovira — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 16:15:49 -0400

Before cI chose to stay in Anchorage I looked at several areas.

(1) Employment Opportunities - Regardless if the economy is doing well or not so well, people are hired and fired all the time. I research the industries of interest to understand where the opportunities are. Then network my way in. Coffee, lunch, professional organizations, and volunteer work.

(2) Professional Networking - The area outside a duty station is different from post to post. Some communities outside the base do not offer much, others are filled with networking opportunities like Anchorage. Networking helps get jobs through the hidden market.

(3) Adaptability - Can the family and I adapt better where we are now or start from scratch somewhere else? If we move that means Professional Networking goes back to the start line as well as Industry Research. This can be a deal breaker if the family prefers to live somewhere else.

If I could add a 4th point it is Quality of Life. Outdoor activities is part of the Alaskan way of living; summer, winter, rain or snow it does not matter we still go fishing and hunting with the families.

Work to live or live to work.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Sep 30 at 2015 4:18 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 16:18:42 -0400

CDR Private RallyPoint Member I had trouble coming up with three so I am submitting my top four.
1) Cost of living including taxes on military retirement income
2) availability of employment in chosen field of work,
3) climate, environment, availability of leisure activities that we would enjoy - good restaurants where food is reasonably priced, sports venues, music venues, theaters, etc.
4) sufficient healthcare facilities

Response by Col Joseph Lenertz made Sep 30 at 2015 4:22 PM

Col Joseph Lenertz — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 16:22:15 -0400

1. Where the kids are
2. Where the wife wants. See #1.
3. Safe, pleasant location with a reasonable commute.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 30 at 2015 4:26 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 16:26:06 -0400

Where most of your family is located

Response by Sgt Tom Cunnally made Sep 30 at 2015 4:40 PM

Sgt Tom Cunnally — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 16:40:47 -0400

1). The Job Market in Southern California
2). The beautiful beaches and weather
3). Available housing

Response by SPC(P) Jay Heenan made Sep 30 at 2015 6:59 PM

SPC(P) Jay Heenan — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 18:59:48 -0400

I only have one factor regarding where I wound up after transitioning out of the military, it was my wife. I promised her that after spending forever moving about the world, once we where free to live where we wanted, it was up to her. See, she wants to restore a 100 plus year old house. So we just put in an offer on "the house", waiting to hear soon.

Response by SSG Jesus Sijalbo made Oct 1 at 2015 4:47 AM

SSG Jesus Sijalbo — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 04:47:56 -0400

Where I may get the best transition support and where I can recieved proper medical assistant and where I can be more emotional and mind at ease! My wife knows whats best for our transition.

Response by GySgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 1 at 2015 11:22 AM

GySgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 11:22:05 -0400

Getting away from military towns, getting out of the south, and states that don't tax military retirement and have no property tax for Purple Heart recipients.

Response by SrA David Steyer made Oct 1 at 2015 8:13 PM

SrA David Steyer — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 20:13:54 -0400

Family (my family is two hours away, wife's family is in town), spouses job (emotional investment) and too many reasons to pick a third and final one.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 2 at 2015 2:42 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 14:42:42 -0400

I have a few more years before I'll drop my retirement packet - but when I do, my transition will be based on job offer (pay vs local cost of living), Veteran friendliness (state tax on retirement? etc...), and family (proximity to my daughter and if i'm in a relationship at the time - where would she like to be).

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 2 at 2015 2:51 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 14:51:30 -0400

Gun laws, household 6, lil ones

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 2 at 2015 3:23 PM

PO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 15:23:07 -0400

When I got out of the Navy, after travelling around the world (literally) and being stationed in Connecticut, I could have gone anywhere for work, but I came back home to Texas. There were a few reasons I chose Texas: there were education benefits for Veterans from the state (Texas has the Hazelwood Act which covers you once you've exhausted GI Bill) and I knew I needed college to get ahead, I'm not overly fond of snow (though lately I'm finding myself less and less fond of heat and droughts), and finally, it's where I was born and where all my family are buried, so it's home.

Response by SGT Patrick Reno made Oct 2 at 2015 3:29 PM

SGT Patrick Reno — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 15:29:54 -0400

I could not wait to come back to North Idaho, it was not just because of family and friends. If you love the outdoors it is great. Idaho is over 2/3 public land. And we don't mind if you come and visit, just don't stay.

Response by SGT Michael Glenn made Oct 2 at 2015 6:08 PM

SGT Michael Glenn — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 18:08:22 -0400

What influenced me 1st and foremost was being married to A German National.

Response by SSG Broderick Sample made Oct 2 at 2015 7:50 PM

SSG Broderick Sample — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 19:50:31 -0400

Could I find a job that would pay competitively taking into account the local cost of living.

Response by LTC Kevin B. made Oct 3 at 2015 10:48 AM

LTC Kevin B. — Sat, 03 Oct 2015 10:48:56 -0400

1. Availability of healthcare
2. Geography
3. Job

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Oct 3 at 2015 2:05 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sat, 03 Oct 2015 14:05:53 -0400

How broke you are.

Response by SCPO Charles Thomas "Tom" Canterbury made Jan 7 at 2016 2:43 PM

SCPO Charles Thomas "Tom" Canterbury — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 14:43:28 -0500

My family is a blended family, and my adult (step) daughter lives near the base I retired from. The job market down there doesn't pay as well as what we had hoped and the hospital system is very small there. Jobs outside the base gate didn't pay very much at all - and we wanted better. We chose a location that wasn't very far from there but it was other factors as well that led us to Roanoke. One was considering all the relatives, second was jobs. The cool thing about Roanoke is that it had both city and country attributes. It has a very low cost of living as well. We have twice the house size we had on base for less than 80% of what we paid for the privatized housing. Eventually we are going to buy. There are so many good options here for housing that it is a sure buyers market.

There are a lot of cultural venues here that will keep us near the things we love, such as theater, live music, and other cultural venues that we couldn't find at my last duty station.

The other thing that led me here was the lack of a military infrastructure. I want to prove myself in the civilian workforce like I did within the military. We came out here and explored and made the executive decision that this was the best place. We explored quite a few other areas both closer and farther away. There was something refreshing about this area and it keeps getting better.

Don't get me wrong, there are perks to staying near the base after retirement. I speak no ill of those who do. But in the end we have to follow our own paths, and I like to "Find a way or make one." That's my American Dream. I hope that others are doing the same and living out their dream.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 30 at 2016 3:30 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 15:30:02 -0400

Wife
Kids
Location