Syracuse Rated 10th Best US City for Military Retirees (Fort Drum: car insurance, unemployment)

[RollsRoyce]

USAA: Syracuse Among Top 10 Best Places for Military Retirement

USAA and military.com developed a list of cities that offer opportunities for military men and women to relocate to after ending their military careers and beginning a second career as a civilian. Syracuse joins Pittsburgh as the only two northeastern cities on the Top 10 list. Madison, WI and Austin, TX, two fast growing college towns that have become magnets for professionals and tech companies were also on the list.

https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_utils/...URL_bestplaces

Best Places for Military Members to Retire - Developments - WSJ

[ckhthankgod]

I'm not surprised. As a vet myself, you get a reduction in taxes, you have a VA Hospital, you have access to a small BX at the Hancock Air Guard Base and it's proximity to Fort Drum allows for retirees to get access to other benefits that are on that base. Housing is affordable and other aspects like lower unemployment, a generally safe area, plenty opportunities for Federal Government employment, 4 seasons and good general location makes sense for military retirees.

[proulxfamily]

Tangent: Love USAA! lol

[RollsRoyce]

While the federal government has cut back services at many VA hospitals, the Syracuse VA hospital is undergoing a nearly $100 million expansion that includes a state-of-the-art spinal cord injury center. I have a distant relative, a 90 year old world war II vet, that travels from St. Johnsville to get care. He attributes his longevity to the excellent care at the Syracuse VA.

Syracuse VA Medical Center ranked No. 1 nationwide for prosthetic services | syracuse.com

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by proulxfamily

Tangent: Love USAA! lol

Me too. That's where my car insurance is from.

[ckhthankgod]

I didn't even read the criteria before my first post, but after looking at it, it pretty much went by what I thought. I forgot about the college aspect, as that allows former soldiers to use their GI Bill if they have that benefit.

[proulxfamily]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Me too. That's where my car insurance is from.

Ours is too. My maternal grandfather was the most recent family member to be in the military (tried for boys but "just" ended up with a bunch of girls lol) and my mom kept it up... and so have I. Gotta keep that USAA perk going!

Grandpa also used his GI Bill to go to SU... architecture, which is where he met my grandmother with her pink Cadillac in the 50's. hahaaaa. Cheesy.

Some old pics from SU-

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2681/89/55/543140696/n543140696_6334289_4623255.jpg (broken link)

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2681/89/55/543140696/n543140696_6334290_1337904.jpg (broken link)

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2681/89/55/543140696/n543140696_6334291_4471681.jpg (broken link)

Grandpa shaved this guy from Cornell (or is it Colgate?)... they kidnap each other and shave a C or S, depending on who gets who first. lol

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2681/89/55/543140696/n543140696_6334293_1042610.jpg (broken link)

And my grandmother at her sorority house-
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2681/89/55/543140696/n543140696_6334295_3684901.jpg (broken link)

[RollsRoyce]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

I didn't even read the criteria before my first post, but after looking at it, it pretty much went by what I thought. I forgot about the college aspect, as that allows former soldiers to use their GI Bill if they have that benefit.

If I'm not mistaken, SU is one of only a few colleges that has an entrepreneurship program designed specifically fordisabled vets. I also think the concentration of defense contractors in the region provides opportunities for ex-military that have a strong background or interest in operating, manufacturing and designing in radar and missile systems and other devices like sensors. Local companies include:

http://allredcorp.com/
http://www.anaren.com/
http://www.defenshield.com/
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/
http://www.propulsivewing.com/
http://www.sensis.com/
http://www.syrres.com/

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by RollsRoyce

Syracuse joins Pittsburgh as the only two northeastern cities on the Top 10 list.

Pittsburgh is northeastern but Harrisburg isn't?

[RollsRoyce]

Originally Posted by ki0eh

Pittsburgh is northeastern but Harrisburg isn't?

Good catch. Harrisburg is definitely more northeastern than Pittsburgh. One of the articles stated that Syracuse and Pittsburgh were the only two NE cities on the list, which obviously isn't true.