Some states are better for veterans in retirement than others.

You are a member of the United States Armed Forces.

In the military, you have served others for your entire career.

You have been deployed, and you have been relocated with your family.s

Now, you are planning for retirement and trying to decide on where to settle down.

After all, Uncle Sam has had you "rotate" to another duty station about every three years.

According to a recent Military Times article titled “Top 10 cities for veterans, ranked,” you should carefully consider where you want to retire as a veteran.

No, really, you have a choice now. <Sarcasm intended.>

Veterans may finally be able to settle down in retirement.

Not all states have ideal environments for the nearly 250,000 "service members" (pause button, yes, I may be "old school," but I do miss the politically incorrect "soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines" terminology) estimated to retire or leave the military each year.

What might you consider when choosing where to settle down as a veteran?

Like everyone, you should consider real estate prices, cost of living, transportation, and access to activities and amenities.

The Navy Federal Credit union also took a survey of more than 1,000 civilians and service members to learn what specific characteristics were important for veterans in retirement.

What did they find?

According to the results, the key values included lower cost of living, easy access to outdoor recreation, low crime rates, and a strong community of veterans.

With these in values mind, Navy Federal and Operation Homefront evaluated and ranked more than 400 U.S. cities for their ability to match these values as expressed by veterans.

What are the top ten?

At number one is Charleston, South Carolina.

Number two is Fort Myers, Florida.

Third is Savannah, Georgia.

Number four is Daphne, Alabama.

At number five is Norwich, Connecticut.

Sixth is San Diego, California.

Number seven is Norfolk, Virginia.

At number eight is Duluth, Minnesota.

Ninth is Gulfport, Mississippi.

Finally, number ten is Fort Worth, Texas.

If you are retiring soon and none of the top ten fits your geographic goals, you can find the full list of top cities for retiring veterans on the website for Navy Federal.

And, thank you for your service.

Reference: Military Times (Nov. 9, 2020) “Top 10 cities for veterans, ranked”