Dayton, Ohio is the sixth largest city in Ohio. Located in Montgomery County in the southwest of Ohio, it has a population of 832,418. At an elevation of 738 ft and an area of 56.6 square miles, Dayton is located in the Eastern Standard Time zone of the United States (UTC-5). The city was founded in 1796 and incorporated in 1805, and is the sixty-first largest metropolitan area in the United States. The current mayor of the city is Gary Leitzell, an Independent.
Dayton is a very nice place to retire from the military. It has a variety of aspects that make it a good place to live. Some of these include economic reasons, the educational opportunities available, the broad cultural offerings, the strong healthcare service, and the local military presence.
The biggest reason to retire to Dayton is the economic status. The median house price is a mere $110,900, and the unemployment rate is a little higher than average at 11.3%. In addition, your military federal pension is not taxed by the state of Ohio. Its two biggest industries are research and development in aerospace and aviation and healthcare. Dayton was ranked the #1 mid-sized metropolitan area in the nation for economic development in 2008, 2009, and 2010 by the Site Selection magazine.
Another good reason to live in Dayton is the educational opportunities available there. Dayton boasts eleven four-year colleges available locally. Its two largest universities are the University of Dayton and Wright State University. The University of Dayton is a private Catholic school. It was founded in 1850 and is the only ABA-approved law school in the Dayton area. Its enrollment is around 11000. Wright State University is a public state university, founded in 1967 and possessing a strong medical program. It has an enrollment of nearly 20000. Some other schools in the area include Kettering College of Medical Arts, DeVry University, and the Air Force Institute of Technology. So if you ever said to yourself you wanted to go back to school, there are plenty of choices in Dayton.
Dayton has a wide assortment of entertainment and cultural options. This includes museums and historical parks, fine arts offerings, many restaurants, a large amount of sports teams and activities, several arenas, and other varied entertainment events. One particularly notable feature is the Vectren Dayton Air Show. This is an annual air show and one of the largest in the United States. It takes place at Dayton International Airport. Located in southeast downtown Dayton is a historic residential and commercial called the Oregon District. In this district are nightclubs, pubs, coffee houses, specialty shops, and art galleries. Dayton hosts the City Folk Festival and the Dayton Celtic Festival yearly.
As previously mentioned, one of Dayton’s biggest industries is healthcare. This means that finding good healthcare is not difficult. There is also a local VA (United States Department of Veteran Affairs) hospital in the city.
Also locally present is the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, which plays a large part in the economy and is one of the sources of the strong aviation research in the city. The base hosts over 27000 military and civilian personnel, and has a commissary, base exchange, and clinic.
There are many reasons to consider spending your military retirement in Dayton. One way to find out for yourself is to spend a few days vacation wandering the city and meeting some of the locals.
Check out the resources below to help you through your military retirement: