You’ve done your job serving in the military and the government wants you to rest and leave your job to the younger ones. Retirement, that is, which is still a good thing. You get to do things you have always wanted to do but never had the time for. You can live in a place you have longed to be in. And speaking of place, if you haven’t decided where to move yet, why not Madison, Wisconsin?
Madison has a population of 235,626 and has an average Household Income per year of $52,007. The cost of living index is 97 using the National base index of 100. This means that Madison has more affordable costs as compared to the national average. Goods and Services costs are higher than the average national costs. Housing costs are lesser than the national average with an index of 91. Again using national average as a basis, the expenses for energy consumption, doctor fees and fried chicken are higher than the average amounts. Surprisingly, eggs have the lowest price alongside with wine.
If you plan on buying your own house, you better know these facts. The median asking price for home is $234,795. Property taxes paid has a median of $3,319. Median rent asked is $1,005 per month. As of 2010, there are more Madison residents who own houses than residents who’d rather pay rent. The vacancy status for rental housing is 63% while there only 14% who are willing to sell their houses. Most rental payments are not inclusive of utilities, so better check with some agents first. Also, read the fine print of your lease contract before signing it.
There is one airport in Madison and two Amtak train stations. In Wisconsin, overall there are 446 airports and 760 trains. Even so, you don’t always need public transportation to take you to other parts of the city. More workers prefer to walk to work than commute. For that, pollution is not one of Madison’s major problems.
There are a substantial number of police officers, numbering 534. The city was rated as the third in “Safest of Nation’s 100 Largest City” in 1996. The ratio for every 1000 residents to police officers is 2.3. Five hospitals and 70 churches are currently located in Madison.
Notable places to visit are the Henry Vilas Zoo. You can actually go here everyday because admission is free. It is accredited by Association of Zoos and aquariums and receives about 500,000 visitors a year. Or you can visit the Olbrich Botanical Gardens, where you can spend an afternoon of peace. Aside from the gardens, it consists of a Thai pavilion and the Bolz Conservatory, a greenhouse housing more than 750 plants of 550 species. To make it interesting, you’ll find a koi pond and lots of birds in the conservatory. Again, admission to the botanical gardens is free but you will be charged when you enter the conservatory.
Madison was once recognized as one of the best cities for military retirees to live in. And today, it still is according to a recent USAA report in collaboration with military.com. You could also visit Fort McCoy to find some veteran affairs benefits. Or if you’ve ever thought about going back to school you could take some classes at the University of Wisconsin and see a few Badgers games.
Madison Wisconsin Travel Guide
Check out the resources below to help you through your military retirement: