There are a large variety of reasons why Wichita, KS, is a very good place to retire from the military. Some of these positive aspects are the low cost of living, the educational offerings, the cultural highlights, the availability of VA medical services, and the fact that there is a local military institution.

A first and foremost reason is the cost of living there. In 2008, Wichita was ranked 1st in a list of “most affordable cities” by MSN Real Estate. Its median house price is a mere $120,400, and the unemployment rate is a modest 8.0% which is lower than the national average. In addition, your federal pension is not taxed in Kansas. Wichita’s largest industries are manufacturing and health care.

The city of Wichita has a wide variety of cultural offerings and in general interesting things to do. It is a home to a vast number of restaurants, museums, shopping centers, nightclubs, and parks.

One of its more unique points is the Intrust Bank Arena. The Intrust Bank Arena is a multi-purpose arena that can sit 15000 people. It features over 300 premium seats, 22 suites, and 2 party suites. It is the largest indoor arena in Kansas. Wichita is also home to several performing arts groups, including the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and the Music Theater of Wichita. The city also hosts a variety of festivals, such as the Wichita River Festival and the Tallgrass Film Festival.

For veterans, getting quality healthcare in Wichita shouldn’t be a problem. Located locally in Wichita is one of the hospitals run by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs, or the VA.

There is a local military institution, the McConnell Air Force Base. There are more than 5000 active duty personnel stationed there. It is located southeast of Wichita’s central business district. It boasts a base exchange, a commissary, and a medical clinic.

This is just a small sample of the reasons you may want to consider retiring to Wichita Kansas. You can plan a few days vacation to see for yourself how much you like this large military city for retirement.

Wichita Travel Guide

The post Wichita, KS – Best Large Military City For Retirement first appeared on 2026 Best Places To Retire.

The most major cities in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area are, as one might guess, Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. It also contains 5 towns with 50,000-100,000 inhabitants (Brandon, Largo, Palm Harbor, Spring Hill, and Town ‘n’ Country), and thirty-two with 10,000-50,000 inhabitants.

The Tampa Bay Area is a very nice place to live in after retiring from the military. It has quite a few aspects that a veteran may find helpful and enjoyable. Some of its positive aspects are its affordable living rate, berth of major four-year colleges, local medical facilities, and a local military base.

The Tampa Bay Area has a wide variety of local high-level educational institutions, including a full ten four-year institutions as well as an assortment of community colleges. So if you have ever had the desire to go back to school or to get your Master’s or Doctorate degrees, you’ll have plenty of opportunities.

One of its more prominent four-year colleges is the University of South Florida, located in Tampa. The University of South Florida, or the USF, is one of the three biggest research facilities in the state, and is a member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1956, the USF has an enrollment of over 45000, making it the third largest university in the state of Florida and the ninth largest university in the nation. Other prominent institutions include the Eckerd College in St. Petersburg (a coeducational liberal arts college with an enrollment of over 1500), the Clearwater Christian College (a non-denominational Christian college with around 600 undergraduates), the University of Tampa (a private, coeducational university with an enrollment of nearly 2000), and the Florida College, located in Temple Terrace (a small coeducational Christian college with nearly 500 students, regionally accredited).

In the Tampa Bay Area there is a locally located hospital run by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs, otherwise known as the VA. With this, veterans should be able to get trustworthy healthcare without any problems.

There is also a nearby, locally placed military institution, the United States Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater. Home to nearly 600 United States Coast Guard aviation and support personnel, it is located in the St. Petersburg-Clearwater Airport. It hosts a commissary and a Coast Guard exchange, as well as a very high-quality clinic.

As you can begin to see, there are several reasons to consider making the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Area your ideal home for your military retirement.

Tampa Travel Guide

Saint Petersburg Travel Guide

Clearwater Travel Guide

Check out the resources below to help you through your military retirement:

Free military retirement calculators

Military retirement system

USAA Military Retirement Planning

The post Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater, FL – Best Large Military Cities For Retirement first appeared on 2026 Best Places To Retire.

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.

Dayton Travel Guide

Check out the resources below to help you through your military retirement:

Free military retirement calculators

Military retirement system

USAA Military Retirement Planning

The post Dayton, OH – Best Large Military City For Retirement first appeared on 2026 Best Places To Retire.