Pittsburgh is the only blight on an otherwise very American part of America and that is alleviated somewhat by the fact that the city of steel is now the city of colleges and hospitals with some of the top rated medical care in the country.
Driver's licenses here are fairly easy to obtain with a license from another state and some proof of address (such as a utility bill in your name). We have the second highest number of gun owners in America (to Texas) and summers which, while humid, do not get uncomfortably hot for more than a few days at a time.
My property tax on a $140K or so market value home is about $2200 annually, so not bad. Housing here is some of the most affordable in the country and a remarkably stable market.
The annual double digits up and down of a Florida or California are, even in the worst of times, mid single digits. The lower single digits are more common.
Another advantage for retirees is that we do not tax retirement income. Even though we are one of the poorer states in which to establish a business (thanks to a gaggle of idiot voters clustered around cities like Philadelpia, Scranton and Pittsburgh), we consistently rank in the top 10 of best places to retire. And, if you want to totally insulate yourself from the idiots in the aforementioned cities, you can find many of the same advantages in or near West Virginia border towns such as Wheeling and Morgantown.
Florida, especially the panhandle has a lot going for it. No state income tax, no sales tax on groceries or medicine.
Concealed carry permit not that hard to get and the weather is nice. Summers are no warmer than any other normal state and despite what you hear, humidity is not bad either. It gets cold in the Winter but I like the change of seasons.
Also Florida’s First Congressional District has been called the most conservative in the nation.
How about just a VA Card, with perhaps an old (more than twenty years) International Motorist Certificate? I used to travel quite extensively when I was younger and had to have the Certificate before I could take the Driver Exams in other countries, but that was some time ago and I do not believe I have any other paperwork (Nihonjin and Phlippines "Temporary Driver's Permits for instance) from that time.
I am still quite incensed that the DMV took away the old DL before informing Me of the new requirements, especially since they accepted it as proof of ID at the time but demanded new proof before they would issue a new one. Still fuming about that!
We have the second highest number of gun owners in America (to Texas)...
What about the fireams license requirements, registration, and any waiting period?/I