Just east of Morehead City, Beaufort, North Carolina is a charming and friendly small town of about 4700 by the sea. Pronounced Bow-furt, it is not to be confused with the South Carolina city of the same name, pronounced B'yoo-furt (see the Retirement Guide to Beaufort, SC). The Hatteras barrier islands sweep away to the east, and ferries will take you…...

Vilcabamba is a small village in southern Ecuador, about 42 kilometers from the city of Loja.  The village is renowned as the "Playground of the Incas" used by Incan royalty. From the airport in Loja, the road snakes over a mountain pass into the wonderful town of Vilcabamba. The town has attracted fame due to its energizer bunny - like…...

Chapel Hill is a particularly beautiful (population just over 53,000) college town in the gentle hills of central North Carolina. The University of North Carolina (24,000 students) is the centerpiece of this charming  town with a cosmopolitan flair that makes it appealing as a retirement community. This entire area is highly educated, with Duke University nearby in Durham, and NC…...

St. Petersburg is one of 3 closely related cities on Florida's Tampa Bay.  The other 2 are Clearwater and Tampa (the largest and most urban of the 3).  St. Pete has been a classic retirement and tourist destination since the 1920's because of its winter warmth, great beaches, and ideal location on a peninsula in Tampa Bay.  One of the…...