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July 21, 2015 — We just updated one of our earlier articles, “10 More Affordable (and Nice) Places to Retire“. While we knew we have written on this topic several times, we were surprised to find out that we have published at least 5 different “affordable” lists. So we…
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
-- This article continues our Dueling Retirement States series with another regional comparison. See Further Reading at end for links to other comparisons in the series --
June 22, 2015 -- Are you tempted by the lure of mountains for your dream retirement lifestyle? The Mountain States of the U.S. - Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming - continue to experience amazing population growth, including from people of retirement age. Colorado's population, for example, grew by over 1 million people between 2000 and 2014, much of which was net in-migration. Many of these mountain states' new residents are 20 and 30 somethings who have come for jobs in these growing economies. But another demographic segment flocking to the region for its beauty, outdoor recreation, and in many cases, to be near their adult children, is the huge baby boomer group. The attraction for many of these folks is the opportunity to enjoy magnificent mountain ranges like the Beartooths in Montana, the Sawtooths in Idaho, and the many sub-mountain ranges of the Rockies in Colorado. In this article we will compare and contrast these 6 mountain states: Colorado and Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming (links go to our mini-retirement guides to each state). Population and income data is from American Fact Finder-U.S. Census Bureau.
A Few Facts
Colorado is by far the more populous of the 5 states. The 2014 population there increased to just over 5.35 million from 5 million in 2010, which is a 6.5% increase in just 4 years. There were 2.8 million people in the second most populous state, Nevada, up from 2.7 million in 2010 (+5.1%). Wyoming had the smallest population of the six, which stood at 584,000 in 2014, a 3.6% gain from 2010. Utah enjoyed a significant population increase from 2010 to 2014, 6.5%, double the overall U.S. growth rate. Its population estimate was 2,942,000 in 2014. Idaho had 1,634,000 people in 2014, up 4.3% from 2010. The Montana population was 1.024 million in 2014, up from 989,000 in 2010 (+3.5%).
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
June 6, 2015 -- This is part 2 of our series on the "Funky Towns of Florida". Part 1 explored unusual towns of this stripe in the Northern, Central, and Western reaches of the Sunshine State. In this edition we concentrate on the Eastern and Southern regions, plus one additional town from Florida Central. As always we want to know your suggestions for more "funky Florida" towns, which we define as communities that are interesting, have potential but are perhaps a bit down at the heels, and cater to a slightly more bohemian crowd.
East Coast
Fernandina Beach is the biggest town on Amelia island at the northeastern tip of Florida. It has about 11,000 people with an average age of about 46. There is a charming downtown with an artsy feel, a bustling waterfront with shrimp boats, a working lighthouse, and many quiet neighborhoods featuring Victorian homes. There are cute shops and many interesting restaurants and bars. There is a 50 block area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
New Smyrna Beach New Smyrna Beach is a peaceful beach community of
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
May 18, 2015 -- When you think Florida, is your image one of a north-south string of strip malls, punctuated by boring developments full of old people? If so, you would not be alone. But we are about to show you that Florida has more than its fair share of interesting, offbeat, even funky towns - places that completely defy the stereotypes. While they might not be for everyone, they might be just the place for some boomers looking for a retirement location that matches their personality. This is Part 1 of a series; you can find even more funky FL towns in Part 2.
First of all let's define what we mean by funky (and we realize you might have a different
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
Update February 24, 2016: The 2016 Most Popular Places to Retire is now out
February 21, 2015 – When Topretirements members and visitors dream about their best places to retire, warm places in Florida are usually featured. The Sunshine State dominates our 2015 list of the best places to retire, with 25 of its cities and towns making the cut (2 more than in 2014). Florida was followed by North Carolina (11 towns), South Carolina (10 - up from 8 last year), and Arizona and Washington with 6 each. Tennessee had 5 cities in the top 100.
The Sunbelt RulesThe Sunbelt, with 78 towns on Topretirements.com's 9th annual list of the 100 most popular retirement spots, continues to be the target of most of our visitor's retirement dreams. After that the American northwest and mountain states attract a lot of attention - 16 destinations made the list from Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Just 3 states in the Northeast made the cut: Virginia (Charlottesville, Williamsburg, and Winchester), Delaware (Lewes and Rehoboth Beach), and Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh). The Midwest failed to garner an entry on the list. The highest ranking non-Sun Belt city on our list was Charlottesville (VA) at #19. Note: To make sure you don’t miss new lists like this, sign up for our free weekly “Best Places to Retire” newsletter. See also "The Worst States for Retirement - 2014".
10 New Towns Join as Popular Places to RetireTen new towns moved onto the 2015 list, one fewer in 2014. Eight of the 10 newcomers were from the Sunbelt, mostly Florida. The 8 Sunbelt towns new to the list this year were: 5 from Florida (Port St. Lucie, Cape Coral, Dunedin, Boynton Beach, and Fernandina Beach); Las Vegas (NV); and Gulf Shores (AL). The 2 non Sunbelt cities joining the list this year
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
-- This article continues our Dueling Retirement States series. See Further Reading at end for links to the other regions compared in the series --
Updated July, 2020 - Original article February 16, 2015 -- The Pacific Northwest has continued to experience amazing population growth since the end of World War II. Oregon's population, for example, grew by 400,000 between 2000 and 2010, and almost 2/3 of that was net in-migration. Many of the area's new residents are 20 and 30 somethings who have come for jobs and the great out of doors. But another demographic segment flocking to the region for its beauty, outdoor recreation, and in many cases, to be near their adult children, is the huge baby boomer group. In this article we will compare and contrast these 2 vital states, Oregon and Washington. Population and income data is from U.S. Census Bureau.
A Few Facts
Washington is the more populous of the 2 states. Its 1990 population of just under 4.9 million climbed to 7.5 million in 2020 - a 53% increase in 30 years. Oregon's population was 2.8 million in 1990, and grew to just under 4.2 million in 2020 - a 50% increase over that span.
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
February 11, 2015 -- Baby boomers have many concerns as they contemplate their retirements, but some issues resonate more than others. The three issues that keep coming up week after week in your comments and emails are: water shortages (in Arizona and the southwest), sinkholes (in Florida), and humidity (mostly in Florida and the Southeast). This article will explore those using a combination of input from our members' Comments to previous Blog posts as well as a look at the scientific literature.
1. Water Shortages
Our recent article by Harv on why he chose Tucson generated a river of comments about water shortages. Some of those provided helpful references that shed scientific
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
Editor's note: This is an unusual post from one of our Members, Harv. He originally posted it as a Comment to our "Dueling Retirements: AZ vs. FL" Blog article. But due to its length we thought it might be good to break it out as its own article. Please forgive the spelling and punctuation as this was originally meant to be a Comment, not an article, so there are some errors. It is also quite conversational. Hope you enjoy it. PS - Here in 2016 we have had quite a few comments about retiring to Arizona. So we added those Comments to the bottom of this article - not to mention the many Comments made to the original 2015 article!
January 28, 2015 -- We retired to Tucson for very specific reasons. Many people here say “I’ll never again live where I need to own a snow shovel!” I totally agree with that sentiment, and I add that “I’ll never again live where I need to own a lawn mower!” No snow shovel … no lawn mower … life in Tucson is good!
In our view, 32 degrees is a “deal-breaker” when it comes to deciding where to retire. Bad things start to happen at 32 degrees! Water freezes! So the average number of days that temps get below 32 is very important to us. It affects safety in driving and walking. Increasingly as we age, our reactions slow, so driving or walking on snow or ice is dangerous! I find I’m less able to catch myself when I slip or stumble, and it’s not going to get any better with advancing age!
Tucson averages few days below 32 degrees … and when it happens, it usually gets
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
January 19, 2015 -- In your search for the perfect community, how many of these statements would you agree are your priorities? Would you like to:
- Walk or bike into town instead of going by car
- Live in a real neighborhood
- Have interesting entertainment or eating options nearby
If you checked at least 2 of these statements you might be a candidate for a New Urban Community. They are also sometimes called Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TND). There are a number of these entities across the country - some are totally new, and a few have been here for centuries. These communities feature walkable access to
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
Updated June 2019 -- (Originally published January , 2015) -- Finding that "Goldilocks" place to retire is a goal for many people. A town which has just the right weather year round, offers great value for your hard earned dollars, and has everything you need for great year round enjoyment. Although it is not always easy to find one place that is great 12 months a year, if you can find one it avoids the problems that come with a snowbird retirement - one where you live in 2 or more places. Those issues include having to pay for and maintain 2 households, move back and forth twice each year, and juggle 2 sets of friends, churches, and volunteer work, etc.
This is part 3 of our series with more great choices for year round living. Part 1 identified 5 great towns where we think the year round living is sweet. Part 2 gave our top picks for year round living in 5 more categories, such as
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