Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
December 15, 2014 -- Most "best places to retire" lists are highly subjective and based on somebody's personal opinions. Some others use a certain set of criteria, such as crime, climate, health care availability, etc. Another example is the annual "100 Best" lists at Topretirements, which are based on popularity - the city reviews on our site that were read most.
But there is at least "Best Places" list that truly is almost completely objective and data driven - the "Best Cities for Successful Aging" from the Milken Institute. Although you might not like all of its choices (in fact the reader comments to our 2012 version of Best Cities generated more than a few "you've got to be kidding" remarks), it is so fact based that it is hard
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Published on December 16, 2014
Comments 87
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
Editor's note: This article is the latest in our series on various regional comparisons for retirement. See end of article for links to other regions in this series. We welcome ideas for future comparisons.
December 10, 2014 -- The area that we will call the mid-south is an under-estimated and often misunderstood place for baby boomer retirement. All of these states are relatively favorable for taxes, cost of living, and climate compared to many others. Yet so far they definitely take a back seat in terms of popularity compared to the Carolinas, Florida, and Arizona. In this comparison we will evaluate various factors for these states that affect retirement, letting our readers draw their own conclusions from the facts. As always, please remember that areas and neighborhoods within a state, even a Metro, can be very different - so generalizations are tricky. Reader
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Published on December 9, 2014
Comments 69
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
December 2, 2014 -- It is a hard reality that many baby boomers are very concerned about not having enough money for an enjoyable retirement. Yet a comparison of two studies, one that ranks Metros by affordability and another that tracks the Metros that are attracting the most new 55+ residents, finds very little correlation between the top of both lists. Apparently, housing costs are not always the only drivers when it comes to deciding where to retire!
The first study, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Affordability Index (See the "Complete Listing by Affordability Rank" report) compares home prices to median incomes in in U.S. Metros. The result is an Affordability Index ranking, which, surprisingly, produces a list completely different than that from the second study, the William H. Frey Analysis of American Community Survey data. That study lists the highest population U.S. areas with the most net migration of people 55+. In this article we will provide the highest ranking Metros on both lists and speculate reasons for the disconnect.
First of all - the most affordable Metros
The NAHB/Wells Fargo Affordability Index compares the median income
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Published on December 2, 2014
Comments 35
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
October 28, 2014 -- (Note: See our 2016 version with even more beautiful places to retire) Your editor was at a family wedding a few weeks ago when one of our smart young nephews surprised us with a question. Daeson, who was curious about Topretirements.com, queried: "What is the prettiest town you know about?" The unexpected question stunned me, maybe because there are so many choices. I didn't have a good answer.
Eventually I managed to stutter out Naples, Florida (to which the good wife said, Naples?), and Lucca, Italy. In the days afterwards I came up with many more, better possibilities. The exercise made me realize that it might be a really good idea to go further afield and ask you, our esteemed Topretirements members, what you think are the prettiest towns. In the interest of keeping on
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Published on October 28, 2014
Comments 35
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
October 21, 2014 -- Recently one of our members asked a very helpful question: "Why don't you get people who have actually retired someplace to tell us where and why". The request makes a good addition to other articles we have written about where people are thinking about retiring. Sorry we can't find who it was who made this suggestion, but whoever you are - thanks for the great idea to get feedback from people who have actually retired somewhere.
In preparing for this article we found that we already have received some
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Published on October 21, 2014
Comments 89
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
October 3, 2014 -- Among the hundreds of "Best Places to Retire" lists we come across every year, once in a while we see one that has some merit to the way the list was developed. When we saw WalletHub's recent list of the Best and Worst Places to Retire, we were impressed.
The website analyzed the 150 largest cities in the U.S. against 25 different criteria. Those included health care, affordability, weather, ability to find a job, activities, quality of life... among others. Most of the top cities were in the Southeast, Texas, and Midwest. Most you will be familiar with, but a few you might not, such as 2 of the Texas cities: Grand Prairie (a large suburb between Dallas and Fort Worth), and Plano (city just north of Dallas). Overland Park, Kansas is a suburban city south
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Published on October 3, 2014
Comments 9
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
August 25, 2014 -- More and more active baby boomers have discovered the joys of biking - whether it just getting around the neighborhood on 2 wheels, the occasional rail2trail expedition, or longer trips through the countryside or even across the country. Cyclists save gas, get healthy exercise, have time to experience the sights, and are kind to the planet at the same time. In fact battery-assisted bikes, which use batteries to help you get up hills or assist on longer trips, are one of the fastest growing products in many places. So it stands to reason that when it comes to retirement, you might want to
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Published on August 24, 2014
Comments 12
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
Updated January 20, 2021 - Originally published August, 2014
Researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research published a study of U.S. Unhappy Cities. The study also listed the cities that have the happiest people. While it is relatively easy to guess the unhappiest places, the cities with the happiest folks tend to be surprising. The study was not specifically about retirement, but we certainly think it is relevant.
But first - happy places...
Clyde, a long time Member and frequent contributor, brought this article back to our attention in connection with a fascinating piece he read in The New Yorker: "Find the Place You Love... Then Move There". In it Arthur. C. Brooks talks about the notion that most people have a place they think of as home, no matter how many times they might move in their life. He says that although moving is a horrible and painful process, sometimes it is worth it if it brings you happiness. We couldn't agree more when it comes to retirement. If where you are living doesn't make you happy, find someplace that does and move there!
Happy PlacesThese are the top 6 metros with the happiest people according to the study. Kudos to the State of Louisiana, which has 2 out of the 6. Note that although 5 out of the 6 metros are in or close to the Sunbelt - what is going on in Rochester, Minn. to make folks so happy? (If the name appears in blue that link will take you to our city review).- Charlottesville, Virginia- Rochester, Minnesota
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Published on August 18, 2014
Comments 9
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
August 13, 2014 -- (Note: This is Part 3 in a series of under-appreciated places to retire. Find the links to Parts 1 and 2 at the end).
We get a little tired of seeing the same towns and cities get picked for "Best" this or that for retirement. Seems like everyone doing the selecting is drinking at the same water trough. So when our friend Bob Powell at MarketWatch asked for input on some under-appreciated places to retire, he got our attention (his article, "Five Lesser Known Places to Retire", was published last Sunday in USA Today).
Our goal in coming up with 5 less discovered towns
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Published on August 12, 2014
Comments 20
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
July 22, 2014. Note: This is Part 2 of a series. Part 1 on retiring at the lake was published in 2011. This installment lists more great lake towns for retirement. We hope you will add your ideas for the best lake retirement spots in the Comments section.
In our recent survey on "where to live" preferences, living on the beach was the third most popular choice. Although we wished we had also provided a "lake" option, we guess that being near the beach and living on a lake are close to being interchangeable, although not exactly the same. If we had listed the lake
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Published on July 22, 2014
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