As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
New: Community Explorer. Discover Your Perfect Community Quickly Based on Lifestyle, Amenities, and Unit Type.
Try It NOWCategory: Best Retirement Towns and States
April 22, 2021 – Which Carolina, North or South, is the best place to retire? We get asked that question a lot. To help you make the most informed decision on that topic we have revised our Dueling Carolinas: North vs. South Carolina as a Retirement Restination feature, which…
more...
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
April 20, 2021 -- Our mission here at Topretirements is to find great places to retire, so we are always on the lookout for undiscovered gems. Today we are going to spill the beans about some undiscovered retirement towns that you might not have heard about before. See end of article for more ideas for underappreciated places to retire.
By definition, most of these places are small.
Boca Grande, Florida. This small, upscale and beautiful residential community is located on Gasparilla Island between Fort Myers and Sarasota. It is home to many retirees and seasonal residents with an average age of 66. The Boca Grande Pass is the deepest natural pass in Florida, and is considered to be the world’s best tarpon fishing spot. That makes the small town not only a tourist destination, but a haven for fishermen. The seven mile island also offers white sand beaches and a quaint downtown and restaurants, but you won’t find any high rises, traffic lights, grocery stores, or gas stations.
more...
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
March 14, 2021 -- One thing about Florida, it's bigger than you think. Google Maps, which assumes no one ever has to stop for gas or a health break, figures it takes 12 hours and 20 minutes to drive from Pensacola to Key West. Looking for a great Florida place to retire on that trip takes you through many very different areas. Today we will travel to Florida's Atlantic Coast, which is loaded with best places to retire. Our tour will start north and move south. See list of our other regional retirement tours at end.
The east coast of Florida, which runs from the Georgia border and ends in Key West, is fairly uniform. Most towns here have two components: a barrier island with a beach town, and the main town and bigger residential developments located across a causeway on the mainland. Its many bays and inlets provide great boating and waterfront living. It is very flat and very low; coastal flooding is here and it is getting worse.
more...
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
February 16, 2021 -- Last week on this Blog we posed the question, "How Much Is Enough for Retirement". So when we came across this new study on the cheapest and most expensive places to retire from NetCredit, it seemed like the perfect follow-up.
As most retirees in the US or UK are figuring out, retiring in their own country means they are going to need over half a million dollars in the bank to do it comfortably. If that sounds unreasonable, then retiring abroad might be the next best option. NetCredit's new study crunched the numbers to find out what it would cost to retire comfortably in (almost) every country around the world.
more...
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
February 15, 2021 — By far the two most popular states for retirement are Arizona and Florida. Choosing between them can be hard, there are so many factors to consider. Both have warm winters in most of the state, but beyond that the field is open. Many people in the…
more...
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
January 26, 2021 -- Every year we have fun rendering our opinion on the very "Best Places to Retire". This list is meant to highlight retirement towns that represent exceptionally great places to retire. But it is important to remember, any place where you can be happy in retirement, that is the best place - for you!
To develop this list we consulted our previous reports of the 20 Best Retirement Towns in three of the major U.S. retirement regions. But the primary consideration was visitor and Member interest at Topretirements.com - the cities that generated the most interest from January to December on this site were the winners. The big news is that several of the towns generating top places on this list had never placed so high. Arizona garnered the top two places on this list, joining Florida and New Mexico who also had two winners. Congratulations to all!
10 Best of the Best Places to Retire
Popularity on this site, as measured by online visits by our Members,was the most important criteria. On that basis, here are the best of the best places to retire in all of the U.S.
more...
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
January 12, 2020 -- Arizona is a really popular place to retire because of its climate, scenery, and interesting towns. At Topretirements it is the second most popular state for retirement. It also has the second highest net immigration of people over 65 (SmartAsset). Since Covid has put the damper on travel and exploration, please join us on this virtual tour of the best places to retire in this beautiful state. This is the second in our series of virtual tours of popular states for retirement (Southwest Florida was the first).
The Road Trip
Arizona is the sixth largest state in terms of size and 14th by population. Florida by contrast has almost 3 times the population in just under half the area, with many more retirement communities. Arizona's sheer size means a retirement tour of the Grand Canyon State involves a lot of driving. If done outside of the summer, it means bringing along some warm weather clothing for parts of the trip, because many areas have high altitude and chilly weather at times. This virtual tour will hopefully whet your appetite for an Arizona exploration, and learn more about the many towns we mention here and over 300 active adult and 55+ communities in our Arizona Directory.
more...
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
January 6, 2020 - The coronavirus and the election might have been the two big national stories in 2020, but Topretirements Members and visitors had some other issues on their minds as well. We published almost 100 Blog stories last year, and it turns out that once again, features that highlight great places to retire almost always come out on top. Here are the most popular articles on Topretirements last year, 2020. As always, we appreciate any future story ideas you might have too.
20 Great Places to Retire on a Lake. This article picked the top 20 communities from the 122 lake towns reviewed on Topretirements. We focused on places where it is possible to live on or near the lake, with some kind of nearby town for entertainment and the necessities of life. This story from January was the runaway favorite of the year.
10 Best of the Best Places to Retire for 2020 In this "Best of the Best" review, we picked 10 towns from lists of our 60 Best Retirement Towns in three major U.S. retirement regions. Asheville (NC), a frequent winner, came out of top.
more...
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
December 7, 2020 -- With the pandemic putting a damper on travel, many people are postponing their winter time retirement explorations. As a partial substitute for those travels, here in Part 1 of this series we will provide a virtual tour of some of the best places to retire in Southwest Florida. In Part 2 we featured a tour of Arizona places to retire. Future installments will cover Florida's East Coast, Central Florida, the Carolinas, and others suggested by our Members.
Best Places to Retire in Southwest Florida
Southwestern Florida starts just above Tampa and goes south to Marco Island. This 180 mile stretch probably has more places to retire than anywhere in the world, with the possible exception of the southeast coast of FL from Vero Beach to Miami. Here on the Gulf Coast there are barrier islands, 3 good sized cities (Tampa/St.Pete, Sarasota, and Fort Myers), fabulous beaches, endless waterfronts and waterways, and a variety of towns that make for interesting places to retire. There are thousands of active adult and 55+ communities, ranging from budget RV/Mobile Home parks to exclusive refuges catering to the 1%.
Anyone looking for a warm winter retirement should definitely at least consider this area - when safe travel resumes again a leisurely exploration would be well worth it. While you are there, if certain towns and areas appeal, you might consider a Stay and Play package or monthly rental to see if you really like the place. Note: Most of the names of the cities and towns in this article are linked to more detailed reviews as places to retire.
more...
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
November 11, 2020 - We are not talking cool as in the temperature, when we say 10 very cool towns for retirement we mean retirement towns that are fun to live in. Small town and mid-size cities where there is plenty to do, congenial neighbors, and attractions and charm that will make your children and grandchildren want to visit when this pandemic finally ends! Turns out there are a lot of cool towns that are great for retirement; here are our picks for 10 best places to consider for your retirement. If you know others, we hope you will talk about them in the Comments section at the end.
10 Great Towns for Retirement
Davidson: One of the 10 Coolest Towns for Retirement
Davidson, NC. Home to elite Davidson College, the population is growing rapidly and is now over 12,000 people. Local downtown businesses, characterized by restaurants and specialty shops, cater to an affluent market. Davidson College has made the town an intellectual and cultural center, drawing into its orbit professionals and some retirees.
more...
