Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
The most frequent comment on all of the websites that have been covering our "Worst States for Retirement" article has been this one: "How can the same state be on the best and the worst list?" A typical comment is the one made by "stylesb" on the AARP.com site: "Real credible info. Connecticut is on both the Best and Worst ranked states for retirement."
The main reason why a state might show up on both lists is that the lists were prepared by different organizations using different criteria. That's the situation with Connecticut, which is #9 on the Topretirements' list of worse states, and #8 on the Money-Rates' list of best states for retirement. The lists use different rating criteria. Topretirements used the fiscal health of the state, taxes, and climate as its 3 criteria for choosing the worst states. Money-Rates used climate, crime rate,
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Published on January 17, 2011
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Category: Active adult communities
January 17, 2011 -- Both buyers and sellers in the 55+ market have been marking time for the past few years, waiting for some positive sign that the worst of the bleeding is over. A new report, using data from the 2009 American Housing Survey and reported on by the Met Life Mature Market Institute and the National Association of Home Builders, contains some findings that might indicate things could finally start to turn around. Not that they, or we, are predicting anything like the crazy times of 2004-2006, when buyers slept on floors to be the first to bid on new homes, sight unseen. But perhaps a steady 55+ market where the long-predicted pent-up demand matches supply, and buyers can sell their existing homes and start...
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Published on January 17, 2011
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
It used to be that the cheapest places to live in the USA were in the interior of the country and in the southeast. If you just got away from the coasts, prices went down and it was easy to buy a lot of home for relatively little money.
While that is still true - the median home price in Oklahoma City was $135,500 in 2010's 3rd quarter (National Association of Realtors) - now there are bargains in south Florida and Nevada as well (Cape Coral/Ft. Myers was $100,000, Las Vegas was $138,100 in the same period). Forbes Magazine just came out with their list of the "Best Places for Bargain Retirement Homes", based on taxes, price of real estate, and stable home prices. The prices in these bargain communities show
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Published on January 11, 2011
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Category: Baby Boomer Retirement Issues
Update August 2017: This series, and particularly its Part 2, seemed very timely after we received this comment from Marty: "Please remind all your readers to consider the possibility of losing their mate and being in an unfamiliar area. Wills may have to go to Probate Court, decisions made on burials, and accounts frozen. Not having your old friends around adds to the loneliness."
Note: This is Part 1 in a series. See also "10 More Checklist Items for the Retiring Baby Boomer", as well as Part 3: 7 Must-Do Items Now That You Are Retired. We have another multi-part series that relates specifically to Medicare "Now That You're 65, How to Get Started with Medicare".
January 9, 2011 -- The oldest of the nation's baby boomers, those born in 1946, start turning 65 this year. For people who grew up with the Mickey Mouse Club and the Lone Ranger, the thought of getting involved with the Social Security Administration might be hard to swallow, but it is about to happen to you. This article will be your primer for what you need to do, now that you are 65. Note: The government's Social Security and Medicare websites are first rate and very helpful. We have used much of their information in the sections below, and provided links as well.
1. Register for Medicare to start your health care coverage
Medicare is a Health Insurance Program for people age 65 or older, some disabled
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Published on January 9, 2011
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Category: Health and Wellness Issues
It seems like the biggest story about retirement this week was the sad tale of
Doris Lor, a 76 year old resident of Solera, an active adult community in Chandler, AZ. According to numerous news reports, Ms. Lor was repeatedly bullied by women in the community, who refused to let her sit at their table or join in community card games. Apparently it is not just mean girls, either, as some men
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Published on January 4, 2011
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
January 4, 2011 -- Many baby boomers we run into are perplexed about where they will live in retirement. A big concern often centers around the bewildering number of choices - how can they find the town that matches their personality and their dreams for retirement? They often have an easier time ruling out regions or states than have choosing a particular retirement spot.
In our opinion an often overlooked choice for retirement is what is alternatively called the New Urban, Master Planned, or Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND). These communities - some totally new, while others are older towns that have invested heavily in urban planning - deliver on many of the requirements held by so many baby boomers. Those include walkability, easy access to
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Published on January 4, 2011
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Category: General Retirement Issues
Just like in every other sphere of life, the articles we post at Topretirements have their share of winners - and the not so successful. This year’s big, big winner was “Sunbelt Shines on the 100 Most Popular Retirement Towns”; it was read 267,000 times. It was pretty easy to predict that topic would be a success, but sometimes there are surprises going the other way. “Dueling States: Arizona vs. Florida for Retirement” is a good example of a feature that was not nearly
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Published on December 27, 2010
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Category: Baby Boomer Retirement Issues
Every year we dust off our crystal ball and try to think about what's ahead for retirees in the year ahead. But before we do that, here are a few observations about 2010, the year that is just about to end:
- Housing prices stabilized in most markets in 2010, and even started to increase slightly in many cities and towns. The free fall in prices that came in 2008 and 2009 has mostly stopped. Although median home prices slipped in the first quarter according to the National Association of Realtors, they increased from
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Published on December 26, 2010
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Category: Bucket Lists
Editor's Note: In August 2012 we asked our visitors and members to tell us what is on their bucket lists. See the fascinating result in this article: "Wow - Your Bucket Lists Are Amazing!"
December 20, 2010 -- Maybe you've seen the movie "The Bucket List". It stars Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, both of whom have less than a year to live in the movie. The plot unfolds from there, as this odd duo goes on a road trip together trying to accomplish as much as possible in the days remaining before they "kick the bucket". We confess we haven't seen the movie, but it sounds kind of fun. The premise is so applicable to those of us who are starting out in retirement. Although we are luckier than Nicholson and Morgan in that we have more than 1 year to accomplish our list, that also carries the danger that we have so much time left that we feel like we don't have to
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Published on December 20, 2010
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Category: General Retirement Issues
December 13, 2010 -- Remember when you took that college psychology class and you (or maybe your buddies) noticed how nicely you fit into some of the more interesting disorder diagnoses? Along those same lines, Allianz Financial has come up with a way to classify retirees. They have found 5 types: read on to see which one fits you.
Worse than Death
Their study, "Reclaiming the Future", also had two other very interesting observations:
- Most people in the study fear running out of money more than they fear death
- They also appreciate that the financial meltdown has created a retirement "crisis".
It is a little hard to imagine in advance how an insurance company might
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Published on December 13, 2010
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