Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
June 20, 2021 -- Virginia's recent Comment to our "25 Most Popular Active Communities in the Southeast" article really got things going. Many folks jumped in to help answer her question, which asked what people thought about retiring in Maryland. Since hers generated so many other Comments (and Maryland is not an active community nor is it in the Southeast) we thought we would pull everything together under a new post to keep everything in better focus.
Most of the Comments quickly got into taxes and cost of living, although just about everyone liked other aspects of the Free State. Regarding taxes, an estate lawyer once said something very wise to my mother and I. He said: "Don't let the tax tail wag the dog". In other words, if you want to do something for good reasons (like move to another state), do it. His mantra - enjoy your life; fear of taxes is not the way to live. Just as important as that thought though, you also have to act on the basis of the facts, not on what you think you know or heard from someone else.
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Published on June 19, 2021
Comments 11
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
June 19, 2021 -- If you are a retiree looking for a place to retire that offers superior outdoor recreational opportunities - you are in luck! There are countless towns in this country where mountains, lakes, rivers, or trails are just outside your door. In addition to traditional activities like tennis, golf, and fishing, these retirement destinations usually provide great hiking, skiing, water sports, etc.. Here are our top 10 picks for great outdoor places to retire.
10 Great Retirement Towns for Outdoor Activities
Bend, Oregon. Located on the Deschutes River on the eastern edge of the Cascades, the area offers great scenic beauty, skiing, mountains, golf, fishing, and more. Word about how nice this city is has gotten out: the population keeps increasing by leaps and bounds.
Burlington, Vermont. On the eastern shore of Lake Champlain you will find this town, home to the vibrant University of Vermont. Burlington is very popular with outdoor loving retirees who also want the youth and enthusiasm provided by a major university. Mountain bikers enjoy many great trails such as "The International", which is about 20 minutes outside of town. Nearby ski resorts including Sugarbush, Mad River Glen, Smugglers Notch, and Stowe, which now offer year round recreation. For the recreational bicyclist/walker/jogger there is the Island Rail2Trail path, which has 8 miles right along Lake Champlain.
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Published on June 18, 2021
Comments 4
Category: International Retirement
June 15, 2021 -- Where do people go when they choose an international retirement? Different sources have different answers for the best places to retire abroad. The 2021 Expat Insider Survey named Taiwan, Mexico, and Costa Rica as the best 3 places for American expatriates of all ages. A study looking at Americans who receive Social Security benefits put Canada, Japan, and Mexico at the top of their list, while Investopedia rated Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico as the best 3 countries for American expat retirees. Other countries making frequent appearances on this type of lists are Thailand, Portugal, Spain, Vietnam, Ecuador, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and France. But in truth, people go all over the globe in pursuit of a happy retirement, and for a variety of reasons.
Some of the factors to consider when choosing a country for an expat retirement are:
Political stability
How easy is it to buy or rent property
Healthcare and entertainment
Visa and residency requirements
Cost of living
Will you fit in
Development and infrastructure
Climate
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Published on June 14, 2021
Comments 1
Category: Home and Garden
June 12, 2021 -- Thanks to the 200 people who took our Home Readiness for Retirement Quiz. The Topretirements community appreciates the few minutes you took to assess your home's readiness. We hope that you found the exercise useful. We know we did, our grab bars were installed today! Here are the results of the survey, with several surprises mixed in with findings that were more predictable.
The point of the quiz is to make sure that wherever you decide to live in retirement, your home is a safe place that lets you age gracefully in place. The good news is that most homes can be retrofitted to get there. Those without a first floor bedroom/bath option face a more problematic situation.
Overall Conclusions:
Almost three quarters (77%) of our Members have a bedroom/bath on the first floor, which is great news. They should be able to stay in their homes regardless of their mobility in the future.
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Published on June 11, 2021
Comments 2
Category: Home and Garden
June 8, 2020 — Want to know if the home you are living in will be able to keep up with you over the next 25 years or so of your retirement? Well, just take this quick quiz and we’ll give you an instant score. We’ve graded it high, but…
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Published on June 7, 2021
Comments 0
Category: Checklists
June 6, 2021 -- And aging in place checklist is critical to a long and happy retirement Whether you plan on staying in the home where you've always lived, buy a new retirement home, or you haven't yet decided where you are going to retire, you have to make sure that your home continues to be an easy place to live as you age in place. If you don't, life in that home is going to get harder, if not impossible. This article will lay out some of the things that you absolutely, positively, must keep in mind; either if you buy a new home or decide to stay in the one where you live now. At the end of the article you will find a quick quiz to help you evaluate if your home is ready to support your retirement.
Commonly called universal design, the idea is take steps to insure that your home will be a friendly place to live, no matter what your physical condition in the future. It starts with the assumption that you might not always be able to see well, bend down or reach up, walk unassisted, or have great balance. That might not seem that important now, but it could easily be the case some day. Most homes assume that everyone who lives there has normal physical abilities. Sadly, not all of us will have those during the rest of our lives, and those changes usually come out of nowhere.
Aging in place checklist: Keep these universal design principles in mind for the long haul:
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Published on June 5, 2021
Comments 10
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
May 27, 2021 -- Not everyone dreams of retiring in an active community, a small town, or the suburbs. There is a sizable group of baby boomers who yearn for something bigger than that. For these folks, retiring in a small or medium sized city might be just the ticket. This lifestyle has the attraction of living in the center of things, walking to everything, choosing from a raft of interesting restaurants, or seeing a good play production or concert. To these folks that is a lot more appealing than endless rounds of golf, pickleball, or mowing the lawn. Here are picks for some great places to retire that offer an urban lifestyle.
For cities to be considered we had several wish list items, although not every city will have all of them. We tried to find cities that are walkable; where pedestrians enjoy wide sidewalks, safe crossing zones, and some separation from cars. Pedestrian-only zones are a big plus. Bike lanes and paths that keep you and your bicycle out of harm's way from cars are nice to have. There has to be a number of good restaurants and cultural venues to choose from. The presence of a college or university definitely adds value. And finally, there should be some living options either in the downtown or in a quiet nearby neighborhood. Another bonus would be low cost of living (not all of our picks met that hurdle). We published a list of 9 Great Small Cities for Retirement a few years ago, and boy did that generate a lot of Comments and suggestions (199) - we think you will find them worth reading.
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Published on May 26, 2021
Comments 25
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
May 24, 2021 — The Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI) has released the results from its annual retirement confidence survey – and they are pretty good! Back in 2014, 55% of all workers said they were “confident they would have enough money to retire confidently”. This year, 72% of all…
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Published on May 23, 2021
Comments 1
Category: Retirement Planning
May 22, 2021— More than three-quarters of baby boomers won’t move more than a few miles away from where they live now when they retire. This article will explore the case for sticking close to home in the next phase of your life.
There must be plenty of strong arguments for staying put, since so many of us do just that. Here are some of the major ones, along with ideas on how to make that decision work.
– Family. Staying close to children and close relatives is often the best reason for retiring where you live now. Grandchildren, if we are fortunate enough to have any, are usually a great source of joy, but without all the work associated with raising our own children! So sticking close enough where you can see loved ones without a long drive or plane flight will be a regular source of happiness. In the past Covid year, those extended families who lived near one another had a big advantage many others did not.
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Published on May 21, 2021
Comments 4
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
May 19, 2021 -- Last week we asked our Members to tell us where they retired, or where they are considering. The response, although certainly not overwhelming, did come up with a lot more suggestions. To see all of them you can go to the Comments from that article, 29 of them so far. We have summarized (lightly editing) the places that were mentioned there, but you should really read the originals in their entirety to get more detail. We also encourage you to tell us where you are retiring, either at the bottom of this article or on the original one. Thank you to all who contributed, we really appreciate you making the effort!
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Published on May 18, 2021
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