Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
April 9, 2019 -- The Carolinas are extremely popular retirement states, with good reason. Their winters are warmer than in the midwest and northeast, taxes and the cost of living are agreeable, and there are many great retirement towns. Here are some of our favorite retirement towns in Carolina, based on how attractive they are. The competition for prettiest retirement town in the Carolinas is pretty stiff, in fact you probably have some of your own favorites. Please share your suggestions in the Comments section at the end.
Beaufort
Beaufort, SC. The Old South lives on in the quaint seaside charm of this town, pronounced b'yoofurt. Known as the “Queen of the Carolina Sea Islands”, the Spanish came here in 1514 and it was chartered by the British in 1711. It lies in the Sea Islands or “Low Country” area of South Carolina near Hilton Head.
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Published on April 8, 2019
Comments 8
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
April 8, 2019 -- Your Social Security benefit is one of the pillars of your retirement. To make the most of it you need to make smart choices on how and when you take it. Make a wrong move based on misinformation or lack of knowledge, and it could cost you and your spouse tens of thousands of dollars in the years ahead. This article will go over a few of the areas that seem to trip up the most people. To help answer these questions we used information from the very helpful SSA.gov website. Use these examples to help inform your own decisions, along with your own careful research.
Choices...and Decisions
It is up to you to apply for Social Security retirement benefits. If you don't apply, you won't get them. You have your first option to start receiving retirement benefits when you turn 62. Taking them then gives you the smallest monthly payment, but it is money in your bank account now. You can apply at any time from age 62 on, but your monthly benefit will go up for every month you wait to claim (benefits are capped at age 70).
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Published on April 7, 2019
Comments 2
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
April 3, 2019 — So many times we are asked, what are the best states for retirement? There are many ways to answer that question, and in fact over the years we have tried several. You could consider it from a tax viewpoint, as in which states retirees will experience the lowest taxes. Or you could compare on other economic factors like cost of living. Alternatives are best climate, natural hazards like hurricanes, geographic features like beaches and mountains, political climate, financial health of the state, medical care, etc.
Ultimately, identifying the best state for retirement is a very personal question. In the end it boils down to what is the best state for YOUR retirement. It is very possible that your best state is where you live now, if it meets your desires, since 80% or more retirees do not cross state lines after they retire.
In this year's best states for retirement roundup we are going to attack the question in a very practical way. First we'll look at where the most people are actually moving in retirement. Then we'll add some states that folks seem to be very interested in retiring to, based on the ones they spend the most time reading about on this site.
Where people actually moveFirst, let's look at where people actually move for retirement, because that is the acid test of retiree preference. SmartAsset.com has done a great job extracting U.S. Census data to track the net migration of people ages 60 and over - that is, where more people that age move into a state than move out.
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Published on April 2, 2019
Comments 26
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
March 26, 2019 -- Not everyone is looking for an active adult or 55+ community. Many prefer to stay where they live now, but there is another interesting group too - people looking to move to the city.
The attractions are many, particularly for people who are tired of the suburbs or small town living. The idea of walking to restaurants, coffee shops, the library, and cultural events can be very appealing. So is being able to take public transportation, and do without a car most of the time. For others the attraction is being around interesting people of all ages. Cities can be great places to retire - and they come in all sizes - from the huge (New York, Chicago, Miami) to midsize like Sarasota or Columbus (OH).
NPR did a very interesting radio program that you can listen to, see "Listen" in this NPR link. It describes several different baby boomers and why they decided to move to various cities, including Hartford, CT.
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Published on March 25, 2019
Comments 4
Category: Health and Wellness Issues
March 23, 2019 -- This is the 5th module in our "Retirement Preparation 101" online course. The social aspects of retirement was one of most frequently requested topics for the series. Here is where you can see all of the Modules and all the Member suggestions for the course.
Here is a sample suggestion which led to this Module:
Katie: Loneliness in retirement. Whether single, divorced or widowed, loneliness is something that many of us will face as we retire from our work lives. Many of us spent our lives with people at work and any free time with spouses, children or other family. Friendships may have been with neighbors, our kids’ friends’ families, spouse’s work friends, etc. With retirement and a loss of the people around us, retirees can find themselves alone. Surely there are other good ideas and stories from people who have gone through this.
Overview - one step at a time
One short article cannot possibly address all the strategies or be a magic bullet to solving the problem of feeling alone. We encourage you to to view these tips as something to experiment with. A lifetime of habits cannot not be overcome in a day or a week or a month, but if you gradually apply some of these ideas in your daily life you just might be able to make a difference. Here we go:
Singles vs. married couples. A later module in this series will specifically address loneliness for singles. But we firmly believe that the strategies presented here are useful no matter what your state - single or married.
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Published on March 22, 2019
Comments 15
Category: Active adult communities
March 19, 2019 -- If you have been on the campus of an active adult community or near a city park lately, you might have heard a repetitive loud sound - that of a composite racquet hitting a softball sized whiffle ball. What you are hearing, along with many cries of joy and frustration, is the game of pickleball, and it is expanding everywhere. Unless you have mobility or other serious health issues, we recommend you get it a "whack".
Pickleball got started in 1965 on a modified badminton court. Kids in gym class sometimes play it because it can be played indoors in a fairly limited space with minimum equipment. Since then it has expanded around the globe, but has really taken off as an activity in 55+ and active adult communities.
What is it the game and how is it playedPickleball is played on a court that is roughly half the size of a tennis court. There is a net and there are different lines marked to indicate the playing area. Watch the Youtube video above to see a championship match in action!The game can be played as singles (2 opponents) or more commonly doubles (4 players). It starts by a player serving a plastic ball with holes in it from the baseline across the net and to the diagonally opposite opponent. It must land in the box on the receiver’s side and bounce once before being hit back across the net. The small honeycombed racquet is several times the size of a ping pong paddle. When the racquet hits the perforated plastic ball there is a distinctive “whack”. To counter complaints about noise, newer, quieter racquets are coming in to play.
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Published on March 19, 2019
Comments 2
Category: Active adult communities
Updated Nov. 18, 2019 -- Of the thousands of 55 plus communities listed at Topretirements, it is always interesting to see which ones attract the most attention from our Members and visitors. After examining the data from the last 6 months of 2018, here are the 15 most popular communities at Topretirements in the Southwestern states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. This article complements a similar article we wrote earlier this month on the "Most Popular Active Adult Communities in the Southeast".
This year's winners are a surprising group. None of them are household names, in some cases we are not sure why these communities sparked so much visitor interest. Taken together they reflect the diversity of different types of active adult and 55+ communities that exist in the Southwest. Some of them are relative bargains as RV or manufactured home communities, offering good value at a lower price point. One is a community offering assisted living, which an unusual type to be this popular. One is a cohousing community. A few others are 55+ neighborhoods tucked in much larger master planned communities. About half of the communities are age restricted, although in practice most of the people living in all of them would meet a 55 year age requirement.
The biggest surprise in this year's findings was that Colorado was far and away the most popular state. It had 10 out of the 15 communities on the list - we can see it is a very popular state for retirement! Arizona and New Mexico had two each, while Nevada earned one spot. Utah and Southern California communities had a chance to make the list, but none did.
While these are the 15 most popular active adult communities on this site for these four states, they might not necessarily be the "best". That is for you to determine, based on how well they fit your needs. One big takeaway here is how important it is to spread your net wide when researching active adult and 55 plus communities. There are thousands of choices that might work for you, but you won't even find out about them unless you look around. If this list does anything for you we hope it expands your horizons. If you are interested in moving to a particular area, at least do an Internet search to get a good idea of the possibilities before you just settle on one you or your friends have heard of. There are many good choices awaiting you!
The most popular 55+ communities in the Southwest
Albuquerque Meadows
1. Albuquerque Meadows - Albuquerque, NM. This senior (55+) community offers affordable manufactured homes with friendly neighbors, and activities. Amenities include pool, arts & crafts, exercise programs, bridge, line dancing. Albuquerque Meadows is located near the foot of the beautiful Sandia Mountains which offer hiking and skiing.
2. Antelope Ridge - Colorado Springs, CO. Comfortable, energy-efficient ranch homes are provided in this all ages community of manufactured homes. The 4,000 sq. ft. Community Center with a ski-lodge look draws residents for events, private parties, working out, and just having fun. There are two outdoor pools, business center, children's play area, bocce, fitness center, and outdoor veranda.
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Published on March 17, 2019
Comments 3
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
Updated June, 2024 -- Over the years millions of Americans from the Midwest and Northeast have packed up and moved to Florida for their retirement. They move there because of the warm winters and long coastlines, and retirees have been doing it for at least 100 years. But the Sunshine State has its detractors too - a Florida retirement is not for everyone. There are plenty of articles that give tons of reasons not to retire in the Sunshine State. One was an article from Kiplinger, "11 Reasons Not to Move to Florida,", and another was "16 Reasons Not to Retire in Florida" from the Frugal Expat (which looks like it cribbed from the earlier Kiplinger article).
We agree that there are some valid reasons against retiring in Florida (and we will include them later in this article). But we have to say that many reasons cited in both articles seem more than a bit grasping. These are the basic reasons why they said you shouldn't retire to Florida:
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Published on March 13, 2019
Comments 76
Category: Home Owners Associations
March 10, 2018 -- Bills proposed in the Florida legislature would remove local control of short term rentals offered by companies like Airbnb, HomeAway, etc., and place it in the hands of the State. The online companies are lobbying for passage of the bills, since that would open up all areas of the state to rentals as short as one night. Local communities oppose the bill because they would lose the right to regulate what is often a problematic issue in many communities, particularly resort areas. It is a complex issue with the same people often having two different opinions on it: while at least half of the population would be happy to use one of these services for a short term vacation rental, but the vast majority of homeowners are against having them in their own neighborhoods.
Tell us what you think - Take our short Poll
The bill is euphemistically called "The Private Property Rights of Homeowners", SB 824. The bill's sponsor is State Sen. Manny Diaz Jr,. of Hialeah. If passed, it would give the Florida legislature the preemptive right to regulate vacation rights - local governments would have to abide by whatever the state decides. A group in northern Florida has been active in the fight against it. That organization believes that each local community knows best what should be permitted when it comes to rentals, citing many problems such as noise, traffic, and general mayhem when vacationers invade local neighborhoods. The problem is made worse when absentee owners buy up large number of homes and/or apartments and rent them out. That has a deleterious impact on affordable housing.
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Published on March 9, 2019
Comments 2
Category: Home and Garden
March 6, 2019 — The appearance of a pair of bills in the Florida legislature has brought the issue of short term (usually vacation) rentals to the fore. It is a complex topic, and one that has powerful constituencies on both sides. The purpose of this survey is to find…
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Published on March 6, 2019
Comments 9
