The Best Places to Retire for Spring Training

With the Superbowl successfully behind us, anxious sports fans are ready for the next season to get started. For baseball fans, spring training will start next week. Spring training is one of the great joys and advantages of a snowbird retirement. Your favorite team is once again in your home town, tickets are affordable and plentiful, and the parks are so close together that you can even travel to road games. Baseball’s owners are no dummies either, they have picked some of the best places to host their spring training camps; most of these towns make the best places to retire lists for lots of other reasons too.

Spring training is thought to have started out in 1870 when the Chicago Whitestockings and the Cincinnati Redstockings ventured down to New Orleans to prepare for the season. Other historians credit the Washington Capitals as having started the spring training movement in 1888, when they organized a 4 day baseball camp in Jacksonville. Whichever version is correct, by the beginning of the 1900’s spring training had become institutionalized in both Florida and Arizona cities.

There are 2 spring training leagues - the Grapefruit League in Florida, and the Cactus League in Arizona (each has 15 teams). In general the east coast teams tend to be in the Grapefruit League and midwestern and western teams are usually, but not always, in the Cactus League. The leagues are split among National and American League teams, which adds to the stew. Teams move around, often because of a better stadium offer. In 2010, for example, the Orioles are moving from Ft. Lauderdale to Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. The Orioles will replace the Cincinnati Reds, who moved to Goodyear, Arizona for 2010.

In 2010 the first players will report to camp next week (the week of Feb 15). Games begin on March 4 and go through April 4. If you like baseball and are a looking for your retirement town, what better excuse than to tie the 2 activities together in one great scouting trip. Here is a list of where all the teams play, with links to reviews of their host towns where we have them:

Cactus League Mar 3 - Apr 4

Chicago Cubs play at Hohokam Park in Mesa, AZ. There is a referendum for a new $84 million spring facility, the Cubbies plan to stay on if the referendum passes.
Arizona Diamondbacks play at Tucson Electric Park in Tucson. This will be their last year here. They will move to northeast Phoenix in 2011.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago White Sox enjoy spring training at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, AZ (northwest suburb of Phoenix). The two teams enjoy a state-of-the-art training facility with an open concourse, and plenty of premium seating.
Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians enjoy the 1 year old Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, AZ. The Reds moved from Sarasota in 2010.
Colorado Rockies play their spring schedule at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, a stadium that’s been around since the 1930’s. It’s their last season in Tucson, next year they moving up the Interstate to Phoenix.
The Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals have their games hosted at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, AZ. This stadium opened up in 2003.
LA Angels of Anaheim play in Tempe at the venerable Tempe Diablo Stadium. The Diablo in Tempe was built in 1969 and renovated 2006.
The Milwaukee Brewers will be found at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix.
Oakland Athletics are also Phoenix based, their winter home is the Phoenix Municipal Stadium, which dates to 1965.
Another twin bill is found in Peoria, AZ, where the San Diego Padres and the Seattle Mariners share Peoria Stadium, a 12,000 seat facility.
The San Francison Giants are crosstown from their west coast neighbors; they play at the Scottsdale Stadium built in 1992.

The Grapefruit League

Atlanta Braves enjoy their games at Champion Stadium Capacity in Lake Buena Vista, near Orlando.
The Baltimore Orioles moved to Sarasota’s Ed Smith Stadium (Capacity 7,500 and built in 1989). The Orioles were in Ft Lauderdale in 2009.
Boston Red Sox have their games at the City of Palms Park in Ft. Myers.
Detroit’s Tigers enjoy Lakeland as their home. Their games are played at Joker Marchant Stadium, one of the smaller venues with 8,000 seats. It was renovated in 2003.
The Florida Marlins share Roger Dean Stadium with the St. Louis Cardinals> This east coast stadium is in the very nice town of Jupiter.
Houston Astros are in Kissimmee (near Orlando). They play at the Osceola County Stadium, which opened in 1984 with a capacity.
Another team with Ft. Myers spring training is the Minnesota Twins. Their games are at Hammond Stadium.
Those amazin’ NY Mets get ready for the season at Port St. Lucie’s Tradition Field, where they have been since 1988. Port St. Lucie is a new town and one of the fastest growing anywhere.
The New York Yankees are across the Sunshine State in Tampa. Interestingly, they play at Steinbrenner Field, a venue dating from 1996.
The Philadelphia Phillies are nearby in Clearwater, where they play at Bright House Networks Field (2004).
Pittsburgh Pirates conduct spring training in Bradenton’s McKechnie Field.
The Tampa Bay Rays head south about 100 miles to Port Charlotte and the Charlotte County Sports Park, which has a capacity of 7,000 and was renovated in 2008-2009.
The Toronto Blue Jays are in the little town of Dunedin. Their games are played at FL Dunedin Stadium.
Finally, the Washington Nationals enjoy an east coast spring training in Melbourne. Their spring venue is the Space Coast Stadium.

For further information:
Spring Training Online
The history of spring training

What do you think? Do you have a favorite spring training town? One that might make a best place to retire? Let us know in the comments section below.

Most Under-Rated Places to Retire

Picking towns for “best places to retire” lists can get to be a lot like selecting prom dates - the bright lights overshadow the deserving candidates who don’t get asked to the big party. All too often the result is best places to retire myopia - too many lists that share the same old towns and cities - Asheville, Athens, Austin, Beaufort, etc.

This week we set out to identify 20 best retirement towns that aren’t on that many lists. We looked for towns that we know are terrific, but don’t seem to have the press that their more famous brethren do. Some will be familiar and some will not. Our apologies to all of the other great places to retire whose lights are still hiding under the basket; please give us your nominations in the Comments section below.

Bisbee, Arizona. Bisbee is an historic mining town in south central Arizona, almost at the Mexican border. If you are looking for an interesting, off-beat place to retire, Bisbee might be the place.

Flagstaff, Arizona. At an altitude of 6910 feet the climate is dry and much cooler in the summer than anywhere else in Arizona. Cecil B. DeMille tried but failed to make Flagstaff into an earlier version of Hollywood because of its great scenery, which includes the Grand Canyon and the San Francisco Peaks .

Eureka, California. Eureka’s northern isolation means that it missed much of the post-war redevelopment. As result Eureka is filled with examples of 19th and early 20th century architecture and historic districts. It’s been likened to a west coast Williamsburg, Virginia.

Jackson, California. Jackson is a small town (4,000 people) in the historic gold mining country of California. Jackson is nestled at the 1200 foot level in the Sierra Nevada foothills in Amador County.

Klamath Falls, Oregon. Klamath Falls is a beautiful town for retirement in south central Oregon, east of Medford and Ashland. Nearby are 2 very large and beautiful lakes: Upper Klamath Lake is the largest natural lake in the Pacific Northwest, and Crater Lake.

Maryville, Tennessee. Maryville is blessed with Maryville College, a private liberal arts college of about 850 whose campus is in the center of town. Its 400 acre campus has several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places and also has trails and paths for walking and running.

Yakima, Washington. Located in the Yakima Valley midway between Walla Walla and Seattle, this area is one of the best apple growing regions in the world.

Huntsville, Alabama. Huntsville is famous for its NASA Marshall Space Flight Center , the Redstone Arsenal, and as a high-tech center. It is a popular destination for retirees from all over the country, based on availability of desirable housing, beautiful parks, and a vibrant cultural infrastructure.

New Haven, Connecticut. New Haven, long downtrodden, is having a resurgence with young adults and retirees. The downtown is packed with restaurants, Yale students, and top-notch theater and music.

Merritt Island, Florida. In Florida the competition for best place to retire is pretty stiff. Melbourne has the beaches and nature, it just doesn’t toot its horn as much.

Warner Robins, Georgia. Warner Robins is a growing town of 61,000 about 15 miles south of Macon, Georgia. Robins Air Force Base, one of the largest employers in the State of Florida, helps make this a more diversified and cosmopolitan town than others of its size in Georgia.

Valdosta, Georgia. A college town, Valdosta has everything from Valdosta State University to the revitalized downtown venues for dining, shopping and cultural activities.

Columbus Indiana. Columbus has the distinction of being one of America’s top cities for architecture; in fact it is a showcase of modern architecture. Six buildings are designated as National Historic Landmarks. There are 60 other distinguished buildings from the world’s best architects.

St. Francisville, Louisiana. St. Francisville, Louisiana is one of the prettiest and most charming small towns along the Gulf Coast. It is a quaint town on the Mississippi and very popular with both tourists and people in retirement.

Brunswick, Maine. Brunswick is a beautiful small town near the southern coast of Maine. It is home to the elite Bowdoin College as well as the Bowdoin College Museum of Art. There are many homes and places on the list of historic places thanks to Brunswick’s early history and its prosperous sea captains.

Salisbury, Maryland. Salisbury is an interesting town and seaport on the Wicomico River on the Delmarva Peninsula. Its population was about 28,000 in 2008.

Plymouth, Massachusetts. Like the original Pilgrims, active adults are choosing to move to Plymouth. These modern day 55+ pilgrims come for its location on the ocean and quieter lifestyle. There are many waterfront homes in the area as well as charming old homes within the town. Outside of the town there are a large number of active adult communities.

Red Wing, Minnesota. Red Wing had an early heyday as a stop for steamboats on the river as well as for its rich farm land. Blessed with a beautiful downtown, it also has an impressive economic base with several recognizable manufacturers.

Vicksburg, Mississippi. It has old southern charm with squares, tree-lined streets, riverfront casinos, and the Vicksburg National Military Park. The park commemorates General U.S. Grant’s successful siege of Vicksburg in 1863, one of the Civil War’s most decisive battle.

Bartlesville, Oklahoma. One of the world’s top Mozart Festivals, Frank Lloyd Wright’s only skyscraper, an Arts Center, a stunning Community Center, plus 2 college campuses – these are just some of the surprising treasures in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Comments or suggestions for your favorite under-appreciated best place to retire? Use the Comments section below.

For further reference
25 Most Popular Places to Retire

What are the Best States for Retirement?

If there was ever a subjective question, “what is the best state for retirement” must certainly rank right up there. After all it is a very personal question, almost as personal as your preference in mates or sports teams. To try to avoid too much controversy we shall answer the question in terms of what you, our Topretirements visitors, seem to prefer when it comes to retirement states.

For most people the best state to retire question is easy - some 80% or more retire in the state where they live now. But for those folks who are thinking about moving on down the road in later life, the reasons why some states are better for retirement than others generally boil down to:

- Climate. If you are looking to escape the cold winters of the northeast or Midwest, the Sunbelt might be appealing
- Cost of living. The coasts of the U.S. tend to be a lot more costly than the inland states. You can usually sell your expensive house in the Boston suburbs, move to a nicer one in the Carolinas or Tennessee, and still end up with money in the bank
- Tax-friendly. Although this shouldn’t be your only reason for moving to a new state for retirement, there are cost savings in states with low property taxes and no income or sales taxes. In addition, many states treat retiree income such as pensions and social security payments more favorably than other states (see links at end of article for more on these tax-friendly states)

- Lifestyle opportunities. Different states provide different lifestyle opportunities. From exciting cities to college towns to better and different recreational opportunities, some states can offer a superior lifestyle than the one you might have. For example, if hiking or skiing is your thing, moving to a western mountain state might be your personal answer to the question.

- Friends or family. The opportunity to be near children, grandchildren, and friends often trumps other reasons for moving anywhere. And it’s a good reason!

Our List of the Best States for Retirement
Based on visits to the popular retirement guides at Topretirements.com, these are the most popular states to retire (in order). Follow the links to see the state guides:

1. Florida. Florida is blessed with the warmest winters in the U.S. and no income tax. There is property tax protection as well. Our visitors visit the Florida state retirement guide twice as often as they do #5 California’s.
2. North Carolina. A smart choice for a milder year round climate. Great variety in terrain – from the ocean to the mountains
3. Tennessee. One of the lower cost states for retirement with great mountain scenery
4. South Carolina. Warm winters and wonderful towns like Beaufort, Hilton Head, and Clemson. Generally lower cost than up north. This was our guide to the Low Country.
5. California. People from the east tend to forget how big and varied this state is. From the ocean to the deserts, from the mountains to the Central Valley, there is sure to be something for everyone.
6. Arizona. Warmer winters and less humidity in summer. The state is loaded with active adult and 55+ communities
7. Texas. Lower cost of living in friendly towns. Texas has the most active program of Certified Retirement Communities of any state.
8. Colorado. Features many newer livable cities with expansive public parks and bike trails. The mountains and recreation they provide are a big part of the allure.
9. Oregon. Good year round climate and perfect for outdoors minded people. Our guide to southern Oregon towns.
10. Delaware A low tax state with coastal communities and fast-growing towns and developments on the Delmarva Peninsula.
11. Washington. Live in an exciting big city or a smaller college town. The mountains are always nearby, and there is a very long coastline.
12. Georgia. Lower cost, warmer winters. Great variety with towns on the coast and inland too.
13. New Mexico. One of the most under-rated states for retirement. Most of the state is at altitude so it never gets too hot. Don’t miss the guide we wrote recently on New Mexico retirement towns.
14. Virginia. For people who don’t want to move too far from the northeast Virginia might be a good choice. Pick from a long list of interesting historical towns and others near the water.
15. Kentucky. This growing state has a lot going for it when it comes to retirement. It has some of the lowest costs of living in the U.S. Many college towns, plenty of mountains, friendly people.

Links:
Most tax-friendly States for Retirement
Worst States for Retirement

Most Affordable College Towns for Retirement - Sun Belt

College towns make great retirement towns for a lot of reasons. Above all they are interesting places to live with plenty of cultural opportunities, adult education, and athletic events. The shopping, infrastructure… even the day-to-day ambiance is a lot more fun. The young people in the community provide an antidote to a steady diet of older people.

This article will explore some of our favorite college towns with 3 selection criteria:
- they had to be affordable (median homes below the national median of $190,600)
- located in the sunbelt (which Wikipedia puts on a line south of mid-California through Texas to South Carolina)
- and the college ambiance must be significant (more than just having a college present in the town).

One good thing about building a list of affordable towns in the sun belt is that real estate costs tend to be lower there. In a future article we will explore college towns in non-sun belt climes, where it might be harder,but not impossible, to find bargains that are also best places to retire.

Here is our list of the best and most affordable college towns in the Sunbelt:
Athens Georgia. Go Bulldawgs! The University of Georgia has helped to create an unusually liberal community with a thriving artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual scene.
Clemson South Carolina. Clemson University and its 17,000 students have a major impact. The university is the cultural center of the city. On game days the 80,000 stadium fills the town with excitement.
- Gainesville, FL. Here in central Florida the University of Florida puts a unique stamp on this town. From restaurants to the downtown campus to the Shanks Hospital, Gainesville is a special place.
- Las Cruces, NM. This town is frequently selected as a best place to retire, and one of the reasons is that it is home to 23,000 students of New Mexico State University.
-Hattiesburg, MS. There are 2 universities in Hattiesburg, the University of Southern Mississippi and William Carey. Hattiesburg makes the “best places to retire” lists because it is a college town and has lovely historic districts.
-Oxford, MS. If you love literature and music you will like Oxford as a retirement town. There’s the state university (”Ole Miss”). It was also William Faulkner’s adopted home town, and some of his books draw upon local scenes. The popular legal thriller author, John Grisham, has a home here too.
- Tallahassee, FL. Tallahassee is home to the state capitol as well as two universities (Florida State University and Florida A & M).
- Mesa, AZ. This college town (Arizona State University, East and Mesa Community College) is located near the amazing Superstition Mountains, and just close enough to Phoenix.
- Lakeland, FL. Frank Lloyd Wright’s “A Child of the Sun” project for Florida Southern College is the largest one-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in the world.
- Asheville NC. Asheville, in addition to being the # 1 best place to retire at Topretirements, has the UNC-Asheville campus and its Center for Creative Retirement.
- Austin,TX. The University of Texas is a cultural engine for Austin, but the local art world is as active as anywhere in the country with many museums, galleries, even open air art markets.

Did we miss your favorite? Let us know in the Comments section below if you have a favorite and affordable college town in the Sunbelt.

National Geo’s Take on Best Places to Retire

Nothing gets us quite as pumped up as finding another interesting spin on a “Best Places to Retire” list. This week we were pleased to discover National Geographic Magazine’s list of “Best adventure towns. While it is not new (it’s from 2007) or exactly aimed at retirees , it is a fun list. Here is our take on their selections - you can read the full article and list at “Where to Live and Play, 31 Adventure Towns“. The magazine also has a “Best 50 Adventure Towns” article, which has some different selections.

National Geographic split their list of 31 towns into 5 categories, which is kind of a nifty way to do it. The categories are Outdoor Towns, Beach Towns, Cultural Places, Small Towns, and Adventure Cities. Sixteen of their towns are already profiled at Topretirements, usually chosen for the same reasons.

Some of their top choices, like Boise, ID and Durango, CO are obvious and well-deserved. The “Cultural Hubs” choices on the National Geo list tend to be college towns such as Ann Arbor, Austin (TX), and Knoxville. Their “Adventure Cities” are some of the ones we like at Topretirements (like both Portlands [OR and ME], and Spokane, WA). The magazine also unexpectedly chose Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.) in this category. The most interesting choices on their list are in the “Small Towns” category; of the 5 listed the only one we had heard of was Port Townsend, WA). The “Beach Town” and “Outdoor Mecca” choices are definitely worth reading about too - places like Bishop, CA and Cordova, AK.

A while back we reviewed Sara Tuff and Greg Melville’s book on the same subject- “101 Best Outdoor Towns“. What is especially interesting is how little crossover there is between that book and National Geographic’s list.

For Further Reference:
Best Outdoor Towns at Topretirements
More Adventurous Retirements

The Affordable (and more) Best Places to Retire List

In our recent article, “Whackiest Best Places to Retire List“, we poked a little fun at some of the “Best Places to Retire” lists our big named publishing brethren keeping come up with. In so doing we promised to come up with our own “Best Affordable List”, and here it is.

St. Petersburg Harbor

The exercise of identifying our “Affordable” List proved to be very interesting, and challenging, on many levels (see end of article for further explanation). The major challenge was exactly what criteria would we apply? Would our picks simply be the cheapest places in the U.S. (or the world)? Should we add other selection criteria like culture, crime rates, etc.? In the end we tried to think about what the average Topretirements visitor would be interested in. Since our visitors are a very discriminating group, we decided to use these selection factors:

- Affordability. Median home price in the community should be at least 15% less than the U.S. average of $174,100 (2nd quarter 2009, National Association of Realtors).
- Low tax burden. Only the 25 states with the lowest tax burden (per the Tax Foundation) were considered
- High culture. We weren’t going to pick just any cow town - our selections have all earned a “high” culture rating (110 or above in the system used on our review pages).

The other big challenge was how were we going to select the most affordable candidates from the 450 retirement towns profiled at Topretirements. Doing a manual sort would be quite a task. But relying exclusively on a computer to do the work could end up with some of the same strange results we made fun of in our “Whackiest List” article. Obvious solution: We used our free Retirement Ranger selection tool as the first pass, then made a careful review of the results to make sure the final selections were indeed “best places to retire”. The Retirement Ranger provided 20 towns that met our criteria. From those we chose the top 10, purely on the basis of lowest median home price in mid 2009. (all 20 selected are listed below).

The Top 10 Affordable (and more) Best Places to Retire from Topretirements (with median selling price of a home):
1. Fort Myers, FL $84,000
2. St. Petersburg, FL $120,000
3. Phoenix, AZ $132,000
4. Corpus Christi TX $133,000
5. Tampa FL $140,000
6. Aiken SC $140,000
7. Clearwater FL $142,000
8. Morgantown WV $142,000
9. Las Vegas, NV $142,000
10. Knoxville TN $145,000

These are the remaining 10 making the cut for “Most Affordable (and More)”:
Mesa AZ $145,000
Sioux Falls SD $146,000
Myrtle Beach SC $147,000
Pensacola FL $148,000
DallasFort Worth TX $150,000
Branson MO $150,000
Tallahassee FL $150,000
San Antonio TX $153,000
Clemson SC $155,000
Columbia MO $159,000

Comments about the 22 “Most Affordable” Towns on this list
Topretirements feels really good about the towns making this list. All are relative bargains compared to many other best places to retire. All are interesting places to retire where there is plenty of culture and where there are nice neighborhoods to live in. That said, some people will find places on the list that are more or less appealing than others. The point is, if you are looking for an affordable place to retire that is also an interesting place to live, this list is a good place to start.

Real estate prices have fallen tremendously in the last 2 years. In much of the country they are at 2003 levels, in some depressed parts of the midwest, they go even farther back. Here is what Karl Case, a professor at Wellesley College and co-founder of the Case-Shiller real estate price index had to say about current conditions in the New York Times: “there are…dangers…(but) housing is as affordable as its been in 20 years….I think we’ve seen the bottom”.

One of the most interesting outcomes of this list is that the affordable regions have shifted. Until this year the interior states tended to be offer the biggest bargains in real estate. With the collapse of prices in markets like South Florida, Nevada, and California, this is not nearly as absolute the case as it was a few years ago.

Notes About the Selection Criteria
1. Thanks to our current recession, real estate prices, the major component of affordability, are utterly chaotic in a big portion of the U.S. Using recent data is extremely important because in certain markets the average selling price in mid 2009 is one half (much of south Florida and Nevada) to one fourth (Ft. Myers) what it was in 2006. The market is so volatile that using the same criteria in 2008 would have produced a very different list - chances are the 2010 list will be different yet.
2. Related to the above, foreclosures and short sales are distorting prices in certain markets. The median sales price in Las Vegas might be $142,000, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can buy into the average 55+ community for that little.
3. We used figures from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) whenever possible to determine housing prices in mid 2009. Smaller towns, however, are not included in that data. In those cases we used a combination of data from Zillow.com and City-Data.com. As a result the sales price comparisons are approximate and should not be taken as absolutes.
4. Taxes are not that important an consideration for most retirees, at least compared to proximity to family, climate, and housing costs. That’s because income and sales taxes are relatively insignificant unless income and spending are high. Property taxes, which are a bit harder to identify, have their greatest impact on people who continue to live in expensive homes. Bottom line about taxes: Consider including towns in higher tax burden states to broaden your search when using the Retirement Ranger.
5. Prices in active adult and 55+ communities are not quite as impacted by the housing meltdown as for homes in general communities. So if you move to a 55+ community your new home might not be quite as affordable as for the general homes in that community.

For further reference:
Most Tax-Friendly Places to Retire
25 Best Places to Retire

Who Puts Out the Wackiest Best Places to Retire List?

Readers love best places to retire (or live) lists. Publishers are crazy about them because… (read first sentence again). But good grief, is there is no end to zany lists?

Consider three such lists put out recently. First one from U.S. News, another in a long string of “best places to live” from this magazine. Their “Best Affordable Places to Retire” list has some very odd choices, at least in our opinion. Consider the list:
– Ann Arbor, Michigan
— Asheville, North Carolina
— Aurora, Colorado
— Columbia, South Carolina
— Columbus, Ohio
— Eugene, Oregon
— Fort Worth, Texas
— Jacksonville, Florida
— Kansas City, Missouri
— Tucson, Arizona

Some of these cities (and that’s interesting in and of itself, almost all of these choices are fairly large cities) are great places to retire, no doubt. Asheville is everyone’s favorite retirement town. Ann Arbor, Eugene and Tucson are top places to retire. But some of these cities are not particularly affordable places to live. The average sale price of a home in Asheville this summer was close to $250,000, well above the national median of $174,000. Likewise at $202,000, Eugene’s median home sales price is higher than the national median. Prices in Tucson are at the national median, while the the other cities on this list are well below it. The biggest bargains, at least as far as home prices go, are Columbia ($137k, Columbus ($133k), and Kansas City ($144k). For Colorado prices, Aurora ($170k) is a relative bargain. (Most of these prices are from the National Association of Realtors 2nd quarter 2009 report).

As far as being low tax states, Florida and Texas do not have income taxes. Most of the other towns listed are in states that are somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to tax burden. So we don’t especially get why these towns are so “affordable”. Since the average home price is now below $100,000 in many towns across the country, we think there are better choices out there. Here is the link to the Topretirements list of “Affordable (and More) Best Places to Retire”.

Bottom line: A curious list of places. No smaller towns, a few cities that are on the expensive side, and many choices that are middle of the pack in terms of being interesting places to live.

List #2 is from the Today Show and real estate expert Barbara Corcoran. To be fair, it’s not really a retirement oriented list; instead it is her picks on which real estate markets represent the biggest upside potential for a general audience. Her list:
1. Sarasota, Florida
2. San Francisco, California
3. Lansing, Michigan
4. Marietta, Georgia
5. Grand Rapids, Michigan
6. St. Petersburg, Florida
7. Naperville, Illinois
8. Trenton, New Jersey
9. St. Louis, Missouri
10. Saginaw, Michigan

If you listen to the broadcast you will better understand why Ms. Corcoran selected these cities - there is a good reason for each. We love Sarasota and St. Petersburg from a retirement standpoint - they are 2 of the most interesting towns in Florida and real bargains right now. Most of the other cities selected might be good investments for working folks, but we can think of a lot more places we would rather retire. The 3 choices for Michigan are all interesting towns, but that seems like a lot of picks for one state that has had its share of troubles. We hope these markets do appreciate because Michigan could use all the help it could get, but don’t think we would move there to retire. Naperville, San Francisco, and Trenton are all in high tax states, something not in their favor. San Francisco is lovely but one of the most expensive places to live in the USA.

Bottom Line: Interesting list for real estate investors or speculators, not particularly relevant to retirees.

Finally, “America’s Recession Proof Cities for Retirement” from Forbes.

Their list includes many of the same cities on the first 2 lists including St. Louis, Tampa, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft.Worth, and Kansas City. The thing that strikes us as the oddest about this list is the subject - do/should retirees really care about recession as a selection criterion? Seems like a lot of other factors ought to be more important - like climate, taxes, quality of life, recreation, culture, etc.

Bottom line: A really odd selection criterion, and therefore some strange choices.

For further reference:
Topretirements has a page which lists the mainstream best places to retire lists, including our own. On that note, look for our new 2010 best places to retire list coming out in the next few weeks. Preview: there are a lot of new towns making the list!

Jennie Phipps also poked fun at the U.S. News “Best Affordable” list in her “Best Places to Retire, at Least for a Computer” article.

What do you think?
Have you uncovered any other strange best places to retire lists? Or do you disagree with our conclusions? Let us know in the Comments section below.

Missing in Florida: Retirement Mojo

The Sunshine State just had its first population loss since 1946, according to research from the University of Florida. The State lost 58,000 residents in the year ending March, 2009, the first such loss since military personnel left the State when WWII ended.

This decline is sobering to Florida, a state used to nothing but unending growth. The experts are quick to provide a multitude of reasons for this change, leading the casual observer to think Florida might have lost its (retirement) mojo. The current recession and attendant housing crisis is the most important reason for the decline. Construction is hugely important in this state, yet there is so little of that work that people are leaving the state to find jobs. Meanwhile the free fall in housing prices brought on by foreclosures, bankruptcies, and short sales has brought panic into the market; people are losing their homes and others are afraid to buy and see prices go down further. The state has prided itself on being a low-tax state, which is now producing its own problems. State and local budgets are being cut drastically, helping to fuel the recession and discourage families from moving here. Lastly, the hurricanes of a few years ago have led to dramatic increases in homeowner insurance rates, adding greatly to the cost of living here.

According to Stan Smith, Director of UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research, the decline is spread across Florida. Counties in South Florida like Broward, Lee, and Palm Beach Counties all had population losses. In central Florida some counties increased their populations. Those include Alachua County (home to Gainesville and the University of Florida) and Lake County (home to The Villages). According to Smith the population decline “… reflects a very abrupt change from three or four years ago, when Florida was experiencing some of its largest population increases ever”. Since the 1970’s the State experienced net population growth of 10 million per decade; Smith thinks those days are over.

Florida as a retirement destination
To some extent Florida’s population decline is confined more to the working population rather than the retired folks. Although the “halfback” phenomenon is at work (where people retire to Florida only to later move halfway back to the Carolinas), that is probably confined to a small number of people. The question is whether people will stop moving to Florida for their retirement in the years to come. Here are some pros and cons as to what will happen:

Pros for Florida as retirement destination
- Only an Ice Age could take Florida’s winter warmth away from it, and hopefully that’s a few thousand years from now. The Sunshine State is the warmest place in the Continental U.S., so anyone looking for warm winters will still choose Florida over just about anywhere else
- The housing crisis has so distorted the market that Florida real estate is a relative bargain again, after a few years of being overpriced. The Florida Association of Realtors reports that the median price of a FL condo in August was $107,500, down 46 percent from its 2007 level
- Florida is a tax friendly state. Full time residents can Homestead their homes if they are used as a primary residence, which means their taxes can’t go up more than the cost of living. Florida has no income tax or taxes on intangibles
- No state can match the number of active adult and 55+ communities that are already built and looking for residents

Cons against Florida’s retirement importance
- Florida’s negative publicity about population losses, housing crisis, recession, and tax revenue woes are not helping. Some people will think twice about moving into that negative environment
- Many baby boomers have a negative image of Florida (congestion, population age, conservative makeup, untrammeled growth unraveling)
- The housing market is so bad in parts of the State that people are nervous about moving there
- The State’s budget cuts will make people fearful that vital services will not be available
- Most importantly, retirees have so many more choices than they did 20 or even 10 years ago. The Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, etc. have marketing budgets to attract retirees. Some of their tax structures are friendly for baby boomer retirees. There are plenty of brand new 55+ communities to choose from with great amenities available at attractive prices.

Bottom Line
Florida used to own the retirement market. Today it is losing share and doing nothing against a host of eager competitors.

For Reference:
Newsweek article about Florida population losses
Sunshine Harder to Find in Florida

The Best Retirement Places for Singles

If you are a single person looking for a best place to retire you will probably employ a few different criteria than those a couple might use.  Many of our Topretirements visitors have asked for more information about best places for singles to retire - this article is our attempt to help.

The most common, and certainly understandable, fear that single people have about retirement is that they will wind up in a community where most of the people are paired off. A place where singles are at best ignored, at worst discriminated against.  Fortunately with some careful planning and research you can find a retirement town or active adult community where single people are included and feel completely integrated in that lifestyle.

On the other hand there is a common opinion that single people have the easiest time finding their best retirement community. That’s because, unlike a couple, they don’t have to compromise. As a single person you get to pick the retirement lifestyle, kinds of activities, and the types of people you want to pursue.

In researching this article we found a few experts willing to dispense advice on the best singles retirement towns or communities.  They might or might not be right about their recommendations, but at Topretirements we are a bit skeptical. Our view is that there are many best places for singles - but rather than focus on specific towns or 55+ communities, it might be better to make your selection following certain principles.  Hence the recommendations below:

1. In general, bigger is better for singles. Choosing too small of a community reduces the potential pool for both friends and dates.  Smaller communities tend to have a more fixed social order, so they tend be harder to crack into  than larger ones. That means that 55+ communities like The Villages, Fair Hope, Laguna Woods, and Sun City could be good choices.

2.  Consider carefully the choice between  a town and an active adult community. The environment for singles can be quite different in a town vs. a 55+ active adults community. A city or town will probably have more possibilities in terms of things to do and the people you meet than a development.   Even if you are the kind of person who is very interested in the active adult lifestyle, you still might want to consider choosing your town before your 55+ community. By moving in stages you can put down some roots, make friends, and research local 55+ options. Then after you have evaluated the town and you know that you like it there, you can choose your active adult community based on a more informed investigation than you would make by charging in with no local knowledge.

3.  Most of your success as a single person depends on you. We just read an interesting book that pokes many holes in single stereotypes.  “Singled Out: How Singles are Stereotyped, Stigmatized, and Ignored, and Still Live Happily Ever After” by Bella DePaulo, Ph.D will make anyone feel more positive about the benefits of being single. DePaulo debunks a popular myth that single people are lonely in their old age.  In fact, she finds that women who have never married tend to be the happiest people in retirement.  The reason for this appears to be their successful strategies for making and keeping friends.  Women (and men) who seek out activities and volunteer opportunities not only feel fulfilled, they make deep friendships along the way. Those who tend to be the loneliest are those who relied on work or spouses for social engagement, and don’t have deep friendships of their own. Men in particular are not good about forming strong friendships, and that hurts them as single people.

Whatever your previous success at making friends, that doesn’t necessarily have to be your future - if you work at it. One of our friends thought his father would be a lonely old man once his wife died.  His dad had spent years taking care of our friend’s mother, and his dad didn’t seem to have any friends. Much to everyone’s pleasant surprise,  in single life the dad is transformed. Now he  volunteers at the hospital every day, travels, and has made tons of new friends.

4.  Look for retirement towns and 55+ communities where there is a lot to do. This idea applies to both towns and active adult communities. The more activities and institutions there are, the greater your opportunities for making friends.   Before you buy in an active adult community make sure there are activities that can stretch you in new directions, because taking up some new sports or crafts is a good way to make new friends.

5. Look for a 55+  community that has an activity director. We heartily endorse the recommendation to choose a community with an activity director. His or her job is to engage the residents with one another - that will make your entry into the  community that much easier.

6.  College towns and cities can be ideal for singles. Both types of towns have plenty to do, which means that you can be out meeting people through many different activities - from taking adult education classes to volunteering to attending concerts. Small cities like Sarasota or Austin or Boulder have nice downtowns and there is always something to do.

7. Stay away from the suburbs. You might live in the suburbs now. If you have a big web of friends, maybe you should stay. But cracking the suburban social scene as a new, single resident is one of the harder things to pull off.

8.  Carefully evaluate the singles scene in any active adult community - before you buy. A really good idea is to rent before you buy. Thanks to our current housing bust it is usually very easy to find a nice rental for a week, month, or season.  Attend the various club meetings and take part in some sports or other activities. Are there other singles, or do the couples actively invite single people to participate? Award extra points if there is an active singles club. Many communities have special package deals that let you vacation their at below market rates (and even if not announced, it is worth trying to negotiate your own package). Even before you go to a place, check out Discussion Forums on this and other sites about specific communities for hints about the single life in those communities.

9. Think about moving with your friends. If you already have a solid group of close friends, think about retiring together. That could be as simple as moving to the same community or town, or it could even be shared housing.  Some architects report that designing homes meant to be shared is a growing business.  In addition to instant friends, being able to share resources as you get older is a real attraction.

What do you think? Do you already live in a community that you know is great for singles? Or one you know is not?  Share your thoughts in the Comments section below, or in our Forum.

For Further Reference:
Excellent discussion about being single in retirement at City-Data

Retirement Ranger: “Hi Yo Silver-Hairs Away!”

There’s a new retirement calculator in town, and this one is proud to be wearing a brown hat. The Retirement Ranger’s motto says it all: “Hi Yo, silver-hairs, away!” (Thanks to OldNassau for that great motto).

Retirement Ranger is a Free new interactive calculator that delivers an instant, personalized list of best places to retire. Answer 11 questions and you will be emailed an instant, free report. Use your Topretirements user name and password to sign up, or create a new one if you aren’t already registered. You can retake the quiz as often as you would like - it’s free and there is no obligation.

We developed this new quiz as a quick and fun way to tap the huge amounts of data that you and our editors have accumulated in our over 400 city and town reviews.  For example, each Topretirements town has data for Jan. temperature, cost of living, housing prices, population, cultural index, type of environment (college town, mountains, lake, coastal, desert, small town, etc.), and region.  By selecting the criteria that are most important to you, the quiz uses the database to come up with your personalized list of towns and 55+ communities in or near those towns.  There is even an option to send an email to friends to tell them about Retirement Ranger.

A word of caution.  Please resist the temptation to get overly specific the first time you take it.  With only 400+ best places to retire, the more specific you get the higher the chances that will will get no or very few choices. So just pick 1 or 2 very important criteria the first time (select “No Preference” for the rest). Then, if you see too many choices, retake the quiz with fewer “No Preferences”.

To take the quiz you will need a user name and password. If you haven’t already created a user name at Topretirements, just make one up. If you don’t remember your old user name and password, go to our Help page to have them sent to you.  If you wish to create a new user name and password, you must have a different email address that what you originally signed up with.

For more information and tips about the quiz, check out “About this Quiz“.