Category: General Retirement Issues
December 29, 2014 -- It's always fun to see which of our Blog articles grab the attention of our dear Members and Visitors. Sometimes it is the unexpected ones that generate the most comments and/or readership, while usually any article that includes "Best Place to Retire" in the title does pretty well. Here is our annual review of the best of what we've come up with for 2014.
But first the stats
Thanks to our members, Topretirements had its highest readership ever in 2014. Over the last 12 months we had over 1.5 million unique visitors and 7 million page views. We can't prove it, but we are pretty sure that no other website in the retirement sphere gets this kind of traffic or engagement. This site wouldn't exist without the valued contributions of so many people who share their experiences and expertise - thank you! We also greatly appreciate our loyal advertisers, many of which have been with us for 5 or more years, who make all of this possible.
Most Read Articles of 2014
The first few articles are no strangers to this list. We write annual editions of the "Worst (and Best) States to Retire in" and these are always list toppers. Likewise our annual list of the "Most Popular Active Communities" attracts a lot of attention. But many others on our Top 10 were one -offs - and we are so glad you liked them! Interestingly enough, more than half of the most read articles in 2014 were originally
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Published on December 29, 2014
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Category: General Retirement Issues
September 23, 2014 -- We recently had a suggestion from Charlene, who wrote that she "...would love to see some comments about people who have retired in place, why they made that decision, and how they are handling retirement without moving". We think that is a great suggestion, so this article is part 3 of a series on that subject. Part 1 profiled "The Snowbirding Innkeepers", while Part 2 took a look at the busy lives of a "Jane and Jack: Staying in Place and Very Busy".
Rather than focus on just a few people, this article takes a different
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Published on September 23, 2014
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Category: General Retirement Issues
September 12, 2014 -- Our recent article about downsizing and hitting the road sparked a side discussion on pets and pet friendly communities. Since several members have asked us to provide more on that topic, we have created this post for everyone to wag their tails on the subject. Please remember to be civil - people have strong opinions on the subject, so let's keep it friendly! Also, if you are looking for a pet-friendly active adult or 55+ community, you can select that as an Amenity in our Advanced Search feature.
We have re-posted the comments from the "Downsizing" article here
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Published on September 12, 2014
Comments 79
Category: General Retirement Issues
March 3 -- This winter has been so beastly in the midwest and northeast that it has tipped many folks into seriously considering becoming snowbirds. A study from Trulia confirmed that, finding that for every temperature drop of 10 degrees there is a 4.4% increase in searches for homes in warm winter climes. This article will continue our series on the snowbird life in retirement, with the emphasis on more considerations you should keep in mind if you are thinking about heading south for the winter (see end
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Published on March 3, 2014
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Category: General Retirement Issues
December 24, 2013 -- It's always fun to see which of our Blog articles find the most resonance with our dear Members and Visitors. Sometimes it is the unexpected ones that generate the most comments and/or readership, while usually any article that includes "Best Place to Retire" in the title usually does pretty well. Here is our annual review of the best of what we've come up with for 2013.
Most Commented Upon
We like to think we've done our job when an article sparks a lot of comments. Your comments are so valuable because they are so real, so different, each with their own kind of truth.
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Published on December 23, 2013
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Category: General Retirement Issues
(Note: This article originally appeared in July of 2011, but was inadvertently deleted. We are now adding it back to the Blog)
This is Part 2 in our series exploring different retirement lifestyles. Part 1 profiled “The Snowbirding Innkeepers“, don’t miss it! If you know a boomer retirement we should learn about use the Contact Us link to tell us about it.
Retired in Connecticut
Jane and Jack are a most interesting couple, retired or not. Although they were both born a few years too early to be official baby boomers, this vibrant pair is young enough at heart to wear out anyone
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Published on July 8, 2013
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Category: General Retirement Issues
June 26, 2013 — We have had an annoying technical glitch for several weeks that caused some people to either get an error message or go to the wrong page when they clicked on our Blog. So rather than cause a lot of frustration, we decided to hold off sending…
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Published on June 26, 2013
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Category: General Retirement Issues
June 4, 2013 -- Thanks to the 41 (and counting) creative members who took the time to provide suggestions for future Topretirements surveys, polls, and articles. Besides giving us solid direction on the areas we should concentrate on to serve you better, you have thought of ideas that we never would have! Note: As the weeks pass since we wrote this summary, we have developed articles on many of these topics. Where we have done that, we have included a link to the article.
Our plan is to write about the the top ideas in the coming weeks, starting with the one we just finished, "12 Steps to Successful Downsizing". Many of these ideas don't lend themselves to online surveys - but they are perfect as vehicles to generate member comments. And since your comments are so interesting, please comment away. If anyone cares to submit quotes about your experiences on any of these topics for inclusion in future articles, feel free to email us! Lastly, on those topics mentioned that
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Published on June 4, 2013
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Category: General Retirement Issues
May 29, 2013 — Jeanne, one of our members, suggested that we do more reader input stories like we had last week on the best places to retire. We have a few ideas for topics to poll on, but would really like to hear yours! Please give us your suggestions…
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Published on May 28, 2013
Comments 60
Category: General Retirement Issues
May 26, 2013 -- We are very big fans of the periodic New York Times supplement on Retirement. Every time it comes out we find at least 5 really interesting and thought-provoking features about different kinds of retirements.
Here's what's in the May 15 Retirement issue:
How They Do It Elsewhere - A look at how and why many other countries do a far better job in their retirement programs. In fact man folks agreed the U.S. gets a C grade, compared to Australia, England, and even Chile.
Making a Move Abroad - And Working There Too - A profile of Patrice Wynne, former bookstore owner who started a Mexican themed fabric and more shop in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
How to Travel the World on a Very Slim Travel Budget - Meri Murphy is usually twice the age of her fellow hostel travelers. Here goal is to travel the world while she's able. And she's doing it on
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Published on May 26, 2013
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