Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
April 2, 2024 -- Following up on last week's very successful article, "Brian Struggles to Find His Best Place to Retire", we've created a similar scenario for a couple having a dilemma choosing a retirement location in the western half of the country. First we'll lay out a hypothetical retirement scenario using preferences common to many of our Members and visitors, and then ask you to choose which solution you would pick. We are hoping for lots of Comments too.
Bill and Carol Head West for Retirement
Our virtual couple, Bill and Carol, have lived and worked in California most of their adult lives. They like the sunny weather and enjoy the opportunity for endless recreational opportunities, from the beach to the mountains. They don't like the traffic and high prices for everything. Their children are grown and live in different parts of the country. Although they realize that being near all of them is not going to be possible, they are willing to travel to visit them and the grandchildren. They are not so sure about living in an active or 55+ community, but would be willing to if the situation looked right. Both of them are tired of rattling around in a house that is too big for two people, with the drawbacks of an upstairs MBR and significant maintenance and landscaping needs.
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Published on April 1, 2024
Comments 12
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
March 24, 2024 -- We recently had a request from longtime Member Brian, who is struggling to find his right place to retire. He misses our Retirement Ranger, which was an unfortunate casualty of last year's site improvements. The Ranger was replaced by the Community Explorer, which helps Members narrow down the community search.
Brian's search for his best place to retire
"I’m getting close to retirement, and here’s my obstacle. Grew up in East Haven, CT, and I love New England and seasons. Lived in New Hampshire 1995 on Lake Winnipesaukee. Spent 3 yrs between Venice and Sarasota, FL, and loved it. Except for May through Sept, but liked being near Tampa for sports.
Lived in Baton Rouge 20 yrs , it’s cheap but not much to do. Now have spent 3 yrs. in Bluffton next to Hilton Head, SC. Great climate , clean, but nothing to do as I don’t golf or boat.
I need to leave! I can’t afford New England, but I like seasons with some snow. I like mountains over beaches. Property taxes for the Northeast are a killer even though Portland ,Maine and even the Poconos seem to be okay .
I was told to checkout Asheville or Boone , NC.
I need some insight and advice.
My son says come back to Louisiana.
My brother says go back to Venice.
On a bright side I built my home for 181k 5 yrs ago and it would sell for 400k within 5 days, most of that as equity."
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Published on March 23, 2024
Comments 35
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
March 21, 2024 -- Four of Florida’s interior Metros are among the five fastest growth in the country.(#3 is Myrtle Beach, SC). The data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s population growth figures from 2022- 2023. We speculate that much of the reason for the growth is coming the Metro's more affordable home prices and better insurance environment. The South in general is experiencing the most rapid numerical growth in the country.
The top 5 fastest growing Metros in the country
The Villages/Wildwood - The Villages, the giant active adult community with well over 120,000 residents, extends over 3 counties south of Ocala, and grew 4.7% in the year. When it comes to real estate prices, the popularity of The Villages makes it an outlier. With a Zillow Home Value Index of $407,000, it is the most expensive Metro to make the top 5.
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Published on March 20, 2024
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
March 3, 2024 – We periodically update the facts and figures in our exhaustive list of over 65 mini-retirement guides to U.S. states and popular retirement countries. The Florida mini-guide is the latest to be put up to date. The Sunshine State now has over 21.5 million residents and is…
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Published on March 3, 2024
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
February 12, 2024 -- People looking to retire in a charming European town on a budget have many fine choices beyond the obvious destinations like France, Ireland, and Scotland. They can be terrific places to retire, but countries like Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Italy, and Bulgaria offer affordable rents, much lower cost of living, and sometimes liberal policies about permanent residency. They can also provide an ideal lifestyle for adventurous retirees.
Affordable, stable countries in Europe to retire on a budget
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Published on February 18, 2024
Comments 8
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
January 28, 2024 -- People ask, should I retire in New Mexico? The answer is easy if you are looking for a place to retire that has a varied climate, mountains, deserts, a big city (Albuquerque), small towns, ski resorts, and plenty of wide open spaces. It is also much less crowded than more traditional and popular retirement destinations like Florida, Arizona, and the Carolinas. In this article we will explore the pluses and minuses of a New Mexico retirement, along with some of the best places to retire in the Land of Enchantment.
New Mexico Climate
The State has a climate that many people will find as excellently suited for retirement. For folks who like low humidity, New Mexico is dry with a semi-arid climate. The northern sections experience winter, while the southern realms have warm winters. Generally the altitude is high and even has some mountains over 12,000 feet. The eastern portion of the State is more like the Great Plains. The southern portion borders on El Paso, TX, and Cuidad Juarez, Mexico.
New Mexico Taxes in Retirement
Tax Burden: At 10.2% the total tax burden in New Mexico is the 25th lowest of all the states (TaxFoundation.org).
Marginal Income Tax Rates: The New Mexico income tax has marginal rates from 1.7% to 5.9%.
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Published on January 28, 2024
Comments 5
Category: Active adult communities
January 18, 2024 — It is hard to imagine anything better than finding a great lake town for retirement. Waking up to the sound of lapping waves, taking a dip or a boat ride out to drop a few lines, or looking at the sunset mirrored on the lake - the beauty and lifestyle can be hard to beat. In this article we will profile 11 great lake towns for retirement, along with some outstanding active communities in or near those towns.
11 Great Lake Towns for retirement
Almost every part of the country has some wonderful lakes of every size and description. Some are in major cities like Chicago and Madison WI, while others are near tiny little towns. Many active adult and 55+ communities have taken advantage of these lakes to offer terrific opportunities for lakeside living. We used our new Community Explorer to find the lakeside communities in this article. As an example, looking at just Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee, we came up with 138 communities that are either on or near a lake.
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Published on January 17, 2024
Comments 4
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
October 30, 2023 — Spain and or Portugal retirement is very popular, as these Iberian countries are for tourism as well. Americans and Europeans are checking out these two countries, not only as great places for a retirement trip, but for where to retire too. Your editor recently spent 2 happy weeks touring some of the best tourist spots on the Iberian Peninsula, the home of Spain and Portugal. Our hope is that this experience might help you plan a potential trip to the region. And, it might help you learn what it might be like to retire in one of these amazing countries.
Portugal Retirement Trip
This beautiful, dry country has a long western coastline on the Atlantic Ocean that in the south curves eastward past Gibraltar to the Mediterranean. Lisbon, on the coast, is the capital and largest city. Portugal's cost of living is one of the lowest in Europe (65th highest in the world - the U.S. is 12th), the country is safe, and the food and wine are excellent. The country has a complicated history - Celts, Phoenicians, Roman, Visigoths, and the Moors (Arabs) all had their day, and then its eventual retaking by the Crusaders. Towns and buildings reflect that heritage within their walled cities, Roman ruins, and Christian cathedrals, that were often Muslim mosques for a time.
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Published on October 30, 2023
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
January 18, 2023 -- Is Cape Cod a good place to retire? Yes, it is definitely one of the most popular places to retire on the East Coast. Almost a quarter of million people live year round on Cape Cod, and about a fourth of those are people over 65. A short visit will quickly show a multitude of reasons why this sandy hook on the Massachusett coast attracts so many retirees. It is a magical place - every time I go there it seems like the world slows down, gets sunnier, and is more peaceful.
My friend Jeff's retirement in Dennis, Mass. is a fairly typical story. He has known for a long time that Cape Cod is a good place to retire. His family had owned a cottage here for over 60 years, so when it came time to retire from his busy job, it was an easy decision to do an extensive renovation of their Cape Cod home in Dennis, and sell the main home near Springfield, MA. He and his wife could not be happier with the decision. They are a short walk to a sandy beach on the Bay, and can easily drive to freshwater ponds for refreshing swimming. Golf is terrific here, with courses like The Captains Table, Dennis Pines, Dennis Highlands, Cranberry Valley, and many others. Some courses are municipal, some public, and there are exclusive private golf clubs too. Fishing, boating, antiquing, are all popular activities on Cape Cod.
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Published on September 17, 2023
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
August 3, 2023 — We get kind of a sick pleasure in reading the entertaining best places to retire that many websites, in pursuit of clicks and ad dollars, enjoy publishing. One that fits that bill just emerged from Bankrate.com, a website that sells credit cards…
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Published on August 2, 2023
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