10 Best Places to Retire for Active Boomers
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
May 21, 2019 — Possibly you are one of those baby boomers who can’t wait to retire and do all the things that your job wouldn’t let you do. If so, here is our list of 10 great places to retire where you can go, go, go from dawn to sunset, and maybe not even quit then!
By active we mean all kinds of things, not just sports. Your best retirement town might be in the mountains, where hiking and skiing is available in your backyard. It might be at the beach, where you can swim, sail, fish, or surf. Or maybe a vibrant community where you can catch a concert or play, get dealt into a bridge game, or find volunteer work – just about any day of the week. We gave extra points on this list for towns and cities that are walkable and have good biking, since we don’t consider riding around in our car active living. One thing is certain, it staying busy is your thing, there is a retirement town where you can be very happy.
Here is our 2019 list of the best places for an active retirement. We concentrated more on mid-sized towns and cities since just about every big city offers opportunities to stay active.
Madison, WI. The city boasts a 30-mile web of paved trails that are lit, snowplowed, and biked year-round. Beautiful lakes surround this walkable town. The University of Wisconsin and all its attractions. You can be busy all year round in Madison, a great place to retire.
Comments on "10 Best Places to Retire for Active Boomers"
Jana Harrison says:
I love this list, but find most of the active cities are in 4 season (winter) cities! Tucson and Encinitas are the only two cities that appeal to most retirees looking for a warmer climate. Just an observation.
Matt McGuinness says:
Great list! We could definitely be happy in 1 of these 10 places, and have a number of them on our own consideration list.
I agree with Jana comment about winter climates, with an exception. I care very little about winter temps, or even snow - but the number of days of sunshine per year means a LOT to me. I love hiking the western national parks in January (Grand Canyon, Sedona area, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Yosemite) because we get sunny blue skies to make the 40’s temps and snow a positive, not a negative. Where I grew up (Detroit) we had months of “gray overcast” in the winter, which I really disliked, hence my move to So Cal after college grad and for the last 38 years!
Denver (& Co Springs I assume) has roughly the same # of sunny days annually as Los Angeles. Sunshine stats by city are easily available, fortunately! I’ve been to 6 of the 10 cities listed (most of them multiple visits, including in winter). SLC & Tucson seem particularly appealing to us as at the moment. Other places on our short list: Sedona, AZ, Flagstaff, AZ , St George, UT and Coeur D’Alene, ID.
Encinitas is beautiful and we love living at the ocean, but it shares 3 flaws with our current slice of paradise of 20 years up the coast in Laguna Beach, CA: 18 million people in So Cal means solitude is hard to find locally; SALT taxes up the wazoo and way > $10,000 cap, even w/ Prop 13; and a government that increasingly seems to dislike ordinary taxpayers.
20 years ago this was a sleepy tourist beach town and we never heard emergency vehicle sirens. Now PCH is bumper-to-bumper traffic on weekends year ‘round, and sirens all the time. The mountains might be a nice change of pace for the next 30 years, as long as we can count on lots of sunshine...and moderate politicians & taxes!
I’ve been to
Cindy says:
Matt it looks like you are doing your homework. We are originally from the East Coast but over the years have lived in three different areas of CA. For the last 18 or so years we've been up here in Canada just outside Toronto. Now as we are looking to retire we have a long checklist of things we hope to find at a reasonable cost of living. The primary one is getting away from winter. Sunny days as you mentioned are top of list. And for us - no snow. The south is way too hot in the summer (for me) and all the storms now going through down there and the middle of the country are likely to only increase. I think, once you have lived in California any other place can never compare to that amazing weather - especially if the ocean is a driveable distance. I particularly love the northern coast Big Sur area. Carmel / Monterey would be amazing but totally out of our budget. After researching so many different areas I keep coming back to it. Now trying to learn more about the tax situation out there. Perhaps some towns a bit inland would have a lower cost of living? I will look up SALT taxes as I don't know what they are. Any other California tax info for retirees you could pass on I would appreciate. Also costs of health care out there if you happen know. Probably similar to other states? The other locations you are looking at seem appealing too. Good luck with your ongoing research and please keep posting your thoughts on these areas...
Cindy
Bubbajog says:
Many retirement age middle class folks are leaving Southern California for the Boise-Meridian Idaho area with its much more agreeable cost of living.
says:
Right on with Tucson.
Just moved here after trying a couple of locales. Lived in montana and oregon and california during our working years.
But this place works for retirement like other. There are several great communities to check out.
Saddlebrooke, north of Oro valley is the one we found.
It is a large one with so many activities and for active and inactive types. Largest bicycle club in state, hiking clubs, dancing, several golf course. One of the The Preserve is one of the most scenic and interesting course in Southern Arizona.
There are some top notch competitive athletic teams that compete on the National level, like master swimming. Easy to stay active.
Restaurants and Performing Arts center for concerts and live performances when you need to take a little break from all the activities.
Views and vegetation are spectacular. At base of Catalina Mountains, it is a few degrees cooler than tucson and significantly cooler than anything in the Phoenox Valley.
Admin says:
Paul asked why we don't show Google maps on our City review pages anymore. It is a good question, and this is our response:
----
Thanks for asking. WIthout any notice Google started charging us an exorbitant fee for displaying their maps so we had to take them down. Disappointing, we thought they were a great feature. Are looking for a lower cost alternative.
thanks again
Mary11 says:
Yes you can live the dream in CA....SALT taxes arent really a concern if you are lower income, less than $25,000/yr.
We moved from San Diego to Riverside County where homes are more affordable and the savings will allow us to travel or for medical expenses we might have in the future. And yes we were thinking of leaving the state but came to the conclusion that it wouldn't benefit us in the long run since we want to stay on the west coast.....
Pauline says:
One of the many great things about having lots of children, nieces, and nephews is that as they move onward and spread out across the country we have been invited to many places for graduations, weddings and fun events. Recently we have been to Traverse City and Colorado Springs, and have enjoyed them for several different reasons. We are lucky in that we both enjoy traveling and have rented for six months in different cities during the summer to get out of the southern heat and visit our children. Never had Michigan on our radar but now we do, and Traverse City seemed like be a fun place and a lot to do, glad to see it on your list! We are going back to do more exploring.
says:
We moved the last couple of comments concerning living in The Villages to a different Blog for more discussion on this popular topic:
Is The Villages Right for Your Retirement: Facts and Opinions
Ron says:
South Carolina is great if you like sunny days hot summers and moderate winters! Bluffing is a great area!