Resort Areas a Hit on 2018’s List of Top Northeastern Retirement Towns

I find it ironically "funny" ( true word "strange") that characteristics like, "offers cultural areas", or "rolling hills" and all such things are presented as pull-points for a given area.....when for 90+% of retirement folks, the real question needed to be asked is---> "where can I settle into for a nice life, and still AFFORD to live?". I am only a few years shy of total retirement, have been working as an independent consultant in a business that has roller-coaster income.....and have moved from NYS (where home taxes are $10,000 /yr), to a small town in SC near Myrtle Beach, where the weather is fine, and the home taxation is $400-$600/yr....less than what I paid per month ($850). This one element alone, totally overshadows all these other nebulous aspects ("serene rolling hills", a "vital downtown scene", etc)....... when you simply can't even think of living there without going broke. A lot of these reviews are simply unrealistic. Retire in Finger Lakes Region of NY?.....yes, a beautiful Fall, but 6 months of brutal winters and taxation that won't allow you to eat. Get real.

We live 15 minutes from Bethlehem & my husband teaches at Lehigh.

While your comment "Bethlehem Steel was formerly here, whose departure the city is struggling to overcome. " may be true regarding employment, you failed to mention that the city has revitalized the site and it is now home to STEEL STACKS, a venue for concerts , craft shows, Octoberfest, 1 of the nations biggest music festivals, Musikfest and many other events. The site of those steel stacks bathed in rainbow light as a backdrop to a Steely Dan or Chicago outdoor concert is priceless. Downtown Bethlehem also has a thriving downtown & is known as the Christmas City, drawing thousands of holiday visitors for tours.

Editor's note: Thanks Pat for this input. We added it to our review of Bethlehem. Always great to get input from people who know the area!

I found the blogs - "I find it ironically “funny” by Wil Ferch.It seems Governments, people caught up in the "but it has a million dollar view", and anyone else excited on how beautiful the wrapping is will probably be disappointed once the present is opened. How many views can you enjoy, how many days at the beach $$, traffic) can you have, how many times can you eat out $$, etc., etc. Do you really feel like hiking again? (black flies, snakes, rain, sore muscles, etc. Is it still fun? Life is first the basics; Affordability, security, good diner now and then (out or in), doctors and hospitals and a dollar left each month.

One advantage of being retired in a place with a cold and snowy winter is that you don’t have to go out into it if you don’t want to. Many aspects of snow are positive, such as watching it silently fall, the beauty of a blanket of it, and the skiing it makes possible. If you don’t like it, or have grown tired of it, then much of the northeast wouldn’t be an appropriate permanent retirement place. If you’re into snowbirding, you can possibly achieve the best of both worlds by having a warmer winter place down south. Or renting one for a few months. Another town worth considering is Keene, NH. It has a very nice downtown adjacent to a state college campus of about 5,000 students. It’s a popular regional center, but without tourist crowds. As northeastern towns go, it’s somewhat less costly, too.

I noticed many of these are college towns and in very pretty spots, both are important to me. I have no desire to leave the Northeast as I do better in the cold than in the heat and love four seasons. I like that this list of the popular spots include both cities and small towns. We me I could adjust to either and any season, but it has to be a college town.

I am not surprised Pittsburgh is #1 I went to college here 50 years ago and have never wanted to be anywhere else - winters really are not bad and the community college is where I spend a good deal of my time (taking classes not teaching) this city does have it all !

Absolutely loved living in Pittsburgh, and would have liked to return upon retirement. Unfortunately, housing prices have really been climbing over the last few years. I don't think the increase in housing prices has been captured by the sites that keep track of median prices. Yes, there are cheaper homes in the Pittsburgh area, but they are older homes in rough neighborhoods that are unlikely to have amenties sought by retirees such as one level living. Real estate taxes are also very high compared to many other states, so the increase in housing prices also means a corresponding increase in taxes. By the way -- am I the only one who has stopped receiving a daily email from TopRetirements? I've sent the Administrator an inquiry, but I miss it!

I agree with Will F. above. I was really surprised by the list. Sure, who wouldn’t love to retire in Boston, but the cost is truly astronomical. A small condo in the city will cost about 1 cool million, not to meantion sky high real estate taxes and no parking. Not a realistic list at all. Pittsburgh? No, thanks. Middlebury, Vt. Is lovely in the fall, but it is impossible to get in and out of in the winter, with icy mountain roads leading in and out of the town, and very little to do. I have lived in the northeast most of my life, and virtually nobody I lnow would come up with this list at all.

My wife and I are interested in the idea of retiring to a town with a college or that is a resort . Our friends who have done it really like it, and one good bonus is that family members and grandchildren love to visit

I was interested to see State College on the list, as just last winter in Hilton Head I met a couple who told me they retired to State College and neither one was even from the area. The explained one of their children went to school there and they visited often during those four years and loved it-even in the winter. They were spending a couple fo weeks south for a break, but spoke highly of State College and even though this was in February, they were sounding like they were excited to get back.

I lived in New York my entire life enjoying the beautiful leaves in the fall and the first snowflakes of winter. Loved the “rolling hills” of the Hudson Valley and the easy access to NYC by Metro North. What wasn’t so pleasant was the taxes on a modest house ($17,000 per year) and the miserable winters with freezing rain snow and black ice. Utility costs through the roof with promises of continued rate hikes as Entergy closes the Indian Point plant in the next few years.

After much searching I landed in the hill country of central Texas. Cost of living is about half of what we spent in NY. Health care is great, a University right in town, an active play house great restaurants, wineries and so much more.

My advice for those still searching, keep an open mind. Never had Texas on my radar but now I hope to stay for a long while!

Last Dec. we retired and moved (from Tennessee) to just outside of Portland ME. We LOVE it!! Not only is Portland a vital spot but ALL of southern Maine has TONS of things to do! There are groups for every craft and hobby and a festival in some town every weekend. Our town has a college campus and bus service to downtown. We have everything we need within 2 miles and can walk to most of that. Expenses are a little higher but we are careful. We have also met a lot of people willing to share and/or trade.

Yes, there is snow. We moved in 2 Dec. 2017. The next week it snowed and kept snowing - we loved it. Clyde (above) was right about "down time." We lived in Las Vegas for 9-1/2 yrs - where it rarely even rains. There was never "down time" where things are closed and you have an excuse to just stay home to nap, read, cook, do things YOU want to do for yourself. That said, Mainers know how to plow and we never felt trapped in the house. It was easy to get out and about any time. I DO recommend working with a good Realtor. One woman I met said she was selling her house (of 3 yrs) because she couldn't get the interior temp. up past 62 degrees. We were toasty and have oil, propane and electric heat to chose from.

We moved from outside of Atlanta, GA to a small town in southern Maine 3 years ago. Love that we're close enough to the ocean to walk the beach or the Eastern Trail. We're enjoying the small town feel.

We moved Fionna's and Maimi comments about Pittsburgh to a different blog where Pittsburgh is also being discussed:
10 Best of the Best Places to Retire-2019
https://www.topretirements.com/blog/great-towns/10-best-of-the-best-places-to-retire.html/#comment-310115

The last few comments concerning living in Texas were moved to a different blog for more discussion:

20 Most Popular Places to Retire: Arizona Rules the Southwest:
https://www.topretirements.com/blog/great-towns/20-most-popular-places-to-the-retire-arizona-rules-the-southwest.html/

Would love to hear comments on living in any of these locations for the single adult. I am a widow that lives in Florida because of cost in NY - Long Island to be exact - was insane. I downsized twice but still had trouble affording the 1 bedroom condo (660 square feet) I finally wound up with. The maintenance not including heat, electric, TV, etc was $450/month and the taxes were $9000/yr!!! This was in a middle class neighborhood.. would love to be closer to my kids in NJ or PA but on a single retirement income it’s difficult. Please know being a widow/widower can happen to anyone at a moments notice....my husband died in six week of pancreatic cancer at 62 leaving me a widow at 54. When I was forced to retire it was very hard on one income...

I’m from Ct but been living in La tge last 20 yrs . I would love to retire to the northeast but I just don’t understand how some of these towns make the list . Property taxes are outrageous !!!!! I would love to go to Ithaca or Vermont or NH or even Maine I don’t understand ???? I look at real estate and house taxes are easily $4000 a yr