Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
As our faithful readers know well, we are avid admirers of lists of the best and the worst places to retire. The more arcane the list topic, the better: (Best Places to Start Over Again, Best Places You Never Heard of, etc.). Recently we came across a list from money-rates.com of “The 10 Worst States for Retirement”. While the website undoubtedly put some careful research into developing their list, we couldn't disagree more with the results.
Money-Rates.com started off with a reasonable methodology, selecting 4 factors to help screen the list:
Economic (Unemployment, tax burden, cost of living)
Climate (Humans like 68 degrees, so the authors preferred places with the least
more...
Published on November 23, 2010
Comments 9
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
Editors Note: This is part of our series comparing various states as places to retire. Don't miss the first, Florida vs. Arizona Retirement, or the second, Delaware vs. Maryland vs. Virginia vs. New Jersey. There are many more "Dueling" comparisons listed at the end of this article. We welcome ideas for future ones.
Updated April 23, 2021 -- The Carolinas are a red-hot retirement destination; both North and South Carolina are popular with baby boomers for retirement. As great places to retire, both have become as popular as Florida. In this comparison we will evaluate various factors for both states that affect retirement, letting you draw your own conclusions from the facts. As always, reader input is extremely important, so we encourage you to use the Comments section below. (Note: The first version of this article was originally published in 2010 and since then has been updated many times. Because it goes way back to 2010, there are a LOT of comments which are worth reading. The latest comments are at the bottom.)
more...
Published on November 15, 2010
Comments 662
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
Note: We now have Part 2 of this series, which summarizes the many (over 248) comments made to this article. Obviously, we struck a nerve here!
Nov. 9, 2010 -- You might be the kind of person who wants to retire somewhere warm. You’ve identified some states where the climate is a lot better than where you are now, and where outdoor recreation is possible12 months of the year. You’ve also done your research and have chosen a state that that is tax-friendly. Chances are, the states that meet those criteria are in the South. And that probably gives rise to other questions.
Even if you have never spent any significant time in the South, you probably have an image of what life might be like be like there. Without the benefit of experience, however, that image is probably off the mark. In this article we will attempt to answer some questions to help you become better informed: Will the people in your new community be friendly? Will you, a Yankee, fit into the social and cultural ecosystem of your new southern home? Will you be able to contribute
more...
Published on November 9, 2010
Comments 369
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
Maybe it's the chilly fall air, but whatever the reason, new "Best Places to Retire" lists are falling off the trees these days. This article will give you a run-down of some of the "best" we have seen lately.
Smartmoney.com's "The New Best Places to Retire". Smartmoney's reporter asked for and received input from Topretirements on this list, which profiles 9 great places to retire. We like their list because it contains almost as many surprise picks as predictable choices. In the end San Luis Obispo just squeezed out Santa Barbara to make the list as #9, (as we recommended,mostly on the basis of lower cost). Three of the nine towns on their list included the usual suspects:
more...
Published on November 1, 2010
Comments 0
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
October 30, 2010 -- Americans might be justified in being envious of the French, who are taking to the streets to protest the raising of their retirement age from 60 to 62. Here in the states, the Sun Life Unretirement(SM) Index indicates that just as many Americans expect to retire at 70 as do 65. More than half more the working Americans responding to Sun Life's recent survey (52%) expect to work at least three years longer than originally planned. Whereas in previous years the reason for working longer was "to stay mentally engaged", "to earn enough money to live well" is cited just as frequently now.
Confidence continues to fall
At Topretirements we continue to see a steady stream of financial concerns relating to
more...
Published on October 30, 2010
Comments 2
Category: General Retirement Issues
You thought maybe you would be spending a lot of time on the golf course or tennis court once you retired. But you might just be surprised about that, as our faithful correspondent Len discovered after he moved to The Villages, Florida. As he told us recently: "Pickleball has supplanted golf as my primary outdoor activity since I moved to The Villages. It's good exercise and is somewhat addictive!"
Len is not alone - pickleball has caught active adult communities by storm. Many developments are converting tennis courts to
more...
Published on October 26, 2010
Comments 14
Category: Checklists
Updated July, 2023 -- Editor's note: This article was originally written in 2010, but has been updated many times. Don't miss the Member comments at the end - they are really terrific! There is also a helpful checklist you can print out at the end of the article.When falling leaves start to hit the ground in the Northeast and Midwest, snowbirds across those regions start to get itchy. Winter is coming, and their thoughts turn to their homes in warmer climes. Here is our “Leaving for the Winter Checklist”, suggested by Harry. (See our other helpful checklists here)
Mail. There are several ways to handle this important function, none of them perfect. The P.O. will hold your mail for a month. If you will be gone longer than that, you need to find a different solution. You can forward your mail and have it sent to your winter address (our experience with that has not always been perfect, with important mail being returned to sender, addressee unknown). USPS also has a premium forwarding service where you can do a temporary usps address update and they will forward your mail via Priority Mail at a reasonable cost. See USPS for your options. If you don't trust the Post Office the most
more...
Published on October 25, 2010
Comments 45
Category: Active adult communities
Home Owner Associations (HOAs), also called Community Associations or Condominium Associations, have a major image problem. Many people have an instantly negative reaction toward these organizations – usually because they hate the idea of rules or any organization telling them what they can and cannot do in their own homes. People who already live in a community with such an association, however, probably tend to have a neutral opinion of their HOA, with some having a very positive opinion of these association.
So, are Home Owner Associations Friend – or Foe? One thing is certain, Home Owner Associations exist by the thousands across the country – in active adult, 55+ communities , condominium buildings, and most planned developments. They provide order to daily life in these developments, and they
more...
Published on October 21, 2010
Comments 8
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
The answer to this million-dollar question is—it depends. For many, financial decisions often hinge on alternative investments or innovative ways to grow wealth. Recently, we explored options like the beste bitcoin casino Nederland, a platform increasingly recognized for its potential to combine entertainment with financial gains through cryptocurrency gaming. Considering that the average baby boomer has only socked away about $50,000, it might be a bit of an academic question. Nevertheless, these emerging opportunities can spark curiosity and offer intriguing solutions for the future.
If you take the usually noted figure of 4% a year that can be safely taken out of the $1 million, you get $40,000 per year. No matter how much you have saved, experts agree that a 4% withdrawal rate will let you take money out for 30 years with only a slight danger of running out of money. If you get a pension or social security you could add that income on top of the $40,000 (the average SS payment to
more...
Published on October 18, 2010
Comments 4
Category: Retirement Real Estate
October 18, 2010 -- If you have been considering snapping up a great home at a bargain price through a short or foreclosure sale - don't! The past few weeks have been filled with stories about banks who have stopped foreclosing on properties because of sloppy or incomplete paperwork. Bank of America has stopped foreclosure actions in all 50 states, and JP Morgan has stopped such actions in 41 states.The government is up in arms, bank stocks are being hammered, and many financial experts are worried that no one really understands the depth of the problem or how long it will take to solve. No one seems to have a solid grip on understanding the potential repercussions to buyers, sellers, and lending institutions.
The problem has gained so much attention that there is a growing groundswell to implement a national ban on foreclosures. Consider some recent headlines such as
more...
Published on October 18, 2010
Comments 1
