Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
February 15, 2009 - You have probably read about the problems Greece is having with its unmanageable debt these days. Well if you thought that sort of problem couldn't effect you as a retiree in the good old USA, think again. A recent article, These 7 States are Headed for Something Worse, by Gregor Macdonald at Seeking Alpha makes a good case with 4 different reasons why 7 U.S. states are NOT the best place to retire. His conclusions are quite similar to what Topretirements reported on back
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Published on February 15, 2010
Comments 64
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
With the Superbowl successfully behind us, anxious sports fans are ready for the next season to get started. For baseball fans the wait will be short, as spring training gets underway next week. Spring training is one of the great joys and advantages of a snowbird retirement. Your favorite team is once again in your home town, tickets are affordable and plentiful, and the parks are so close together that you can even travel to road games. Baseball's owners are no dummies either, they have picked some of the best places to host their spring training camps; most of these towns make the best places to retire lists for lots of other reasons too.
Spring training is thought to have started out in 1870 when the Chicago Whitestockings and the Cincinnati Redstockings ventured down to New Orleans to prepare for the season. Other historians credit the
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Published on February 8, 2010
Comments 3
Category: Baby Boomer Retirement Issues
Our good sport this time of year is to go out on a limb with predictions about the hot baby boomer retirement trends for the coming year. Surely we will be wrong on some, but hope that in general we can be useful in predicting what factors will be most…
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Published on February 1, 2010
Comments 7
Category: Active adult communities
The growing problem of delinquencies is a very serious problem that is starting to affect almost every Home Owners Association (HOA) in the country. And unfortunately, the problem gets worse every day.
At the Kensington of Royal Palm Beach condominiums on Florida's east coast, 70 percent of the owners are in arrears on their association fees. Many other associations have delinquencies in the 40-50% range. These fees typically pay for insurance, maintenance, landscaping, some taxes, staff, and energy. Clearly when not everyone pays their dues, which represent an equitable sharing of costs among all the owners, financial problems will ensue. Usually that means the remaining owners in the community association
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Published on January 25, 2010
Comments 3
Category: Active adult communities
Stay and Play Packages are a great option as you contemplate retirement. You, and perhaps your significant other, might be obsessing about how to find your best place to retire, and what you might do once you get to the state of retirement. The process is fun for many folks, but an intimidating hassle for others. Wherever you come out on this spectrum, this article, in which we will discuss Fly and Stay packages, will be a help.
Stay and Play Packages
Stay and Play packages (also called Discover and Stay, Weekend Getaway, etc.) are the fun and low risk way to check out various best places to retire. You can usually purchase them at low cost from active adult communities, or you can make up your own for the towns you might be considering. The offers are so attractive that you just shouldn't pass them up (but hurry, the high season is starting
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Published on January 18, 2010
Comments 5
Category: Retirement Real Estate
As 2010 begins most experts predict that record numbers of foreclosures will continue. That being the case, home prices will probably go nowhere until that distressed inventory is cleaned out.
Rentals are the way to go. The Wall Street Journal reports that apartment vacancies hit a 30 year high late last year, and landlords are scrambling to fill them. Reis, Inc., a research firm, said that rents fell 3% last year, led by declines in west coast cities. Conclusion - you might be better off renting than buying. Particularly in a lot of active adult communities, there are plenty of places to rent.
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Published on January 12, 2010
Comments 0
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
Picking towns for "best places to retire" lists can get to be a lot like selecting prom dates - the bright lights overshadow the deserving candidates who don't get asked to the big party. All too often the result is best places to retire myopia - too many lists that share the same old towns and cities - Asheville, Athens, Austin, Beaufort, etc. Don't miss Part 2 of this series: "Beyond Asheville: More Under-rated Places to Retire", or Part 3: 5 More Under-Appreciated Places to Retire.
This week we set out to identify 20 best retirement towns that aren't on that many lists. We looked for towns that we know are terrific, but don't seem to have the press that their more famous brethren do. Some will be familiar and some will not. Our apologies to all of the other great places to retire whose lights are still hiding under the basket; please give us your nominations in the Comments section below.
Bisbee, Arizona. Bisbee is an historic mining town in south central Arizona, almost at the Mexican border. If you are looking for an interesting, off-beat place to retire, Bisbee might be the place.
Flagstaff, Arizona. At an altitude of 6910 feet the climate is dry and much cooler in the summer than anywhere else in Arizona. Cecil B. DeMille tried
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Published on January 11, 2010
Comments 27
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
Let's just say that Plan A for your retirement didn't quite work out the way it was supposed to do. Whatever the reasons, the fact is you are a 60-something baby boomer looking to retire on a lot less money than you thought you would have. Luckily for gritty you, sulking is not an option. Here are 10 of our best ideas on what you can do to retire in style - and on a budget.
1. Move, now. Most people about to retire are living in a lot more house than they really need. So downsizing, the sooner the better, is the smart
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Published on January 4, 2010
Comments 13
Category: Green Retirement Communities
Baby boomers looking to retire in a very "green" way often end up being frustrated. The main reason is that most active adult communities are anything but environmentally friendly - they are located far from community centers so they require lots of driving, they don't always use the most energy-efficient materials and systems, and they usually ignore alternative energy sources and low carbon footprints. The alternative for those truly dedicated to the movement is to strike out on their own, which though might be fun, can also be expensive and prone to trial and error.
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The Wall Street Journal published an eye-opening article earlier this year on the "Green House of the Future". The Journal asked 4 leading architects to come up with a home design that was environmentally friendly - and possible. The results were amazing:
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Published on December 22, 2009
Comments 1
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
If there was ever a subjective question, "what is the best state for retirement" must certainly rank right up there. After all it is a very personal question, almost as personal as your preference in mates or sports teams. To try to avoid too much controversy we shall answer the question in terms of what you, our Topretirements visitors, seem to prefer when it comes to retirement states. Note: Don't miss our late 2010 piece on the other side of the equation, "10 Worst Retirement States". Or the 2011 edition of this story, "Best States for Retirement - 2011".
For most people the best state to retire question is easy - some 80% or more retire in the state where they live now. But for those folks who are thinking about moving on down the road in later life, the reasons why some
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Published on December 21, 2009
Comments 26
