Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
A decent "places to retire" list
Old 05-12-2015, 04:41 PM   #1
Moderator
braumeister's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Flyover country
Posts: 25,198
A decent "places to retire" list

Just came across this recent Forbes list, and thought it was pretty good. I have a few quibbles based on my own travels, but overall this is one of the best lists of its type I've seen.

Just Outside The City - In Photos: The Best 25 Suburbs For Retirement In 2015 - Forbes

To save you the trouble of clicking through them, here's the quick list. Each one is shown with a good set of pros and cons and a few stats.

Quote:
  • Aiken, South Carolina, Charming, historic town of 30,000 20 miles east of Augusta, Ga
  • Apple Valley, Minnesota, Newer city of 50,000 on rolling countryside 16 miles south of Minneapolis/St. Paul
  • Brentwood, Missouri, Close-in suburb of 8,000 six miles west of St. Louis.
  • Broomfield, Colorado, Mile-high suburb of 59,000 sits 13 miles northwest of mile-high Denver
  • Cary, North Carolina, Booming Research Triangle city of 151,000 nine miles west of Raleigh,
  • Cibolo, Texas, Pleasant country town of 24,000 located 19 miles northwest of San Antonio
  • Edmond, Oklahoma, Public-art-festooned city of 87,000 13 miles north of Oklahoma City
  • Fitchburg, Wisconsin, Quaint close-in suburb of 26,000 just 5 miles south of state capital Madison
  • Fort Thomas, Kentucky, Hilltop city of 16,000 across the Ohio River 5 miles south of Cincinnati
  • Fruit Cove, Florida, Waterfront town of 16,000 along St. John's River 15 miles due south of Jacksonville
  • Henderson, Nevada, Desert city of 271,000 16 miles southeast of Las Vegas
  • La Vista, Nebraska, Instant town of 18,000 just 5 miles southwest of Omaha
  • Leander, Texas, Fast-growing town of 32,000 sits 19 miles northwest of trendy Austin
  • Madison, Mississippi, Growing city of 25,000 11 miles north of Jackson, the state capital
  • Matthews, North Carolina, City of 29,000 on rolling terrain 9 miles southeast of Charlotte
  • Munster, Indiana, City of 23,000 across the state line 22 miles southeast of Chicago
  • Montgomery Village, Maryland, Farmland turned community of 40,000 21 miles northwest of Washington, D.C
  • Noblesville, Indiana, Corn Belt suburb of 57,000 sits 19 miles northeast of Indianapolis
  • Oak Grove, Oregon, Scenic close-in suburb of 17,000, just nine miles south of Portland
  • Overland Park, Kansas, Osage Plain city of 181,000, located 12 miles southwest of Kansas City
  • Plano, Texas, Built-up suburb of 274,000 is 18 miles north of Dallas
  • Roswell, Georgia, Pleasant suburb of 94,000 19 miles north of Atlanta
  • Tamarac, Florida, Sunny suburb of 63,000 on edge of Everglades 13 miles northwest of Fort Lauderdale
  • West Des Moines, Iowa, Town of 61,000, just seven miles west of Des Moines, the state capital
  • West Jordan, Utah, Rapidly growing suburb of 110,000, situated 13 miles south of Salt Lake City
braumeister is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 05-12-2015, 04:51 PM   #2
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
steelyman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: NC Triangle
Posts: 5,807
I'm familiar with a couple of those and think they are good.

Locally, Cary is called "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees"
__________________

steelyman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2015, 05:02 PM   #3
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 1,069
Quote:
Originally Posted by steelyman View Post
I'm familiar with a couple of those and think they are good.

Locally, Cary is called "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees"

I prefer apex, down the road.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
dallas27 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2015, 05:05 PM   #4
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
steelyman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: NC Triangle
Posts: 5,807
Apex is good, too.
__________________

steelyman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2015, 05:16 PM   #5
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Lisa99's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,440
Agree with Henderson Nevada, we live there now.

Don't agree with Plano, Texas. Lived there for 20+ years before moving to Nevada.
Lisa99 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2015, 06:31 PM   #6
Moderator
Walt34's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Eastern WV Panhandle
Posts: 25,299
  • Quote:
    Montgomery Village, Maryland, Farmland turned community of 40,000 21 miles northwest of Washington, D.C
No way! Pure insanity!

Higher than normal crime rate, high property taxes, perpetually clogged nearby interstate (I-270) notorious for coming to a standstill for the slightest disturbance. When that happens every alternative instantly becomes clogged too. It will stay that way for hours.

We lived about 12 miles of there and traffic and taxes were the reason we moved to WV. I seriously doubt that whoever wrote that article spent a day there.
__________________
When I was a kid I wanted to be older. This is not what I expected.
Walt34 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2015, 07:43 PM   #7
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Huntsville, AL/Helen, GA
Posts: 6,002
We see such lists of great places to live on the internet weekly. I seldom agree with many of the cities, however.

I prefer living in a medium size city an hour outside a large, progressive city. And I don't want to mortgage the souls of my two grandchildren to pay excessive property taxes. And I don't want to pay $1,500 per square foot for a house--like we often see people talking about on this website. Give me a big recreational lake with great fishing. I also like being in the middle of the U.S.--within a day's driving distance of the ocean--and Chicago. And I long ago swore off living anywhere they don't have top quality pulled pork barbeque.
Bamaman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2015, 07:53 PM   #8
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Midwest
Posts: 2,962
Used to live in La vista Nebraska. Nice little town. I still live just across the river
razztazz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2015, 09:48 PM   #9
Recycles dryer sheets
GreenER's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Pastures
Posts: 186
Glad to see there is nothing "decent" on the west coast. Being on one of those lists could endanger a good thing!
__________________
"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things" Henry Miller
GreenER is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2015, 10:07 PM   #10
Moderator Emeritus
aja8888's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Conroe, Texas
Posts: 18,643
Quote:
Originally Posted by dallas27 View Post
I prefer apex, down the road.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

My BIL lives in Cary. Too much traffic and crazy street layouts. Hell to get out of town at rush hour.
__________________
*********Go Astros!*********
aja8888 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2015, 10:18 PM   #11
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 1,069
Quote:
Originally Posted by aja8888 View Post
My BIL lives in Cary. Too much traffic and crazy street layouts. Hell to get out of town at rush hour.

I work from home. I haven't driven to work since 2000.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
dallas27 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2015, 10:38 PM   #12
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Telly's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,395
Quote:
Cibolo, Texas, Pleasant country town of 24,000 located 19 miles northwest of San Antonio
I've never been to Cibolo, but had passed the exit for it on I-35 many times. I assume it is just a vast wasteland of well-pulverized rubble now, since the Forbes-inspired earthquake that moved it from its original site northeast of San Antonio all the way to northwest of San Antonio. Roughly 20-25 miles away. Good going, Forbes -------------------
__________________
-- Telly, the D-I-Y guy --
Two fools dancing on the hands of time
Telly is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2015, 04:07 AM   #13
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Amethyst's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 12,597
I don't consider the North Carolina Research Triangle area a good fit for us as retired people. Its "boomingness" comes from the large number of high-tech jobs, and is driving up housing prices and causing traffic congestion. Cary, in particular, resembles several MD counties close to D.C. - tons of cul-de-sac developments, with big houses on .3 acre lots.

OTOH, if you're into old-people communities, there are a great many in the area (we know, because a real estate agent immediately tried to interest us in them the moment she heard the word "retired") - and top-notch medical facilities, too.

Amethyst
__________________
If you understood everything I say, you'd be me ~ Miles Davis
'There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.’ Christopher Morley.
Even a blind clock finds an acorn twice a day.
Amethyst is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2015, 05:29 AM   #14
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
RunningBum's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 13,202
Quote:
Originally Posted by Amethyst View Post
I don't consider the North Carolina Research Triangle area a good fit for us as retired people. Its "boomingness" comes from the large number of high-tech jobs, and is driving up housing prices and causing traffic congestion. Cary, in particular, resembles several MD counties close to D.C. - tons of cul-de-sac developments, with big houses on .3 acre lots.

OTOH, if you're into old-people communities, there are a great many in the area (we know, because a real estate agent immediately tried to interest us in them the moment she heard the word "retired") - and top-notch medical facilities, too.

Amethyst
Agree. I moved away from Cary when I was preparing to retire because I just didn't like the boom town feel. Heavy traffic not only getting into RTP and Raleigh, but also around the many shopping areas that popped up.

Circumstances not of my choosing put me in the town between Leander and Austin for a few years and it wasn't much different. Leander was a bit further out than Cary was, but I think the new light rail might reach it and bring more development.

There was a lot to like about both places, but they weren't for me for retirement. If you wanted to be next to a larger city, they aren't bad choices.
RunningBum is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2015, 06:22 AM   #15
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Amethyst's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 12,597
Trouble is, a person still has to drive to shopping, doctor, etc.

Where I currently live, congestion has gotten so bad around the shopping/medical/pretty much anything, that even being retired and able to go out in the middle of a weekday isn't much of an advantage any more. The only time that is less congested is weekdays between about 10 a.m. and 11:30.

I foresee the Triangle going this route, although their boom is occurring much later, and they have a bit more room to work with...in our area, the city planning was done in the 1960's and the planners obviously couldn't conceive of the demand of the 2000s and beyond.

Amethyst

Quote:
Originally Posted by dallas27 View Post
I work from home. I haven't driven to work since 2000.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
__________________
If you understood everything I say, you'd be me ~ Miles Davis
'There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.’ Christopher Morley.
Even a blind clock finds an acorn twice a day.
Amethyst is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2015, 08:05 AM   #16
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Lawn chair in Texas
Posts: 14,183
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lisa99 View Post
Agree with Henderson Nevada, we live there now.

Don't agree with Plano, Texas. Lived there for 20+ years before moving to Nevada.
Stepfordville...
__________________
Have Funds, Will Retire

...not doing anything of true substance...
HFWR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2015, 08:17 AM   #17
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
GTFan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Ormond Beach
Posts: 1,407
Don't agree with Roswell GA on that list - it's just north of the ATL and, while a nice area, is extremely congested. Way too much traffic for me.
GTFan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2015, 09:31 AM   #18
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
steelyman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: NC Triangle
Posts: 5,807
Let's say "in or around" The Triangle works. I have siblings/old friends "in or around" The Triad. We're like The Partridges - The "In Or Around" Family.
__________________

steelyman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2015, 09:53 AM   #19
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 7,968
Where you are at is usually ok once you find out what the locals do.



heh heh heh - as long as I am within an hour's drive or so of ? fishing, football, etc.
unclemick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2015, 12:28 PM   #20
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Amethyst's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 12,597
I am thinking the Triad is likely to be quite a bit cheaper than the Triangle (which is itself about 8 large counties in size!)


Quote:
Originally Posted by steelyman View Post
Let's say "in or around" The Triangle works. I have siblings/old friends "in or around" The Triad. We're like The Partridges - The "In Or Around" Family.
__________________
If you understood everything I say, you'd be me ~ Miles Davis
'There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.’ Christopher Morley.
Even a blind clock finds an acorn twice a day.
Amethyst is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Is this a 'places not to retire' list? timo2 Other topics 13 02-23-2015 04:28 PM
Bucket List - what i checked off my list heyduke Other topics 37 05-20-2010 03:29 PM
Interesting notes/to do list/shopping list app TromboneAl Other topics 29 05-17-2010 09:08 PM
Decent article on "median" US household..... FinanceDude FIRE and Money 36 06-25-2009 10:01 AM
No Call List? What No Call List? mickeyd Other topics 5 10-04-2006 09:50 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:55 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.