Recession-proof cities for Retirees: Forbes

[Orchidflower]

This just came out 10/09, and I don't think anyone has posted it yet. You can pull up their photos and usual explanations of why they chose the top 10 cities if you put in the search bar: Forbes recession-proof cities for retirees. However, here is their list alone of the top 40, which I hope someone besides me finds somewhat interesting:

Full List: America's Recession-Proof Cities To Retire In - Forbes.com

 

[walkinwood]

Some strange results. Detroit ranks ahead of Washington DC, Boston and NYC! I thought I'd find it dead last.

 

[ziggy29]

Seems like an odd premise for an article. How does the quality of the job market matter all that much to retirees?

 

[CuppaJoe]

.... which I hope someone besides me finds somewhat interesting

Not just interesting, it is fascinating! Say it ain't so, they are saying, move to Texas. Good thing REWahoo is offline. Four out the first ten are in the Lone Star State. No other state has more than one area in the top ten.

 

[haha]

Yep, the recipe for bliss is move to Texas, buy an RV, a motorcycle and perhaps a second home and you will be happy forever more.

Except of course for all those things that Wahoo likes to point out.

Ha

 

[REWahoo]

Four out the first ten are in the Lone Star State.

Good grief. Using forecasted job growth as a measurement criteria for retirement cities makes about as much sense as using the adiabatic lapse rate. Plus, any magazine rating Houston in the top 100 for retirees has zero credibility.

 

[CuppaJoe]

Psst, if you have children but haven't accumulated much yet, just go ahead and move on down to Texas. There are plenty of jobs there so your kids can support you.

 

[RunningBum]

And it's a five-year job growth outlook. This has nothing to do with being recession-proof, this is basically job marking timing (as if that mattered to retirees).

"We threw a bunch of numbers together, but can't come up with a good title for it. Hey, 'recession' is a hot topic, how about we put that in the title?"

Being recession proof is still pretty important for retirees. If a city is hit hard in a recession, the tax base goes down, services are cut, businesses close, real estate values go down, and so on.

My idea of a recession proof city is one that has a lot of government and college jobs. Someplace like Madison, WI, or Lincoln, NE, for example. Austin and Raleigh have that too, but are larger and more dependant on some high tech industries.

 

[Orchidflower]

What I wondered is how in the world did Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (no. 29 on the list) get to be #1 in cost of living? Huh?
Yes, Texas is mecca for old people...if you don't want to live in the DFW or Houston area. If you look at this new map you will see all the geezers seem to live in the Austin area and west (what's out there anyway?). Or you could go to east Texas, but be prepared as that area is pretty religious (if you aren't it could be a problem).

Population Map: Age 65 and Over. Where The Seniors Live. - The Business of Aging

And, what's going on in Oregon that brings so many geezers in there? Looking at the above map got me wondering...
Note: Most geezers seem to still be in the Midwest...housing probably is pretty far apart, but still there are geezers there.

 

[JustNtime]

Detroit-Warren/Livonia #22 has got to be some kind of bad joke... Mom's home(and many others) on market for 2years and counting. If they're 'Recession Proof' we're all in trouble...

 

[ziggy29]

Being recession proof is still pretty important for retirees. If a city is hit hard in a recession, the tax base goes down, services are cut, businesses close, real estate values go down, and so on.

True to a point, but a weak economy can also make the cost of goods and services lower. Plus, retirees (particularly those over 65) are often spared from tax increases when state and local revenues are suffering.

 

[REWahoo]

If you look at this new map you will see all the geezers seem to live in the Austin area and west (what's out there anyway?).

Orchid, all of this information is suspect. You ever consider the possibility all the young folks got the hell out of that area of TX and that's why the population is so geezer heavy?

 

[ziggy29]

If you look at this new map you will see all the geezers seem to live in the Austin area and west (what's out there anyway?). Or you could go to east Texas, but be prepared as that area is pretty religious (if you aren't it could be a problem).

I seem to recall a survey of younger residents of Texas metro areas (particularly DFW and Houston), and something like 70% of them said they wanted to retire in the Hill Country, which is roughly where the huge concentration of older folks are in this map.

Just watch for the rattlers and the chiggers...

 

[Orchidflower]

I figured it was the Hill Country where the geezers are supposedly moving to in Texas. Isn't that where REWahoo lives now?
The major cities DFW and Houston really are youth-oriented, and I can speak personally after 22 years in Houston. Hardly ever saw many white haired folks there. Ever.

 

[Free To Canoe]

Is there any major city that is not on there?

Free to canoe

 

[CuppaJoe]

America's Recession-Proof Cities To Retire In - Forbes.com

This part of the story gives an idea of where they are coming from. [-]I’ll not quote the part about Texas, it’s should be kept secret.[/-] Here’s part of their thinking about jobs:

Since the U.S. economy is still in flux and some retirees may have to return the workforce in order to maintain their standard of living, we included two sets of employment statistics: median income for households over age 65, from the Census Bureau, and five-year job growth outlook from Moody's Economy.com....
Given the increase in American life expectancy, places like Atlanta should appeal to retirees who may have to rejoin the workforce or take out a home equity loan in order to finance unforeseen health care costs

 

[CuppaJoe]

Is there any major city that is not on there?

Free to canoe

Apparently they are seeing a migration of geezers to the cities where they can get good deals on condos now:

Ken Shuman:... "Baby boomers never had that city-living experience. It's a great opportunity for them to have that chance as they get older and enjoy the things cities have to offer. It's definitely a trend that we're seeing."

 

[Orchidflower]

Well, I admit finding a good deal on a condo is one of my main reasons for moving when my duties are done. If I plan to live (fingers crossed) another 20-30 years, it would be nice to make a good profit for a change. Guess I'm not alone in that thinking...and I thought I was being so clever (ha!).

 

[Orchidflower]

Freetocanoe: I'm guessing they probably took the major metros with the highest population, but cannot confirm this.
According to the National Realtor Assn. charts, there seems to be 356 metros in America I think. I used to pull up the NRA median house price each quarter and remember this (I think).

 

[RonBoyd]

...some retirees may have to return [to] the workforce in order to maintain their standard of living...

Yeah, like that's gonna happen:

The Number of Job Hunters 65 or Older Skyrockets

Less well known, though, is that nearly half a million workers 65 and older want to work but cannot find a job — more than five times the level early this decade and this group’s highest unemployment level since the Great Depression.

 

[haha]

Plenty of old people work. My sister got a holiday job and one of her co-workers is 78. This old lady has been working since she was 14, and according to my Sis she is a dynamo. She goes home from an 8 hour shift in the warehouse and starts dinner and mows her lawn!

I had lunch down at my favorite oyster bar today, and talked to a tourist from Chicago. He aid he was 72, and still going strong at his insurance job in Chicago.

I am just a damn slacker.

Ha

 

[SarahW]

... just go ahead and move on down to Texas.

CJ--for Pete's sake, SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. We don't want an influx of undesirables.