2022’s Best States to Retire- WalletHub

[Luvtoride]

Or as I read it...the Worst State to retire in is New Jersey, where I live and plan to stay.

Not surprising, which state is at the top of the list but the top 10 overall seems to be a bit of a surprise to me.

Good ranking by WalletHub based on Taxation/Affordability, Healthcare and Quality of Life factors.

https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-to-retire/18592

Besides the rankings and various "top 10" lists in more granular areas of the rankings, there is a good section:

FACTORS to CONSIDER
In order to choose the best state to retire for you, you must carefully consider various factors such as your finances, health and how you plan to spend your time. For advice on these choices, we turned to a panel of experts in fields such as aging and taxes. Click on the experts’ profiles to read their bios and responses to the following key questions:

 

[Brat]

I was surprised to see WA way down the list. Really WA is a large state with great variability of climate. Frankly, if I didn't have family in OR and the need to travel almost daily to Portland, I recommend Clark County, the county on the other side of the I-5 bridge. WA has no income tax, just a sales tax, and a real estate transfer tax. Access to fantastic hospitals in Portland, a very good hospital in Vancouver. Easy access to Portland's performing arts and roadshows. Moderate climate.

Frankly, the best place to retire is where you have family and friends. That is much more important than money.

 

[braumeister]

These clickbait list articles have had so many threads here it isn't even funny any more.

Since I'm extremely happy being retired in state #47, you would think I must be out of my mind.

But perhaps applying averages across entire states might not be the best way to evaluate your home?

 

[Luvtoride]

I was surprised to see WA way down the list. Really WA is a large state with great variability of climate. Frankly, if I didn't have family in OR and the need to travel almost daily to Portland, I recommend Clark County, the county on the other side of the I-5 bridge. WA has no income tax, just a sales tax, and a real estate transfer tax. Access to fantastic hospitals in Portland, a very good hospital in Vancouver. Easy access to Portland's performing arts and roadshows. Moderate climate.

Frankly, the best place to retire is where you have family and friends. That is much more important than money.

Brat, I completely agree with your last statemenT. I couldn’t see being anywhere else than close to my family!

 

[corn18]

OH beat MI. That's all I care about.

 

[cathy63]

...But perhaps applying averages across entire states might not be the best way to evaluate your home?

That's pretty much how I feel about these lists. Apparently the average of Death Valley and Humboldt is 18.

 

[Dtail]

North Dakota in the top ten? Hmmm.
Florida in the middle of the pack in healthcare... As ShockWave and I have stated many times, if one lives in certain areas in FLA, the healthcare is excellent and not terribly expensive.

 

[Music Lover]

Frankly, the best place to retire is where you have family and friends. That is much more important than money.

That's how we look at it. We live in a brutal winter climate but all our family and friends are here. We just go away in winter for the worst of it.

 

[aja8888]

This is pure clickbait...... #1 in quality of life is Massachusetts? Haha....

 

[njhowie]

How is CA only #30 for affordability?

 

[W2R]

We're happy living in Louisiana, and plan to live here for the rest of our lives.

This is apparently not a very popular retirement state! But then, we're not in junior high any more so we don't have to go with what is popular.

I moved 30+ times and also traveled around a lot in my younger years, and never got to stay anyplace very long due to school and jobs. But all that time I wished I had a real home - - someplace I could say I was "from", like other people. Well, now I have a real home, Louisiana! And it feels good to recall that I have lived in south Louisiana for the past 26 years.

We're happy here. If anything changes so that we are no longer happy here, we'll go someplace else. That's the nice thing about being retired.

 

[Gumby]

I feel exactly the same about Connecticut. After a peripatetic younger life, it's nice to have a place to call home.

 

[Sunset]

So many of their ratings in the methodology are not a concern of mine.

If they made it so a person could de-select some of the rank settings it would be more useful.

I'm not interested in the percentage of poor elderly when making my location decision or is there work available for over 65 as I'm not working again.

Some of the rankings seem like they would be the same, poor people cannot afford doctor visit are also probably food insecure and probably in poverty.


Share of Population Aged 65 and Older Who Could Not Afford a Doctor Visit: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)

Elderly-Friendly Labor Market: Full Weight (~1.25 Points)

Share of Population Aged 65 and Older in Poverty: Full Weight (~1.25 Points)
Elderly Food Insecurity Rate: Full Weight (~1.25 Points)

 

[Teacher Terry]

I have lived in 5 states as a adult. I moved to northern Nevada 25 years ago for a job with the state and my adult kids followed. I also have many close friends here. It’s a bonus that I love the weather.

 

[DrRoy]

OH beat MI. That's all I care about.

We are Ohioans retired to the state up north. Since we have lived here the Bucks record is 21-2. Not bad. Our sons and DW's social circle are here, plus we have put a lot of $ into the house, so here we stay.

 

[Koolau]

I think the trick is to decide what life-style (climate, topography, culture, etc.) you want. Then set a couple of go/no-go factors (like great health care or low crime, where the kids are, etc.) Pick your state and then learn how to survive there financially.

I've mentioned before the almanac "Places Rated" https://www.amazon.com/Places-Rated-Almanac-Classic-Finding/dp/0979319900

You can use their data to make your own list by narrowing down what is most or least important to you and weighting it appropriately. (For instance, I down-weighted empl*yment opportunities or whatever they called it.) YMMV

 

[MichaelB]

This same article in 2122, titled “Best Planet to Retire” and will rank them by transportability, artificial atmosphere quality, per capita air & water availability, and food production index. Oh, and cost of health care.

And the user comments will be exactly the same.

 

[Car-Guy]

The list looked okay to me no matter if for retirement or not.

 

[Midpack]

Since the best place depends entirely on what each of us is looking for, I didn’t read the link. I’m sure there are happy people in state #50 and miserable people in state #1. Same with most “best” lists.

On a related thought. We’re thrilled with where we retired, but our house has appreciated so much we wouldn’t have bought it at today’s estimated prices! It’s now out of what I’d consider a reasonable price range…

 

[corn18]

We are Ohioans retired to the state up north. Since we have lived here the Bucks record is 21-2. Not bad. Our sons and DW's social circle are here, plus we have put a lot of $ into the house, so here we stay.

I ran one of our divisions in Ann Arbor for 3 years. Two miles from the Big House. We fell in love with MI. A beautiful state with friendly folks.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

How can one's quality of life be high if one is freezing one's touch off for half the year? ALTHOUGH.... Healthcare/HC Access and climate are the top 2 for us. We would have put Hawaii higher too, not all Americans are lower income or poor, 80% maybe but not all. We would and do pay higher costs for a better quality of life. In the US you get what you pay for.

 

[Music Lover]

How can one's quality of life be high if one is freezing one's touch off for half the year? ALTHOUGH.... Healthcare/HC Access and climate are the top 2 for us.

Because for some people there's a lot more to life than the weather.

And the good news is that technology takes the sting out of winter. Heated seats and steering wheel, remote start, high tech clothing, you can get anything you want delivered, you can have someone clear your driveway, push a button on the wall to increase the inside temperature, etc...

 

[ShokWaveRider]

North Dakota in the top ten? Hmmm.
Florida in the middle of the pack in healthcare... As ShockWave and I have stated many times, if one lives in certain areas in FLA, the healthcare is excellent and not terribly expensive.

+10 Yup, Mayo just up the road, every doc and specialist within 5 miles of us. No real waiting for appointments, the weather is not bad either. Not the cheapest part of Florida, but that is OK. You get what you pay for.

 

[Ronstar]

List somewhat makes sense to me, but quality of life is very subjective. Health care and affordability are more quantifiable.

We're entrenched in Illinois #45. Trying to talk DW into moving to Montana #7. She says it's too cold. But it's 30 degrees warmer in Bozeman than northern Illinois right now.

 

[Out of Steam]

We moved from #30, Maryland to #2, Virginia several years ago. It is not unlikely that we will retrace our steps in a few years, especially if it appears that our daughter will settle permanently in Maryland or DC.

Pandemic restrictions on life, which will continue indefinitely for us because of health conditions, make developing new connections too difficult.