Best Places to Retire in Each State

[ShokWaveRider]

I know someone will no doubt call this clickbait as they always so when someone posts a link, but I found this interesting enough to share.

Florida was particular interesting for me as we would not choose Jax or the Villages as our first choice. Jax being too big for us, and the villages being too far inland. YMMV. I also was surprised at the choice for Hawaii.

Jax is one of the largest cities in Florida and has a crime rate to back it up, it is also very crowded. However, it does have an abundance of services and one can get pretty much anything they want there. We live about an hour out of Jax and while it is nice to have a big city close, it is almost too close and we have been looking to move further out, but we have great access to healthcare and services, which keeps us put for now.

I am sure folks from other states will find it intriguing too, and may like to comment on the choices for their states.

https://www.forbes.com/best-places-to-retire-in-each-state/list/#tab:overall

 

[Midpack]

Not so much clickbait, but without their criteria it’s hard to know who it applies to. Every city on the list would be too small for our needs, evidently they ruled out every major metro area and favored small towns. Most if not all are vastly inferior for arts & culture which are essential for “quality of life” IMO - a stated criteria for the list? Perfect for some, not others. The COL was relatively pretty high for some too.

 

[RunningBum]

Go to https://www.forbes.com/best-places-to-retire-in-each-state for the methodology.

Methodology

We compiled our list of the Best Places To Retire In Each State by comparing data on more than 650 places across all 50 states. Generally, we looked for relatively affordable places (as measured by median home price and cost of living) with high quality of retirement living and populations of 10,000 or more (except for our top Alaska pick, Homer, population 6,000). The key word when it comes to affordable is “relatively”. Some states, especially in the Northeast and along the West Coast, are just a lot more expensive than others.

When it came to judging quality of life, we looked at a range of factors. Among them: doctor availability, the serious crimes rate, ranking on the Milken Institute list of best cities for successful aging, air quality and walkability and bikeability. Since this is a retirement list, we ignored data on local school districts. But the presence of colleges was considered a plus, as that tends to expand cultural and other amenities for senior citizens.

 

[Lewis Clark]

No matter what criteria are used for any survey such as this, our own individual criteria may differ wildly which makes the results less than useful for many of us. But the surveys can make interesting reading and conversation fodder.

I lived in Jacksonville for several years and would be willing to move back there.

 

[Midpack]

Go to https://www.forbes.com/best-places-to-retire-in-each-state for the methodology.

Assuming the methodology was the same in 2020? OTOH it’s the same author both editions.

Our list of best places to retire has always aimed first and foremost to identify retirement value—places that offer a high quality of life at an affordable price.

This year the best 25 are in 18 states and all the continental time zones.

And for the first time, we considered climate change risk, using data from the University of Notre Dame Urban Adaptation Assessment which assesses the impact of future flood, heat, cold, sea level rise and drought.

 

[Montecfo]

In Virginia, Roanoke is definitely an attractive spot with a lot of natural beauty and colleges in the area. Harrisonburg has a very nice large university and a lot of beauty but is small and rather remote.

In Texas, San Antonio is a very large city that appears on the list. I find it attractive but it is perhaps too hot for some and might be too big for others. San Marcos is attractive as it is a smaller college town with larger cities nearby. But good friends recently moved from there for retiretirement, saying the influx of new residents and traffic in the Austin/San Antonio corridor has become excessive.

Those are the two states I spend the most time in. I think they came up with decent ideas in both cases.

Of course it all depends on what you seek. We probably prefer medium sized cities or larger towns as we want to have plenty to do nearby. Most places have lower COL than where we. Live now so that is not a huge consideration.

 

[Ronstar]

I'm familiar with Illinois and Arizona, and the cities picked by Forbes. My criteria for what makes a city good for retirement is quite different than Forbes' criteria. Forbes' No 1 pick for Illinois, Alton, is "CONS: Poor air quality, serious crime rate above national average." That's putting cons mildly. Not a nice place to retire.

 

[RunningBum]

Assuming the methodology was the same in 2020? OTOH it’s the same author both editions.

Both the link I posted and the link to the list the OP selected (and can be navigated to with my link) are from 2018. I don't see the text you quoted anywhere there, so I don't know what that is and how it compares to the 2018 list and methodology.

 

[Midpack]

Both the link I posted and the link to the list the OP selected (and can be navigated to with my link) are from 2018. I don't see the text you quoted anywhere there, so I don't know what that is and how it compares to the 2018 list and methodology.

I guess you're right. Forbes just published a 2020 list and since the OP just posted, I assumed it was that list. I am not a subscriber, so I couldn't trace that link back - but I assumed the OP was a Forbes subscriber. It appears the 2020 list is "premium content." My bad.

https://cloud.read.forbes.com/StatesRet-Download-Page?k=FNL_RET

 

[Dtail]

We love where we live in the Northern Tampa suburbs in a non retirement gated community. Great doctors, diversity, near everything we need and want.
No chance we would live in the Villages.

 

[Midpack]

We love where we live in the Northern Tampa suburbs in a non retirement gated community. Great doctors, diversity, near everything we need and want.
No chance we would live in the Villages.

We seriously considered the "best place" in our state on the Forbes list - and there is no way. Great place to visit (and we do), but we wouldn't consider living there - it's heavily reliant on tourism, with an above average crime rate for the state?

 

[aaronc879]

No list is going to work for everyone. For example, Midpack said every city on the list is too small. I couldn't disagree more. A major issue for me for where to retire would be lack of population density. No big metro areas for me thank you very much. I prefer a town of under 50,000 people.

 

[Dtail]

We seriously considered the "best place" in our state on the Forbes list - and there is no way. Great place to visit (and we do), but we wouldn't consider living there - it's heavily reliant on tourism, with an above average crime rate for the state?

Do you mean Ashville? It is on my list of places to visit.

 

[NW-Bound]

I used to read articles about retirement places. I no longer do, because the best place for me is right where I have been living most of my life. A big factor is that I can't see moving away from my children, and extended family.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Lewiston, ID?

 

[aaronc879]

Lewiston, ID?

Looks pretty good to me. I like the small city feel. Not easy to get in or out of withno interstate nearby. That's fine by me. Weather isn't ideal but no place is perfect. It's on my list now.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Looks pretty good to me. I like the small city feel. Not easy to get in or out of withno interstate nearby. That's fine by me. Weather isn't ideal but no place is perfect. It's on my list now.

they have a pulp mill there so it can smell funny, other than that it's a cool town; I've been there a few times I was just surprised to see it on the list

One of the few places in the state you can golf year round and it's idaho's only seaport

 

[Qs Laptop]

I'm in Minneapolis. Under "cons" they listed poor air quality. What??! No mention whatsoever of freezing temperatures for four months and 45" snow annually. Under "pros" they listed walkable and bikeable. Sure, May through September.

If your #1 concern is quality health care we got you covered. It's got to be in the top five areas in the US. Otherwise taxes, climate, and recently, cost of living, is prohibitive.

 

[Koolau]

I also was surprised at the choice for Hawaii.

<SNIP>

https://www.forbes.com/best-places-to-retire-in-each-state/list/#tab:overall

I've lived in Kaneohe and Honolulu. I would pretty much reverse the 1st choice/runner up, but that's just me. Both have a somewhat cosmopolitan feel which can not be said for most of the smaller towns (on Oahu - or the other islands as far as I have seen.) I know lots of folks love Maui and Big Island. I see the allure of these Islands, but Oahu has everything while the other islands tend to lack certain amenities, services and experiences. True, Honolulu has traffic. I see that as Oahu's biggest drawback. If you're retired, you can usually pick when you will travel and avoid a good deal of the traffic. Based on that, I find the Hawaii choices in the article pretty much spot on - but YMMV.

 

[RunningBum]

I'm in Minneapolis. Under "cons" they listed poor air quality. What??! No mention whatsoever of freezing temperatures for four months and 45" snow annually. Under "pros" they listed walkable and bikeable. Sure, May through September.

If your #1 concern is quality health care we got you covered. It's got to be in the top five areas in the US. Otherwise taxes, climate, and recently, cost of living, is prohibitive.

Is there a city in MN that isn't like that? You can go a little further south, but not that much. It makes some sense that they would give cons that other candidates in the state might not have.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I would agree with Sacramento being a good choice for California. It is much cheaper than the Bay Area or LA but only an hour's drive away from San Francisco and maybe 1.5 hours to the Sierra mountains and Lake Tahoe. It is good place to live if you like hot, sunny weather most of the year. I also like Eureka, the back up choice. The scenery there is beautiful. We've had fun vacations there. I could see living in either one of those spots.

 

[Gumby]

Any place in Connecticut would be great, although I would pick my town over either of their two choices. No matter, though, since the whole state is only 50 miles by 100 miles, so you can easily visit any of our 169 towns and cities.

 

[34rlsa]

Retiring in Alaska is the best kept secret in America.

Homer is lovely, but too populated for us

Anchorage wouldn't be on my list.

If you prefer rural living... you can't beat AK!

Especially if you can spend most of the winter in the lower 48!

 

[Dtail]

Retiring in Alaska is the best kept secret in America.

Homer is lovely, but too populated for us

Anchorage wouldn't be on my list.

If you prefer rural living... you can't beat AK!

Especially if you can spend most of the winter in the lower 48!

How many months qualify as winter in Alaska?

 

[aja8888]

How many months qualify as winter in Alaska?

The ones when you can't see the sun.