Another "Best Places to Retire" Article

[REWahoo]

I always get a kick out of these articles and how they rank each state. Screen shots of the top 10 and bottom 10 shown below. No surprise based on the number of threads and posts, Florida is number one.

I note with pride that Texas is in the bottom ten. Hey, I tried to tell you.

2021's Best and Worst States to Retire

 

[Midpack]

We live in #15, I'll take that. We lived in FL for 3 years, you couldn't pay me to live there again, but to each his/her own.

 

[finnski1]

Well quality of life #1 and healthcare 9th best. I'll take those. Affordability at 30th place sounds about right but much better than 50th place.

 

[kevink]

This is actually one of the best of these lists I've seen, in that the methodology seems well thought-out and the ratings jibe with my admittedly-limited personal experience (growing up in CA, years spent living in WA, NM and CO, current home in #17).

Will be interesting to see how these numbers change as long-term changes from the pandemic and work-at-home set in.

 

[Sunset]

I wish I could find one of these survey things, where I could check off all the boxes I'm concerned about , and then it would calculate the values based on items that actually are important to me.

For example: Things I am NOT interested in this survey are:
Golf Courses per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.43 Points) -------> I don't golf.
Elderly Food Insecurity Rate: Full Weight (~1.43 Points) ----> I have enough money for food
Elderly-Friendly Labor Market: Full Weight (~1.43 Points) --> I'm not working at Walmart ever.

 

[Dash man]

Don’t understand why Pennsylvania is so low. Healthcare is very good here and there are many affordable places.

 

[braumeister]

We're very happy to be living in our part of #45. As with all of these lists, the numbers are meaningless when you average things across an entire state.

 

[street]

Interesting data/chart!

I always thought I lived in the best state/area (#5/#6) in the US, and I guess this proves it. I wouldn't live any place else if they gave it to me, even thou it is flyover country and in the sticks.

 

[Montecfo]

Virginia #4. That's pretty good I guess.

We are from Texas originally but kind of doubt we will return. Family in DFW and every time we go there it just seems to be larger and with a lot more traffic. East or West Texas might be better. Plus snakes, scorpions, heat as REWahoo knows well.

 

[statsman]

We are from Texas originally but kind of doubt we will return. Family in DFW and every time we go there it just seems to be larger and with a lot more traffic. East or West Texas might be better. Plus snakes, scorpions, heat as REWahoo knows well.

I guess it's all perspective. We came from a suburb of San Jose, CA, and the suburbs here in Williamson County, TX, seem a lot more sparse than they were back in the Bay Area. There is traffic here, but nothing like in California. The air is cleaner here, as is the water. It is hotter here, almost unending in the summer, I will give you that.

I have family and friends in states up and down that chart, and nearly every one of them likes where they are living. That's probably the case for most here.

 

[Ian S]

Really? The most important healthcare parameters? These change from week to week and may be totally irrelevant in six months:

COVID-19 Positive Testing Rate in the Past Week: Triple Weight (~3.60 Points)
COVID-19 Death Rate in the Past Week: Triple Weight (~3.60 Points)

 

[davebarnes]

Have you seen the bugs in Florida?
And, there are gators and pythons.

 

[USGrant1962]

Really? The most important healthcare parameters? These change from week to week and may be totally irrelevant in six months:

Good catch - that's just silly.

 

[Montecfo]

I guess it's all perspective. We came from a suburb of San Jose, CA, and the suburbs here in Williamson County, TX, seem a lot more sparse than they were back in the Bay Area. There is traffic here, but nothing like in California. The air is cleaner here, as is the water. It is hotter here, almost unending in the summer, I will give you that.

I have family and friends in states up and down that chart, and nearly every one of them likes where they are living. That's probably the case for most here.

It undoubtedly is a matter of perspective. Dallas County is not much like Williamson County. But someone who grew up in Williamson County no doubt would say traffic is awful now by comparison.

 

[Gumby]

You can skip the article. The answer is Connecticut.

 

[statsman]

Well, there are probably very few suburbs of any top-50 populated city in the country that have avoided growth issues in the past 10 years. And if our reaction to COVID-19 in 2020 is any indication, the move to the suburbs will be accelerating.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I haven't read the specifics as to the methodology, but I really have to wonder about the affordability. Delaware is more affordable than Arkansas? I have lived in both of those states and can't see that (except for the fact that DE has no sales tax) unless you live in "lower slower Delaware" in a chicken shack.

 

[NoiseBoy]

That's a pretty cold top ten list. The sparsely populated western states don't usually feature in the "where to retire to" threads on this forum. A quick look at Bismarck's airport shows that traveling internationally from North Dakota would require a connection to a US hub first. This list doesn't seem to pass the "smell" test to me. Mind you, I am sure ND can be a wonderful place to live.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

That's a pretty cold top ten list. The sparsely populated western states don't usually feature in the "where to retire to" threads on this forum. A quick look at Bismarck's airport shows that traveling internationally from North Dakota would require a connection to a US hub first. This list doesn't seem to pass the "smell" test to me. Mind you, I am sure ND can be a wonderful place to live.

I don't know...have you seen the large influx of folks moving to Boise, ID? Idaho is listed as the #1 most "inbound" state by North American Moving. Perhaps the same can be said for ND. There has been quite the exodus from California in the last year, so that might speak to some of it.

 

[NoiseBoy]

I don't know...have you seen the large influx of folks moving to Boise, ID? Perhaps the same can be said for ND. There has been quite the exodus from California in the last year, so that might speak to some of it.

I lived in Boise for 4 years. It's not really that cold there and it's dry, meaning not that much snow. Bismarck averages 46 inches of snow per year and Boise averages 18. Boise has a population of ~750k whereas Bismarck is ~120k, which is a substantial difference. I like Boise, but it's still a long way to the "next place." I always tell people that Boise is a great place to live if you like outdoor activities because you can do just about anything ourdoorsy within an hour of the city. But, if you want to travel and see other places, get ready for some serious road trips. It has been almost 25 years since I lived there, so I'm sure things have changed.

 

[Spritz]

#50 ..... can't wait to get out

 

[Dtail]

Hey we love FLA. Not for everyone, but it works for us.

 

[FreeBear]

Our adopted home AZ did OK at #17, primarily due to low COL. Our former Frozen Flyover state fared well below average, primarily due to high COL. From my perspective, this is essentially meaningless since I live in a specifc neighborhood, not in an entire state. Both states have very expensive suburban neighborhoods as well as cheap stuff out in the sticks. This is important because all housing related expenses make up the majority of our spending.

I was suprised to find that our newly beloved AZ ranked slightly below the median for "quality of life", but found that weather/climate made up only 10% of the score. This maybe have been the case when we w*rked in offices all day, but now I would assign 70%+ of the quality of life score to the climate. For DW, having warm and sunny "winters" would make up 110% of quality of life! This doesn't leave many places in the USA since lower COL has been somewhat important.

 

[Badger]

Have you seen the bugs in Florida?
And, there are gators and pythons.

Mosquitoes that carry a number of deadly diseases (West Nile virus and 2 types of Encephalitis and Chagas disease and Dengue Fever and Malaria etc), cockroaches the size of large sparrows, hurricanes and nor'easters, excessively high humidity year round, snow birds clogging the roads, Fire Ants, wild boars, panthers, lots of sharks and jellyfish in the ocean, Southern Black Widow and Brown Recluse spiders, Florida Black Bears, etc.

It's a tropical paradise!
Just so you know I live in Florida but I'm not telling where. I don't want to encourage more people to move here. There are enough.



Cheers!

 

[DrRoy]

#21 so middle of the pack. However, we like our town, we are blowing dough to customize the house, DW has friends here, and she is a few hours from most family. #1 for us!

PS: no hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, forest fires, or risk of flood.