Ready for Another Ten Best States?

[JPatrick]

For retirement that is.
As usual I agree with some, and shook my head at the others.
YMMV

The 10 best states to retire in - Slide Show - MarketWatch

 

[ziggy29]

Top 10 for people who love to sweat profusely for 4-6 months out of the year...

 

[Midpack]

Top 10 for people who love to sweat profusely for 4-6 months out of the year...

+1, that's the sweatiest top 10 states list I've ever seen...

 

[Bestwifeever]

In order:

1. Tennessee
2. Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama (article here: » Best States for Retirement – 2012 Topretirements ties these as 2.)
6. Arkansas
7. Florida
8. Oklahoma
9. Georgia
10. Nevada

Meanwhile, the most bikeable cities (Grab your bike and head for Minneapolis - chicagotribune.com) are mostly in cold winter states but none in the above best states for retirement:

Minneapolis finished with a 79; tied for second were Portland, Ore., and San Francisco at 70. Rounding out the top 10 were Boston (68), Madison, Wis. (67), Washington, D.C. (65), Seattle (64), Tucson (64), New York (62) and Chicago (62).

 

[M Paquette]

So, do chiggers, fire ants, hurricanes, or gators figure most prominently in ones retirement plans? I'm just trying to reverse engineer the selection criteria...

 

[audreyh1]

No kidding about warm, humid areas! Except for Nevada - warm and dry. Texas has humid areas and dry areas - all warm!

 

[plex]

Hard for me to make use of the list since it places a premium on 65+ amenities.

Sure would be nice to find a list of the best places to telework/early retire that has a decent combination of tax analysis, cost of living, and internet saturation. Think I've narrowed it down to Seattle or Tampa though, Austin was on there too until I realized Texas is the 3rd highest property tax state and FIOS is only available in a tiny part of the northern Austin area.

 

[Purron]

Top 10 for people who love to sweat profusely for 4-6 months out of the year...

+1

 

[Gumby]

I'm sure they're all lovely places, but I wouldn't want to live there. The Hudson River is as far west as I'm willing to go.

 

[JPatrick]

The Alabama description takes note of Fairhope, a neat city flying under most folks radar. We discovered it in 04 and decided that was the place for us. Then enter Katrina..While not directly affecting Fairhope, the area seemed to become a magnet for Katrina survivors. The house we had our eye on jumped 50K over night, then after that they took their own hurricane hit.
That did it..So long Fairhope.

 

[Goonie]

Their #1 pick, Tennessee, has been my #1 pick for years! I decided many years ago, that if I ever left the old family homestead here in Illinois, that I'd put down roots somewhere in the sticks within about an hour drive of Nashville. We normally visit Tennessee about 4-6 times each year, and love it there!!! Although at this point in time, I'm pretty darn happy here on the homestead!!!

 

[ziggy29]

Their #1 pick, Tennessee, has been my #1 pick for years! I decided many years ago, that if I ever left the old family homestead here in Illinois, that I'd put down roots somewhere in the sticks within about an hour drive of Nashville. We normally visit Tennessee about 4-6 times each year, and love it there!!! Although at this point in time, I'm pretty darn happy here on the homestead!!!

At least Tennessee comes closer to having four seasons than most of the list. The Depp South has a mild winter, but (IMO) you more than pay for it with an awful hot, humid summer that lasts four months or more.

 

[Goonie]

At least Tennessee comes closer to having four seasons than most of the list.

That is one of the reasons for my choice! I really like having four seasons. Sure, it would be kind of nice to be able to garden year 'round, but I really enjoy seeing the trees change colors in the Fall, and freshly fallen snow in the Winter....which leads up to the trees budding out and flowers starting to poke up in the Spring!

I've never really minded snow my whole life.....absolutely loved it as a kid! Tolerated it after that.....until 5 years ago when I retired! Now I LOVE snow!!! Everything looks so bright and sparkly after a snow fall!!! And I don't HAVE TO get out in it and drive through it anymore!!! I can very easily wait 'til the roads are all plowed and clear before I venture out!!!

 

[eytonxav]

With global warming, what will these lists look like in another 20 years?

 

[MichaelB]

With global warming, what will these lists look like in another 20 years?

People will be promoting Arizona beachfront property and the advantages of the "Underwater Florida Villages"?

 

[aaronc879]

Top 10 for people who love to sweat profusely for 4-6 months out of the year...

IMO if you can't afford to have two homes then it's easier to tolerate extreme heat than extreme cold so I agree with the list. I actually thought Oklahoma would be too cold in the winter as well as parts of Nevada. Unless you can afford to pay someone to shovel you shouldn't retire anywhere that gets snow if you have the option. My 80 year old Grandma still mows here faily good sized lawn but has to have someone else shovel her fairly small driveway. Everything is more difficult in extreme cold. YMMV

 

[Midpack]

With global warming, what will these lists look like in another 20 years?

Property (like mine ) near Lake Michigan will become widely known as the Midwestern Riviera? At least that's what I keep telling DW all winter until then...

 

[Bestwifeever]

With global warming, what will these lists look like in another 20 years?

That's when the best places to bike and the best places to retire lists will merge.

 

[eytonxav]

I've been noticing that tornados and hail storms seem to be shifting both north and east. Hopefully north texas will be safe, although Houston may be under water

 

[REWahoo]

I've been noticing that tornados and hail storms seem to be shifting both north and east. Hopefully north texas will be safe, although Houston may be under water

In the future those "best places to retire" lists will include only locations 1,000 ft or more above sea level....

 

[ziggy29]

IMO if you can't afford to have two homes then it's easier to tolerate extreme heat than extreme cold so I agree with the list.

Different strokes, I guess. When it's really cold you can add more layers and bundle up to get warm. In a Southern summer you can't get comfortable in *any* way other than to stay inside with the AC blasting constantly and hibernate from May to mid-October. You can't go around town naked, and even if you could you'd still be miserably hot.

 

[eytonxav]

You can't go around town naked, and even if you could you'd still be miserably hot.

If we get too many Californians moving here, that could change. At least those from SF.

 

[W2R]

In the future those "best places to retire" lists will include only locations 1,000 ft or more above sea level....

I'd go for that.

 

[grasshopper]

The Alabama description takes note of Fairhope, a neat city flying under most folks radar. We discovered it in 04 and decided that was the place for us. Then enter Katrina..While not directly affecting Fairhope, the area seemed to become a magnet for Katrina survivors. The house we had our eye on jumped 50K over night, then after that they took their own hurricane hit.
That did it..So long Fairhope.

Ms G and I were considering Ocean Springs MS, before Katrina. We were surprised it was still on the map!

Ocean Springs is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, about 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Biloxi. It is part of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 17,225 at the 2000 census. As of the 2010 census, the city of Ocean Springs had a population of 23,161.
The town has a reputation as an "arts community." Its historic and secluded downtown area, with streets lined by live oak trees, is home to several art galleries and shops. It is also home to a number of ethnic restaurants relatively uncommon in surrounding communities.
Ocean Springs was the hometown of the late Walter Inglis Anderson, a nationally renowned painter and muralist who died in 1965 from lung cancer. The town plays host to several festivals, including its Peter Anderson Festival and The Herb Festival.
Ocean Springs was severely damaged on August 29, 2005, by Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed many buildings along the shoreline, including the Ocean Springs Yacht Club, and the historic wooden Fort Maurepas, and gutted or flooded other buildings. Katrina's 25 ft (7.6 m) storm surge also destroyed the Biloxi Bay Bridge, which connected Biloxi to Ocean Springs.

 

[Nords]

With global warming, what will these lists look like in another 20 years?

That's when the best places to [-]bike[/-] paddle and the best places to retire lists will merge.

Fixed it for ya...

I've been noticing that tornados and hail storms seem to be shifting both north and east. Hopefully north texas will be safe, although Houston may be under water

Hawaii has earned a well-deserved reputation for some of the nation's most miserable paved streets. The local traffic engineers shrug their shoulders and blame it on the high water table and the occasional torrential rain. (They can't blame it on freezing & thawing!) They're always searching for the miracle paving material to stave off potholes and caved-in shoulders.

Then we started driving Houston's streets. As far as I can tell, it's the only American city whose paving is in worse condition than Hawaii's streets... another problem caused by high water tables and shifting soil.