13 great places to retire. I love where I live. My condo is a hovel but it's (mostly) mine. My neighborhood has restaurants and healthcare and shopping and a movie theater all within walking distance. A network of buses can take me from hither to yon and commuter rails literally run outside my front door. Yes, it's noisy, but it sure is convenient. I'm just a train fare away from Chicago, a world-class city! So I'm staying put.
I realize not everyone is as content as I am. I keep seeing articles about where retirees should want to go. I don't see that any of these towns offering what I don't already have, but sometimes I do imagine myself as a mysterious woman who gets off the train in a new town and starts over. I'll consider these locales as the setting for my fantasy.
These recommendations come from US News & World Report, AARP and Daily Passport. Considerations include affordable housing, transportation, access to health care and physical activity, and opportunity to social engagement.
Listed in alphabetical order.
1. Altoona, PA
2. Ann Arbor, MI
3. Athens, GA
4. Boston, MA (I always felt very at home in Boston)
5. Chapel Hill, NC
6. Charlottesville, VA
7. Denver, CO
8. Homossassa Springs, FL
9. Midland, MI
10. Nassau County, New York
11. Rio Rancho, NM
12. San Francisco, CA
13. Washington, DC
I admit politics are more important to me than weather. I didn't work 45 years to spend my retirement supporting a state legislated by MAGA and election deniers. If you were moving to another town, what would you consider?
Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.
Hmm.... I have no idea where I'd go. Possibly somewhere at least a little south of here. I'm not really a fan of winter. Altoona surprises me. I've been there. I don't think it's all that exciting, though they have a great Hobby Lobby and they make Clark Bars and Mallow Cups there.
ReplyDeleteI always thought you lived IN Chicago and not a quick train ride away.
I get your confusion. I live in a neighborhood, which is not what people think of when they of The Windy City. I'm a quick train ride from The Loop and Michigan Avenue. From there I'd need to take a bus to my beloved Wrigley Field or The Lake. These days I take rideshares, though, because I've gotten really lazy in my old age. I'm like, hey, I deserve this!
DeleteI have seen a number of lists like this and none of them seem to have the same places listed. I'm from Denver and my retired 86-year-old mom lives there and it seems to be good for her. I live in Utah (which is now much less red than before the mid-terms) and I don't plan to leave. My social values and opinions are very conservative, but I don't consider myself MAGA. We are all, after all, just people on a journey back home no matter what our opinions and beliefs. Best to help others and not be divisive. Interesting list.
ReplyDeleteAs Stacy said, I would like to live more southernly than I currently do. My Virginia sister and I have joked for years that I am going to have a "Granny Pod" on her land. Now that I'm retiring, it's less a joke and more a possibility!
ReplyDeleteI doubt I ever leave where I am, which is only about 1.5 hours from Charlottesville, but Charlottesville is bluer. It's also more expensive than the red area where I live. I have considered Charlottesville as an alternative if something should happen to my husband, though.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to leave California. We don't have transit, but we do have good weather.
ReplyDelete