| Determining the best retirement states is not always | | | | evaluating towns on a number of different aspects |
| an easy task. With all of the choices of places that | | | | that their readers rated as being important. These |
| you could move, how can you choose where to go? | | | | specific towns can be explored more on their |
| Is there one list of the best retirement states, or an | | | | website: |
| absolute top 10 states for retirement? The fact is | | | | · Bozeman, Montana |
| that the best retirement states are the ones that | | | | · Concord, New Hampshire |
| are best for you. There are some criteria that | | | | · Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| retirees seem to want in general, but in the end your | | | | · Hillsboro, Oregon |
| own list of the top 10 states for retirement might be | | | | · Lawrence, Kansas |
| different from mine or anyone else's. | | | | · Peachtree City, Georgia |
| For example, if you know that you want to live | | | | · Prescott, Arizona |
| within a few hours of your children and grandchildren, | | | | · San Francisco, California |
| you would be limiting your list of the best retirement | | | | · Smyrna, Tennessee |
| states to those that are found in a radius of about | | | | · Venice, Florida |
| 100 miles around their location. Or if you know that | | | | The American Association of Retired Persons has |
| you want to live in a state with mild winters, you'll | | | | created their own list of the top 15 towns to retire, |
| obviously be creating your list of the best retirement | | | | using a very thorough set of 10 different criteria, |
| states from those that have the type of climate you | | | | though they also state that their intention was partly |
| want. | | | | to highlight towns you may not have heard of. The |
| If you need some other ideas on how to choose | | | | criteria they used were: |
| your best retirement states, then there are tools to | | | | - How many jobs there are available |
| help you. has guides for every state that are | | | | - How affordable housing is |
| designed to provide retirees with all the information | | | | - The range of culture and entertainment available |
| they need. The site also has articles on a variety of | | | | - The range of outdoor recreation available |
| topics and links to other information that retirees | | | | - Safety - both for your person and your property |
| would find interesting. | | | | - Presence of colleges or universities |
| US News and World Report has created a search | | | | - Sense of a central, downtown, pedestrian-friendly |
| tool that lets you create a fully customized list of the | | | | area |
| best retirement states. You determine what criteria | | | | - Distance to good, comprehensive medical care |
| are important to you in choosing a retirement | | | | - Presence of good public high schools, since many |
| location. Their search engine compares the criteria | | | | retirees may still have teenagers |
| you choose to information on more than 2,000 | | | | - Quality of public transportation Two cities were |
| towns to give you some recommendations. Criteria | | | | found in each of the states of Florida, North Carolina, |
| include things such as climate, the cost of living, | | | | and Washington, with the remaining nine cities found |
| recreation opportunities, and others. | | | | in different states around the country. You can read |
| If you don't make a selection on a criterion, it will not | | | | a summary description of each town and the main |
| be used in generating your list. When you're done | | | | benefits each one offers on the American |
| making your choices, you can click 'Rank Results' to | | | | Association of Retired Persons website. |
| get a customized list of locations that match your | | | | You'll likely want to limit your top ten list down to a |
| criteria. Click on the individual cities for more | | | | couple of locations, and then visit them in person, if |
| information, or you can browse through the results | | | | possible. You can also start investigating the town |
| by state. You can explore the search tool at the US | | | | online, and even join some online chat or discussion |
| News website. | | | | groups. You might even make a friend or two before |
| US News and World Report also has a list of the | | | | you move there! |
| top-ten places to retire that they came up with after | | | | |