Where to Retire

Getting Started

To help narrow your focus, list answers to the following questions.

• How close to family should I/do I want to be?
• Will I be caring for a spouse or another loved one, possibly in ill health?
• What matters most – enjoying outdoor activities 10 months out of a year, or the change of seasons?
• Am I ready to downsize or do I want to maintain the same style of living?
• Do I want to tend to a house and/or garden?
• Would I enjoy splitting my time between different locations?
• Do I need to be close to a major airport for ease of travel?
• In what cultural or civic events and organizations do I want to be involved?
• Would I still like to work and thus, need to be close to such opportunities?
• How will my financial situation change over the next 10-20 years?

This exercise will prompt your deepest desires to come forth, and probably a few more questions about the best place to retire. Don’t hesitate to answer truthfully – it’s okay to spend only three months in Florida or to have a little space between family members. Just because you’re retiring doesn’t mean that you have to give up choices in your life.

Next Steps

Now that you’ve identified your priorities, you need to put together an action plan. This general guideline serves as a baseline for making decisions.

Talk to a financial planner. All you need is love, most of the time. The rest comes from your checkbook. You may already have a trusted financial advisor that you’ve used for years, but if not, ask your CPA to recommend an expert in retirement money matters.

Consult with your health care professional. How you manage your health in retirement years is of paramount importance to your quality of life. Health care providers can partner with you on a number of important decisions, including finding suitable replacements in your new locale and directing you to resources of necessity or interest.

Take stock of your family and friend situation. The relationships we have in our later years and our day-to-day interaction with others can be of great benefit. If you’re considering moving away from family, discuss how visits will be arranged and how frequently. Plan rendezvous trips and extended visits with friends. Reinforcing your existing network will aid the transition process.

Start downsizing. For some, the task of getting rid of material things is very difficult, as if parts of their lives are being cast aside. In reality, many retirees delight in seeing family heirlooms put to use by the younger generation; clearing out closets of “stuff” hidden for years; and creating scrapbooks to preserve memories. Your stress will be greatly reduced if you start downsizing before the urgency of a move begins.

Deciding Where to Retire

Review What the Experts Say

One of the most comprehensive and detailed guides to evaluate the best places to retire is Money magazine. The publication has compiled a list for more than a decade, based on a variety of statistics and qualitative information.

At CNN Money, you can quickly preview Money magazine's top choices for the year, review a number of articles on retirement living, plus answer a brief questionnaire. From your answers, the site will provide a top 25 list of the best places to retire, based on information such as median home price, average of clear skies reported annually, tax and crime rates, cultural and civic support, population, and so on.

Find Your Spot has a more comprehensive and fun quiz that enables you to figure out where to retire. However, it does require that you fill in a name and address field before receiving a list of best places in correspondence with your answers. The list highlights many factors that you indicate are important, and then links to city-specific pages.

Fortunately for this author, one of her ideal retirement cities, based on her answers, is Honolulu, Hawaii. Other suggested localities included Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, so the options are obviously diverse enough to meet almost any list of priorities.

Take a Trip

The world is your sample platter with an Elderhostel program. This active, learning-based vacation can be your scout trip to hundreds of different potential retirement destinations, without a full commitment. Plus you’re traveling with your peers, and their views of their homebase may enlighten you.

Try Short-Term Stays

Depending on your priorities and resources, consider experimental living for a month or two in locations of interest to you. Many college communities, for example, have transitional housing available for rent for far less than the price of an extended hotel stay. Other homeowners have properties they rent out for just such a circumstance at certain times of the year. Many retirees benefit by living as a resident, rather than a tourist, in a community about which they are curious.

Where to Retire: Conclusion

It can be exciting to design a new phase of your life, merging dreams with practicality and then taking a chance. Most individuals planning to relocate for retirement invest one-to-two years researching the possibilities and putting affairs in order. So take your time, as the only right way to determine the best place to retire is to settle where it feels like home.

~ Tracey L. Kelley