| THERE IS ALWAYS A BETTER PLACE AND BETTER PERSON |
Better weather,
affordable housing,
and plenty of interesting things to do are just a few reasons people
move to a new place when they retire. Whether you want to spend your
golden years watching the sun set over the water or taking on a second
career, we've identified an ideal place. Using data from Onboard
Informatics, U.S. News selected 10 key attributes that many people look
for in a retirement spot, along with a city that excels in meeting each
need. Here are 10 excellent places to retire in 2012.
Pleasant year-round weather: Flagstaff, Ariz.
Flagstaff's
high altitude and low humidity generally lead to a pleasant four-season
climate throughout most of the year. To select a place with great
year-round weather, we used National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration data to find places with the most sunny days. Among the
sunniest cities, we looked for places where the temperature seldom rises
above 90 degrees. The sun shines in Flagstaff an average of 78 percent
of the year, according to NOAA data, but unlike most other sunny
climates, the temperature only rises above 90 degrees an average of
three days per year. Flagstaff can receive a significant amount of snow
in the winter, but the prolific sunshine often quickly melts
accumulation. "There is a lot of sunshine and no extremes of
temperature," says Karen Haskins, 71, a retiree who moved to Flagstaff
from Amherst, N.H., in 2007. "Summer and early fall are really pleasant.
Winters are cold and you do get snow, but because of the intensity of
the sun, it melts quickly."
[Also see:
Destinations to Watch in 2012]
Affordable mountain town: Boone, N.C.
Pricey
Aspen and Vail may be beyond your budget, but that doesn't mean you
can't spend your retirement years appreciating spectacular mountain
views or making runs on the slopes. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains,
Boone boasts three nearby ski resorts as well as trails for cross
country skiing, winter hiking, and snowshoeing. Residents of this small
town of 14,000 also have access to one of the country's most scenic
roads, the Blue Ridge Parkway. A bonus: Boone provides residents with a
free local bus service, AppalCART, and access to many of the amenities
at
Appalachian State University. In 2010, the median home sale price was $215,250.
Water views on a budget: Traverse City, Mich.
Dream
of retiring to a lake house? The Traverse City area offers more than
180 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and 149 large lakes measuring 10
acres or more. Residents can climb the high sand dunes and lounge on the
freshwater beaches at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, or
take a ferry out to the Manitou Islands. There are also plenty of
opportunities for boating on the twin Grand Traverse Bays. Housing
prices in this lakeside city average a reasonable $155,715.
Greenest place to retire: Walnut Creek, Calif.
Retirees
make up more than a quarter of the population of Walnut Creek, which
combines the amenities of a city with abundant access to the wilderness.
Downtown is filled with high-end shops, fine dining, and organic
eateries, as well as the Lesher Center for the Arts. The city also has
22 city parks and 2,704 acres of open space. "There's a great amount of
open space available," says Joe Stadum, a resident of Walnut Creek's
large 55-and-older gated community, Rossmoor. He enjoys hiking with the
Rossmoor Trails Club, which counts more than 200 members. "You can drive
or ride your bicycle or run and hike. It's a great asset." Residents
may choose to drive up to the summit of 3,849-foot Mount Diablo or
travel to nearby San Francisco. But life in the Bay Area doesn't come
cheap. The median home price is $411,000.
A college town for retirees: Ithaca, N.Y.
College
towns like Ithaca can be an ideal place to retire. For a median home
price of just $176,500, retirees can take classes at Cornell University
or
Ithaca College
and attend speeches, concerts, and sporting events. They can also spend
their days hiking to the more than 100 waterfalls and gorges within 10
miles of downtown or sampling the wares of the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail.
Don Wilson, 65, a retired cardiologist from Rockford, Ill., bicycles
throughout the Finger Lakes region three times a week. "The rural roads
in the Finger Lakes region have so little traffic that you can ride
three or four abreast on a bicycle in continuous conversation, learning
from each other," he says. Wilson has also developed an interest in
paleontology, and is taking a course on the subject at Cornell
University and conducting research on fossils at the Museum of the
Earth. "I think that university towns tend to attract interesting
organizations, like the Museum of the Earth, and interesting people who
may or may not be connected with the college."
Place to launch a second career: Lincoln, Neb.
Clague
Hodgson, 65, retired early from a faculty position at the Creighton
University School of Medicine and founded his own biotech company,
Nature Technology Corporation, in 1998. His Lincoln-based business now
employs eight people who investigate the use of DNA as a medicine.
Hodgson says the city's low unemployment rate and proximity to the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln make it an excellent place to launch a
second career. "The University of Nebraska Technology Park really takes a
lot of the weight off your shoulders," he says. "For an entrepreneur,
remaining affiliated with the university is a good source of
information, the library is very helpful, and occasionally we
collaborate with researchers there." Nebraska's state capitol had an
unemployment rate of just 3.5 percent in 2010, among the lowest in the
country. According to Onboard Informatics data, the city has added more
than 15,000 jobs since 2000, many of which are in fields known to hire
older workers, including government, higher education, and healthcare.
Best mix of affordability and amenities: Pittsburgh, Pa.
Pittsburgh
has a low cost of living coupled with a wide variety of amenities that
retirees will need as they age. The median home sale price was $97,900
in 2010, which is unusual for a city with a large university and
top-notch hospitals. Senior citizens age 65 and older with proper
identification are entitled to ride Port Authority buses and trains for
free. You'll just have to decide whether you want season tickets to the
ballet, symphony, or Steelers games, assuming all three won't fit into
your retirement budget.
Best place for affordable housing: Port Charlotte, Fla.
Port
Charlotte home prices were battered by the housing bust, which could
mean bargains for retirees new to the area. The median home sale price
was a shockingly low $59,950 in 2010. And many of these homes are
located along canals and waterways. "There are a tremendous number of
houses on the water, and everybody's got their boats in their backyard,"
says retiree Chris Zwirner, 78. "All the people who live on water
essentially have access to the Gulf of Mexico, and from there you can go
around the world." The Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park spans
42,000 acres, including 70 miles of shoreline along the Charlotte
Harbor. An added bonus: Florida has no state income tax.
[Also see:
Inside the 5 Most Luxurious Ski Homes]
Best place for single retirees: Pittsfield, Mass.
Dating
is increasingly becoming a part of the retirement years. And Pittsfield
is the only metro area where the majority of the 55-and-older
population (52 percent) is single, according to Census Bureau data.
Carol Scott, 60, an event planner who has been widowed for three years,
likes to connect with new people online and has arranged five in-person
dates so far this year. "I usually like to meet for a coffee or a
drink," she says. "If we find we enjoy each other's company, perhaps it
runs over into dinner." But even if you move to Pittsfield, we can't
guarantee that dating will be easy. There are nearly twice as many
single women (14,237) age 55 and older as single men (7,869). "A lot of
my women friends are single," says Scott. "And while I have met some
very nice people, I have not met someone I am interested in pursuing."
Best place for recreation and culture: Santa Fe, N.M.
At
more than 400 years old, Santa Fe is the country's oldest state
capitol. The city is known for its unique culture and art galleries,
including the New Mexico Museum of Art and Institute of American Indian
Arts. "Santa Fe has a charter that is unlike other cities," says Karen
Ralston, 67, a retired director of marketing for a publisher. She moved
to Santa Fe in 2006. "The cultural mix that we get here — the Anglo
culture and the Indian culture and the Hispanic culture — blends very
beautifully here. We really love that mix," she says. An art history
minor in college, Ralston rediscovered that interest by volunteering at
the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and the Center for Contemporary Arts. The
creations of artists worldwide are also celebrated at a variety of
annual festivals and markets, such as the Native Treasures Indian Arts
Festival and the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market.
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