A Few Great Places for Seniors to Live

With more baby boomers hitting retirement age every day, there has never been an more important issue than where to live out your golden years. These days, the retirees and early retires aren’t necessarily looking for staid retirement communities.

With more baby boomers hitting retirement age every day, there has never been an more important issue than where to live out your golden years. These days, the retirees and early retires aren’t necessarily looking for staid retirement communities.
With more baby boomers hitting retirement age every day, there has never been an more important issue than where to live out your golden years. These days, the retirees and early retires aren’t necessarily looking for staid retirement communities.

Take my parents for example – yes, they now live in an independent retirement complex where they have weekly maid service, some laundry handled, weekly trips to nearby grocery stores, banks, etc., and two meals a day. But there are also weekly outings – last Monday it was to the Budweiser plant followed by lunch, a few weeks ago it was the Jelly Belly Factory. They’ve also gone to SF Giants and Oakland A’s baseball games and regular excursions to shopping malls, local wineries, and dinner houses. But, that’s not enough for my parents; at 91 my dad still works and last weekend, with my Mom, showed commercial property to potential clients in northern California (a 3 hour trip each way.). The weekend before saw them traveling to a wedding in San Francisco and a family party the following day. And, they have a convention booked for Vegas in December. Many of today’s seniors want to start a second career, go back to school, open a home-based business, travel, and do all sorts of things retirees 20 and 30 years ago never thought of. Many will own a second home, either a vacation home or a new, permanent home.

Location. Location! LOCATION!! These active seniors want proximity to cultural, educational and, perhaps, sports facilities. They need excellent medical care and they want sophisticated restaurants too. They like seeing the grandkids, so it they’re not nearby, proximity to an airport is necessary to fly off a few times a year to check in with them.

This article will go into depth about the top five places AARP has listed in their top 15 best places to retire in the US.

# 1 is Loveland/Fort Collins, Colorado about an hour from Denver and even closer to Cheyenne, Wyoming. And, Money Magazine just named it the # 1 place to live in their August 2006 issue. Here you’ll find a vibrant small city, proximity to outdoor activities, excellent schools, and fairly reasonable home prices. Residents enjoy a moderate climate with less than 15 inches of precipitation annually and summertime high temperatures of about 85 degrees. It’s seldom colder than 45 degrees in winter and if it snows, it doesn’t stay long. There are many cultural activities, proximity to a variety of outdoor sports, lots of shopping and fine eateries. Residential home properties have settled over the last few years and in 2005 the median price for a single family home was $222,000, up just over 4% from 2004 prices. There are also many options for those seniors preferring not to live in their own homes – retirement communities from independent living to assisted living, memory (Alzheimer’s) care, and skilled nursing. Apartments are plentiful in the area also. Public transportation, Transfort, is good with buses running from 6am to 6:30pm and shuttles to Loveland. However, there is no service on Sundays. .

# 2 is Bellhingham, Washington located on the coast between Vancouver, BC and Seattle. Incidentally, it’s where some close friends retired to about six months ago and they love it. You’ll find historic Victorian homes, an ocean marina, freshwater lakes, lush forests and Mount Baker. Bellingham offers a diverse culture and ethnicity as well as varied political views and life styles. Outdoor activities are everywhere and the Ski to Sea Race brings Olympic and world-class athletes to the area. It’s home to the third largest university in the state. In the last year, housing has risen about 20% compared to a statewide average of around 10%. The median home price here is $250,000. Unfortunately, wages are a bit lower in the area compared to the rest of Washington. Business leaders and elected officials hope wages will increase as more business comes to the region. Again, there are many options for seniors preferring to rent apartments or live in some type of retirement community. There seems to be a fairly extensive bus system but it’s unclear how well it services the residential areas.

#3 – Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, in North Carolina. The Triangle area was also named #8 for best place for Business and Careers by Forbes Magazine (May 2006). This is a high tech and educational mecca with more than 10+ colleges and it’s anchored by the biotech and high-tech facilities in Research Triangle Park. It’s about three hours from both the mountains and the coast and has a lively cultural, shopping, and dining scene. Medical care is top-notch with two major medical facilities in the area. The median home price this year, 2006, is $235,000 with homes in Chapel Hill being more expensive; Chapel Hill has the highest home market in the state. There are multiple transit systems offering bus schedules(with transfers to other companies’ lines) in the area and plans to create a regional rail system in 2009. There are many options for seniors who don’t want to live in a private residence – apartments and a large variety of retirement homes from the very basic apartment to luxury accommodations and continuing care.

#4 is Sarasota, Florida on the Gulf Coast. It has a temperate climate, lots of tennis courts and 60+ golf courses with good boating in both Sarasota Bay and the Gulf. CNN/Money Magazine chose this as America’s Best Small City. It’s also about an hour from Tampa and just over 100 miles to Disney World. There are 35 miles of beaches (in the area), lots of art galleries, a ballet, an opera, symphony, and film society, along with many eateries and shopping areas. The median home price was about $225,000 in 2005, with an increase for 2006. There is a Sarasota County public transit system but I’m unable to find any specific information on it to include it here. There are several hospitals in the area, including the Saratoga Women’s Breast Health Care Center. Since Florida is such a popular retirement destination, there is an exceptionally large selection of retirement/senior facilities in this area.

#5 is Fayetteville, Arkansas with its bright fall foliage, has one of the lowest costs of living in the nation. It’s located at the base of the Ozark mountains, where you can fish and enjoy other water sports in clear mountain lakes. It is home to the Arkansas Razorbacks, enjoys a lively shopping and dining scene, has a rich history and a healthy economy. Its newest museum is the Clinton House Museum. The median home price is only about $173,000 with a job growth of over 30%. The weather, however, can be rather humid in summer because this is the south. The average January temperature is in the high 30’s. Medical care is very good and WalMart has a clinic in the works (else in the country also) which is controversial. Here too, is a good choice of retirement facilities running the gamut from 55+ communities to continuing care complexes.