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The internet loves to share lists. There is a reason for this. People love to read lists and so they skyrocket to the top of Google searches and suddenly everyone believes they have to have a list. I won’t promise that there will never be any sort of list on this website but I thought a more constructive thing to start with, rather than “Top 5 Places to Retire,” would be a guide to determine the right place for you.
I live in Asheville North Carolina which is consistently on the top 10 or so cities for retirement but I know that it isn’t a perfect place for everyone. However, for those who love it they can’t imagine living anywhere else.
This article gives some practical advice for choosing where to retire. Rather than reinventing the wheel, here are the important questions asked by writer Steve Vernon in the linked article.
- Do you want to be near friends and family?
- Will you be taking care of aging parents? If yes, will you need to be close by?
- Do you have hobbies or interests that play into where you’d want to live?
- Will you work during retirement? If so, will the location matter to you? (If you’ll transition to a part-time schedule for your current job, you may need to retire near or exactly where you live now.)
Click below for my thoughts on these bullets.
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Point one – Friends and family. While it may be great that a quaint little town in New England is on the list of best places to retire if you are 16 hours away from your friends and family, will you really be happy there? Unless, of course, you are intentionally moving away from them.
Some baby boomers are still working out details for their aging parents while also trying to create a plan for their own futures. If you need to take elder care into consideration it doesn’t make a lot of sense to move across the country.
More than anything I believe that a place needs to be the right environment for you. Consider everything about the location from the population to the availability of activities, similar social values, and climate.
Many small towns that end up on these best places lists don’t take employment into account. You’re there to retire, after all. However, you may need to continue to earn an income or just want to share your knowledge and expertise in a different capacity. If you move somewhere but can’t find employment it won’t take long before you’re unhappy.
Additionally, I would suggest that finding the right place to live is also about having the right community of people with whom you can begin a new way of thinking. If you are interested in living in community then a city or town that doesn’t foster that kind of relationship building is exactly wrong for you.
I want to spread the word on women for living in community. When you’re in the right place many of the other pieces can easily fall into place. If you’re looking for more ways to build community, contact me today!
Marianne, I absolutely love your columns and advice and have shared your website with many of my friends.. I visited the Show and Tell in July and can’t stop thinking about shared housing. I want to do it and am working on putting my head in the right place. I’ve visited several “pocket neighborhoods” here in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area and feel I’m getting closer to giving up my big cumbersome, heavy maintenance house and finding several Covington ladies to settle down with.
I’m currently reading “The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love”. It is absolutely delightful and I can see myself in the characters. I’m anxious to get to the end to see how things turn out for the ladies.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and friendship.
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