My Third Life!
Best Places to Retire
Where is the perfect place to retire? It depends on who's involved in the selection process and what precisely they're seeking to find in a retirement setting. A number of considerations factor into each person's individual equation. In addition, there are numerous resources, statisticians and pollsters that have stepped up the plate to take a strike at finding utopia for the golden years.
For example, in AARP's May/June '00 issue of the organization's monthly publication, Modern Maturity, a team of reporters set out on the mission of finding the ideal locale by conducting hundreds of interviews and rating areas based on what they considered important criteria:
 | getting' around (both walking and public), |
| quality dining experiences, |
| health options, |
| lifelong learning, |
| multicultural, |
| safe streets, |
| seriously civic, |
| sports and such, and |
| vitality quotient. |
The group narrowed down the field by identifying five categories and selecting 10 cities/towns in each, factoring in the above criteria. Although AARP's "The 50 Most Alive Places to Live" is available at www.aarp.org, here's a sampling of the top three in each category:
Green & Clean
Boulder, Colo.
Bend, Ore.
Annapolis, MD
College Towns
Austin, Texas
Charlottesville, Va.
Columbia, Md.
Big Cities
Boston, Mass.
San Francisco, Calif.
Sarasota, Fla.
Small Towns
Asheville, N.C.
Ashland, Ore.
Silver City, N.M.
Quirky
Sonoma County, Calif.
Key West, Fla.
Reno, Nev.
Another source, www.choosetocruise.com, narrowed down the field to small towns that scored high marks for community safety and retirement amenities. The list includes four towns:
Best Places to Retire in Comfort in America
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Charlottesville, Va.
Carlsbad, Calif.
Ft. Myers/Cape Coral, Fla.
Finally, numerous books deliberate heavily on the subject of selecting the best places to retire. One such book, Retirement Places Rated, compiled by David Savageau and published by Macmillan Travel, goes to great lengths to systematically identify spots based on the costs of living, climate, crime, services, employment, leisure living, and the total of all of the above. Each city competing for the overall "best in show" is rated according to the above criteria, and then the numbers are totaled together for a final list of "America's Top 30 Retirement Places." For sake of brevity, the top 10 are as follows:
America's Top Retirement Places
1. Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo.
2. Charleston Sea Islands, S.C.
3. Henderson-Boulder City, NV
4. Wickenburg, Ariz.
5. St. George-Zion, Utah
6. Boca Raton, Fla.
7. Scottsdale, Ariz.
8. Tucson, Ariz.
9. Prescott-Prescott Valley, Ariz.
10. Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Fla.
Reviewing the resources listed here, not one city made all the lists, but 11 cities were named twice. These are listed alphabetically, with no criteria setting them above or below the others:
The Favorites
Bellingham, Wash.
Bend, Ore.
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Charlottesville, Va.
Fort Collins, Colo.
Ft. Myers, Fla.
Prescott, Ariz.
San Diego, Calif.
Santa Fe, N.M.
Sarasota, Fla.
Tucson, Ariz.
Money magazine's editors have chosen eight great cities that have it all: quality of life, affordability and lots to do. We have chosen to profile seven here.
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Welcome! To the City of Providence homepage. Whether you are a city resident or business in need of assistance, or one of the thousands of visitors planning an exciting vacation to our Renaissance City, you'll find our website rich with a variety of information to guide you in the right direction. |
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White sand beaches, sophisticated arts, world-class shopping, five star resorts, country clubs of distinction, legendary fine dining and community events coupled with the areas natural beauty and year-round good weather are just a few reasons that Sarasota ranks among the nations 15 most livable communities, according to Money Magazine. Located on Southwest Florida's Gulf coast, the Sarasota area is a paradise unto its own. |
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Great, low cost living in the Dairyland state. |
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Nestled against the face of the Rocky Mountains, twenty-five miles northwest of Denver, Boulder, Colorado is a unique community of 96,000 people whose name has become synonymous with excellence, thoughtful planning, concern for the environment and respect for the opinion of individual citizens. |
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Our city is nestled in the fertile Mesilla Valley between the majestic Organ Mountains and the meandering Rio Grande. Located at the crossroads of Interstates 10 and 25, Las Cruces blends a unique variety of attractions, culture, historical sites, and superb year-round weather (350 days of sunshine per year). |
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Lots to do in the beautiful Northwest.
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