You can find new lists each year for the best places to retire, then you have your top 10 best places to retire, then you have your top 100 best places to retire, then you have your best places to retire in the United States, best places to retire overseas, the list goes on and on.
How could there possibly be so many best places to retire?
Not everyone is looking for the same thing. Many people want to stay in their home state or even city to be close to their children and grandchildren. If all your friends are in one area of the country, why would you want to retire in another area?
But if you are trying to lower your costs while not sacrificing your standard of living, you may need to relocate to another state or even country.
Not everyone has the same amount of retirement income and savings to get them through their retirement years. So this will also influence what kind of retirement home or condo you can rent or buy. You may be on a fixed income of Social Security checks and a modest pension.
You also may be interested in retirement areas that have an abundance of job opportunities because you do not just want to sit in a hammock reading all day sipping pina coladas. You may want to start a second career that you’ve always dreamed of. You may then be looking for a more bustling location instead of a more vacation retirement destination.
Another reason there are 100s of best places to retire is taxes. Not everyone is happy to pay all they can. You’ve worked hard your entire life, now you want to relax hard and not have to give up so much of your income to Uncle Sam anymore. There are states with no or low income taxes that can reduce your tax burden. You may be looking for cheap places to live and retire.
The kind of weather you love the most also plays a factor. You may enjoy snow birding during the winter to a tropical destination. So you may have 2 best places to retire depending on the year and season. Some people want ocean views while others would enjoy a mountain in their backyard while still others would love to see their garden when they wake up. Depending on what kind of weather you enjoy that will have a bearing on where you want to spend your retirement.
The population size of your retirement choice also impacts your decision. You may want to live and retire in a small college town while your spouse may want a large metropolitan area to call home. You may have to compromise and relocate to a medium sized city.
If your retirement income allows you may choose to live in several places all around the world. You can rent a villa in the Mexico for a few years and then head off to Eastern Europe for a few years and then head to Australia and New Zealand for a few more years.
So now hopefully you have a better understanding of why there are so many “best places to retire” top 10 and top 100 lists for you to choose from and why there are new ones each year. Find out what is most important to you – job opportunities, low taxes, low cost of living, high quality medical care, low crime rates, American friendly, good exchange rate, and more and then find your best place to retire.