The 15 Best Places to Retire in America

retirement

The perfect place to call home following retirement is a personal choice. No one can tell you where to go, what to do with your newfound free time or how to enjoy the best years of your life. No one city is better than the rest for every single retiree, and not every retiree has the same personal preference when it comes to the many factors considered when choosing a home. However, that doesn’t stop the world’s most famous websites and publications from compiling lists of cities in the country that are best for retirement. As of 2015, both Forbes and Bankrate.com agree that certain cities simply outweigh the rest.

Using a formula that considers cost of living, affordability, crime rate, the quality of available health care, taxes, good weather and even the amount of walking that a retiree can do in a city, these are the 15 best cities for retirement as of most recently. Is your city on here, or will you simply use this list as a guideline for choosing the place you want to retire?

asheville

Asheville, North Carolina

There is nothing quite like North Carolina. Southern hospitality and charm meet in the midst of this darling city to bring you a low cost of living, a small town feel in a bigger city and plenty to do to bide your time until the next vacation on your to-do list. Asheville is home of the beautiful Biltmore Estate, vineyards, and some of the most beautiful weather in the country.

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montana

Great Falls, Montana

If living somewhere nature presides and all things manmade are just a small portion of the overall beauty is important, this is the city for you. You won’t find city living here. You will find small shops, family-owned restaurants, nature as far as the eye can see, and such a low cost of living that it’s amazing more people don’t life here. Great Falls is perfect for the adventurer; the retiree who wants to hike, travel, climb and fish.

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retirement

Abilene, Texas

You hear about it more than a few country ballads, and it’s worth checking out. Abilene has the distinct honor of being a small-ish town where the cost of living is 17 percent below the national average. That means you’ll get more house for your money, lower taxes and you won’t find that there is a lack of entertainment, great weather and friendly locals. The crime rate is virtually nonexistent, and that’s always a plus.

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Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona

A big city with the charm of small town living, Phoenix has most everything to offer retirees. The weather is lovely, the crime rate is low and there is plenty here to do. With housing more affordable here than in many other major cities, it’s one of the best places to live no matter what your age. What we love most about this gorgeous city is that it’s so close to so many other amazing cities if you love road trips and long weekends away in the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and some of our favorite Southern California cities.

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retirement

Arlington, Virginia

History buffs unite; Arlington will keep you busy for the rest of your life no matter how much free time you have these days. This city just outside of Washington D.C. is the premier city for anyone looking to spend your days whiling away time at local museums, historical sites and even brushing up on your American history knowledge. It’s just an added bonus that the cost of living here, the crime rate and the number of things to do to keep you entertained are numerous.

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Arizona

Prescott, Arizona

As you get a bit older, your body starts doing irritating things like aching and not allowing you to enjoy the cold winters you once enjoyed. If you find that your overworked body prefers warm weather without feeling as if you’re going to die of heatstroke before you reach the car, this is the city for you. The average temperature all year is a beautiful 70 degrees, and the landscape here is just soothing, peaceful and positively relaxing. You cannot beat this city in retirement.

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Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

Do you love desert living with a view of the mountains surrounding you? Do you love low taxes, affordable housing, darling restaurants and plenty of shopping, golfing and enjoyment? We didn’t think so; so we won’t even mention that Tucson is one of the most amazing cities in the country for all of the above. And forget the fact that the weather here is temperate year round, making it an even more inviting location for retirees, families and most everyone else to call home.

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retirement

Des Moines, Iowa

The ideal situation here is that it’s a big city that’s not a big city. There’s just over 200,000 residents in Des Moines, which means it feels like a city but with the small town charm that so many retirees are looking for when they leave their everyday behind. The city might not be tropical or even warm all that often, but what it does have to offer is simply amazing. It’s a city filled with things to do, shops, restaurants, galleries and entertainment. The cost of living is low and the crime rate is so low it’s almost unspeakable.

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Denver

Denver, Colorado

Sometimes all you want is just sunshine. Sure, you can get that here in Florida, it is the sunshine state, but you can’t have it all the time. In Denver, however, you get a beautiful 300 days of sunshine every year, making it a lovely city in which to live. With low taxes and so much to do, it’s understandable that so many people are willing to brave the cold winters for all the outdoor activities that Denver boasts year-round; especially in retirement.

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Austin

Austin, Texas

With such a thriving cultural scene and an eclectic mix of music and the arts, Austin is one of the trendiest cities in the country at the moment. You will never find a night where there is not live music, something amazing going on and so many places you can walk to and from on a regular basis. It’s the capital of the state, but it’s the music capital of the world in terms of live productions. It’s also beautiful in terms of weather; and the cost of living is low.

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cape coral

Cape Coral, Florida

Florida is one of the most famous retirement communities in the world, and for good reason. It’s hot most of the year, warm the rest of the year and nothing beats a blue Florida sky and water everywhere you go. With more golf courses than you could ever hope to play, beaches, and even a short distance to the home of the world’s most famous mouse when the grandkids come to visit, you won’t find more in a retirement city than Cape Coral has to offer.

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Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Mountains, blue skies and amazing health care might be all you need to know about Colorado Springs. This is one place that offers everything that you might want in a retirement community, from low taxes to low cost of living. Spending the Golden Years of your life here means partaking in outdoor sports all year, beautiful weather if you love snow during the winter and plenty of arts and entertainment.

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Tennessee

Franklin, Tennessee

Few things in life are more quaint than a downtown area with old, historic buildings, plenty of brick and mom and pop shops where everyone gets to know your name. That’s what is so appealing about Franklin. The weather is beautiful most of the year, the people are friendly and downtown Franklin is among the most walkable and most adorable in all the area. low cost of living, low taxes and so much historical influence makes this small town perfect for your retirement.

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Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

If you love the south, this is the city for you. It’s a big city with a small town feel, beautiful landscaping and more than its own fair share of farms and the horse industry. The cost of living here is lower than the national average, homes are less expensive and people are friendly. This is a city that boasts a great deal of entertainment, outdoor activity and overall physical activity for those who like to keep busy and stay in shape enjoying time outside.

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florida

Port Charlotte, Florida

Much like Cape Coral, this Gulf of Mexico city has golf courses, beaches, lakes, ponds, shopping, dining and everything else you could ever imagine. It’s the perfect combination of upscale and casual, meaning that retirees can find just about anything that pleases them here. The weather is beautiful all year, but it is hot in the summer. All this means for you is that you have to enjoy outdoor living and a vibrant lifestyle, because that is what you are getting when you live somewhere like this beautiful retirement city.

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Written by Tiffany Raiford

Tiffany Raiford is a lifelong Floridian, wife to my high school sweetheart and mother of four littles (two girls and boy/girl twins...no, they are not identical and yes, I'm sure). My kids love to whine, so I love to wine. My loves include nap time, bed time, date night, travel and evenings and weekends when my husband is home because he handles all diaper changes.