Best Places to Retire in the US

Before I reached age 65, nearly 20 years ago, I had the great opportunity to take more than a year to consider where I'd spend my retirement years. One of my jobs at the time was to set up and produce recognition programs for our company's insurance agents at resort areas throughout the US. I traveled everywhere, including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, the Carolinas, Hawaii and several other states. Toward the end of my working years, I began to research potential retirement destinations.

Because my office was in Pennsylvania, where I was mighty tired of winter snow, ice and progressing arthritis I knew my first retirement decision was to go to a warm climate. The secret to the best places to retire in the US is that there can be no best place. So many factors are involved in your choice that anywhere from Point Barrow, Alaska, to Key West Florida, could prove to be the most appropriate retirement destination for you. Before I go into naming specific places, here are just some of the elements you must consider (with some personal comments) before making any retirement choices.Climate: If you like Christmas card winters, stay in that climate. If you like hot, sticky weather, follow the retirement parade to Florida and the Carolinas. If you like hot, dry desert climates, trek out to New Mexico Central California, Southern Nevada and Arizona. I chose Arizona because my arthritic bones love the burning, dry heat.

Location: If you must make frequent flights, how close and how big is the airport? Are there sufficient flight schedules? How convenient is it for you to make uncomplicated trips to friends and family, or for them to visit you?

Health: Do you need big-city hospitals and their state-of-the-art facilities? Today, big isn't necessarily the best. We needed heart surgery, went to a prestigious big city hospital. The month-long treatment and surgery were terrible, and the problem was later solved in one week by one of the world's best cardiologists just a few miles away from our desert home.

Sports, exercise and entertainment availability: If you're a freaked-out golfer, your choice will be to set yourself down where you can reach some greens within an hour or less. Many senior communities have pools and exercise rooms. In today's world of wall-sized TVs and NetFlix, do you really want to go out to the neighborhood cinema and sit behind a bunch of screeching kids? If your new home is near a university, you can have access to live theater and other good entertainment at reasonable ticket prices.Post-retirement for-pay and volunteer jobs: If you're a member of the Baby Boomer generation who's just hitting 60 to 65, you may want to spend some of your retirement years working for bucks or for charity. Choose a city or town where there is need for your skills. When I retired, I still had a child in college, so I managed to get a job for five years that paid all the tuition. Then, I volunteered at the same agency for another five years, finally going out to pasture at 75.

Traffic and other transportation: You may be hale and hearty at your retirement party, but pick your twilight years' home where your diminishing driving skills won't put you in danger on crowded, rush-hour streets and freeways. Also, a good bus, taxi or local train service could help you get around when you'd rather not drive.

Population size: If you really love NYNY, LA, San Francisco, Chicago, Philly with all of their great restaurants and theaters, make your retirement nest as close as possible to them all. Of course, greedy real estate grabbers have made purchases and rents impossible for anyone but the very rich, but check into local senior housing agencies to see if you can fit in without busting your savings piggy bank.Closeness to family and friends: Of course, you must locate where you can see your kids and grandkids as frequently as possible. Also, those old pals from work days and service clubs may want to drop in once in awhile.

Ethnicity: Do you want to live in an all-Hispanic community, Chinese, Korean, African-American? This is an important consideration for some new retirees who decide to move to a new area.

Religious facilities: Muslim, Catholic, Jewish? Similar consideration, depending on available clergy, activities, senior services and other facilities.

Safety: Are the crime statistics under control, especially as they apply to the safety of elderly residents? How well is the area policed? Some big cities have great fun and dining facilities, but can a senior walk the streets in safety, day or night?

When making your decision about choosing your retirement destination, try to start your planning and research at least a year before your last day on the job. Once you've narrowed your choices down to four or five places, get in touch with people who already live there and consider their opinions. Use the vast and ever-changing information resources on the internet to enhance your research. Of course, know exactly what all the

costs will be, as well as taking a long and realistic look at your financial resources.

OK, here we are at the original question. What was it? Oh, yeah, best places in the US for retirement. How the hell should I know? Whatever, here is my opinion, based on travel research, both before and after retirement, as well as some suggestions from AARP, Money Magazine and that annoying real estate guy who keeps calling about a wonderful, inexpensive retirement community on Bandito Viejo Beach, Baja, Mexico.

I live in Tucson, Arizona, just next to the Saguaro National Forest. Don't come here. There are already too many old duffers like you staggering around. Seriously, the temperature is great and I swim every day of the year. Of course, between April and October, if you like hiking, tennis or golf, get out before 7 am and finish up by 9, or else the 110 degree heat will kill you by 10. Good hospitals, great restaurants, fairly light traffic compared to Phoenix and LA, good university live theater, lots of volunteer opportunities, low crime rate and fairly good air flight schedules to anywhere.My next choices, not necessarily in rank order, are Los Angeles beach cities, San Francisco and Marin County CA, New Jersey beach cities South Padre Island, TX, Phoenix AZ, Palm Beach cities FL, Flagstaff AZ, Palm Springs CA, Reno and Las Vegas NV, Salt Lake City UT, Santa Fe NM, Boston MA, and the Long Island communities NY.