Discovering the Best Places to Retire with a Megalist

Because I created the megalist to help us figure out where Howie and I might move after we downsize, I’ve been thinking that our own set of priorities might look more like the following: 

• • location of our favorite people:  ?%
  • health care:  40%
  • affordable housing:  30%
  • quality of life (as defined by me):  30%

Whatever the data show regarding the other categories, we would definitely be factoring in the locations of our favorite people.  Howie and I are from Massachusetts and our immediate family lives in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Florida, and California.  We have moved to Connecticut, Virginia, and Texas, so we have some friends in those states, too.

As of now, our children have not relocated to another state(s), so we have an important unknown variable that we’ll call ED (for the first initials of their first names).  In making any final decision, I know that we would also factor in the location of the rest of our immediate family and close friends but, for now, we are not assigning any weight to this category.

With respect to health care options, I am inclined to assign 40% to that category for the following reasons.  If you are like us and were relocated by a company, you might have given very little thought to the health care system of your new city/state before accepting the position.  As we get older, however, our need for access to the best health care becomes more of a necessity.  Patients ages 65 and over accounted for 27% of all ambulatory care visits to physician offices in the United States and over 39% of all hospital stays.  How far do we really want to drive every month to see our doctors?  What if we have an emergency?  Will I really move in my 70s to be closer to better health care options?  In a perfect world, I think that I would prioritize health care over other “must-haves” when shopping for a new city/state.

I also decided to assign 30% to the affordable housing category.  We declined to join the “house poor” club in our prior moves and don’t plan on joining it when we retire.  As we discussed on the HOME-DECIDE page under “Budget,” housing costs are likely to be our greatest expense during retirement.  What you can buy or rent for the same dollar in each city and state can vary considerably, so it makes sense to be informed and strategic about your next hometown.

Finally, I decided to assign 30% to the basket category labeled “quality of life.”  In the 12 lists, they include miscellaneous factors that sum up a livability/quality of life category, such as:

• • economic situation/job market;
  • quality of life/wellbeing/happiness/livability;
  • climate/weather;
  • environment (clean air/water);
  • transportation/walkability/bike-ability;
  • population;
  • neighborhood and access to recreation, amenities, activities, culture, education (including colleges);
  • popularity/desirability/residents 65 and older/social-civic engagement; and
  • crime rates. 

Not everything in this basket category will be important to you.  I decided to identify my own set of priorities in the following order of importance:  

• • neighborhood and access to recreation, amenities, activities, culture, education (including colleges), especially a lake/ocean with a marina;
  • transportation, especially an international airport;
  • moderate climate/weather; and
  • popularity/desirability/residents 65 and older/social-civic engagement.

Which factors will be decisive for you and how you will weigh them, however, depends on your individual wants, needs, and budget.

d.  The 12 Lists Rely on Different Data Sources

Finally, before relying on any list, we should do our due diligence and peel back the curtain on the great and powerful data wizard behind those lists.  Do we really know why the state that we’re interested in has 0 or 34 votes?

Although not every list provided links to their sources, those that did relied on a wide variety of different data sources.  I felt that I could trust the results of lists that were the most transparent about where they got their data, how recently it was updated, and the methodology used to produce their results.