Thinking about retirement? If you've been dreaming of a warm place by the sea, or a desert retreat, you might want to reconsider that.
Bankrate.com has some surprising news in its latest review of the best and worst retirement destinations, with some states changing places in the rankings.
The current retirement crisis plays into the changes. Not only does cost of living increasingly occupy a top role in the choice of where to spend one's golden years, but so does the quality of health care available in the area.
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Safety is important, too, so high crime rates in previously retiree-trendy states served to knock them further down in the rankings. Another factor that can play a prominent role in the decision of where to retire is proximity to family and friends.
Approximately half of nonretired U.S. adults would consider relocation to another city or state on retirement, according to survey responses, with millennials anticipating the most itchy feet, at 58 percent.
GenXers are substantially less likely to crave new surroundings with just 46 percent thinking about retirement location.
Even fewer boomers are inclined to hit the road, at 37 percent, while the Silent Generation is pretty much staying put—just 12 percent are prepared to pull up stakes for greener pastures.
Using data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, American Public Health Association,Council for Community and Economic Research, Creative Vitality Index, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Gallup-Healthways, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Partnership for Prevention, Tax Foundation, Princeton Survey Research Associates International, United Health Foundation and U.S. Census Bureau, Bankrate toted up all the pertinent statistics and came up with rankings for all 50 states in 8 categories:
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cost of living
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weather
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health care quality
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crime
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taxes
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culture
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the prevalence of other seniors
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senior citizens' well-being
Here are their top 10 retirement destinations.
10. Idaho
Idaho did best in the categories of crime (low, winning it a rating of 4) and cost of living (also low, for which it was rated 5).
But when it comes to some of the other important factors in deciding whether the state is a good destination for retirement, it didn't perform quite as well—although well-being got it a 19, while health care quality came in at 20 and taxes 22.
After that, though, it only got a 31 for weather, while the prevalence of other seniors came in at 37 and culture at 42.
9. Wisconsin
Cheese lovers (and New Glarus beer lovers?) rejoice; America's Dairyland will welcome you with excellent health care (ranked second) and a high well-being ranking, in sixth place.
It finished in 16th place for crime—not great but not horrible—and 22nd place for the prevalence of other seniors, while cost of living came in at 24 and culture at 29.
Where it loses out is on weather, garnering a 42nd-place finish, and on taxes, high enough to rank them in a low 46th place.
8. South Dakota
South Dakota's strongest point for retirees is its low tax bill (the state finished in 3rd place in that category), but after that its rankings start to drop.
Well-being got a 15, health care quality 18, and both crime and the prevalence of other seniors were ranked at 20.
But the cost of living finished below the midpoint at 26th place, with culture and weather bringing up the rear at 34th and 40th place, respectively.
7. Massachusetts
The Bay State didn't do too badly in most categories, although it was most hurt by a low ranking for a high cost of living—45th place—and high taxes, at 40th place.
Still, its culture won it a 3, while its health care quality came in at 5.
Well-being was pretty good, too, at 9, but then it slips a bit to come in at17th place for crime, 24th place for the prevalence of other seniors and 40th place for its high taxes.
6. Virginia
The Old Dominion could become your dominion with most of its rankings above, or well above, the midpoint.
The sole exceptions are the prevalence of other seniors, which is pretty low at 40, its cost of living, which only got it a 31, and its score for well-being, for which it finished in 29th place.
Still, in other categories it finished above the midpoint: taxes came in at 23rd place, both weather and the quality of its health care placed 16th, culture finished 14th and crime was a low 5th place.
5. Minnesota
The Land of 10,000 Lakes seems to be a pretty nice place to retire, although its highs—actually pretty high—are offset by lows that are, well, pretty low.
A 3rd-place finish for health care quality, a 4th-place finish for well-being and a 7th-place finish for culture stand out, followed by a 14th-place finish for crime—a respectable grade.
After that, the marks dip a bit, however; cost of living got a 30, while the prevalence of other seniors dropped to 34th place, and taxes—a big worry for lots of seniors—scored at 43rd place.
4. Iowa
In the Hawkeye State, the lows are higher and the highs are lower to bring it to its position on the list.
Its highest grades, for both the prevalence of other seniors and the quality of its health care, tied at 9, while well-being scored 10th, cost of living was graded 14th and crime was 15th.
Taxes rated a 20th-place ranking, with culture and weather scoring 35th and 36th, respectively.
3. Maine
Three categories for the state of Maine finished below the midpoint—taxes, at 35th place, cost of living at 38th place and as one might expect, the weather at 44th place.
But it's top in the nation for the quality of its health care, finishing in first place; that's followed by second place for its level of crime and also for the prevalence of other seniors.
After that comes well-being, in 11th place, and culture, in 19th—a pretty good showing for the Pine Tree State.
2. Colorado
With Rocky Mountain High taking on a new meaning for the State of Colorado with the legalization of marijuana, one might not be surprised to find that in matters of health care, the state finished 7th.
Well-being finished even higher, though, in 3rd place, culture placed 9th and taxes 16th. Weather merited a 20th-place finish, while crime was 26th and the cost of living 33rd.
Surprisingly, the state is not a big destination for seniors—at least not yet; it only ranked 46th for prevalence of other seniors.
1. New Hampshire
The Granite State is another one for which the highs are higher—but its lows (hint: there are really only two) are pretty low.
That said, the state finished second for well-being, third for crime level and fourth for the quality of its health care.
Culture came in 6th, taxes 7th and proximity to other seniors 14th. After that come the state's "poor" showings, with the cost of living ranked at 40 and the weather at the bottom in 45th place.
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