In what city do you think it’s best to retire?

[AARPLynne]

What are the best places to retire? Depending on who is doing the picking, the “best” places can be all over the map. Every year, think tanks, media outlets, personal finance websites, and other companies compile and publish dozens of lists. More...

Which city do you think offers the most benefits for retirees in America?

[CHUCKIE1369]

None of the cities in Amerika are best to retire in. The politicians of each state, county and city will bleed the people of every cent they have. Taxes, prices of gas and groceries, property taxes, sale taxes, utilities, and the list goes on !

[thunderroach]

Then move away ! Complains about everything! Go and take all the other conversationalists with you!

[ricke951395]

TRUE. Don't forget the scoundrels in fed'l gov't.

[DotsCalm]

Go live in a third world country and tell me what you think.

[mj6966]

Right where I am, in the heart of Iowa. We have some of the best farmland in the entire country. I can grow a garden pretty much effort free. The land provides what the plants need, I only supplement with organic matter. Small town, great hospital, low crime, larger cities 30-60 minute away, great schools, friends and neighbors. Totally happy here.

[RonMesnard]

The best location is personal.  Your wealth and health are major factors in what is right for you.  If you speak another language also opens many doors.  If I was looking for a place right now I would check out Puero Rico.  Shore property is worth 20% of what it was worth a year ago.  Not only do you have a place to stay but you are living in an investment.

I suggest you rent for a few months before you buy.  

[HumblyinChrist]

Interesting concept, but what if another hurricane comes through there this year in Puerto Rico? Or what if electricity and water is never restored? What if no one moves back to those islands? What if the cruise lines decide that their tourists don’t want to land on the island anymore? That territory has no way to grow their economy.

[RonMesnard]

@HumblyinChrist, other than we are going to die and pay taxes there are no guarentees.  PR is a good deal because too many think like you.  It may take twice as long to get power as they estimate today.  Sooooooooooo!  I doubt that property value is going to sink any more.  You can't say that about any property you hold today.  To get ahead you need to think smarter than the rest of us. PR has already fired the power industry that robbed them blind.  They will do more but not enough so it will be as reliable as the US.  I suspect it is safer than Mexico or Costa rica.  We were warned not to take advantage of the bargans for Canncun from my brother in law in south FL. They can't even stop the crime against tourists at a location that brings in so much money.  He and his friends used to use it for a weekend get away since it is only a few hrs away.  Not any more. 

[pamdooley]

Why would I want to live where the property value is going down? I don't think that would be an investment.

[RonMesnard]

@pamdooley - Most persons normaly buy high and sell low.  That is why they never get rich.  They do this because they are unwise. They can't see the big picture they prefer to do what everyone else is doing as if they have anymore brains than you do.   

Smart investors try to buy near the bottom and not at the top. When everyone is selling they buy.  That is what I am suggesting.  No one including me can predict the future but if you bought today you would have a bargan.  By the time you research a few months so you can find the best value, property values may actually be rising again. You could wait until values start to rise to time the market to get the very best value but that rarely works.  Breing too greedy usually hurts you.  Common sense says if it has already lost 80% there is not much more to lose.  Buying anything in the states is far more risky.  You could lose half if we have another housing crisis.  That can't happen in PR.  The crisis has already hit.  You are buying at near bottom value with a huge potential of profit.  My definition of a real bargan is 80% of value.  Eventually the prices will return to last year's value probably in 10 years or less.  You could realize 500% of your investment but I am trying to be conservitive.

How many times have you more than doubled your money in 10 years let alone make 5 times your investment?  You would also be living in a great deal more luxury than you could afford in the states.  You could likely buy ocen front property because the property values are so depressed.  Most people enjoy that so that property is usually crazy expensive.   If you can find a better deal than that by all means do better! 

[EveRH]

@RonMesnard - Except for real estate investors, don't you think the average person buys based on a current life event/situation, rather than trying to time the market for the best profit?

I bought my 1st house in 1985 for $199K, and prices appreciated steadily until the mid-2000s. I knew I wanted to move to the shore, but couldn't do it while I was working, or until after I was no longer a caregiver; I had no control over that timing. At the point I started house hunting, the value of homes in my area were declining, but those in my target area weren't (yet). So to maximize the price I got for the house I sold, I had to buy near the top of the market in my target area. At that time, there was no indication if prices would hold in that area, or the decline was just delayed .. which it turned out to be. So my 2nd house is worth less than I paid for it.

I now want to move further south, and time doesn't stand still for any of us .. we're all getting older. Why waste my life trying to time the real estate market where I live now & my new target area, to attempt to maximize my sale price while hoping purchase prices don't go up in my target area faster?!

[RonMesnard]

@EveRH

Silly me, I don't mind doing a little manuvering to save a few hundred grand. 

You can still sell your house in the north invest that money and rent where ever you want to go.  Your investments should about pay for your rental. Where I want to buy which is very desireable on the water beach front devalued like a stone in 2008.  Depending on the location, we have 3 sites in 3 different states in mind, dropped from 50% to almost that much in 2008-2009.  We can buy a 1.2 million dollar home for $600-700 K.  It took about 10 years or more for those places to fully recover.  I would hate to buy for 1 million then have it crash to 500k and have it stay below the water line for my entire life. This next crash might be big enough not to recover in 20 years.  The current P/E ratio is about what it was before the great depression. I just don't like losing that big and don't mind spending a few years for a smarter plan of action..  

[RonMesnard]

@EveRH I completely agree.  You move because you need to. 

We are planning to buy a beach house but have no real time frame.  We have plenty of funds but why waste money?  The housing market crashes every 10 15 years so it is wise to wait till the crash. Beach houses depreciate the most.  You dump them so you can preserve your real house.  I have been educating myself fro the last 5 years.  I have learned to take the time and play smart.  We will rent until that time.  It is crazy to buy something then have it lose $500,000.  I am not in that muuch of a hurry.  I tried to talk my wife into PR but she is a teacher and bad spanish kids make her life hell.  We don't need to conserve our money thank god. 

[EveRH]

I'm so glad you recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all "best place", for everyone .. or even everyone in a particular age demographic!

Many very large cities offer the best amenities, transportation, medical facilities & culture .. but at a steep price, if you want to be in a nice house/condo/apartment (NYC). The old house we sold in Brooklyn in 1979 would now cost 20 times as much now, whereas the much newer house we bought in the NJ suburbs that same year for more $$ would "only" cost 7 times as much now!

Sometimes weather is also a determining factor; places like NYC & Chicago could be great .. except for their winter weather.

[RonMesnard]

NYC has relatively mild winters for being so North but it is surrounded by water.

[EveRH]

@RonMesnard - Do or have you lived in NYC? I grew up there, and the winters are NOT mild at all! I remember one time when I couldn't drive to work, because the snow was so bad. I had to take several trains to get from Brooklyn to Queens, then trudge thru truck ruts in the street, because the bus wasn't running. There had to be > 2 feet of snow accumulated that time. I now live ~ 70 miles south of NYC, and even we had 15" of snow this past January. I've experienced temperatures in the single digits as well, plenty of times.

[RonMesnard]

Mild is a relitive term.  I know your eyes do not freeze if exposed to the air as it is at the artic circle. I stated it was mild for how far north it was.  That is very true!

No, but my brother has lived there for over 30 years.  I live outside DC several hundred miles to the south.  We compare what is growing and temperatures often.  Usually we are about a week early but last week he was earlier than DC.  He must live in the warm part of Brooklyn because it is quite a deal warmer than your Brooklyn as you remember it.  Last year we had 3 feet of snow.  That sure beats over 2 feet and we are hundreds of miles south of NYC.   You probably live more than 100 miles north of us.  You should be colder not warmer than DC. Philly got hit with 2.5 feet while my wife visited there 2 months ago.  Maybe you live in a seperat reality.  All my Jersy Face Book friends loaded up photos of their snowmagetton for that same weekend.  I wonder how you only got 15" for a high this year when from Baltimore to Portland was slammed with snow?  2 feet in Baltimore and the snow accumulated more as you moved north.  Brooklyn got only a foot of wintery mix while we got rain.

I have relatives in upstate NY.  I assure you they have much much worse winters than NYC.  My aunt lives outside Buffalo. While NYC got 3 feet it snowed nonstop for over a week there. We have commemorative tote bags showing houses with snow half way up the second story. The total accumulation was over 10- feet. I consider that a rough winter. That is what I mean when I say NYC has mild winterers for being so far north.

[EveRH]

@RonMesnard - I can see that you're going to split hairs & be argumentative, and live's too short for that.

[k896432w]

I recently moved into a Condominium Emeryville, CA outskirts of Oakland/Berkeley and found that the convenience of city living is comfortable. I had lived on a 2.5 acre property previously near Santa Cruz. I also stopped driving and gave my car to my daughter as I call Uber or Lyft to take me where I want, the savings on the upkeep of a car more than makes up for this. There is also a free shuttle available in this community. Grocery can be ordered online for home delivery too.

[r487077r]

Retire in Nicaragua, or
Thailand, or
China or Costa Rica

[pamdooley]

San Antonio, Texas. The weather is great, the cost of living is low, the medical care is excellent. We have great entertainment outlets and your family will love coming here to visit you with the amusement parks, zoo, museums and more for the kids.