There are several ways you can choose a place to retire to.
You can throw darts at a map of the United States. Of course, then you run the risk of ending up in Possum Point, Del., or Chugwater, Wyo.
Or you could check various cities’ Web sites. But is there any city that will talk about that rendering plant outside town or admit that half the city council is under indictment? Probably not.
Better you should be like Frances Maxwell.
“You might say that God just set me down here,” she said.
“Here” is Whidbey Island in Washington’s Puget Sound, Maxwell’s home since 1998 and one of the best retirement locations in the U.S. according to “America’s 100 Best Places to Retire” (Vacation Publications, $16.95), edited by Richard L. Fox.
Maxwell came to the island from her home in Atlanta in July 1998 for a family gathering. She had planned a one-night visit, but became ill and ended up staying an extra couple of days.
“I just kind of lay there in bed, sick, under a blanket in July, and this amazed me,” she said. “I saw the tall trees swaying, and somehow I thought, ‘You know, you might just want to live here.'”
There was no hemming and hawing. The next day Maxwell, who had not had any intention of leaving Atlanta, began investigating the island. She checked out the Episcopal parish, the senior center and the grocery store (she’s a gourmet cook). It all clicked.
Within the next 10 days, she had decided to quit her job with American Express Travel Services, contracted to have a small house built on the island, and found a buyer for her Atlanta home.
“I had decided that I would like to live to be 100,” said Maxwell, who is 71. “But I did not feel I could do that in the environment I was in, or if I did it would not be a good life. I figured I needed a different environment.”
She and a lot of other retirees have found that on Whidbey Island. More than a third of the population of 55,000 is retired, drawn there by the beautiful scenery, the slow pace of life and a mild climate.
“Being an East Coaster,” said author and editor Fox from his home in North Carolina, “I’m oriented in this direction and wouldn’t want to live in the state of Washington. But the Olympic Peninsula, the San Juan Islands and [Whidbey] . . . I was taken with them more than any other area. We [Fox and his wife] made three trips out there, and we really enjoyed it.”
Fox has visited the 100 places in his book, which consists of a long essay on each along with a locator map and a collection of facts and figures on such things as population, climate, cost of living, taxes, religion, housing options, health and visitor lodging.
What’s the No. 1 place? There isn’t one. The places are listed alphabetically, not ranked. They range in size from Cashiers, N.C., an unincorporated community of about 1,250 year-round residents, to Las Vegas and San Antonio, both with populations of about 1.2 million. Twenty-seven states are represented, Illinois not among them. (Let’s face it, the climate doesn’t exactly draw flocks of retirees.)
How did Fox, a veteran traveler who is a consulting editor with Where to Retire magazine, find his top 100? The first criterion is an obvious one.
“I’m looking for towns that have been populated with retirees,” Fox said. “If they don’t have retirees I have to conclude there’s some reason for it.”
The places do have some things in common. Many are college towns (“Retirees want an educated community,” Fox said, “colleges bring in cultural events that retirees enjoy”), most are in warm-weather states, all are welcoming to new residents and almost all offer a variety of diversions.
A key to choosing a retirement location is to find some place that appeals to your interests. If you want to live in a college town, check out Asheville, N.C.; Oxford, Miss.; Clemson, S.C.; or Gainesville, Fla. If you love small towns, Brevard, S.C.; Mt. Dora, Fla.; or Fairhope, Ala., might be for you. Looking for a beach town? Try Carlsbad, Calif.; Longboat Key, Fla.; or Golden Isles, Ga.
Of course, there’s more to choosing a retirement community than finding the nicest scenery, lowest taxes and best housing options. “America’s 100 Best Places to Retire” is full of nuggets of wisdom that should be taken into consideration.
For example, someone who is “strictly a playboy type,” in the words of one resident, might not like living in Fayetteville, Ark. (Good news, hedonists: Branson, Mo., is only 64 miles to the northeast).
Some other things to ponder:
– Petoskey, the only Michigan city listed, gets 121 inches of snow a year (some 60 percent of the town’s retirees leave for part of the winter, many during the attractively nicknamed “mud months” of November and April). (No. 1 on the map.)
– The National Association of Home Builders has projected that Las Vegas will be the most popular seniors housing market in the coming decade. Somewhere, Wayne Newton is saying “danke schoen.” (No. 2)
– Sierra Vista, Ariz., is the home to the Rickety Rockettes, a dance group made up of women between the ages of 58 and 86. Branson, or even Las Vegas, can’t compete against that. But Palm Desert, Calif., can: That’s the home of the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, a revue with a cast of performers 50 to 86 years old. (No. 3)
– Ashland, Ore., is a college town (Southern Oregon University), has a lower-than-national-average crime rate, and is home to the Mountain Meadows retirement community, chosen the best small active-adult community in America by the National Council on Seniors Housing. But Ashland is best known as a hotbed — you read it right — of Shakespearean drama, with the annual nine-month-long Oregon Shakespeare Festival pumping more than $90 million into the local economy. (No. 4)
– The essay on Beaufort, S.C., mentions alligators, cockroaches (the locals call them “palmetto bugs” — ha!) and no-see-ums, tiny biting insects so small they can fly through screens. (No. 5)
– The oldest living manatee in captivity, Snooty, 46, lives in a 60,000-gallon aquarium in Bradenton, Fla. If that’s not enough to make a person pull up stakes and move there, what is? (No. 6)
– Cape May, N.J., known for its elegantly restored Victorian homes and antique shops, is also one of the best bird-watching destinations in the U.S., according to the Audubon Society. (No. 7)
– If you’re really serious about birding, Rockport, Tex., is for you (No. 8). It’s located on the Gulf Coast, about a half-hour from the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Dade City, Fla., is only six miles from St. Joseph, the Kumquat Capital of the World. (No. 9)
– If you don’t like kumquats, Gainesville, Ga., is the broiler chicken capital of the world. (No. 10)
– One of the most interesting groups mentioned in the book — the Rickety Rockettes notwithstanding — are the Rogue Craftsmen of Grants Pass, Ore., a non-profit group of some 200 retired hobbyists. Their shop serves as a meeting spot as well as somewhere to sell their wares, which include ceramics, jewelry, toys, stained glass, floral arrangements. (No. 11)
– Lake Havasu City, Ariz., was planned by C.V. Wood, who also designed Disneyland. (No. 12)
– If you’re into gardening, Boise, with its long growing season and fertile soil, might be worth a look. (No. 13)
– Only 3 percent of Teton County, home to Jackson Hole, Wyo., is privately owned and thus available for development (the other 97 percent is covered by national parks and forests). As a result, housing is at a premium. (No. 14)
– Kerrville, Texas, is the national qualifying site each year for the Senior Games, a competition for athletes aiming for state and national Senior Olympic Games. (No. 15)
– One of the most popular tourist spots in New Bern, N.C., is a gift shop with a soda fountain where pharmacist Caleb Bradham invented Pepsi Cola in 1898. (No. 16)
“People are drawn to different things and different places,” Fox said. “Some people want to be at a little higher elevation–we’re enjoying our retirement here in the Blue Ridge Mountains at 3,500 feet. Then there are the beaches, the warmer climes. Everybody’s different.”
THESES PLACES MAKE THE TOP 100
Here are the top 100 retirement destinations, according to “America’s 100 Best Places to Retire,” edited by Richard L. Fox:
Alabama: Eufaula, Fairhope
Arizona: Green Valley, Lake Havasu City, Prescott, Scottsdale, Sierra Vista, Tucson, Wickenburg
Arkansas: Fayetteville, Hot Springs, Mountain Home
California: Carlsbad, Palm Desert, San Juan Capistrano
Colorado: Ft. Collins
Florida: Boca Raton, Bradenton, Celebration, Dade City, DeLand, Ft. Lauderdale, Gainesville, Jupiter, Key West, Longboat Key, Mount Dora, Naples, North Ft. Myers, Ocala, Ormond Beach, Pensacola, Punta Gorda, St. Augustine, Sarasota, Seaside, Siesta Key, Venice, Vero Beach, Winter Haven
Georgia: Athens, Gainesville, Golden Isles, Thomasville
Idaho: Boise, Coeur d’Alene
Louisiana: Natchitoches
Maine: Camden
Massachusetts: Cape Cod
Michigan: Petoskey
Mississippi: Hattiesburg, Oxford, Vicksburg
Missouri: Branson
Nevada: Las Vegas, Reno
New Jersey: Cape May
New Mexico: Ruidoso, Santa Fe
North Carolina: Asheville, Brevard, Cashiers, Chapel Hill, Edenton, Greenville, Hendersonville, New Bern, Pinehurst, Waynesville, Wilmington
Oregon: Ashland, Bend, Eugene, Grants Pass, Lincoln City
South Carolina: Aiken, Beaufort, Charleston Barrier Islands, Clemson, Greenville, Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach
Tennessee: Maryville, Paris
Texas: Georgetown, Kerrville, Lake Conroe, Marble Falls, Rockport, San Antonio
Utah: St. George
Virginia: Charlottesville, Williamsburg
Washington: Port Townsend, San Juan Islands, Sequim, Whidbey Island
Wisconsin: Door County, Eagle River
Wyoming: Jackson Hole
