Baby boomers are retiring in droves. Many are relocating for retirement. Where will they live? A April survey aims to find out.
Shedding light on the topic, the survey took 20 cities in the U.S. and ranked them. Basing results on responses to factors including climate, taxes and recreation, the survey ranked the 20 cities based on their scores in each category. Largely appealing were southern states with moderate climates as well as those receiving high healthcare marks and low local tax rates.
First place: Tallahassee, Florida, which scored a 93% on the scale developed by Mason Dixon Polling and Research Inc. and the Washington Economics Group. Ranking next were Memphis, Tennessee (88%); Athens, Georgia (85%); Tuscaloosa, Alabama (82%); and Atlanta (78%).
“Even within the five broad categories identified, some factors appear to weigh more heavily than others with Boomers who areconsidering relocation during their retirement,” the survey finds. “For example, when survey respondents were asked to rank desired characteristics of a relocation destination in priority order, climate came first and housing costs second. Within those top priorities, the survey results also indicated that more than 50% of respondents preferred a city with aclimate described as “warm with cool months.”
Housing costs were another important consideration for retirees, but taking into account more than simply home prices and property tax.
“The issue of housing costsincludes more elements than simply the purchase price of real estate. Both homeowners and renters must also consider local tax—a key issue in the Consumer Federation survey – and also homeowners’ insurance costs.”
View the results.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
