Forbes - The Best Places To Retire In 2021

Fellow Investor,

Last fall, Steven and Kathleen Nagel searched for a retirement home with two special requirements: plentiful medical specialists for Kathy (64 who has health issues) and no risk of hurricanes, a constant threat to their old home in Lake Charles, 30 miles off the Gulf of Mexico.

The couple investigated Nashville, Austin, Texas, and Asheville, North Carolina. As part of their online research, they also came across a Facebook Group touting the Tennessee city of Knoxville.

Scenic and far from hurricane paths, Knoxville is home to the University of Tennessee and its medical school, which translates into lots of doctors, restaurants, and entertainment. It’s also on the Forbes’ Best Places to Retire list for the first time.

The reality is that not even a pandemic could stop some of the nation’s 70 million Baby Boomers from their pursuit of an agreeable retirement lifestyle. While work-from-home enabled some Boomers to move and still be on the job, Covid-19 also led to a 50% increase of the number retiring in 2020. With housing prices up 11% since March 2020 and mortgage rates still near record lows, now seems like an ideal time to downsize or move to a cheaper housing market.

Our list has always aimed first and foremost to identify retirement value—places that offer a high quality of life at an affordable price, but we also take a look at:

• Taxes and the strength of the local economy
• Availability of medical care
• Factors conducive to a healthy and active lifestyle

This year’s roster contains:

• 25 spots in 18 states across all four continental time zones
• Consideration for climate change and disaster risk
• One city that’s made the list all 11 years we’ve compiled it

One notable and welcome change this year: With the pandemic seemingly under control, we have restored some college towns previously omitted for fear the pandemic would deprive them of the low-cost cultural and educational opportunities that make them so appealing.

You’ll find our choices for the 25 best places to retire in this downloadable report.
 

Sincerely,

Charles Morgan
Associate Publisher
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