Weekend Reading: 7 Standout Places to Retire
This article appears as part of Casey Weade's Weekend Reading for Retirees series. Every Friday, Casey highlights four hand-picked articles on trending retirement topics and delivers them straight to your email inbox. Get on the list here.
As recent Retire With Purpose podcast guest, Ryan Frederick, says, “Your DNA only accounts for about 30 percent of your longevity.” The rest draws down to lifestyle and your environment, which is why finding the “perfect place” in retirement is so important.
READ THE ARTICLEThe power of place: In late life, factors such as proximity to health care facilities, family and friends are key, in addition to cost of living and taxes. Here, you’ll find a list of the most cost-friendly cities across the U.S. (and for those who live in our Howard Bailey home state, you might recognize one in particular!). They are as follows:
📌 Visalia, CA: The median home price is $380,000, and while California excludes Social Security benefits from state income taxes, other forms of retirement income are taxable.
📌 Grand Junction, CO: With a median home price of $392,300, this area is an outdoor lover’s dream. Additionally, Colorado offers generous tax breaks to retirees.
📌 Tulsa, OK: The median home price is $229,200; however, “Oklahoma is a mixed bag for taxes in retirement.”
📌 Fort Wayne, IN: As a Fort Wayne resident myself, I can vouch for the many amenities this city has to offer! The median home price is $268,378, and in the way of taxes, Indiana exempts Social Security benefits.
📌 Winston-Salem, NC: Here, the median home price is $261,200, and while North Carolina doesn’t tax Social Security benefits, it does tax other types of retirement income.
📌 Scranton, PA: “The Office” show fans aside, Scranton is a favorable pick for its low median home price of $150,000, and additionally, Pennsylvania doesn’t tax Social Security benefits or other types of retirement income.