The Best Places to Retire
The Great Retirement Places mission is to help retiring baby boomers with modest financial resources find the best places to retire. Our vision of the best place to retire is somewhere affordable, safe, inviting and warm—by warm, we mean winter-free. Are there cheap places to retire that fit our vision? Thankfully, yes, there are.
In 2006, when we first conceived of a web site to help retirees find the best place to retire, we had no idea just how challenging retirement would become. With retirement savings depleted by investment losses and the disappointing housing market, finding an affordable place to retire has become more difficult. Add in soaring health care costs and inflation and the task becomes daunting.
Cheap Places to Retire—Dream or Nightmare?
Is the cheapest place to retire necessarily the worst, or are there great retirement places that are truly affordable? That depends on what you want and where you are willing to look for a retirement place. As bad as the economy is, there are many places in the world where your dollars buy you more than here at home, and they offer a comfortable standard of living. [more]
There are a few places in the US that fit our vision and that are surprisingly affordable. However, here, as in most of the world, demand for such cheap places to live is very high. Retirees and investors snap up cheaper real estate and prices rise. Traditional retirement locations, cities, and communities will usually cost too much. So we will be looking in some surprising places for the cheapest places to retire
Where to Retire?
Where do you want to live when you retire? Before you answer, think about what really matters. Where to retire might not be obvious. You need to think about cost of living, climate, community, your family, your health, and other factors. Then decide which criteria are most important.
We have put together a list of questions that you should ask yourself to help you decide where to retire. Go through this list and identify all of the characteristics of your best retirement place, and then use these criteria to evaluate any potential retirement place. We will help you find the best retirement places for those seeking affordable living in a winter-free location.
This retirement web site is not for everyone. We want to help those who are concerned about not having enough money to retire, but who want to move to a great retirement place offering a comfortable quality of life and a reasonable cost of living.
On the other hand, if you have a large enough nest egg and a generous pension to look forward to, you may not need our help. Likewise, if you don't mind winter snow and ice, you can find many locations to retire cheap. If you are content where you are and your home is paid for, you can probably live comfortably with modest means.
We'll discover the most affordable places to retire in the U.S., and we'll explore the concept of retiring abroad, in beautiful locations where American, Canadian, and British retirees are welcome and the cost of living is a fraction of what it is at home.
Where to retire - questions that will help you decide
The Great Retirement Places Vision
