Places To Retire? Not Necessarily Have To Be The Best, But Definitely Must Have The "Feel"

Are you looking for places to retire?

What's on your mind? Chasing list after list of "best" places to retire or going for a familiar place?

Whatever you're after, I would say the most important thing is that the place you choose have the exuberant "feel"you want, that conveys to you the sense that you can "jell" with it. That's tops. After this, the "nitty gritties" will follow, naturally.

I'm sharing on what you should look out when go hunting for a place to settle down for your golden years.

1. House Price

The single largest expense (about 30%) you would have to come up with in your retirement is housing cost.

In many places, house price is high. Plus costs of home heating and cooling are rising too. Throw in maintenance, real estate taxes and insurance, you could have a hefty bill to pay.

To get a house at affordable price, you could engage a reliable agent or ask friends and family members who stay in places with affordable housing, to help you locate one.

Or you could use the National Association of Home Builders' spreadsheet that shows the relative affordability of houses in the US, to help you in the process.

2. Local Taxes

OK. You've found a steal of a house, but it would not be a good bargain if you're paying high taxes in the likes of income tax, property tax, sales tax, excise tax, license tax, intangible tax, estate tax or inheritance tax.....

Some states don't charge income tax but could slap you with chunky property tax, sales tax and....When you add them up, the amount's quite staggering.

So before you conclude that home sale, check each state's taxation system to get a clear picture on various taxes.

3. Health Care

You'd want to live in a city/town where you can access easily to health care and medical facilities. This easy access can make a real difference in the quality of your life. The American Medical Association's site can help you locate doctors in various locations by physician specialties.

4. Know Your Community And Neighborhood

The quickest way to get a feel and sense of the community and neighborhood you'll be living in, is to read its local newspaper - you can really get to the pulse of a region's spirit this way.

Another way is to google-search your desired city's/town's name and check out its online message board where you can have lots of "insider" information about the city/town.

If you want basic demographic statistics, income and business information of your city/town, go to The Census Bureau's Quick Facts site for a quick update.

5. Job Opportunities

If you want to still work in your retirement or want to embark on a second career, you should opt to go to a place with a thriving economy that offers you good job opportunities.

6. Weather/Climate

What type of weather/climate you like?

Warm? Sunny? Cool? Temperate? Hot? Rainy?

It's all up to your personal choice and liking.

But check out first the weather/climatic conditions from the locals of your desired city/town.

7. Safety

Some places could be breeding grounds for crimes while others for violence. You need to make sure that your desired place is one that's low in crime and violence.

To ease your mind, grab a copy of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program which releases an annual tally of violent and property crimes for nearly every jurisdiction in the US.

8. Continuing Education Opportunities

Retirement provides you with the time to explore new interests or to pursue a new degree. So you may want a place with colleges and universities that involve in the development of retirement communities on or near their campuses that offer retirees a stimulating environment for life-long learning and certain campus cultural, entertainment and sporting activities.

9. Recreational Facilities

If you're active in recreational activities, you should look for a place that offers you with swimming pools, parks, picnic grounds, hiking & biking trails, boat ramps,lighted tennis and paddle tennis courts, community centers, golf courses and.....

10. Culture And Entertainment

You might want to venture into culture and arts stuff, now that you've time to appreciate their beauty and wonders.

So a place that has facilities like an independent art theater or a symphony orchestra or a dance club or a museum or a community theater, would be best for you.

Armed with the above, I can say your experience in finding places to retire will be different.

No doubt finding a good place to retire is important. But have you thought of what you will be retiring to? That's important too. Cecelia Yap shows you how and what you can be retiring to, here: http://www.perfect-body-toning.com/my-passion.html

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