Baby Boomer Retirement: The 15 Best Places

Read more on AARP\'s listing of the best places for baby boomers to retire.

AARP says baby boomers are redefining retirement and are less likely to move across state lines than their parent\'s did. "Once again they are breaking the rules," says AARP The Magazine Editor-in-Chief Hugh Delehanty. "This time they have bumped traditional ‘retirement communities,\' and are looking for something different. According to Delehanty, the magazine listened to what they were saying about family, work and life issues and discerned the following trends about future retirees. A story in the May-June issue of the magazine says boomers see their homes as their "legacies." Unlike previous generations, boomers tend to get along with their kids and have no plans to get away from them. Fewer than one out of 20 move across county lines each year and even less cross state lines to relocate. For those who do move, familiarity is key, whether it be to move closer to family or college towns that have a familiar feel as well as a youthful vibe, great medical facilities and sophisticated restaurants.
The magazine\'s study of boomers found that they are choosing locale first – opting for appealing cultural and recreation lifestyles –and then looking for a job or opting to become an entrepreneur. They are purchasing vacation homes with a view to spending more time there in the future.
The 15 cities selected by the magazine are referred to as "dream town – the best places to reinvent your life." They are:
Loveland/Fort Collins, Colorado
Bellingham, Washington
Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, North Carolina    
Sarasota, Florida
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Charleston, South Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
San Diego, California
San Antonio, Texas
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Gainesville, Florida
Iowa City, Iowa
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Spokane, Washington
Ashland, Oregon

NEWER SURVEYS SHOW RISING INTEREST IN MIGRATION
Instead of migrating to traditional retirement areas, many aging Americans are choosing to remain nearer to where they worked. The immobility of certain health care plans, rising health care costs and decreasing retirement budgets are keeping retirees closer to home.
As the baby boom generation grows older, this phenomenon is expected to increase, and it is already changing the way retirement housing is marketed and built. A recent AARP study showed that 83% of those over age 45 said they would like to stay in their current residence for as long as possible. As a result, many states are seeing rapid increases in their elderly populations. "We\'ll see, in the next five to 10 years, a pretty steep increase in nontraditional retirement communities in states like Michigan or Illinois," says Ken Preede, research director for the American Seniors Housing Association. In some areas, the increase has already begun, he says. For instance, in 14 states, the number of people over the age of 65 increased by more than 20% between 1990 and 2000, according to the U.S. Census. That list included Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Wyoming, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
Restrictions on health care plans also keep retirees aging in place. Though Medicare is a national program, not all doctors take on Medicare patients. In fact, currently 17% of family doctors are saying "no" to new Medicare patients. This number is expected to grow. Therefore, many retirees may prefer to stay near the doctors who have been treating them for years rather than move and have to find a new doctor who accepts Medicare reimbursement.
There are other advantages to staying put, according to Walker Smith, president of Yankelovich Partners, a lifestyle trends tracker. "The house is paid for. You know where the best dry cleaner is. You don\'t need to learn a new city." Nevertheless, some retirees choose to move to an active adult community not too far from where they currently live. This gives them the lifestyle they prefer but keeps them relatively close to friends and family. Developers in New Jersey have been building such communities for over a decade, and currently are constructing about 2,500 homes per year for adults 55-plus.