Retirement Savings: 5 of the Best Places To Retire Are in 1 Surprising State — Is It Yours?
Written by
Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy
Edited by
Nicholas Morine
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Retirement saving has been difficult for many Americans recently as a combination of high rates and inflation has taken a toll on wallets — and left little to put aside. That’s why looking at the best places to retire and where your funds may last longer is always critical.
And while conventional wisdom may presume that most of these cities are in the Sunshine state, “U.S. News & World Report’s 2022-2023 Best Places to Retire” rankings found otherwise.
In fact, Pennsylvania earned three of the top five spots in its list, surpassing Florida in overall top 10 appearances. Pennsylvania claimed five of the top 10 spots on the list.
Lancaster took the first spot, mostly due to its scores on healthcare for seniors, retiree tax rates and overall happiness of its residents. At the No. 2 spot is Harrisburg, while York is in fifth place (having the largest jump, rising 12 positions).
Pensacola, Florida, is in third place — followed by Tampa in the fourth spot.
In a sign of the times, U.S. News & World Report detailed that housing affordability is most heavily weighted out of the six factors in its methodology. The other factors include happiness, healthcare quality, retiree taxes, desirability and job market ratings.
“With fixed-rate mortgage rates more than doubling over the past year, it stands to reason that falling affordability would lead to changes in the rankings of the Best Places to Retire,” Patrick S. Duffy, real estate economist, said in a Nov. 2022 press release. “As long as both rates and home prices are high, indexes related to things like happiness or health care quality, while important, will take a back seat to affordability. For those lucky buyers able to purchase with cash, as investors, they should still be mindful of housing values adjusting lower to compensate for rising mortgage rates.”
Rounding up the top 10 best cities to retire this year are Naples, Florida; Daytona Beach, Florida; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Allentown, Pennsylvania; and Reading, Pennsylvania.
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