Retiring to the United States is often living the dream for many British expats – but where is the best place to live out your golden years?
Many expats make a bee-line for Florida, but the sunshine state rates outside the top 10 in think-tank study that ranks the best cities for retirement by independent think-tank the Milken Institute.
The firm took 78 factors important to retirees into account to compile their listings.
Criteria included health care, crime, weather, the local economy and employment, housing costs and availability, transport, and social factors.
Best places to retire in the US
The top 10 large metropolitan areas were scored on each factor and ranked –
| Metropolitan Area | Overall | Ages 65-79 | Age 80+ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Score | Rank | Score | Rank | Score | |
| Provo-Orem, UT | 1 | 100 | 1 | 100 | 7 | 97.93 |
| Madison, WI | 2 | 99.95 | 5 | 96.84 | 4 | 98.67 |
| Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | 3 | 99.46 | 7 | 96.22 | 3 | 99.53 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH | 4 | 98.93 | 6 | 96.7 | 1 | 100 |
| New York-North New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA | 5 | 98.49 | 3 | 97.19 | 2 | 99.96 |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 6 | 98.36 | 8 | 95.71 | 6 | 98.01 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 7 | 98.36 | 2 | 98.27 | 14 | 96.05 |
| Toledo, OH | 8 | 96.86 | 12 | 93.37 | 8 | 97.62 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 9 | 96.8 | 4 | 97.11 | 12 | 96.49 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 10 | 95.99 | 10 | 93.88 | 13 | 96.43 |
Source: Milken Institute
One attraction about the top city – Provo-Orem, Utah – is notable as having the lowest number of fast-food outlets per person than any other.
Other aspects that might influence retirement decisions include the city has seven hospitals and a high number of volunteer carers.
University challenge
“As the population starts aging, cities need to plan about the best life quality improvements they can make for seniors,” said Henry Cisneros, a leading housing expert and one of the team compiling the report.
“These improvements have to benefit different age groups as senior needs change the older they get.”
As an example, Anchorage, Alaska, ranks eighth for seniors aged 65 to 79 years old, with part-time job availability contributing much to the score, but falls to 67th for the over 80s as the weather and cost of living reflect poorly for the older age group.
“One important factor that gave many cities a high score was having a university,” said Paul Irving, senior managing director and chief operating officer of the Milken Institute and leader of the Institute’s Aging Populations Initiative.
“Higher education is important for two reasons – giving stimulation to seniors and many universities have hospitals attached that offer health care innovation.”
The general conclusion of the report is that when deciding where to retire, think about future needs as well as current lifestyle.
Do your research before retiring to any of the places listed above. I have no idea what the criteria was based on, but not one is a place I would consider a retirement destination.