11 04 25 US News contributor Tim Smart discusses the list of best places to retire

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now on Colorado's morning news. US News and World Report
is out with its top two hundred and fifty best
places to retire, and if you want to be on
that list, you're going to have to leave the centennial state.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
The rankings are based on how well each city meets
American retirees expectations like quality of life, affordability, healthcare, retiree taxes,
job markets, and other factors. Joining us on the KWA
Commons Spirit Health Hotline is Tim Smart, contributing editor and
author of US News and World Reports Retirement Newsletter. Tim,
thank you so much for your time this morning.

Speaker 1 (00:31):
Thank you for having me looking a little.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Bit more into this report. What do we see that's
new in the retirement rankings? And like we said, the
elephant in the room is that our state alone, if
I read it correctly, Colorado is really not on the list.

Speaker 3 (00:46):
So the rankings in twenty twenty six expanded to over
eight hundred and fifty cities. We switched from metropolitan area
assessments to city specific and of those eight hundred and fifty,
that's up from fifty previously, we now pro both the
top two fifty. So what you saw was more small
cities more affordable cities rose to the top, and you're

(01:10):
correct about Colorado not having a city in the top
two fifty general rankings. However, Denver did rank in the
top twenty five for the big cities to retire, so
you know, Denver is still a pretty popular place for retirees.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
I think looking at the list, tim affordability, healthcare, retiree taxes,
job market even and for the first time, you say
population and migration for retirees aged fifty five and older,
Which of those one or two are the most important?
I got to think affordability is close to the top

(01:45):
because some people have the luxury of being able to
live anywhere they want, but a lot don't.

Speaker 3 (01:51):
So you're right, Dave in that affordability is important. But
for the first time, really since the pandemic, quality of
life sup cost affordability just by a couple of percentage points,
but the two together add up to over fifty percent
of the waitings. So those two combined really impact the rankings,

(02:12):
and I think it's the combination of being a nice
place to live as well as being an affordable place
to live. But Farida, Texas dominate the rankings still with
about ninety four of the two hundred and fifty in
the general rankings.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
Tim, as a Michigan native, I was really surprised to
see Midland, Michigan ranked number one on this list. What
were some of the factors that played into the city.

Speaker 3 (02:37):
Well, the big thing was they scored high number eight
in the quality of life and affordability also highly rated
and the overall tax environment for retirees. People speak of
Midland as a very charming town, height of mid century
modern architectural design, a lot of natural resources, and it's

(02:59):
very affordable or relative to income, home prices are very
affordable compared to, you know, places that we're all familiar
with around.

Speaker 1 (03:06):
The country, Tim, what about people's decision to leave a
city where many have lived for a long time. They
have a social circle there, they may have family there,
and yet it's always confused me that people are willing
to pack up and leave, particularly from colder climes and

(03:27):
live in a place like you mentioned Texas or Florida
or maybe Arizona.

Speaker 3 (03:32):
Correct, Yes, you know, I think that maybe ebbing a
little bit. I live in Florida, and the in migration
in Florida has declined somewhat from you know, post COVID.
A lot of people came to Florida because it was
a place that you could be outside more time during
the year. You know, I think that your point, a
lot of people do stay put. It's a small percentage

(03:54):
relatively that do move. But that's you know what. People
often dream of moving and then maybe they don't because
they realize they have family or as you point out,
social connections that matter most of them.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
Tim and wrapping up with you, where can people go
to find this report or learn a little bit more
and should they really take it into account? Do you
think people will will see a lot of people move
to these areas as a result of looking into it
and saying, Okay, I'm looking for somewhere more affordable.

Speaker 3 (04:21):
Yes. So you can go to real estate dot US
news dot com, and we also have a sorting tool
there that lets people check their personal preferences. Maybe they
sort by population size, average rand home prices, in commute time,
which matters to some retires because some of them do
work part time. You know, I don't think you'll see

(04:42):
a tremendous shift in movement, but I think that what
you're seeing is that some of the more affordable places
inland places perhaps not as warm as you point out,
and those are definitely attracting people and with something more popular.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
Tim Smart, contributing editor and author of US News and
World Reports retirement newsletter, Tim, thanks for joining us.

Speaker 3 (05:05):
Thanks to both of you,