Happiness may trump affordability when it comes to picking a place to retire.
That’s according to the U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of best places to retire, which ranked Naples, Fla., Virginia Beach, Va., and New York City as its top three locales. A total of three cities in Florida grabbed spots among the top 10, and eight slots in the top 25.
“People love Florida, there’s no getting around that,” said Dawn Bradbury, assistant managing editor for real estate at U.S. News.
U.S. News surveyed adults age 45 and older to determine what mattered most to them when considering retirement destinations. Cities were then ranked by six indexes: happiness, affordability, healthcare, desirability, retiree taxes and job market.
The magazine changed its methodology from last year, when five Pennsylvania towns earned the top spots as best places to retire. The new methodology allowed U.S. News to look at specific cities as opposed to metropolitan areas, which include small regions or clusters of cities.
“What we found this year is retirees seek a destination that will not only stretch their dollar, but is also a place for enjoyment. This is why the Midwest and South dominate the top 25,” Bradbury said.
While Florida has been slammed by recent hurricanes such as Helene and Milton, the survey results were done before those storms, Bradbury noted. Even still, with Florida in the crosshairs of many storms each year, it remains a favorite among retirees, she said.
While weather was not a stand-alone index, it played a role in the rankings. The issue of weather is a component of the desirability index, while climate change is measured in the happiness index by looking at a city’s risk of weather events and resilience to bounce back from significant weather, Bradbury said.
Read: Climate-change risks have some retirees asking: Is anywhere safe to retire now?
In addition to the overall happiness of a place’s residents as the top consideration when determining a place to retire this year, Naples also scored high in desirability, retiree taxes and job market, Bradbury said.
Read: Need to rethink retirement? These areas face the biggest climate-change risk.
After Naples, Virginia Beach came in second place, followed by New York City, Sarasota, Fla., and Boise, Idaho.
Happiness pushed past affordability as the second-place criteria this year and shifted the rankings of cities significantly, Bradbury noted.
Read: Climate change and extreme weather are making retirement even more stressful — and expensive
“We had gotten used to affordability being the top concern, but the trend towards happiness changed things dramatically,” she said. “That’s why places like New York City, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco — all expensive places to live — ranked high on the list.”
MarketWatch has its to help people decide where to retire that allows readers to narrow down choices by sifting through data — ranging from housing and weather, to taxes and healthcare, to options for theater, hiking and craft breweries.
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