The single most effective move in making your retirement stash go further is, well, a move. "There's nothing more powerful than relocating from a high-cost-of-living area to a low-cost one," says Baltimore financial planner Tim Maurer.
If "low cost of living" conjures up visions of some bleak backwater, think again. MONEY combed its Best Places to Live database to find affordable cities and towns that offer lots to do, both inside and out. Places that are safe, with violent-crime rates below the national average. Where there's good medical care close at hand. And where at least 30% of the population is over the age of 50, so you'll have no shortage of golf or bridge partners.
The ten places you'll read about in the story that follows offer all that — plus they're exceptionally kind to your wallet. Their cost-of-living indexes range from 87 to 97, meaning that as little as 87 cents buys residents what a dollar would buy the average American. Homes are affordable, with median prices below the $173,100 national median (some well below). And tax rates are reasonable, with either no state income tax or significant exemptions for retirees. Could one of these places be your new home?
Footnote: The nation's average cost of living index is 100; the lower a place's number, the less expensive it is. Median home price is for 2010. Source: OnBoard Informatics.
Marquette, Mich.
As lovely as it sounds to sip margaritas on the beach, doing it year round can get old. This picturesque town on Michigan's Upper Peninsula offers outdoor fun for all seasons. With an average of 141 inches of snow a year, there's plenty of the white stuff for cross-country skiing and other winter sports. And when things warm up, you can grab a kayak and start paddling on Lake Superior.
And when outdoor activities grow tiresome, retirees can take advantage of a wealth of offerings at Northern Michigan University, in town. People 62 or older can attend classes free, and the affiliated Northern Center for Lifelong Learning offers low-cost diversions, from bird watching to dinner clubs.
If all that excitement causes heart palpitations, you're in the right place: Thomson Reuters ranks Marquette General Health System among the nation's top 50 cardiovascular hospitals.
Cape Coral, Fla.
For retirees who are looking for lower taxes, cheap housing and a gentle climate, Cape Coral scores on all fronts. Home prices here, for example, have fallen more than 60% since the 2006 peak. For homebuyers, that means a lot of bang for the buck: A newly renovated three-bedroom, 1,800-square-foot house with a pool was recently bought here for $145,000.
Lots of Florida towns have seen dramatic price drops, of course, but Cape Coral has something else going for it: It's paradise for water lovers. The town is sliced with 400 miles of canals, half of which have access to the Gulf of Mexico, about 20 minutes away by boat.
This quiet place doesn't offer much nightlife. But there's a public golf course, a weekly farmers' market with live music, and a nearby outlet mall. Training camps for the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins are just 15 minutes away.
If you're the type who can't survive without your symphony, art, and theater fix, you may have resigned yourself to staying in some pricey coastal burg during retirement. Take a look at Idaho's capital city instead.
Granted, Boise is no Manhattan. But its thriving cultural scene includes an opera company, a philharmonic orchestra, and a ballet. At Boise Art Museum, which focuses on contemporary American art, you'll see works by Ansel Adams and Chuck Close.
Catch shows at Boise State University's Morrison Center for the Performing Arts, which hosts not only classical events but also touring Broadway shows and such boomer draws as Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson. Or hit the annual Shakespeare Festival at the city's 770-seat outdoor amphitheater.
Residents also enjoy all the outdoor activities you might expect of a city that's flanked by mountains and bisected by a river full of fish — and that has a mild climate year round.
Another plus: Violent crime in Boise is little more than half the national average. That's a remarkable score for a You can't stroll through this small town in horse country without feeling a strong connection to the past. A half-dozen different districts in Danville are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It was in Danville's Constitution Square that delegates assembled in 1792 to proclaim Kentucky the nation's 15th state. The original log post office — dating from that same year — still stands, as do many antebellum buildings. nd there's plenty in the area to keep Civil War buffs happy, including nearby Perryville Battlefield, where Union and Confederate soldiers skirmished in 1862.
Expect plenty to do in the here and now, too. In the past 18 months, a new microbrewery and three new restaurants joined the art galleries and gift shops downtown. The Norton Center for the Performing Arts, at 190-year-old Centre College, offers many cultural events. In summer, Danville shows free outdoor movies each week; in fall it hosts an annual arts festival (with historic reenactments) that draws artists from all over the state.
Two more pluses: The area's regional medical center is right in town. And the urban amenities of Lexington and Louisville are a 40- and 90-minute drive away, respectively.
