Help choosing where to hang your hammock

If you or a parent plan to retire and relocate within the next five years, reading “Retirement Places Rated, Sixth Edition” will be time well spent.

For more than 20 years, author David Savageau has been studying and ranking the best places to retire based on several criteria most retirees consider.

The criteria he uses are ambience, cost of living, climate, personal safety (crime), services and the economy.

In the concluding “Putting It All Together” chapter, the author rates more than 200 retirement destinations by considering all these criteria. The appendix includes many relocation resources.

If the book has a weakness, however, it is the lack of detail about medical services, which are included in the very general “services” component.

Savageau begins by explaining that very few retirees actually relocate. Many investigate retirement locations but then decide to live out their years where they currently reside.

The latest edition includes 19 new locations, changes in community rankings and new scoring methods.

And not all of these top sites are in the Sun Belt. Three are in Alaska. Most of the ideal places are located along the east and west coasts. California and Florida are the top locations.

Ideal areas that may surprise readers include locations in Montana, Wisconsin, Michigan and New Hampshire.

The profiles of each location are often quite detailed. To illustrate, the description of Iowa City, Iowa, includes a list of performances at the arts center for the next year, which shows a wide variety. Each location’s other advantages are also included.

An interesting feature is a personal, 50-question test of retirement preferences. The results can help readers chart what is most important for their location criteria.

Savageau includes some fascinating sidebars. He lists for history buffs the towns with historic “visible pasts.” At the top of that list are Annapolis, Md.; Burlington, Vt.; Charles Town, W.Va.; Charleston, S.C.; Charlottesville, Va.; and Daytona Beach, Fla.

Whatever the primary retirement-location concern, readers are likely to find it explained in detail.

For example, a few communities are so anxious to attract retirees that they will even pay a portion of their moving costs. Statistically, the author explains, a retiree moving to a community is worth several full-time jobs after considering the income he or she usually brings along.

The book even discloses some areas that discourage retirees from moving there. Hawaii is a prime example. Nevertheless, the state is a top retirement destination even though it lacks some major benefits of the other locations.

Retirees, those planning retirement within a few years and their adult children who are concerned about where their parents decide to retire won’t find a better book about the best retirement locations.