Greener pastures for the golden years

If you plan to relocate for your retirement years, Warren R. Bland has compiled a list of what he considers the 60 best places, based on a 12-point rating scale and personal observations.

This is a thinking person’s retirement book. It doesn’t contain chamber of commerce fluff or include just towns with great weather. Instead Bland offers lots of objective, historical and detailed information.

As a geographer for the last 36 years, Bland has traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada. Somehow, he became interested in retirement locations. Although he lives in Los Angeles and is a professor at Cal State Northridge, Los Angeles is not on his list of potential retirement spots.

The 12 criteria Bland uses are landscape, climate, quality of life, cost of living, transportation, retail services, healthcare, community services, cultural and educational activities, recreational activities, work and volunteer activities, and crime rates and public safety.

Next, the author divides his top retirement choices by area: Northeast, Midwest, upper South, Southeast coast, interior South, heart of Texas, southern Rockies, desert Southwest, California and Pacific Northwest. Originally from Canada, Bland also includes Canadian retirement havens.

In addition to area maps, Bland provides monthly climate statistics on every community. For example, the average low temperature in Halifax, Nova Scotia, during January is 16 degrees with an average high of 32. December is relatively balmy there, with an average low of 23 and an average high of 37. Summer is pleasant, with an average high of 73 in July and August.

If the author has a bias, it seems to be toward college towns. Included among the top 60 are State College, Pa.; Madison, Wis.; Hanover, N.H.; Ithaca, N.Y.; Charlottesville, Va.; Chapel Hill, N.C.; Gainesville, Fla.; Fayetteville, Ark.; Austin, Texas; Boulder, Colo.; Tucson; San Luis Obispo; Chico, Calif.; and Eugene, Ore.

He includes a chart of his top 50 retirement towns, followed by the next 10 best retirement towns, which are unrated.

Based on Bland’s composite rating system, what is the top retirement town? Victoria, British Columbia, followed by Boulder; London, Ontario; Portland, Ore.; and San Antonio.

Even though most retirees prefer to stay where they lived before leaving the workforce, many do relocate. This book is a great place to start the search.