Professor spotlights 60 best places to spend retirement
Reviewed by Robert J. Bruss
March 13, 2005
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...13brubook.html
RETIRE IN STYLE: 60 OUTSTANDING PLACES ACROSS THE USA AND CANADA
By Dr. Warren R. Bland (Next Decade Publishers, Chester, N.J.), 2005, $22.95, 311 pages; Available in stock or by special order at local bookstores, public libraries and Amazon.com.
If you plan to relocate for your retirement years, "Retire in Style: 60 Outstanding Places Across the U.S.A. and Canada" provides an objective look by geography professor Warren R. Bland. He uses a 12-point rating scale and personal observations for the places he deems best.
What makes this retirement location book unusual is it doesn't just include towns with great weather. Instead, Bland objectively approaches his topic by including the well-known retirement havens, such as Sarasota and Naples, Fla., but also reviewing offbeat places like Fairhope, Ala.; State College, Pa.; Madison, Wis.; Bend, Ore.; and 10 retirement locations in Canada.
As a geologist for the last 36 years, Bland has extensively traveled throughout the United States and Canada. Somehow, he became interested in retirement locations. Although he lives in Los Angeles and is a professor at California State University Northridge, Los Angeles is not on his list of potential retirement spots. Gosh, I wonder why.
The 12 criteria Bland uses to rate the 60 best retirement locations are landscape, climate, quality of life, cost of living, transportation, retail services, health care, community services, cultural and educational activities, recreational activities, work and volunteer activities, crime rates and public safety.
Next, the author divides his top retirement choices by area such as 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, and ratings of the 12 criteria for each town, every community has monthly climate statistics included. For example, when I looked at Halifax, Nova Scotia, I was surprised to learn its average low temperature in January is 16 with average high of 32. December is downright balmy there with average lows of 23 and average highs of 37 degrees. Summer is very pleasant with 73 degree average highs in July and August.
If the book has a bias, it seems to be toward college towns as retirement destinations. Included on the top 60 list 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, Ariz.; San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Chico, Calif.; and Eugene, Ore. Although certainly not a college town, Bland extols the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.
Even though most retirees don't move, preferring to stay where they lived before retirement, a significant number do relocate. This new book provides an objective look at the best retirement locations, including their pros and cons. Each retirement destination's overall rating, plus the comparative charts, help readers compare Bland's 12 criteria with a final number. He includes a chart of his top 50 retirement towns, followed by "the next 10 best retirement towns," which are unrated.
So where does author Bland plan to retire? He doesn't say. Perhaps he is confused by all the near-ideal retirement locations he discovered in his many years of research.
Based on Bland's composite rating system, what is the top retirement town? You will be surprised to learn it is Victoria, British Columbia, followed by Boulder, Colo.; London, Ontario; Portland, Ore.; and San Antonio, Texas. This is a thinking person's retirement book. It doesn't contain chamber-of-commerce fluff. Instead, it is objective with lots of detailed information about each town, including its history, to help prospective retirees consider if they are even interested in checking out a location on a vacation trip.
If you or your parents are considering a retirement move, this new book is a great place to start your quest. It is filled with facts, plus the author's opinions, about locations you might never have considered.
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Robert J. Bruss is a San Francisco lawyer, broker and nationally syndicated real estate writer.
© Inman News Service