A word of caution about Colorado. If you prefer the square-rimmed glasses wearing, Prius driving, wine and cheese crowd, I suggest you consider another state, like California or Hawaii. You might find yourself amongst a more "compatible" crowd. We have more than enough socialists already, thank you.

Hawaii? Sure, the weather's nice but it's an island (chain) - minimum of 5 hours on a plane before you reach the nearest land mass. And most of the locals really don't want you living there.

How fancy. Retire!
I am on the work until you die plan.
Weenies and rich and the poverty stricken can retire. I shall die at my desk unless the source of my income (government paperwork) fails (oh! happy day!). Like a law officer; I pray for the end of my profession.

I agree with #1. It's little known, but Colorado is already filled to capacity; we're at 1 human being per 48 square feet of land here.
Don't even think about entering Colorado. Fire marshalls are deeply concerned about the overcrowding here, so please - stay away.
Thank you.

Glad this didn't mention Prescott, AZ where we have 4 real seasons (rather than living in an oven for 8 months), clean air, little crime, great scenery, an easy drive to Vegas and the Grand Canyon, and affordable housing with LOW property taxes ... We don't need a new crowd of seniors to discover our secret.

The state I chose is not on the list as well. I'm with #5: It's terrible here. Please stay away!! :-)

I'd like to see a comparison of several of these lists versus a tally of where people are actually voting with their feet.

Only if Romney is elected and ObamaCare is repealed ............. if not, seniors will have to go into political exile abroad where they can legally buy health insurance since our courts have ruled that it is constitutional (sic) to prohibit,keeping previous insurance and not going on Medicare when turning 65.

......... and remember Medicare Advantage will be eliminated as well.

I hate real heat! I have found that Central PA and State College in particular is just great as long as you don't love big cities and lots of shopping. Most national chains, lots of activities, and ease of driving around for us easily confused elders. Great honest workers for aid to keep up a house. Not very cheap, though, due to university flourishing.

#4 thats real funny statistic that doesn't ring true. If you don't want people to come to our state just say so, don't make up numbers. I live in northern Co near the Wyoming boarder I think my nearest neighbor is 7 miles away!
One other statistic that is true if you put the entire population of the world in an area the size of Texas everyone will have about 1000 square feet of room each
just saying

I retired in 2010 and decided to stay right where I am. I live on an island, great public transportation so I don't need a car. Plenty of shopping within walking distance. A park just steps from my doorway. Several hospitals in the immediate area and my doctor a short taxi ride away. My gym is just down the block. All the entertainment I would ever want is available nearby.

The island is called Manhattan.

#5-6...Prescott huh? Thanks! I'll put that on my list...lol.

I laughed when we went to Oregon for a ski trip and the response from Oregonians was never "how long are you standing" but "when are you leaving". They didn't want anyone staying. I am starting to see the logic, please remove Texas from that list.

We would welcome good L-Dotters to Georgia. The rest can go elsewhere.

Our cost-of-living is low, at least here in N Georgia. The same with property taxes and state income taxes.

We can get pretty cold here but our winters are only three months long with beautiful fall colors. I will admit our summers can rival the Netherworld in heat but we have this new-fangled thing called air conditioning that helps.

All conservatives welcome here...the rest of you? Maybe Southern California but be ready to convert your dollars to pesos in the near future.

California? WHAT was this reporter thinking? California has some of the highest sales taxes in the nation. The regulations passed by nanny-state Democrat loons in the state legislature are driving industry and business and the middle class to other states. California is run for the very wealthy and state workers. The state will soon be bankrupt because of unfunded retirement benefits for the state worker unions. I can't wait to get out of here.

To those of you who covet where you live and don't want to share, imagine if everyone living there thought the same thing and told you to stay away? I honestly prefer to do what I did when I retired while living down South - I came home to Ohio to be near my precious family.

Some of you posters get real snarky (Prius drivers and wine and cheese) but don't consider that some of us drive a Prius to save money. I could care less about greenie-weenies who worry about pollution while driving down my road and throwing out their McDonalds' wrappers, and dropping everything from furniture to tv's along our rural road. I am retired, and drive one to save gas. I am not one of you Johhnys-come-lately to the conservative side. I have been voting for conservatives since I was 21, the age to vote at the time. Actually 22, because I was stationed overseas at 21, and was unable to vote. Too busy serving the country during the Korean War. So I take offense when people look down their noses at someone who drives a hybrid. Sounds like a democrat who thinks they are better than those who don't follow their standards.

I could move anywhere I wanted to when I had to quit working 10 years ago. I chose South Dakota and have no regrets. I live in the Black Hills area. Nice scenery and nice people. Other than the Black Hills, the rest of the state has no reason to exist as far as I'm concerned. Boring doesn't begin to describe it.

Prescott sounds nice, but there's one dealbreaker for me - my ex lives there.

Prescott is nice but discovered long ago. It continues to grow at a steady pace. My sis has been there for thirty years and not pleased!

I call Waikiki my home, but the average home that you can purchase in AZ for $300K will cost you about $800k to 1.2 million. Gas has always been at or above $4.00 and the roads suck.

I'm heading to Oro Valley, AZ in the spring. Hawaii is a great place to visit, but you really wouldn't want to live there.

#17, thank you for serving our country.

San Diego is pretty sweet. A lot of conservatives and military personnel here, so people here are a lot more courteous than in other parts of California. The weather here is terrific, and there's an awful lot to do, from the beaches to the mountains. It's pricey though...

California is on the list for the very rich retirees. And we're talking them making millions each year.

#17, thanks for your service, but I have questions:
What did you trade in/sell to buy the hybrid?
What MPG are you getting now, and what did you get before?
Does the difference between the new purchase price and the old gas purchases give you an ACTUAL cost saving or are you just amortizing a new debt?

And guess what? I lived in Colorado in the 90's. Even in the middle of the mountains, far from the perversion of Boulder I could not stop running into the birkenstock crowd.
Feh.

#17 Thanks for your service. I bought a used Lincoln Town car and enjoy full sized comfort and luxury while still getting 27 mpg on the highway. Saved enough over the price of a new Prius to pay for any extra gas I use for 10 years or so. Seems like a better value to me.

I wonder what the replacement cost for the batteries might be? I suspect that the cost will eat up any savings.

Since global warming (man caused especially) is a crock there is no good reason to purchase a hybrid or electric vehicle unless one saves money (without taxpayer contributions).

Many of these "best" states tax pension, IRA/401K distributions and social security. The best states IMO either have no state income tax or exempt retirement income. Surprisingly, Illinois does the latter.

I'll stick with TN, TX, KY, WV, GA, northern FL.