WASHINGTON — The Washington metro has access to world-class health care, but health care costs here are high, and so is the cost of living.
Those are among factors that just earned D.C. the title of 10th worst metro area to retire among the nation’s 50 largest cities.
The Bankrate.com rankings do give the D.C. area good scores for transportation, (ranked third best in the country) “cultural vitality,” (ranked No. 6) and the crime rate (No. 7).
But the area scores low for what Bankrate calls the “friend factor” for retirees, with a lower-than average percentage of the population age 65 and older.
Where are the best places to retire?
If you’re thinking sun and sand for your golden years, you might want to think twice about that.
“I sort of talk about it like you don’t want to go to the grocery store hungry. You don’t want to think about where you want to retire based on the fact that you just finished 30 years of working and all you want to do is sit by the beach and drink for a little bit,” Bankrate’s Taylor Tepper told WTOP.
There are two things that should be at the very top of a retirement destination list, Tepper said.
“You need to really think about the things that will affect your life over the next 30 years, so health care is going to be a very important factor. Make sure you have a good network of providers that are low cost and will stretch your dollar further,” Tepper said.
“And cost of living is very important. You’re on a fixed income,” he said.
Pittsburgh ranked No. 1 on Bankrate’s list of best places to retire in America, followed by Boston, Los Angeles, Denver, and Providence, Rhode Island.
