A couple, five years from retirement, submitted their wish list to MarketWatch. On it are cultural-rich location but not too big a city, affordable health care and moderate weather.
What meets just about everything on such a check list is the college town - at least one beyond the frigid midwest where the couple currently resides. Of course, that rules us iconic places like Ann Arbor, Michigan.
But there are plenty of others, ranging from Austin, Texas to Las Cruces, New Mexico.
The culture is deep. Usually the university posts free lectures and hosts no-charge special events such as dramatic productions. Also, emerging movements frequently take root in college towns. Those present the thrill of fresh perspectives.
The counterculture began in those towns in trendsetting California, then spread eastward to Madison, Wisconsin and, yes, Ann Arbor, MI. By time "The Revolution" reached Manhattan university niches it was, well, fairly standardized.
This particular couple has a substantial nest egg. Those who don't, though, might not be able to buy a house or even rent in the college town. No longer does genteel poverty prevail. Even the local thrift stores are savvy about the value a college town provides to non-students and cashes in with relatively high prices.
A compromise for retirees/semiretired on a tight budget is to settle in near a university in a location not blessed with an ultra cool brandname or particularly good weather. Take Toledo, Ohio.
At the end of December, I am relocating to an apartment complex I can afford with no draconian cutbacks on my budget near the University of Toledo. Actually I can peddle my bicycle there.
Another example, is Youngstown University in very affordable Youngstown, OH. At Hillbrook Apartments, a one-bedroom with all utilities (yes, heat too) paid is $590, an efficiency $545.
Ann Arbor, where I spent seven years as a graduate student, and even nearby Ypsilanti, MI where I resided when employed by Chrysler, are currently too pricey, at least for me. Meanwhile, nearby university town Bowling Green, OH is affordable but there is always a waiting list for rentals. Juggling the endings and beginnings of lease dates can be too formidable for the over-50. That can result in paying extra rent at both locations.
Takeaway: You just might be able to find the Promised Land near a college rather than in a location totally an old-line college town.
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