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Florida came in at No. 5 in the latest ranking of best states to retire—this one from Bankrate.com. That's not too surprising. We're used to such accolades. What did surprise were the states that landed ahead of it.
New Hampshire, Idaho, Utah and South Dakota rounded out the top 5. All cold-weather states. With no beaches. What's going on here?
This particular study looked at a range of seven categories when making the rankings: cost of living, taxes, health care quality, weather, crime, cultural vitality and overall well-being. Florida had them beat for weather, for sure. But where the others states came out ahead were with cost of living, health care and overall well-being. The cost of health care in particular can be particularly taxing for Floridians. See the full study here.
We're sure the Mountain West is well and good and all. But we're thinking we'll stick to sunshine and beaches for our golden years.