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Go Retire Now! Find the Best Destination for Your Retirement |
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Retirement Towns, Cities and Countries!
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Colorado Retirement Not everyone wants to retire in the South. With stunning scenery, the Rocky Mountains and more than 300 days of sunshine per year, Colorado makes an ideal retirement destination for anyone who enjoys four seasons and outdoor recreation. Summers can be hot, but there is virtually no humidity. In the winter, it can snow a little or a lot, but typically, it snows one day and then melts the next, often under a crystal blue sky. Once home to buffalo herds, fur trappers and silver miners, Colorado's modern residents are educated, environmentally-aware and appreciative of the beauty in their state. Seniors considering Colorado can choose from a city retirement or a country retirement and most everything between. Denver offers big city living. Mountain towns offer plenty of recreation, including some world-class skiing, and a slower pace. Colorado Springs and Fort Collins offer a small city lifestyle. Small towns on the eastern plains provide rural (some might say desolate) small town living, far from any crowds. Boulder is an oasis of liberalism, and Fort Collins has been cited as one of the most livable cities in the country. * * * * * *
Fort Collins Anyone considering a retirement in a pretty, healthy, mid-sized and growing city might want to consider Fort Collins, Colorado. This college town is gaining recognition as a great place to live, for people of all ages. Situated on the high plains north of Denver, but with the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop, the city enjoys four distinct seasons, but each one is enjoyable and "usable," meaning that there are few days of the year you need to stay indoors, unlike other locations where it can sometimes be too cold or too humid to venture outside. Fort Collins was founded as a military outpost and stayed one until Colorado State University (then Colorado A&M) was established in the 1870s. Today, CSU is Colorado's second largest university system and brings an eclectic mixture of people to the area. With a population of about 100,000, Fort Collins is a nice compromise between small town and large city. There are plenty of amenities here, from art galleries and theater to hiking in stunning Rocky Mountain National Park. For serious shopping, dining or theater, Denver is just 60 miles to the south. Growth management is taken seriously, which keeps skyscrapers to a minimum (no one wants to block the mountain views). This attention to city planning should keep Fort Collins a livable city well into the future. Housing prices have shot up within the last few years (as they have most everywhere), but condominiums and town homes are less expensive and available. Rental units are usually taken up by students. Overall, the cost of living is slightly higher than the national average. Poudre Valley Hospital, with 250 beds, is here. Major health care facilities of all kinds are in Denver, about an hour away. Colorado Springs This mid-sized city is located an hour south of Denver and sits at the foot of truly majestic Pikes Peak (although a mining company has left a very visible scar on the mountain). Colorado Springs has seen tremendous growth in the last 20 years, but it still remains a livable city. It is one of the most politically and socially conservative cities outside of the South, so retirees might want to keep that in mind (the Air Force Academy, Fort Carson, NORAD and Focus on the Family are located here). Cost-of-living is right at the national average. Health care is quite good. There are shopping malls, restaurants, hotels and everything else one would expect to find in a city this size. Colorado Springs also has many tourist attractions (a few of them might be called "traps"), including Garden of the Gods, the Cog Railway up to the top of Pikes Peak, Cave of the Winds and others. The weather is fairly typical of Colorado. Winters can be cold, with or without much snow, but the sky is blue most months. Summers are dry, sometimes hot, sometimes not.
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