Are you close to retiring? If so, then you’re probably thinking about where to spend those golden non-working years. I mean, you can play shuffleboard almost anywhere but some places just have a better atmosphere for it, right? 🏑
There are a lot of things to consider, and different things will be of different importance to different people, but a recent survey ranked each state based on some key factors to see which places are the best for retirees. They reviewed the numbers on five categories that are important for most retirees. Based on all that, Washington came in at a lowly #41 in the nation. 😞 Let’s see what they looked at, and why we came in so low on the list.
Here are Five Fast Facts on the Evergreen State’s retirement potential:
- 💲 Affordability - This accounts for 40% of the total score because being able to stretch those retirement dollars is more important than ever. WA landed at #38 here. Affordability includes cost of living and both sales and property tax rates. We aren’t great on any of those, so that really tanked us.
- 🎭 Culture and Diversity - This category counts for 15% of the total score, and we were in the middle of the pack at #28. It looks at the number of recreational establishments, number of seniors, and racial/ethnic diversity. And we thought those weirdos down the street were the norm…
- 🌧️ Weather - We were on the back side of the middle of the pack at #32 when it comes to weather. Since this is another 15% of our total score, it wasn’t as big of a hit, but since the average temps and nasty weather aren’t as great as places like Florida, well…it is what it is. But seriously, what retirees don’t like clouds and rain all the time?!
- 🦹 Crime - Not a great result here, at #34. This was 10% of the total score, so that helped minimize the hit a little. Violent crimes are below national averages, but property crimes are through the roof. If you get out of the big cities, crime rates go down across the board. Rural living, anyone?
- 🩺 Wellness - We rocked this one! This was our best category (we got #9 overall) and counts for 20% of our total score. This includes health care, access to food, and economic security. Just tiny little aspects of life, right?
🔥Bottom line: So, if you want to make those past Paychecks go further, just know that Washington state is a mixed bag. You can avoid most of the problems by living outside of the big cities, but affordability may still be a hurdle that’s hard to jump over. But hey, we beat California, so that’s something, right?
What do you think of Washington state as a place to retire?
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