Best neighborhoods to retire

If life after work means more than a beach chair, the best place to retire might be the big city. We looked at 30 of the nation's largest metro areas and found the right neighborhoods for you.

Phoenix
Best place to retire: Copper Square
Pros: You're in the Southwest.
Cons: Light rail will only have one line, so don't throw away your car keys. And, it's hot.
Real estate: Most new condos start around $300,000. 1,000-square-foot apartments often go for under $1,000.
Think of Phoenix and you don't think of a bustling downtown. You think of sun. The sunny days and arid air have long drawn retirees to Arizona. But there is an effort to get folks downtown into an area civic boosters call Copper Square.

Enjoy symphonies, opera, or ballet at Symphony Hall, or watch the Diamondbacks chase another World Series at Chase Field. Housing is primarily single family homes and lofts, and a new light rail system scheduled to open in late 2008 will take you to Arizona State University in nearby Tempe.

If you'd rather put down roots someplace accessible to downtown that caters to seniors and allows for an active lifestyle, choose from the many 55-plus and retirement communities in and around Phoenix. The 65-and-over population in Maricopa County is projected to double by 2025; it's literally Retirement Central.

See complete data and interactive map for Phoenix

Public transportation maps: Bus | Subway/Rail

Hudson Heights

Tudor City

South Loop

Streeterville

Marine District

Liberty Station

Penn Quarter

Woodley Park

Pearl District

Goose Hollow

South Park

Museum District

Copper Square

Washington Square

Downtown

Arts District

SoFA

Downtown

Riverside
Avondale

Mass Ave

Downtown
SoMa

Short North

Warehouse District

South Main

Cultural District

Mt. Vernon

Uptown

Back Bay

Belltown

East Town

LoDo

East Market District

East Las Vegas

Midtown Nashville

Midtown Atlanta
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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.