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.

San Jose, CA
Best place to retire: SoFA
Pros: Arts scene, education and about 300 sunny days a year.
Cons: Construction noise and urban homesteading will be the norm.
Real estate: A one-bedroom goes for $350,000 in SoFA. Prices go up as you move west: up to $450,000 for Willow Glen.
San Jose's downtown is in the early stages of a renaissance, and the city is consciously recruiting empty-nesters and retirees. It's slow going, but South of First Street, or SoFA, is looking impressive.

There are tons of galleries, an arthouse cinema, and the art deco California Theater, which hosts the opera and symphony orchestra. San Jose State University, adjacent to the neighborhood, is another attraction.

San Jose is still comparatively affordable, considering northern California's stratospheric prices. For a quieter, Norman Rockwell-via-Williams Sonoma experience, try Willow Glen. This neighborhood has mostly houses, a few condos, and a couple retirement communities. If you want to spend your days golfing with other retirees in view of the Evergreen foothills, consider The Villages on the southeastern edge of town.

See complete data and interactive map for San Jose

Public transportation maps: System

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.