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Retirement
Best places to retire
June 14, 2000: 9:58 a.m. ET

Modern Maturity names the 50 most active places to live during retirement
By Staff Writer Jennifer Karchmer
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - If you think retirement means riding ATVs on the beach, watching a Shakespeare play at night and starting your own consulting firm after saying goodbye to corporate America, then a new survey will help you find the perfect town to have it all.

Modern Maturity magazine has come out for the first time with a list of the most active places to live in the country if you're over 50 and preparing to retire.

graphic"Retirement is coming to have a different meaning than it used to," said Modern Maturity senior editor Gabrielle deGroot Redford. "(Baby) Boomers are going to retire differently than their parents did."

Relaxing on the front porch of the retirement home or playing a round of golf is being replaced with world-wide traveling, rock climbing and hiking, and opening a new business, she added. It's no secret Americans are living longer and stronger.

So Modern Maturity judged places based on transportation, restaurants, health care, crime rates, recreational and cultural activities, and availability of continuing education and affordability. A team of researchers spent six months studying the cities to come up with the following winners: Boulder, Colo., Austin, Texas, Boston, Mass., Asheville, N.C., and Sonoma County, Calif.

Boulder, Colo.


Boulder, Colo., took the top spot in the magazine's Green and Clean category because of the town's abundance of outdoor and recreational activities, access to top-level health care, proximity to University of Colorado in Boulder, low crime rate, and walkability factor.

Modern Maturity named Bend, Ore., and Annapolis, Md., as runner-up cities based on fresh air and outdoor activities.

Austin, Texas


Maybe you've been thinking about taking a night class at the local university or a course on comparative literature?

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More and more retirees are finding time to expand their knowledge and master new hobbies and skills. Modern Maturity named Austin, Texas, its top pick for College Towns.

"The city offers unique things for seniors, lifelong classes, seniors can take classes for free or a nominal fee -- woodworking to history," Redford said.

Adding to Austin's attractiveness for an older, but active crowd, is the city's progressiveness, its environmentally friendly attitude, and hiking and biking trails.

"The Baby Boomer generation is very active and aware of exercise in terms of health and longevity," Redford said.

Charlottesville, Va., home of the University of Virginia, and Columbia, Mo., home of the University of Missouri, were named as runner-up cities for college towns.




Click here to find out how Modern Maturity rates each of the cities





Boston, Mass.


Boston, Mass., certainly isn't the biggest city out there, but Modern Maturity rated it the best Big City for retirement, thanks to its abundance of colleges and universities and quaint neighborhoods.

"Boston has a high vitality quotient with a lot of culture, lectures, and concerts," Redford said. "It's a town of niches," home to Harvard University, Boston University, Boston College, and Emerson College, among other schools.

And it's no secret that older Americans are shying away from typical warm climates, opting for more culture and outdoor activities.

"The new generation of retirees is not necessarily going to move to Florida; either they're staying put or moving to be near family or they're moving back to where their alma mater is, but it's away from moving to the Sun Belt," she said.

Runner-up cities were San Francisco and Sarasota, Fla.

Asheville, N.C.


Asheville, N.C., which is two hours by car from Charlotte -- the nearest big city -- got high marks for its cultural atmosphere, orchestra, concerts and theatre, according to Redford. In addition, it's situated in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

With a population of 68,000, Asheville is considered the best Small Town on Modern Maturity's list. Money also chose Asheville as one of its top retirement cities.

Ashland, Ore., and Silver City, N.M., were named as runner-up cities.

Sonoma County, Calif.


Because of its unique mix of natural beauty, wineries, ranches, and progressive politics, the magazine named Sonoma County, Calif. the best Quirky city. Sonoma boasts organic food, a center for alternative medicine, and a low crime rate.

"Health care has always been important, but Baby Boomers may be more interested in alternative health care," Redford said. "I don't necessarily think 10 years ago people were too terribly concerned about outdoor recreation and vitality."

Key West, Fla., and Reno, Nev., are runner-up cities for the Quirky category.

"I think people are doing homework on retirement cities," Redford added.

"There are books out, places rated. They're big sellers." Back to top

-- Staff Writer Jennifer Karchmer covers retirement news for CNNfn.com. Click here to send her e-mail.

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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.