Once new retirees wrap up their longtime careers, they can get down to the business of serious relaxation … or, alternately, the pursuit of further knowledge. When better to take that adult education course, pursue an advanced degree or delve into an entirely new field of study than retirement, when your time is largely your own? And where better to retire, then, than near a center of higher education? Incidentally, personal finance website GoBankingRates.com has found that all the best places to retire in the U.S. just happen to be college towns.
As the site notes, big cities may boast a lot of retiree-friendly amenities, cultural outlets and health-care options but they’re also “really pricey.” Small towns in America may be a lot cheaper, but likely won’t offer retirees much to do. College towns, on the other hand, are what GoBankingRates.com calls the perfect balance.
“They tend to feature a wider variety of cultural attractions, but many are also located in relatively small cities in inexpensive states,” according to the website. What’s more, there’s lot of continuing education on offer. The following, in alphabetical order, are 10 of the 15 U.S. college towns the website names as best suited to retirees. (The other five are Bozeman, Montana; Bloomington, Indiana; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Lexington, Kentucky; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama.)