Cold weather doesn't keep Portland from making 'Top 10 of best places to retire' list
Photo / Tim Greenway
A view of Portland's East End, which has become the hot spot for new office development with the world headquarters of WEX Inc. and Covetrus (the new name for Vets First Choice). The city has just been named one of the Top 10 best places to retire to in the United States by the retirement website Topretirements.com.
Portland is among the 10 "best of the best" places for retiring baby boomers, according to the just-released Topretirements' 2019 list.
This year’s list is dominated by towns and cities in the Southwest and Southeast regions of the United States, which claim seven of the top 10 retirement spots. Portland is joined by Pittsburgh and Bellingham, Wash., as the only cold-weather communities to make this year’s list of best places for retirement.
Portland is No. 9 on this year’s list.
To arrive at the best retirement communities, the retirement website Topretirements.com combed through its user logs to identify the 20 favorite towns and cities in four U.S. regions. Those 80 communities were winnowed down to the 10 "Best of the Best" based on cultural and recreational opportunities, climate, expense, taxes, the quality of the downtowns and scenic beauty.
Here is the Topretirements' "10 Best of the Best list for 2019," with brief descriptions of the qualities its reviewers found to be significant:
- Asheville, N.C.: Asheville is a bustling city in the Blue Ridge mountains of western North Carolina. The downtown is filled with cafes, restaurants, and art deco buildings.
- Sarasota, Fla.: This cultural center on Florida's Gulf Coast has a great downtown with many interesting neighborhoods.
- Tucson, Ariz.: The area is blessed with sunshine almost 300 days per year, and boasts 233 performing arts dates per year.
- Green Valley, Ariz.: Near the hiking and birding areas of the Santa Rita Mountains in extreme southern Arizona.
- Charleston, S.C.: "The Holy City" is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in the U.S.
- St. George, Utah: St. George has spectacular red rock bluffs, a mild winter climate, and amazing recreation.
- St. Petersburg, Fla.: St. Petersburg has been a classic retirement and tourist destination since the 1920s.
- Bellingham, Wash.: Named one of the top retirement towns, this city on Puget Sound boasts unbelievable natural scenery.
- Portland: Maine's largest city is one of America's most livable small cities and is also a foodie center.
- Pittsburgh, Pa.: Pittsburgh is a livable and affordable city with colleges and cultural opportunities.
Here’s the complete description for Portland that appears in "The 10 Best of the Best Places to Retire” list for 2019:
“Portland: Maine’s largest city is an ideal retirement community — in fact it is often mentioned as one of America’s most livable small cities. It combines New England history (founded in 1632) with a vital downtown centered on the Old Port District, pristine beaches and a friendly, small town feel. Portland has many attractions for active adults, and is bursting with good restaurants and interesting stores. It is certainly cold in Portland, but for people who want to be snowbirds its summers are ideal.”
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