Having lived in Arizona for most of my life, I saw tens of thousands of older people move to the sunny and drier Arizona climate. Speaking with many of them, they moved to Arizona to get away from the cold, snowy and icy winters. They said it was easier to tolerate the hot sunny Arizona summers than to deal with the cold, snow and ice of their northern and eastern homes.

However, many of those seniors kept their northern and eastern homes. They spent the 6 months of winter in the Arizona sun and then went home during the hot summer to their original homes, which is why they were referred to as Snow Birds. Before moving away from Arizona, it was estimated that the Phoenix-Mesa metropolitan area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, swelled by a million seniors in the winter and then they would close up their Arizona homes and migrate back to their original homes.

The decision on where to spend one’s later years is an important decision and one that some of you may be contemplating. Here is a list compiled by USA Today on what they believe to be the best places for retirees to live but note that they only looked at 4 major things that may not necessarily make these THE best places for retirees:

1: Rochester, Minnesota

• Share of population 65+: 14.8%
• Fitness centers per 100,000 people 65+: 62.7
• Physicians per 100,000 people 65+: 175.1 (top 10%)
• Average retirement income: $26,217

2: Iowa City, Iowa

• Share of population 65+: 14.8%
• Fitness centers per 100,000 people 65+: 62.7
• Physicians per 100,000 people 65+: 175.1 (top 10%)
• Average retirement income: $26,217

3: Sioux Falls, South Dakota

• Share of population 65+: 14.8%
• Fitness centers per 100,000 people 65+: 62.7
• Physicians per 100,000 people 65+: 175.1 (top 10%)
• Average retirement income: $26,217

4: Ann Arbor, Michigan

• Share of population 65+: 11.8% (bottom 25%)
• Fitness centers per 100,000 people 65+: 118.9 (top 10%)
• Physicians per 100,000 people 65+: 174.7 (top 10%)
• Average retirement income: $28,981 (top 25%)

5: Sioux City, Iowa-Nebraska-South Dakota

• Share of population 65+: 14.6%
• Fitness centers per 100,000 people 65+: 65.2
• Physicians per 100,000 people 65+: 53.0 (bottom 25%)
• Average retirement income: $18,361 (bottom 10%)

6: Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa

• Share of population 65+: 15.7%
• Fitness centers per 100,000 people 65+: 74.9
• Physicians per 100,000 people 65+: 81.8
• Average retirement income: $18,915 (bottom 25%)

7: La Crosse-Onalaska, Wisconsin-Minnesota

• Share of population 65+: 15.3%
• Fitness centers per 100,000 people 65+: 119.1 (top 10%)
• Physicians per 100,000 people 65+: 132.9 (top 10%)
• Average retirement income: $20,613 (bottom 25%)

8: Madison, Wisconsin

• Share of population 65+: 12.5% (bottom 25%)
• Fitness centers per 100,000 people 65+: 154.1 (top 10%)
• Physicians per 100,000 people 65+: 112.6 (top 10%)
• Average retirement income: $28,360 (top 25%)

9: Grand Island, Nebraska

• Share of population 65+: 15.3%
• Fitness centers per 100,000 people 65+: 76.4
• Physicians per 100,000 people 65+: 65.4
• Average retirement income: $19,041 (bottom 25%)

10: Lima, Ohio

• Share of population 65+: 16.0%
• Fitness centers per 100,000 people 65+: 66.1
• Physicians per 100,000 people 65+: 73.3
• Average retirement income: $21,182

Note that all of these locations are in cold winter areas. In fact, only 1 of the 30 cities listed by USA Today are in the western US and that city, Casper, Wyoming, also has cold winter weather. From my experience, retirees want to continue to live where they are used, or they want to move closer to family or they want warmer weather.

During the years of Barack Obama, a lot of retirees moved to places in Mexico and other Central American countries. In many of those areas, retirement income goes a lot further, but over the past decade, more Americans in those areas have been targeted by criminals, so cheaper is not always safer.

If you are contemplating on where to spend your retirement years, carefully weigh all of your wants, needs and desires. Economically speaking, many of the northern locations may offer the best option but is it worth coping with the winters. Most warmer areas do have higher cost of living, namely because they are more popular.