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Imagine you are old (at least 62 years old) and poor (low income, no car).
Would you rather retire in a city that has good medical care (full-service hospital/s and doctors), with city crime and traffic as well as city public transportation and Uber/taxis?
Or would you prefer a small town with very little crime, very little traffic, very few primary-care doctors (and fewer specialists), and a hospital that might lack the equipment or specialists to properly care for you; with no public transportation to get you there, let alone Uber/taxis?
I like the day-to-day peace and quiet of my little town, the absence of sirens in the night and crimes in the news. But I wish we had ophthalmologists here, and oral surgeons, and psychiatrists.
I also wish one of the (only) three grocery stores carried some healthful foods, e.g., low-sodium meats and vegetables. OTOH, none of the three has armed guards on duty, unlike city grocery stores I have known.
We (ages 66/75) live in the big city.
6 grocery stores within walking distance - Kroger, Sprouts, Walmart, Vitamin Cottage (no armed guards).
53 restaurants and bars within 6 blocks
10 breweries within easy walking distance
Kaiser’s main facility is 4.2 miles away
The city picks up trash, recycling, and compost every week
The city sweeps the streets once a month.
The city has its own ambulance service which is included in our taxes.
Auto theft and theft from auto is 30% of the crime. We park our car in our garage.
Main bus line to downtown is 2 blocks away. Uber/Lyft are plentiful
We do own (well, currently share ownership with our credit union) a car, but only drive 2500 miles per year.
We know lots of neighbors and consider them friends.
We have a WalkScore of 90.
I have lived in semi-rural and would never do it again. Too isolating.
Small city with amenities and low crime... which is not one of your choices.
We retired and moved to a small city, population about 50K. Nice community. There's crime but by far most is away from where we live. Easy to get involved with the local functions. Bonus is big cities within 45 minute drive with theater, fancy restaurants and beyond basic shopping. Bought 3300 SF home with pool and 600sf wired workshop for 300k. Little traffic,rush hour lasts 25 minutes. Yeah it can be a little dull at times but not that often.
I've lived in big cities and have zero desire to ever live in one again. The mountain town I live in now is about 1,000 people and one traffic light and it seems too big at times.
Small city with amenities and low crime... which is not one of your choices.
That is the route we chose. Population of about 35,000; a regional economic hub so businesses and medical facilities draw from a pretty large geographic area. Been here almost seven years and never have felt the least bit unsafe.
We had planned on retiring to a small town in the mountains of North Carolina but changed course to this area. Never have regretted it for a minute.
Rural and low crime don’t always go together. Here in east TN, the more rural almost always more crime.
This is true, and the sad fact is that illicit drug sales often make up a significant fraction of the economy in small towns. It would be financial suicide if the local governments tried to crack down on it, so they tolerate it and hope nothing violent happens.
Another misconception for retirees is believing that moving to a rural area makes them anonymous. In tiny communities the activities of outsiders are carefully watched, especially by the criminals.
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City for us
