Bankrate recently rated Minnesota as #28 on the list of best places to live, but how does the state rate for retirees? Considering that almost half of Americans would think about relocating to retire, is Minnesota on your list of places to learn more about?
Why Minnesota is a Wonderful Place to Live
If you’re interested in staying active during retirement, there’s plenty to do in Minnesota. Indeed, Minneapolis was rated by financial site WalletHub as the 10th best city for leading an active lifestyle. Across the state itself, there’s plenty of open areas, trails and places to explore from small towns to larger urbanized cities.
Flexible living is part and parcel of Minnesota life. Local people don’t mind selling up and moving elsewhere in the state if they find another spot they prefer. Living independently is also a growing trend which goes together with not sticking to one small part of the state. The 11,842 lakes found throughout Minnesota bring in their fair share of interstate and local tourists alike. You’ll never get bored with the same things to do in retirement.
Outdoor Recreation
There are distinct seasonal weather changes in Minnesota. It’s sunny in the summertime but it also gets plenty of snow on the ground in winter too. The average of 44 inches of snowfall annually sees snowmobile owners challenging themselves to get around regardless of the weather conditions. Certainly, for anyone who dislikes the idea of California or Florida where it seems like an endless summer, then the clear seasonal changes will be a net positive.
During the late spring, throughout summer and early into the fall, there’s an enormous number of parks and lakes to go to see. Learning to become a better swimmer or taking an inflatable kayak out on the lake is on many residents’ summer bucket list when the weather warms back up.
Anyone with a love of the outdoors will enjoy Minnesota living. There’s plenty of golf courses too: 400 at the last time of counting.
More Great Things in Minnesota
Healthcare is highly rated by several sources. The wellbeing of residents is also considerably better than in other states for retirees. Healthier people tend to be happier ones, so that’s tallies well. It certainly doesn’t hurt that it’s an easy state to stay active in and depending on where you situate yourself, the air quality is likely to be better too.
The cost of living is reasonable compared to other more expensive retiree hotspots. Crime rates tend to be low, especially in suburbs and townships where the average income and education levels are higher than the national average.
Why Come to Minnesota?
Minnesota consistently scores well as a place to retire. While it doesn’t have the year-round sunshine that Florida offers, it’s more cosmopolitan and is generally higher educated. A significant percentage of people own their own homes, and they often don’t find much reason to travel out of state on vacation with so much to see right on their doorstep. For retirees, the cleaner environment, plentiful outdoor areas and affordability consistently leads them towards Minnesota. And who can blame them?