"can make me feel a better person there and make my rest of the life peaceful." You're asking an awful lot from a retirement community. Maybe if you can find one with a guru or something.

The retirement community choices are mind-boggling. There are so many of them all over the country. The problem is finding the right one FOR YOU. That depends on how old you are, how good your health is, whether you think you will need "assisted living" some time down the road, whether you like being in an "organized living" setting, or prefer being on your own.

Some people, myself included (I'm 72 & my wife is 72) are a little reluctant to go into a place where everybody is OLD. It's not that we have anything against old people. After all, we're old too. But we prefer being in a setting where there is diversity in age, life circumstances, etc. But as we age, we may go into a place classified as a Continuing Care Retirement Center. They're costly and they vary greatly in admission criteria and financial structure. But they all have independent living, either a house or apartment, as a starting situtation. YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF WHEN YOU FIRST GO IN. But then, some time later, if you need assistance of any kind, for shopping, cleaning, trips to the doctors office, filling prescriptions, etc., it's available to you. And if things take a turn for the worst and you need round-the-clock nursing care, there's a nursing facility on the premises. These places of course have lots of organized activities to keep you busy, if you choose to take part.

So, the world is your oyster. Happy hunting.

I live in a patio home development and it suits me fine. I am surrounded by older people, but I am fine with that. Being with older people I realize my aches and pains, memory loss is a common problem with us all. Since most don't work a job anymore we get to know each other better. when it's warm you see 2 or 3 or more standing around the mail box visiting. There are always someone walking on our quiet streets. If we don't "appear" for a couple of days someone comes along or calls to see if you are ok. 95% of the out side work is done for us, when it snows I just sit and go ahhh when I hear shovels and the machine outside. there is no way I would move to an apartment retirement center, no sharing walls with anyone ever again.

Would you consider moving to the midwest..... From what you can sell your property in California, you can buy a very nice home and have a lot of $$$ left over. We have good clean air to breathe and crime is low....so come on over to the middle of the states where we have the changing of seasons and a much slower life-style.

Boy, did I just get a big surprise!

I used to live in, and now live near, London, Ontario ...

... a city that was just designated to be in a tie for second place in an evaluation of many U.S. and Canadian cities regarding a good place to retire - in a study carried out by an emeritus professor at a Univ. in California.

When I went to Yahoo Canada's Finance section, then looked at Retirement, they had a story on the best places to retire.

As I said, according to that prof., my city tied for second in his evaluation!

Whadda ya know!

Here's the link (better look soon - don't know how long it may be available ... you know how quickly the internet changes): http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/canadianbusiness/28/theyre-golden-the-best-places-to-retire

They gave the title of his presentation, but I don't know whether it was an article, a book, or what ... the story was carried in "Canadian Business" magazine.

Good wishes for choosing carefully, evaluating well, so that you can be happy with the place that you choose to retire.

ole joyful

Except for Victoria, the west coast sure got a miss! My concern about Victoria would be this - and this is just how it seemed to a visitor: Regular/non-tourist businesses seemed hard to find. We didn't see neighborhood grocery stores that were convenient to the residents - also, does anybody know if Victoria is still dumping its untreated sewage into the ocean? I would feel guilty about that if I were a resident. My look at real estate there led me to believe that the cost of living was very high. I am sure you can do better in Fargo or elsewhere in the midwest. I know nothing about Ontario.

Check out Sparks, Nevada. A correspondent of mine did live in San Diego, Ca. When her and hubby retired, they moved to a new house in Sparks, NV and are loving it. The only negative they have expressed is the mountians between them and California. They love those mountian views, but if they wish to visit friends and relatives west of those mountians during winter holidays, they must plan in case the pass closes.

The West usually gets a pass on such articles because of the high cost of living here. No getting around that. Even the retirement communities cost quite a bit here, due to the high cost of land.

Still, it's a great area to live in - we're in the SF Bay Area - and retire in provided you've planned carefully and had a bit of luck. Year-round great weather, diverse cultures and interesting people, fabulous access to outlying areas of interest with enough variety to appeal to almost anyone.

But....it takes an above-average income to live here. All that diversity and sophistication comes at a price. OTOH, we have easy transit access, so although we still drive there are many times it's easier to take public transit. And everything is nearby - hospital emergency, museums, state parks for hiking, all the everyday services as well as a wide choice of leisure activities.

But you also need to factor in how much living in a more remote area can cost you. Fuel, food, time spent driving to the airport or to see friends/family - all cost you more the further you live from a major city. This is not inconsiderable, especially as one ages and driving becomes more difficult, even impossible under certain conditions. I think the older you get, the more important it is to be around people, rather than isolating oneself.

I live in Sun City West, Arizona and love it. Cost of living is low, people friendly, weather great.

Before I moved to Iowa, I rented a duplex in Oakmont which is an "active adult community" on the edge of Santa Rosa, CA. I loved it there. Several golf courses, pools, a deli, cafes, banks, etc. It is pricey but if you already own in CA you might look at it. Lot of retired military in Oakmont. I moved to Iowa because my retirement dollars go further, the people are friendly and the pace is slower. Air is clean and crime is lower in the Midwest.

In my opinion, when searching for the best retirement community you should look for one that caters to the needs of seniors in all stages of aging so that you will not have to move out, should you eventually need assisted living help.

Here is a link that might be useful: Assisted Living

My husband have listed our house on the market. When it sells(please, let it be soon)we are moving to Sun City Hilton Head in South Carolina. We spent a lot of time thinking about it and visited several times. The people seem excited about life and are very, very active.The homes are beautiful, with sizes and prices in many ranges. Every activity I can think of is offered. A hospital is 5 miles away. We can drive the golf cart to the grocery store, bank and drugstore. But what really impressed us the most was the pride the residents had in their community. It is huge, with 90 miles of paved road inside the community. But, you will not find a scrap of paper or a blade of grass out of place. For us this will be a good move for this time of our life. I can't wait. It won't be perfect, but it will be fantastic for our lifestyle.