If you have been toying with the idea of retiring on a beach, you have to think twice. That's because an annual survey names Wyoming, South Dakota and Colorado as the best states in which to retire.
For the second year in a row, Wyoming has been deemed as the best state to retire, based on an annual survey carried out by Bankrate.com.
Bankrate has pushed out its "Best and Worst States to Retire" list which ranks 50 states based on crime rate (violent and property crimes), cost of living, state and local tax burden, health care quality, weather (humidity, temperature, percentage of sunshine) and personal well-being for seniors.
On it list, South Dakota, Colorado, Utah and Virginia have garnered the second, third, fourth and fifth spots, respectively.
In terms of cost of living, Wyoming ranked 18th. The state landed on the third spot on tax rate while it was ranked 32nd on its health care quality.
Mississippi was named the best place in terms of cost of living. New Hampshire, on the other hand, topped the list in the health care quality category while Alaska got the first place when it comes to tax.
Due to its high taxes and expensive cost of living, Bankrate tags New York as the "worst state." Other states landing on the last spots include West Virginia, Oregon, Arkansas and Louisiana.
In an interview with WHEC.com, Pat Ford, a retiree in New York, said that there "aren't any programs" in the state which help those who have already retired.
He went on to say that he's not surprised with the result of the survey.
"All the costs are going up, but the money you have coming in is zero," he said. "It's a feeling of being really vulnerable to what's going to happen."
He said he is paying almost one thousand dollars every month in property taxes alone.
In the meantime, those who wish to retire in Hawaii should know that it ranked 45th on the survey. In fact, the state landed on the last spot when it comes to cost of living.
"While features like pleasant weather and nearby amenities are important, nuts-and-bolts considerations like cost of living and the local tax burden may have a bigger impact on your overall quality of life," said Claes Bell, a senior analyst at Bankrate.
