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Survey: Idaho Ranks among Top Places for Retirement

By Eric Goodell, The Times-News, Twin Falls, Idaho on

Published in Senior Living Features

TWIN FALLS -- Six years ago, Robin Burt and her husband moved to southern Idaho from California to retire. Spending much of the time in a fifth-wheel trailer, they took in the Gem State's scenic views for about 1 1/2 years. Then her husband died.

Burt, of Kimberly, had not yet sold her home in central California, and friends there expected her to move back. But she had other plans.

"There was absolutely no way I was going to go back to central California," she said.

She loves Idaho. She lives close to a trail where she walks her dog. She enjoys friends at the Ageless Senior Center in Kimberly, where she sat Wednesday while scrapbooking about last year's trip to Idaho City.

Idaho is increasingly gaining attention as a top spot for retirees. Earlier this month, Bankrate placed Idaho at No. 4 on a list ranking all 50 states, up from last year's No 8. Idaho has also ranked high in AARP surveys.

Bankrate, a consumer financial services company based in Florida, measured cost of living, crime rate, health care quality, state and local tax burden, personal well-being for seniors and weather.

Some people might dispute some of the the findings. Idaho is ranked as having the seventh-best weather in the nation, while Hawaii is No. 32. But Bankrate says the variables it examined are qualities desired by seniors looking for a successful retirement.

Idaho has a lot to offer retirees, said Shawna Wasko of the Twin Falls Office on Aging. She thinks she knows one of the big reasons.

It was in the 1980s when she moved near the Washington coast, where she was met with scowls when she tried to strike up conversations with strangers, such as when waiting in the grocery store checkout line.

"People looked at me like I was crazy," she said.

Contrast that with Idaho, "Where you can make best friends while waiting in the checkout line," she said.

"We have rural areas," Wasko said, but that can be a good thing because many people "are just too tired of the rush."

She has lived in other heavily populated, hustle-and-bustle states, and said she sees the difference. That is one reason Bankrate said many of the densely populated areas didn't rank high. For example, California ranked No. 31 and New York No. 49. Wyoming, Colorado and Utah were in the top three.

 

Many seniors are seeking a safe place to live, and Idaho provides that, Wasko said.

Kimberly senior Patsy Atkin said she has also found a home in Idaho when she moved here years ago. A former Californian, she misses the warm weather, but also enjoys the snowfall in Idaho.

Many Californians seem to enjoy Idaho as a retirement, Wasko said. She has heard plenty of stories about Californians selling their homes and with that bundle of cash purchasing a large home in Idaho with money left over to help with retirement.

Burt said a cluster of houses belonging to former Californians is growing on her street.

Idaho retirees also have a place they can turn to for support, Wasko said. The services of Magic Valley senior centers -- all 15 of them in eight counties -- provide good care for retirees, she said.

"From Hailey to Oakley and Hagerman, the services they provide are wonderful," she said. "They provide a great place to volunteer, take computer classes, get a great meal and exercise."

As for Burt, "When we set out for Idaho it was going to be me and my husband," she said. With the death of her husband, she doesn't have relatives living here.

But, she said, Idaho is still home.

(c)2015 The Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho)

Visit The Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho) at magicvalley.com

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(c) The Times-News, Twin Falls, Idaho

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