The Best Cities To Spend Your Golden Years

"If you ask people where they'd like to live when they retire, the vast majority of them will say, "Right here, of course." In fact, according to the Census Bureau, fewer than 5 percent of people 55 and older move in any given year..."Upwards of 90 percent of people say they'd like to stay right in their own communities as they age," says Robert H. McNulty, founder of Partners for Livable Communities, a nonprofit that works with cities to promote quality of life and social equality for all residents."

"And therein lies the conundrum of communities across the country -- how to provide services not just for young families but for empty nesters, active retirees, and everyone in between -- so that older residents (and there are increasing numbers of them as boomers reach retirement age) are not a drain on a community's resources but are an asset to them.

The places highlighted here are ahead of the curve. Yes, most of them are big cities, and cities do tend to have higher housing costs and taxes. But the tradeoff is that they have the resources to invest in the programs and services that make a place livable: mass-transit systems so people can drive less, expanded sidewalks to encourage walking, better health care, and a wide range of mixed-use housing."

Among the top 5 are Portland, OR and Boston, MA, and the resurgent downtowns of Atlanta, GA and Milwaukee, WI.