Florida shines in retirement rankings, but there's a catch

One year in my late teens, I came down to Florida from New York for Spring Break and to catch up with a friend whose parents had retired to the Sunshine State a year earlier. I remember my friend's brother cracking me up when he described Florida drivers as "low and slow." He was, of course, referring to the elderly population, which he said sat very low in the driver's seat and clogged up the passing lanes on busy roads by driving under the speed limit. For as long as I can remember, Florida was the go-to place for retirees. As reported by colleague, C.A. Bridges, that was by design. He wrote that "Until the early 20th Century, Florida was the least populated state in the U.S." That changed, he explained after World War II when "newspaper articles touted the Sunshine State as a sun-soaked paradise where seniors could enjoy their retirement years. They talked up how retirees could sell their costly properties up North, buy cheaper properties here, and keep more of the difference thanks to the state's low or nonexistent taxes. The large number of activities and the state's natural beauty were big draws. From the 1950s on, it became a cliche that if you had the means, once you retired you were heading down to Florida." Apparently, it is still that way. According to a report issued by WalletHub late last month, of the Top 10 Best and Worst Places to Retire in 2026, four were right here in Florida. That's not all, Orlando, Miami and Tampa were ranked 1-2-3 respectively while Fort Lauderdale came in at no. 8.5 WalletHub based its list on four factors: affordability, activities, quality of life, and health care. I can think of plenty of places I'd rather retire to than Orlando or Miami, but hey, who can argue with statistics? And speaking of statistics, incredibly Florida is no longer the "best" state to retire in according to WalletHub. That distinction goes to Wyoming. Wait, what? Wyoming? We can thank the COVID real estate boon for that, along with insurance costs and overall inflation. The worst state to retire to according to the study was Kentucky. And so that brings us to the Question of the Week: Do you believe Florida remains one of the best states to retire to? You can scan the QR code that is on the print edition page or go to https://www.floridatoday.com/opinions-columns/. Please leave a comment telling us why you voted the way you did. In order for your comment or email to be published on our website and in next week's print edition, you must include your first and last name and please include your town/city of residence in the body of your comment. You can also shoot me an email with "RETIREES" in the subject line. I look forward to reading your responses. And, as always, thanks for participating. Contact Torres at jtorres@floridatoday.com. You can follow him on X @johnalbertorres. Florida video editor Rob Landers contributed to this report. Support local journalism and become a subscriber. Visit floridatoday.com/subscribe