Retire USA full site launching .... soon.

Here at Retire USA we are hoping to launch our full website soon. The site will eventually have over 7500 listings featuring Retirement Communities all over the country as well as Real Estate, Financial and Health services information for most of the major communities in the USA.

Best Places to Retire Version XXIV

US News and World Report has profiles of 1000 places for retirement, and lists the following "Best Places to Retire" in a feature from 2007:

• Bozeman, Mont.
• Concord, N.H.
• Fayetteville, Ark.
• Hillsboro, Ore.
• Lawrence, Kan.
• Peachtree City, Ga.
• Prescott, Ariz.
• San Francisco, Calif.
• Smyrna, Tenn.
• Venice, Fla.

Of course you need to use great caution when interpreting these "best lists" because your personal retirement priorities are likely to differ from those of the magazine editor, but lists ofter a good "starting point" from which you can jump off to more information about areas and cities.

Retire To Kotzebue, Alaska

Kotzebue lies on a sand spit at the end of the Baldwin Penninsula in the Kotzebue Sound where the Noatak, Kobuk and Selawik rivers end. The Kotzebue Sound was named after Otto von Kotzebue who 'discovered' the sound while exploring for Russia in 1818. The site was a trading location for local natives for hundreds of years. A post office was established in 1899.

Population: As of the census of 2007, there were 3,109 people

Climate: Kotzebue is located in the transitional climate zone, which is characterized by long, cold winters and cool summers. The average low temperature during January is -12; the average high during July is 58.

Health Care: Local hospitals or health clinics include Maniilaq Medical Health Center (442-3321). The hospital is a qualified Acute Care facility.

Transportation: Air is the primary means of transportation year-round. The State-owned Ralph Wien Memorial Airport supports daily jet service to Anchorage and several air taxis to the region's villages. It has a 5,900' long by 150' wide main paved runway and 3,800' long by 100' wide crosswind gravel runway. A seaplane base is also operated by the State.

Housing Costs: Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $134,600 (it was $116,700 in 2000)

Retire in Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage, Alaska is affectionately known as the City of Lights and Flowers. As a major seaport and trading center, Anchorage is Alaska's largest city. It has a simply stunning location, resting on both the shores of the Cook Inlet and the base of the Chugach Mountains. Anchorage benefits from being the long held urban epicenter of Alaska, while being surrounded by the massive beauty of one of the last great areas of unspoiled wilderness.

Population: Nearly 260,000 residents

Housing Costs: Median house value: $270,000

Health Care: ALASKA NATIVE MEDICAL CENTER, PHS (4315 DIPLOMACY DR)
ALASKA PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE (2900 PROVIDENCE DRIVE)
COLUMBIA ALASKA REGIONAL HOSPITAL (2801 DEBARR ROAD)
NORTH STAR HOSPITAL (2530 DEBARR RD)
PROVIDENCE ALASKA MEDICAL CENTER (3200 PROVIDENCE DRIVE,BOX 196604


Colleges and Universities: UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE (Full-time enrollment: 9,453; Location: 3211 PROVIDENCE DR; Public; Website: www.uaa.alaska.edu; Offers Master's degree)
ALASKA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY (FT enrollment: 504; Location: 4101 UNIVERSITY DR; Private, not-for-profit; Offers Master's degree

Climate: Anchorage has a subarctic climate due to its short, cool summers. Average daytime summer temperatures range from approximately 55 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit (13 to 26 degrees Celsius); average daytime winter temperatures are about 5 to 30 degrees (-15 to -1 degrees Celsius). Anchorage has a frost-free growing season that averages slightly over 100 days

Transportation: The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, six miles (10 km) from downtown Anchorage, is the airline hub for the state, served by many national and international airlines, including Seattle-based Alaska Airlines as well as a many intrastate airlines and charter air services
The Alaska Railroad offers year-round freight and passenger service along the length of its rail system from Seward (the southern terminus of the system) to Fairbanks (the northern terminus of the system), although passenger service is less frequent in winter than in summer, and some passenger terminals are not serviced in winter

Anchorage also has a bus system called People Mover, with a central hub in downtown Anchorage and satellite hubs at Dimond Center and Muldoon Mall. The People Mover provides carpool organization services. The public paratransit service known as AnchorRides provides point-to-point accessible transportation services to seniors and those who experience disabilities

Things To Do and See:
Alaska Center for the Performing Arts
Anchorage Concert Association
Anchorage Municipal Libraries
Anchorage Museum
Anchorage Opera
Anchorage Symphony Orchestra

Retirement Communities: Alaska retirement homes guide from RetirementHomes.com, a comprehensive directory of retirement homes and retirement communities, senior communities, elder care and long term care facilities.

San Jose, California Retirement Information

San Jose

About an hour south of San Francisco, in what many consider the heart of "Silicon Valley, San Jose offers upscale neighborhoods, great cultural amenities, proximity to the extensive attractions of California's Bay Area, nearby Napa and Sonoma Valley wineries, beaches of Santa Cruz, the Monterey Peninsula, and much more.

Retirement Communities:
Atria Sunnyvale www.atriasunnyvale.com (408) 738-3410 (Sunnyvale, CA)
ICMA Retirement Corp http://www.icmarc.org/ (408) 993-8590
Valley Village http://www.valleyvillageretirement.com/ (408) 241-7750
Westmont Retirement Residence (408) 984-0605
Atrium Retirement Community (408) 445-7770
Town Park Towers: A Retirement Community (408) 288-8750
Sunrise Assisted Living-Silver http://www.sunriseseniorliving.com/ (408) 223-1312
Campbell Village (408) 378-2535
Atria Chateau Gardens http://www.atriaseniorliving.com/ (408) 275-9040
Foxdale Manner Apartments (408) 251-1142
Atria Willow Glen http://www.atriaseniorliving.com/ (408) 266-1660

Population of San Jose: 930,000

Climate: Moderate

Cost of Living: High

Housing Costs: With a median house cost of about $675,000 you better be sure this is the place for you before buying property in San Jose. Zillow has more.

Taxes: California generally has high taxes compared to other states.
California Tax details are here: http://www.ftb.ca.gov/

Colleges and Universities:
San Jose State University http://www.sjsu.edu/ (408) 924-1000
Bellarmine College Preparatory http://www.bcp.org/ (408) 294-9224
Mission College http://www.missioncollege.org/
University of California-Berkeley: http://www.berkeley.edu/
San Jose-Evergreen Community College http://www.evc.edu/ (408) 274-7900
San Jose City College http://www.sjcc.edu/ (408) 298-2181
Heald College http://www.heald.edu/ (408) 934-4900
National Hispanic University http://www.nhu.edu/ (408) 926-6246
Stanford University: Ticket Office http://www.stanford.edu/ (650) 725-2787
Lincoln Law School of San Jose http://www.lincolnlawsj.edu/ (408) 977-7227

Transportation: Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority: http://www.vta.org/

Health care:
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center http://www.scvmed.org/ (408) 885-4675
Akal Animal Hospital http://www.akalanimalhospital.com/ (408) 453-2524
Good Samaritan Hospital www.goodsamsanjose.com (408) 559-2011
Regional Medical Center-San Jose http://www.regionalmedicalsanjose.com/ (408) 259-5000
China Hospitals (408) 451-8448
Valley Medical Center http://www.scvmed.org/ (408) 885-5000
Agnews Developmental Center http://www.dds.cahwnet.gov/ (408) 432-0942
Oconnor Hospital (408) 947-2666
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center http://www.scvmed.org/ (408) 885-5920
O'Connor Hospital http://www.oconnorhospital.org/ (408) 947-2500

Travel and tourism:
Sanjose.org is the official site of the Convention and Visitors Bureau for San Jose

Major attractions in San Jose include:
American Musical Theatre of San Jose
Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph
Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
History San Jose
J. Lohr Winery & Tasting
Museum & Planetarium
Great America
San Jose Museum of Art
San Jose Repertory Theatre
Tech Museum of Innovation
The Rosicrucian Egyptian
Winchester Mystery House

Crescent City California Retirement

Crescent City lies on the Northern California Coast, about 20 miles south of the California - Oregon Border. Home to Redwood National Park and some of the finest coastal scenery in the USA, natural beauty is abundant in this region. Unfortunately the Crescent City economy is not so beautiful with a relatively weak job market with many low paying jobs, leading to some community challenges. The stretch of California Highway 101 passing through Crescent City gives a bad impression of the city, but also reflects the fact that this area is a far cry from the more luxurious standards of California Retirement areas like San Diego and San Francisco.

Retirement Communities: Couldn't find any! If you know of one please let us know.

Population: About 5000

Climate: Very rainy with mild to cool temperatures pretty much year-round.

Cost of Living: Moderate

Housing Costs: Moderate

Taxes: California generally has high taxes. Details: http://www.ftb.ca.gov/

Higher Education: College of the Redwoods

Transportation: Redwood Coast Transit provides dial a ride service throughout parts of the region.

Health care: Sutter Coast Hospital . Sutter Coast Hospital is a 59 bed acute care, community-based, not-for-profit hospital offers many forms of care at the Crescent City

Travel and tourism: Check out the Del Norte Chamber website for information about travel and tourism in this amazing region. The Redwoods and Coastal scenery are magnificent.

Retirement in Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountians. It is because of this combination of mountains and rivers that Birmingham has such a wonderful climate. It is said that it is a favorite for retirees who golf, because you can be on the links year-round! In retirement, one must consider carefully thier finances, and Birmingham is amongst the most affordable cities in the Southeast for housing and cost of living. It was also in the top 11 on "America's Most Livable Communities. When we retire, we also must think of accessing good health care, and this city boasts world class health care facilities, including the Birmingham VA Medical Center. Retirement also is the time for fun and pleasure and Birmingham offers an abundance of entertainment, sports events and recreation.