By Meadow Rue Merrill
Photographed by Brian Fitzgerald
I made my first trip to Maine as a toddler, visiting my grandparents who had retired to a home on winding Shore Road in York. They had followed the example of my great-grandparents, who had retired just around the point. Retiring to Maine is nothing new, but if my grandparents and great-grandparents had been born a few generations later, perhaps they would have had more of their peers for company. Data from the U.S. Census suggests the state is becoming an increasingly popular retirement destination, with more than 6,000 people aged 55 or older moving to Maine in 2013 alone. Here are 12 reasons why Maine is one of the best places to retire.
1 The cost of living is reasonable
While the Northeast as a whole is pricier than destinations with milder climates and denser populations, Maine boasts the lowest cost of living in New England. According to Sperling’s Best Places, an online data resource, the cost of housing, utilities, groceries, healthcare, and transportation in Maine in 2013 was just 5 percent more than the national average (Massachusetts, by comparison, was 30 percent more). That’s a modest extra expense if you value New England’s traditional charm. AARP thought so, recently ranking Portland as one of the top 10 affordable retirement cities in the nation, citing its well-preserved working waterfront, nationally recognized dining scene, and moderate housing prices.
Continue reading at our Retire to Maine website.