Well, I see Wallet Hub has released its annual ranking of the best states to retire to.
Surprise, surprise, Florida somehow managed to get top billing. Now where have I seen that happen before? Besides just about every previous year, that is.
Don’t get me wrong. Florida can be a wonderful place to spend one’s final years. It offers plenty of sunshine, no income tax and has lots and lots of retired folks. Those are all good things.
No, my problem is with the Wallet Hubs of the world.
For one thing, they seem to name Florida the winner just about every chance they get. Kinda reminds me of the annual best college rankings. Ever notice how they shuffle around the same handful of universities, year after year? Which begs the question: if a matter is pretty much resolved, why keep revisiting it?
Here’s my other issue with these rankings: Turns out they may not be so unbiased after all.
Just look at how they are compiled. In Wallet Hub’s case, 47 items are sorted into three general categories: affordability, quality of life and healthcare. They then named the state with the highest cumulative score as the best. As if this approach delivers a clear-cut winner.
To be sure, some of their selected metrics deserve inclusion. Cost of living, for example. Or the cost of in-home services. But how many people are going to retire in a state based on qualifiers such as shoreline mileage, access to scenic byways, or museums per capita? A few perhaps, but let’s get real.
Then there are the things that aren’t mentioned because they are hard to quantify. Such as overall quality of doctors, or how many friends or family members have previously skedaddled to a particular state. Think that might sway a decision more than museum density?
And even if it were unquestionably true that Florida is the best place to retire, it’s not as if location is irrelevant. With all due respect, it’s not just the 300 miles that separate Jacksonville from Boca.
Finally, what’s with the anti-cold weather sentiment? Believe it or not, many people enjoy four distinct seasons.
Look, such “best” lists pose no real harm. But the reality is this: Choosing where to spend one’s retirement years is a very personal matter. And each person can have his or her own reasons for wanting to live — or to not live — in a particular locale. Those may or may not fit neatly on a spreadsheet.
As for me, I generally prefer to avoid places where cockroaches have wings, where a man-eating creature might crawl out of the nearest pond, or where hurricanes can be experienced more often than the Olympics.
Guess that sentiment means Florida might not be the top retirement option for yours truly. Or that I simply don’t know what’s best.
John O’Connor is editorial director of McKnight’s Senior Living and its sister media brands, McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, which focuses on skilled nursing, and McKnight’s Home Care.
