Great Places to Retire - Plano Texas

Posted on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at 03:44PM by Bill Webb Post a Comment When I think of retirement (which is not that far away) I always think of that place at the beach overlooking the ocean. How I will get up every morning and walk my dod down the beach and then go play a round of golf or some tennis with my friends. I recently have had to rethink that position. My parents lived on the outer banks of North Carolina and they loved the area. The ability to be so close to the ocean in a laid back community seemed like the perfect place to retire. That is until my father's health started to fail. A trip to the doctor was a 45 minute one way trip. The grocery store was 20 minutes away and even the closed bank, post office or gas station was 15-20 minutes away. When his health got really bad we had a problem with getting specialists that understood his illness. The community being small simply did not have the infrastructure that seniors really need. Why Plano is a great place to retire: What I learned from that experience was that I need to take a look at the retirement issue and make some decisions as to what might be the best fit for my wife and me. Having great health facilities that are close by is a great benefit. As we age we develop aches and pains that occasionally need to be attended to. Having a number of restaurants, banks, gas stations, auto mechanics, grocery stores and world class shopping within a few miles is also a huge plus. This is not to mention the cost of living. The Dallas area is one of the most affordable cities in the country to have the facilities and infrastructure that it has. Property values here are among the most undervalued in the nation. With no state income tax the area affords retirees with a tremendous value when compared to other areas. The wide range of entertainment, performing arts, lakes, parks and other facilities make this area a great place for the empty nester or retiree to live. When I look at all the things that are available to do I see no reason to leave this area. The only negative that I can see is the summer temperature. It can get to 100 degrees. But then when it does I am usually inside or I am in my pool enjoying the water. The winters are actually quite mild with not too many days under 30 degrees and rarely are their any lows under 20. All in all, the Plano area offers the retiree a great place to live:1) Great healthcare - Three major hospitals with others coming. Private clinics and physiscians are in plentiful supply.2) Major financial center with every bank immaginable available within a few miles.3) World Class shopping with both high end and more modest shopping readily available4) At two hundred fifty thousand people, Plano enjoys all the benefits of being a suburb of Dallas without the congestion. Traffic moves easily throughout the city.5) Very affordable housing - Plano's housing market is one of the most undervalued in the nation.6) Great schools - The perfect place for your kids to move with their family. You will be close without having to move to them.7) Great weather - Lots of sunshine and warm days in winter. Playing golf in January is very doable.8) The Dallas metroplex is a major cultural center with the largest performing arts district in the nation currently under construction. All of this makes the Plano area a can't miss area for the empty nester or retiree.