Jacksonville on Forbes Best Retirement Places 2011

Jacksonville on the Forbes Best Retirement Places List

YES!  We made it on the list!

Forbes list are always a mystery to me.  Year to year cities can make the list and then be completely off the list for the next few years.  Do they change their criteria?  Do they have a sophisticated algorithm that they tweak like Google tweaks theirs?  Do they throw darts at a map?  Who knows, and for 2011, who cares.  Jacksonville made the list!

What helped Jacksonville make the list?

• Climate:  We have, what I like to call, a temperate Florida climate.  Which I define as being warm when it is supposed to be warm, but also very comfortable during the Spring and Fall, and still have a chance to wear a jacket every so often in the middle of winter.  We boat almost year round in Jacksonville.
• Tax:  No state income tax!  There are only a few states that can boast such a claim.
• Low Living Cost:  Where else can you pick up a waterfront home near a large city for under $700,000 and often under $500,000?  Homes in some of the absolute best areas of town sell for below $400,000.  Great neighborhoods, full of clubhouses, pools, and playgrounds will have homes in the $200's.
• Doctors:  We are full of doctors in Jacksonville.  So much so, that a recent mayoral candidate was pushing to have Jacksonville become a health care mecca.  We have Mayo Clinic, several Baptist hospitals, a Wolfson children's hospital, a Nemours children's clinic, etc.
• Attitude:  Not officially noted in the original report, but absolutely noted by all the friends and family who visit Jacksonville on a regular basis.  We are not a pretentious group.  We like golf, boating, the beach, and seafood.  Even the wealthiest of residents will wear flip flops when going out for a nice dinner.

If you are lucky enough to be choosing your next city, choose Jacksonville!

Read the full Forbes list of Best Retirement Places