The Places Where People Aspire to Retire: Colorado

The Colorado foothills are a very popular location to retire. Living in the gorgeous Colorado Rockies offers heartwarming views, peaceful environments, camaraderie with like-minded friends, and endless the recreational activities. Here are some advantages to choosing one of the foothill communities as your retirement destination. It’s not just a place to retire, Colorado offers some of the best places to live and work.

1. Evergreen

This town is about 15 miles west of Denver with an active population, great restaurants, a beautiful lake, and a variety of communities in which you could choose to live. It was originally a summer resort town for Denver’s upper-class and is considered the best retirement town in Colorado for active retirees. Evergreen Golf Course and Evergreen Lake are both very popular recreational areas nearby. There is a quaint little downtown area, tons of hiking trails, ranches, farms, newer homes, historic homes, and everything in between.

2. Genesee

Just outside of Golden, Genesee offers some of Colorado’s best scenery. As it has been known for many years, Genesee is where Denver meets the mountains. The mountain modern living community has a wide variety of shops, restaurants, and easy commutes to Denver. It’s only 25 minutes into downtown Denver. If you’re looking for a community to join, the Genesee/Golden area offers over 50 from which to choose. Genesee offers tennis courts, a gym, lots of hiking trails.

3. Vail, Eagle-Vail, Edwards, Avon, Minturn (among others)

For those looking to retire in style, Vail and its surrounding communities offer a crisp, clean, and vibrant environment for its inhabitants. With over 85 campgrounds and access to national parks, there is plenty of mountain scenery to enjoy. According to city records, in the years 2000-15, Vail recorded 97% of its days with above average air quality. The town also has a very low natural hazard risk along with world-class skiing and snowboarding. Vail

4. Aspen

Aspen is one of Colorado’s favorite year-round resort towns. It offers activities ranging from the outdoors to culinary retreats to the arts. This mountain getaway offers all the amenities of big city life without the honking horns and smog. Some of the best talent in the country funnels through Aspen year-round at different festivals and conferences. Those looking to maintain a measure of culture along with mountain living should certainly consider making Aspen their retirement home.

5. Buena Vista

Translating from Spanish to mean “beautiful view,” Buena Vista offers outdoorsy retirees a quiet, small town to grow roots. Activities range from elk hunting, fly fishing in the Arkansas River, to whitewater rafting. The average price of homes is around $200,000, making it an affordable retirement destination for those looking to stretch their retirement dollars.

Colorado is a great place to retire because of its strong economy, diverse population, and magnificent scenery. Summers can be hot and dry while winter brings deep, heavy snow. Although, it’s quite interesting that we are known for having 360 days of sunshine. Colorado also has generous retirement income incentives including $24,000 in exemptions for social security and pension benefits.  Those exemptions also apply to current military retirees. These attributes have helped Colorado become one of the fastest growing states in the nation, and a perfect nesting place for newfound retirees, or those just looking for the best place in the country to call home.