Conde Nast Traveler magazine named my city best to retire.

vash · vash's Garage

Seriously. Concord California is the only USA city named. Belize, some place in Malaysia. And.....Concord.

Wow. I don't even want to retire there and I'm there!!! Bart train, great hospitals, and close proximity to awesome major cities are some of the reasons.

I don't get it.

Sent via Jedi mind trick.

onewhippedpuppy · 03-13-2016, 05:09 PM

Insanely high cost of living, right? That should torpedo anyone living on a fixed income.

rcooled · 03-13-2016, 05:44 PM

What was the criteria for their picks? Of all the places in the US to retire comfortably, Concord certainly wouldn't have made my list. Decent weather and good location, sure, but cost-of-living is off the charts, population density in that area is quite high, and dense traffic can make getting around difficult...especially for older drivers. On the other hand, that magazine seems to cater to the well-healed traveler, so living costs may not have been all that important when making their choices. With enough money, you can insulate yourself from the other downsides to some degree.

I wonder if the editors were bribed

KNS · 03-13-2016, 05:50 PM

I used to live in Concord - nice area.

There is a downside to being on that list. I also lived in Prescott, AZ for many years, nice little town. It was named on one of those "best places to retire" lists many years ago. Soon after it became a major destination for seniors and turned into Del Boca Vistsa (well not quite but the town certainly changed). The population swelled with an influx of retiring Californians.

The problem with Concord is the cost of living in the area.

LakeCleElum · 03-13-2016, 05:51 PM

Congrats Vash.....I certainly have nothing against Concord, BUT:

Money Magazine does an article each year on best places to retire.....Always coming up with a different list than the previous list.......I look at their criteria for their rating and many just don't mean much to me. Things like: A high percentage of diversity, arts, higher education, jobs, etc.

In retirement, I don't care about jobs or more education......I want good weather, low cost of living/taxes, no traffic congestion, low crime rate, etc....

Traffic, taxes, and cost of living would rule out most of Calif for me.........

Hugh R · 03-13-2016, 05:54 PM

Conde Nast caters to a very different crowd ($$$) than most of us.

Esel Mann · 03-13-2016, 06:00 PM

I hear Bithlo,Fl is a consistent top 15 frontrunner.

KFC911 · 03-13-2016, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vash

Seriously. Concord California is the only USA city named. Belize, some place in Malaysia. And.....Concord.

Wow. I don't even want to retire there and I'm there!!! .

Just look at the bright side Cliff...now that you've moved there I guarantee Concord won't make the list next year

aigel · aigel's Garage

I thought you had a house in Concord and now moved to Sonoma? Before opening your post, I fully expected Sonoma being named a rizzy retirement place, but Concord? WTF?

At any rate - keep that Concord home brother!

G

Danimal16 · 03-13-2016, 09:54 PM

My Dad Lives there. Nice but a bit crowded, not as bad as The Valley or Orange County.

I Live in Ventura County and really like it. A bit on the quite side but it is nice

jyl · jyl's Garage

Maybe Concord wrote a fat check to the magazine?

berettafan · 03-14-2016, 01:40 AM

Belize? I remember reading that was a 'don't get off the boat unless you know what you're doing' cruise stop.

onewhippedpuppy · 03-14-2016, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyl

Maybe Concord wrote a fat check to the magazine?

I think that is the driver for many of those "best of" lists.

Seahawk · 03-14-2016, 05:23 AM

One of my cousins is an architect with a home/office in Pittsburg, California.

Nice area.

URY914 · URY914's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hugh R

Conde Nast caters to a very different crowd ($$$) than most of us.

Hugh is right. Conde Nast must provide free subscriptions to doctors. They seem to be in all the Dr's waiting rooms.

Danimal16 · 03-14-2016, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seahawk

One of my cousins is an architect with a home/office in Pittsburg, California.

Nice area.

Hugh,

There are parts of Pittsburg, California that are some of the worst in the Delta. I was stationed in the Bay Area and I have Family and Friends out in the Delta Region. Pittsburg has changed but you gotta know where it is not safe.

Deschodt · 03-14-2016, 09:14 AM

I've seen how this works for the best 40 entrepreneurs or the best 50 leaders, blah blah. Someone nominates their friend or boss for the magazine, the magazine spits out a BS article, nice pictures, everyone is happy.... It's probably the exact same with best city blah... I've lived in Walnut creek right next to Concord, no... it's not in any way shape or form in the top 10 retirement city. It's nice enough, but you;d need lower cost of living, less traffic, milder weather...

jhynesrockmtn · 03-14-2016, 04:39 PM

I think these specialty magazines are mostly BS and content is driven by some revenue source. We have local "city" magazines here like most cities, "Spokane/Coeur d'alene Living". I was the director for a non profit and we approached them about an article for one of their spin off publications geared toward retirees. A board member was buddies with the owner of the rag and made the intro for me. Our non profit used a lot of active senior retirees and needed more. They were all excited until I told them we didn't have funding for ad space which they were pushing. No calls were ever returned.