Kiplinger's 5 great cities for retirees

By Caitlin Dewey, Kiplinger

Striking a balance between a high quality of life and low cost of living can be a difficult challenge for retirees. With that in mind, we at Kiplinger offer five destinations that seniors might find attractive places to live in the second half of their lives.

SLIDE SHOW: See the 5 Great Cities for Retirees, at a Glance

We started our search for top retirement destinations using the criteria we used to select our overall list of Best Cities for the Next Decade. What more are seniors looking for? Retiree-friendly factors such as a high number of doctors and large percentages of populations over 65 helped to drive a unique list of 20 growing cities.

Then we dug deeper into issues most critical to retirees, including state tax rates and exemptions for various types of retirement income, low crime rates, access to airports, local transportation, and access to leisure activities, from libraries and theaters to hiking and golf. Take a look -- and tell us what you think is the best place for you to retire.