Bad Advice

RealClearMarkets links to a MarketWatch article which makes the radical claim that upon retirement you might want to move to a college town. Having lived in or near college towns for most of my long adult life, I’d suggest most (but not all) of this article is nonsense.

Author Sarah Von Bargen list 6 reasons, here they are.

1. Your retirement fund will (probably) go further
2. College towns have great events, museums and culture
3. College towns are diverse
4. Easy access to good health care
5. You’ll be surrounded by youthful energy
6. There are tons of opportunities to get involved

Actually, #2 is at least somewhat accurate. #1 is nonsense, if you want your money to go farther move to one of the 7 states with no state income tax.

College towns diverse (#3)? Not a bit, they are lousy with liberals and retired hippies. NRA members, religious persons and squared-away conservatives are conspicuously underrepresented.

#4 might be true in college towns with medical schools, most college towns don’t have them. If small town living appeals, small college towns rarely feature med schools. The youthful energy of #5 is mostly drunken revelry, which - trust me - gets old very quickly.

#6 opportunities to get involved are found everywhere. They may be marginally more available in college towns, especially if you luck into a campus with a OLLI chapter. Check it out.

Go find yourself a small non-college town in a low tax, red state. If you pick a resort town or retirement destination, it’s even better because there are plenty of newcomers and ‘breaking in’ is much easier.