Delaware, Pennsylvania among top 10 states to retire in, experts say

Thinking about retirement? Experts have devised a roadmap to retirement as well as the best places to live out your golden years.

As it turns out, two states that tops the list are in our area!

It just goes to show, that when thinking about where to spend your senior years, you should consider more than just climate and cost of living.

Every year Bankrate comes out with its list of the best locations to spend your golden years, basing its rankings on five important factors.

"Affordability, overall well-being, quality and cost of health care, crime, and weather," said Alex Gailey of Bankrate.

And guess who comes out on top?

"Delaware was in our number two spot last year, and then it overtook Iowa this year for the number one spot," Gailey said.

Yes, Bankrate says the First State is the best state for retirees.

"It's actually a pretty tax-friendly state for retirees. It doesn't tax Social Security benefits and has no state or local sales tax. It also has pretty low property tax rates."

Delaware also scored high for overall well-being, diversity, and for having a good quality healthcare system.

West Virginia takes the number two spot, then it's Georgia, South Carolina, and Missouri.

Pennsylvania comes in at number nine.

"It has one of the nation's best health care systems so the quality of health care you're getting is really good in Pennsylvania compared to the rest of the country," Gailey noted.

Pennsylvania also scored well for overall well-being, especially when it comes to having a lot of company with your peers because it has a higher share of senior residents.

New Jersey, on the other hand, is toward the bottom of the list at number 35.

"New Jersey has the most expensive property taxes in the nation. It has pretty high homeowner's insurance, a high cost of living, and high home prices. New Jersey is just an expensive state all around."

AARP has an online livability index where you can take a short quiz to see what's important to you or search by city, state, or zip code.

However, AARP warns there are personal factors that only you know.

"As a grandparent, I can say it's awfully neat to have your grandkids nearby," said David John of AARP.

The AARP index is based on housing (affordability and access), neighborhood (proximity and security), transportation (safety and convenience), as well as the environment, engagement (meaning civic and social involvement), health, and opportunity (how inclusive a community is in its offerings for both continuing education and jobs) which many AARP members say is about more than extra income.

"They wanted to be with people, and others went back to work because they wanted to have a purpose in their lives. They didn't want to just sit around doing nothing," said John.