Retirees and Idaho a great match

Idaho is a great place to live, work and play.

And retire.

That last point was emphasized by personal finance website WalletHub.com, which deemed Idaho the sixth-best state in the nation for someone to call home after the last career door has closed.

WalletHub took a number of important factors into consideration: cost of living, tax rates, number of health care facilities per capita among them. Idaho scored favorably, trailing only No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Wyoming, No. 3 South Dakota, No. 4 South Carolina, and No. 5 Colorado. The Gem State was followed by Texas, Montana, Nevada and Virginia in the Top 10.

Our friends just to the west? Washington was ranked 24th. Oregon was slotted as the 29th best state to retire. Even neighbor Utah was only middle of the pack at No. 23.

While WalletHub’s ratings are based largely on financial considerations, it isn’t all about the money. Number of theaters and museums per capita and property crime rates, for example, were also factored into the rankings, Quality of life is certainly reflected by the 24 metrics WalletHub employed in its assessment.

While the story on cdapress.com generated strong readership and a slew of comments, we’d like to point out something that seems to evade some analysts, local and distant alike. The factors that make Idaho in general and North Idaho in particular so attractive to people are the same factors that make this a great place to retire. Our surroundings are as beautiful and the people, generally speaking, are as good as any you’ll find anywhere else in the country.

This isn’t to refute or diminish the notion that it’s imperative to be able to afford a decent standard of living no matter where you live. Being hungry, cold and sick is the perfect prescription for a nightmarish retirement. But in Idaho, you’re going to be primarily among friendly, thoughtful people, with exhilarating natural beauty a brief stroll or short drive away, if not right outside your back door. These are retirement assets with few peers on the quality of life scale, and Idaho owns them in abundance.