Places to Retire

This is where California’s Central Valley transitions into the Cascade foothills and is home to 92,000 people. (A similar number live elsewhere in Shasta County.)

It’s essentially surrounded by national forests — so plenty of outdoor living — except for due south, where I-5 will take you to Sacramento in about 2½ hours. Shasta Lake, the state’s largest reservoir, is your water playground, 10 miles to the north. The city boasts of 225 miles of trails within a 15-mile radius. Orbitz has called Redding “California’s best-kept secret.”

There’s no rain in the summer (and essentially no snow in the winter), but this area does get plenty of rain in the winter. Skiing, though, is nearby, including within Lassen Volcanic National Park.

A pair cross-country ski at Lassen Volcanic National Park. Courtesy Redding Convention & Visitors Bureau. Average highs in July are 101 degrees; average winter lows remain above freezing.

You can get a sense of what your money will buy you in terms of housing here.

While California has a reputation for high taxes, note that it doesn’t tax Social Security income.

If that all sounds too hot for all the outdoor living you want to do in the summer, continue up I-5 to Mount Vernon, the county seat of Skagit County and home to 36,000 people. You’ll be at the edge of the Cascade Mountains, less than 30 minutes from Anacortes and a ferry to the San Juan Islands, an hour from Seattle and 90 minutes from Vancouver, B.C. The Northern Cascades National Park is to the east. You can reach Mount Baker Ski Area in less than two hours.

For the cyclist in you, you’d be just minutes away from Adventure Cycling’s cross-country Northern Tier and Washington Parks routes and not far from its Pacific Coast route. Drive (or bike) 10 miles to Sedro-Woolley, and you can jump onto the 22.5-mile Cascade Trail.

A lone cyclist pedals along the Washington Parks route. ALEX STRICKLAND/ADVENTURE CYCLING Because it’s northwest Washington, average summer highs will only reach the mid-70s. You’ll get a little over an inch of rain in July. Winters get close to freezing. While you’ll get maybe an inch of snow a month, you will get rain (though less than in Redding.)

Mount Vernon is a more affordable housing market than Anacortes, and there are other towns in Skagit County or even Whatcom County to the north to check out. Here’s what’s for sale now in Mount Vernon.

An added bonus: no state income tax here.