The best cities for retirement revealed

Veolar.eu, a global leader in antioxidant production and distribution, has released a study in partnership with Magmatic Research that reveals the best cities in the world for local retirees. As a company whose mission is to help people live healthier for longer, they wanted to better understand where people can enjoy the best quality of life in their golden years. They therefore carried out a study to identify the best cities in the world for retirement by analysing data on different relevant themes from sources such as the World Health Organization, World Bank and the OECD among many others.

How the study was conducted:

In light of the impact of inflation on the global economy, the study began by establishing the principal factors that contribute towards a high quality lifestyle for retirees and both physical and financial security.

The first category that was considered was the infrastructure of each city. This was achieved by:

• Considering the financial security and availability of legacy management options available to people in each city, in recognition of the fact that retirees often depend upon finite funds that are impacted by the wider economy as well as their own actions.
• Assessing the quality of healthcare services available, seeing as retirees depend upon high quality healthcare services more than the working-aged population.
• Establishing how easy it is for a retiree to live in each location by assessing the mobility options within the city parameters and the quality and availability of housing.

Next, the researchers evaluated the accessibility of each location. This was achieved by:

• Assessing how widely accessible high quality healthcare is, the rates of universal healthcare coverage and how much retirees spend on healthcare in each location. This was of particular relevance following the impact that the coronavirus had on older age groups.
• Establishing the quality of the public transport in each location, appreciating that not all retirees have access to cars.
• Determining how well-connected each city is to others, in recognition of the fact that retirees may wish to travel on vacations and to see family and friends around the world.

With war in mainland Europe and global security being threatened more than it has been for decades, the researchers then set out to analyse each city’s liveability for local and visiting retirees by considering physical safety and wellbeing as well as social factors. This was achieved by:

• Establishing the overall safety of retirees in each location as well as proximity to conflict or local political unrest.
• Assessing the number and quality of cultural offerings, museums, public parks and spaces, restaurants, senior-focused events and tourism infrastructure in each city.

• Reviewing each city’s air quality and considering the life expectancy of the local population.