This North Carolina Town Is the No. 1 Affordable Pick for Retirees, According to Realtor.com

Affordable cost of living is a major factor when retirees decide where to spend their golden years. For a very long time, Florida was the country’s top retirement state, but this is no longer the case. According to Realtor.com’s latest survey on the best places to retire, the small North Carolinian town of Bermuda Run offers retirees the most affordable homes as well as plenty of recreational opportunities and amenities geared towards those 55 and over.

The company states that the median home value in Bermuda Run is $179,000, and almost half of the home listings are “retiree friendly.” Realtor.com also notes that while this is the price tag for condominiums — versus $387,000 for a single-family home, this is still much lower than prices in other parts of the country. Another draw? The town’s low property taxes (just $0.15 per $100 valuation), combined with the fact that North Carolina doesn’t tax Social Security benefits, allow retirees to save much of their income and use it for leisure activities.

Bermuda Run has plenty of recreational opportunities in store for its growing retirement community — the median age here is 57. The small town is located about 72 miles north of Charlotte on the Yadkin River in rural Davie County. It is considered a suburb of Winston-Salem, which is known for its top-notch medical facilities, excellent education, and a living history museum.

Home to approximately 2,500 full-time residents, Bermuda Run has multiple golf courses and country clubs, a sports park, and a year-round calendar of fun community events, and is close to 11 lakes where boating and fishing enthusiasts can practice their hobbies. In addition, at least a dozen wineries are located within 30 minutes of the town, as it is nestled along the west bank of the Yadkin River, part of North Carolina’s oldest viticultural area.

Second on Realtor.com’s list is Arizona’s Sun City. Known as “the original Sun City,” it was founded as a retirement community in the ’60s. The current median age is 72 and the median home value is $309,000. And the third spot goes to Florida’s Sun City Center, about 27 miles south of Tampa. Here, retirees can purchase a home for $341,000 on average and enjoy the state’s famous white-sand beaches, which are less than 15 minutes away.

You can see the full ranking on realtor.com.