Charlottesville, Va.

Population: 46,487

Share of population 65+: 10.4%

Living costs for retirees: 0.2% below the national average

Average income for 65+: n/a

Community score: 66.0

State’s tax rating for retirees: Tax-Friendly

“Charlottesville is the location of Jefferson’s birth, his death, and it’s the place he called home when he wasn’t in Washington,” as the third president of the United States, said Hawes Spencer, Charlottesville reporter and resident.

The residents of Jefferson’s hometown can boast about the famous University of Virginia, founded by the well-known renaissance man, as well as the downtown promenade where artists get together and the surprising but charming mix of Southern charm and sharp, liberal edge. It is a cozy place for retirees to spend their golden years if we were to follow the example of several retiree personalities.

Apart from the impressive college campus and chic city center, there are dozens of incredibly beautiful places for outdoor recreational activities, such as the Blue Ridge Mountains, and more than 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park located nearby

Charlottesville managed to draw the attention of people all across the country when the protest of a group of white nationalists against the removal of a monument to Robert E. Lee took a violent turn. Dozens of counter-protesters were injured during the rally and a woman called Heather Heyer was unfortunately killed.

Apart from this unfortunate incident, Charlottesville is a relatively safe city to live in, with a low violent crime rate of 175.4 reported incidents per 100,000 residents, compared to a 297.8 rate for all similar size U.S. cities, according to FBI data.

Among the 187 metro areas in the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index, the city comes in fifth in terms of overall well-being, scoring above-average figures in most categories, amongst which resident satisfaction and physical health.