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Salinas

Much like the previous town we talked about, Salinas is also a medium-sized city that hosts about 430,00 people; however, the difference is that the retiree population here is a bit more significant, with about 195 of the population being older than 60. If you were thinking that San Francisco was going to end up being too expensive to live in during your retirement or that you would like to move somewhere close to the Bay Area but wouldn’t want to pay that much on housing, Salinas is one of your best choices.

Close enough to the Bay Area, the happiness metric for this town was always high, with residents loving the city and the surrounding areas. The town is also the hometown of a famous author, and it has been featured in some of his novels as well. If you tried to guess, John Steinbeck is the author, and you may remember him from his famous novel “The Grapes of Wrath“, which is also set around this area!

The town is relaxing and peaceful, with the surrounding area being full of farmlands, and the proximity to the Pacific Ocean makes sure that the weather is not too extreme, just perfect to live in. The one thing you will need to be wary of is the fact that, while it is not as expensive as San Francisco, it is still more expensive than other areas of California. The average rent can come up to $1,600, with a mortgage of over $2,000!