Loudoun County Parks And Recreation

Bucolic Winchester, Va. tops list of affordable retirement towns

Meera Pal , wtop.com

WASHINGTON - Talk about dream retirement spots and names of island destinations usually crop up as contenders.

But Winchester, Virginia?

As it turns out, Winchester has been named by AARP The Magazine as one of the best places to live for retirees.

The city was chosen for its cheap housing, affordable tax rates, low cost of living and ideal lifestyle.

Sally Coates, executive director of the Winchester-Frederick County Visitor Center , says she was blown away when she heard the news.

"It's very nice to know that other officials from around the country are taking notice of our community and all of the wonderful attributes that our community has," she says.

AARP says Winchester is a lovely little city that "lulls visitors into a pastoral time warp." Visitors can wander the 250-year-old shady brick streets in the town's 45-block historic district. Or, stop by Gaunt's Drug Store, where Patsy Cline worked before making it big in Nashville.

"We have a great little downtown and a lot of other little towns in our area," Coates says.

The town is also a short drive from Skyline Drive, a 105-mile scenic highway in Shenandoah National Park.

Coates was raised in Winchester and moved back to raise her children 28 years ago.

She notes the city was also recently named one of the friendliest cities in a nine-state region from Maryland to Alabama by Blue Ridge Country magazine.

"The small town feel and the country atmosphere that surrounds the town, all of that wrapped up together just makes a great package," she says.

In naming cities to its best places to live list, AARP looked at financial data of more than 350 cities across the country, including property- and sales-tax rates, median housing prices and cost of living, as well as the tax rate on pensions and Social Security. On top of that, the organization looked at recreation opportunity, climate and arts and culture.

The median housing price in Winchester is $151,000, while there is no state tax on Social Security and property tax rates are 5.53 percent.

The city's website notes that Winchester was founded in 1744 and is the oldest Virginia city west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It encompasses 9.3 square miles and is considered the medical, industrial, commercial and agricultural center for the surrounding areas. The population is about 26,000.

"We're the only one in the state of Virginia (chosen for the AARP list)," Coates says.

Loudoun County Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Services

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