This SC city ranks among best places to retire in the South. What it’s known for
A South Carolina city earned a nod for its food scene — and no, it wasn’t Charleston.
Greenville ranks as the South’s No. 1 retirement destination for food lovers, according to results published Tuesday, Sept. 19.
To determine the top places for retirees to live, Southern Living magazine said it worked with the financial website Investopedia to evaluate 41 cities. In March, those cities had been named among “The South’s Best,” a distinction for places that received nominations from editors and rose to the top after thousands of magazine readers completed a survey.
“The final list of Best Places to Retire was chosen based on how each city or town compared to the U.S. as a whole on a variety of economic and lifestyle criteria including: home and rental affordability, average resident age, unemployment, best industries for jobs and wages, prevalence of restaurants, hospitals, and colleges,” Southern Living wrote in its new report.
Why does Greenville rank No. 1 for retirees?
Among the 12 retirement-related categories considered, Greenville reigned supreme when it came to food. Southern Living gave the city of about 72,000 people a nod for having restaurants that serve regional classics and local specialties.
“It’s all good, and area chefs and restaurants have the James Beard Award recognition to prove it,” the magazine said.
In addition to highlighting Greenville’s top-tier dining spots, Southern Living praised the city for its food festivals. There also are classes and volunteer opportunities to help people stay active during retirement.
“We chose Greenville partly for the climate — a May snowfall in Des Moines sent us looking to the South,” Scott Butler told the magazine. “Every time we go on a trip, it just feels so good to come back here.”
The results come after another South Carolina destination repeatedly received praise as a top place to eat a meal.
This year, Charleston’s dining scene ranked on national lists from Tripadvisor and Food & Wine. And when it comes to retirement, the popular tourist town also was named one of the best U.S. places for older adults to settle down.
But Greenville has made its mark, too, recently ranking among the nation’s top cities to visit this fall. Greenville County also was named the No. 1 place to live in South Carolina, McClatchy News reported.
On the Southern Living list, Chattanooga, Tennessee, ranked as the “best all around” retirement destination. Other categories included the best places for cities, outdoors, nature, beaches, mountains, “healthy living,” affordability, lifelong learning, home buying, and arts and culture.
Southern Living only published one top winner in each category, and no others were from South Carolina. In an email to McClatchy News, the magazine said the rankings focused on 17 states in the Southeastern part of the country.
This story was originally published September 20, 2023 at 9:44 AM with the headline "This SC city ranks among best places to retire in the South. What it’s known for."
