Once again, Fargo makes Forbes' list of top 25 cities for retirees

051821.B.FF.FORBES-RETIRE-LIST.png — For the 11th year in a row, Forbes has listed Fargo as one of the top 25 communities to retire in the country. Forbes / Special to The Forum

By Tammy Swift

May 17, 2021 at 2:05 PM

FARGO — Blizzards, schmizzards.

Forbes named Fargo to its annual Best Places to Retire list for the 11th year in a row , distinguishing it as the only city to make the list every year since the publication first began compiling it.

Listed alongside such balmy locales as Clearwater, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C., Fargo's retirement appeal is credited to factors such as a median home price of $244,000 (26% below the national median), good air quality, a bikeable/walkable city plan, low climate-change risk and the lack of state estate tax.

Forbes editors assessed a total of 800 locales, examining everything from natural disaster risk and crime rates to cultural opportunities and, yes, climate. Many of their picks are in warm locales — three are in Florida, with two each in Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia.

So how did sometimes-frigid Fargo get to be such a hot spot for seniors?

That very issue is examined in an accompanying column by staffer Hank Tucker, whose usual beat is billionaires. Tucker interviewed people like Erik Hatch, owner of Hatch Realty , Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney and Brian Arett of Valley Senior Services to uncover the city's attraction to the 65-and-older crowd.

Their Fargo sources talked of the warmth of the people, excellent access to health care (Fargo has one of the best doctor-per-capita rates, with one MD for every 990 people), a bevvy of senior support services (Meals on Wheels, senior ride options) and a steady population growth.

There also is no shortage of things to do, with close access to Division I sports, a thriving cultural scene and lake country.

Finally, Fargo fared best in the area that mattered most in the Forbes list: money. Affordable homes and a reasonable cost of living, along with a decent economy and no state estate tax, all helped make the city a prime retirement spot.

As for the cold, well, snowbirds figured this out long ago: That's why there are flights to Phoenix or Florida. "Back in college, I camped outside of Best Buy on Thanksgiving to go to Black Friday with literally hundreds of other people, just to get a cheaper TV," Hatch told Tucker. "So people still do the things that happen in other parts of the country. It simply is approached with more clothes on.”

See the whole Forbes list here.

042521.B.FF.FGSIGN.jpg — A new Fargo sign put up outside of the Fargo Civic Center is seen here Thursday, April 29, 2021, along Fourth Street North. Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum

By Tammy Swift

Tammy has been a storyteller most of her life. Before she learned the alphabet, she told stories by drawing pictures and then dictated the narrative to her ever-patient mother. A graduate of North Dakota State University, she has worked as a Dickinson, N.D., bureau reporter, a Bismarck Tribune feature writer/columnist, a Forum feature reporter, columnist and editor, a writer in NDSU's Publications Services, a marketing/social media specialist, an education associate in public broadcasting and a communications specialist at a nonprofit.