As many of us start winding down for retirement, it dawns on us that not only might our best years still be ahead, but the time could be better spent in an entirely different country altogether.
The question you might then ask yourself is: where is the best city to retire? New research from Shepherds Friendly has compiled the best cities in Europe for retirement, based on cost, average life expectancy and happiness rating.
Thankfully, you don’t have to lose any of them at the expense of not having sunshine, as Madrid has been ranked number one on the list.
The Spanish capital not only has a healthy average life expectancy of 84 but is a very affordable location, with an estimated cost of living during retirement years set at approximately £124,976.
For comparison, the second-placed on the list – Cork, Ireland – costs an estimated £160,065 for the same retirement period.
READ MORE: Underrated Spanish city tops list of popular holiday destinations – full list
Third-placed Bergen in Norway, meanwhile, will set you back an estimated £972 per month to live there, amounting to around £197,487 in total.
That hasn’t stopped the people of Bergen smiling, though, with Norway’s second-largest city scoring a very respectable 7.5 happiness rating.
The happiness score for the research has been based on the World Happiness Report, which compiles several different factors, including survey data, to determine the well-being of a nation.
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The Finnish capital, Helsinki, ranks as the happiest city in the world, with a score of 7.8 – and to live there would cost you an estimated £174,848 during retirement years.
If you know that saving your hard-earned money is indeed what makes you happy, however, then Chisinau in Moldova ranks as the most affordable of all locations analysed in the study, with an estimated cost of £774 per square metre outside of the city centre.
Here is a list of the top 10 best cities in Europe for retirement, based on current cost of living prices and average retirement life span in the respective country, and according to the research.
Best European city for retirement
- Madrid, Spain
- Cork, Ireland
- Bergen, Norway
- Barcelona, Spain
- Helsinki, Finland
- Vienna, Austria
- Brussels, Belgium
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Dublin, Ireland
- Copenhagen, Denmark
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