Retirement planning based on location affordability?

I think a lot of people dream of retiring some place exotic. You know, maybe like the South of France. Or some place in the Caribbean. But the fact is, for a lot of people, they have to settle for retirement right here in the USA. It seems like a lot of people head south to Florida or head west to places like Arizona. With that in mind, you might be surprised to find that Forbes recently ranked Columbus, Ohio at the top of the list of America's Most Affordable Places to Retire. Shocking, no?

Have a look at the top 10 right here.

1. Columbus, Ohio
2. Dallas, Texas
3. Minneapolis, Minnesota
4. Houston, Texas
5. Salt Lake City, Utah
6. Indianapolis, Indiana
7. Denver, Colorado
8. St. Louis, Missouri
9. Atlanta, Georgia
10. Nashville, Tennessee

Note how none of those cities are in Florida or Arizona! I guess that makes me wonder - when you get ready to retire do you make the decision of where to retire a purely emotional decision or a purely financial decision?

I mean, if you have spent your time up until retirement making smart financial decisions, do you just throw caution to the wind and make an emotional based decision for once? Or do you make practicality a force of habit and make the decision based on financials?

I guess I have about 35 or so years to think it over though.

For the Forbes story, click here.