Area towns named among top 10 best places to retire in Mississippi

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – When it comes to where to settle down when you retire, there are a number of options in the Magnolia State.

A recent report from smartasset.com listed Columbus as the number five best place to retire in Mississippi.

“I definitely think we should be in the top ten, we should probably be number one. The reasons would be affordability, the assets that we have here” said CEO of Visit Columbus Nancy Carpenter.

Carpenter said a key thing people look for when retiring is access to health care.

“I think the affordability and the access to hospitals and the quality of physicians here in Columbus is really second to none,” said Carpenter.

Carpenter also said a lot the retirement population in Columbus stems from the military.

“As far as retiring from the military, you would have access to the Columbus Air Force Base and then there are other amenities on the base that you would have access to as well,’ said Carpenter.

Dixie Butler is a resident of Columbus and moved here almost 50 years ago with her husband.

“He died in 2003 and I just didn’t want to leave Columbus. Columbus is such a wonderful place I’d rather live here even though I don’t have any family here,” said Butler.

Dixie and her husband restored one of the oldest houses in Columbus–the Temple Heights mansion.

“I enjoy being involved in activities that I think are helping to make the town better,” said Butler.

Butler says the retirement ranking couldn’t be more fitting.

“I think that’s a wonderful honor for our town, and I think it’s well deserved. I hope that will get even more nice people to move here…I just love Columbus.”

Smart Asset listed several area towns in the top ten list including Amory at number 2, Booneville at number 4, New Albany at number 8, and Tupelo at number 9.

Amory mayor Brad Blalock shared a statement about his city coming in 2nd.

“When I received the email notice from Smart Asset indicating Amory was ranked 2nd in the state for best places to retire, it came as a pleasant validation of something those of us that call Amory home already know…Amory is a great place to live. Though many often look at what is perceived as greener grass in other areas of our state, Amory enjoys many blessings that make our city not just a municipality but a home and community and we would invite retirees as well as individuals of any age to come home to Amory.”

You can see the full top ten list here.