indian wells ca

Indian Wells Ranks Among Top Places to Retire

The city earned the highest ranking among 10 California spots to make the listing that factored in items like weather, access to healthcare and restaurants, and recreation play for golf and tennis.

Staff Report Attractions, Current Digital

indian wells ca
The striking row of palm trees lining Highway 111 in Indian Wells is part of a striking landscape.
HOTOGRAPH BY GETTY IMAGES

The coronavirus pandemic is impacting just about every facet of our lives. It’s dictating choices we hadn’t considered, like retirement. Early retirement is looking more attractive rather than risk catching the virus, and Indian Wells is among the top 100 cities people choose, according to a 2020 list by the software company Stacker using Niche rankings.

At 44th, Indian Wells was the highest ranked California city and one of nine from the state to earn a ranking but the only one from Riverside County. The rest included Tiburon (97), Newport Beach (92), Beverly Hills (90), Lakespur (81), Del Mar (75), Belvedere (73), and Del Monte Forest (71), and Laguna Woods (67).

Florida dominated the top 10 by filling nine slots led by Pelican Beach (1), Hillsboro Beach (2), and South Palm Beach (4). Lake Success, New York, at No. 3 stopped Florida from sweeping all 10 spots.

Several of the factors that led to a place in the top 100 worked in Indian Wells’ favor, such as weather – little or no rain – access to healthcare, restaurants, and doctors, recreation play for golf and tennis, and striking landscapes. Other factors weighed included crime rates, number of residents 65 and older, and access to amenities like restaurants.

Here is Slacker’s profile: “Luxurious Indian Wells, in California’s Santa Rosa Mountains, is just a few minutes’ drive from Palm Springs, California. It was popular with Hollywood stars in the ’50s and ’60s, and today its palm tree-lined streets are filled with spas, top dining, and shops. Indian Wells hosts the annual BNP Paribas Open professional tennis tournament. The cost of living is high, especially for housing.”

To view the complete list, visit kpvi.com.

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