I need to take a long, deep breath to calm myself down because I have just witnessed the internet at its most stupid. A national site has just named Wyoming one of the worst places to retire. Um, no.

I normally just ignore garbage like this because frankly who cares what people that don't live here think of Wyoming. But, I want to pick apart something I just came across that declared Wyoming was one of the worst places you can retire to. I say hogwash and this is why.

First, to be fair, check out the thing on Homesnacks for yourself. It's their "10 Best States to Retire To". But, the one thing I would point you to is how they came up with this list. With anything like this, methodology is key. Here are the categories that Homesnacks used to form the best states to retire to list:

  • Colleges per capita
  • Density (Things to do)
  • Latitude (The further south the better)
  • Median age (higher is better)
  • Households with kids(lower is better)

Based on their priorities, Wyoming comes in at #45 out of the 50 states.

I want to be clear that this is THEIR opinion. Personally, I think they got it completely wrong. Let me take a deep breath and I'll try to explain.

When you reach retirement age, how important is college to you? I would guess probably not very for most. Density. They think higher population density is better. They must be crazy. In Wyoming, we love our open space where we can enjoy activities without big crowds bothering us. Latitude? Really? Only a southerner would think the south is better and even some of them would prefer Wyoming. Look at Homesnack's own "Worst States to Live In" list and you'll see most are southern states. Duh.

Whoever wrote this list obviously doesn't like families either. I disagree, but to each his own. Whatever. The only factor that I believe is valid on a best states to retire to list is the median age. Having those around you that are close to your age and have similar interests would be a positive.

This Homesnacks list which I'm sure will get shared like crazy just shows you how flawed so many of these internet rankings are. Make sure you understand the methodology before you draw a conclusion. In this case, I think the only way Wyoming is named among the worst states to retire to is if the internet is stupid.

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