Jeff Oganga

The Great Lakes Region runs on its small towns. Sister Bay anchors the elbow of Door County. Traverse City watches over Grand Traverse Bay.

Sam Walton opened a five-and-dime store on the Bentonville town square in 1950 and started building what became Walmart out of a corner of the Ozark

Arizona 's downtown strips run a mix of preserved Old West facades and high-desert color you don't get anywhere else in the country.

Fortunately, the Empire State, as the State of New York is known, brims with several off-the-beaten-path towns first-time visitors often get mindblown with.

If you're planning a New Mexico retirement in the next few years, the math here is friendlier than most western states.

South Carolina summer means a specific kind of trip: barrier-island beach days, Lowcountry boil dinners, and a lot of porch sitting between the two.

For those who wish to retire in the Finger Lakes, this region is star-studded with numerous towns and cities, many of which are well-suited for seniors.

The Ozarks spread across Arkansas and Missouri in a tangle of rivers, springs, and hardwood hills, and the towns tucked into them tend to greet visitors like neighbors.

The Pacific Coast holds a string of small retirement towns set apart from the big California, Oregon, and Washington metros, where walkable downtowns sit within a short walk of the water.

These ten towns in the Pacific Northwest offer locals and tourists an off-the-grid experience, with enough culture, nature, and charm for a 2025 vacation.