Trust us, these are the 25 best places in California to retire
Good morning. I’m Terry Castleman, a data reporter on our breaking news team in Los Angeles. Here’s what we’re covering today.
- We ranked the top 25 places to retire in California.
- Trump is heading to Coachella Valley this weekend. But why?
- The brilliant autumn foliage in this Eastern Sierra paradise is drawing a global crowd.
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
The best places to retire all have 4 key characteristics
When we set out to create a ranking for the best places to retire in California, we knew it would go against some conventional wisdom.
In part, that’s because every retirement dream is different and often goes down paths we don’t expect.
Our analysis was designed to cover the average Californian and take into account four very specific factors:
- Climate: the number of days of extreme heat expected per year, based on projections for 2035 to 2064
- Health and wellness: a health index combining dozens of factors, including air quality, access to transportation and proportion of adults with health insurance — though not direct access to hospitals
- Recreation: the proportion of residents who have a park, beach or open space greater than 1 acre within a half-mile of their home
- Affordability: typical home prices and rental costs in the city
We knew our list would be controversial. Is Eureka a better place to retire than Malibu? Does Benicia’s relatively unknown waterfront triumph over the yachts of Newport Beach?
The results of our analysis were surprising and illuminating.
The best places to retire in California are Eureka and Arcata in Humboldt County, which tied for first place. You can see the 23 next best places here.
Readers have responded to the list. One person who moved from Orange County to Eureka for retirement said there were pluses but access to good hospitals was an issue and his wife sometimes needed to travel hundreds of miles for medical appointments and procedures.
Three of our top 10 cities were on California’s remote North Coast — which offers cool temperatures, ocean access and pretty affordable housing. One reader told us she considered purchasing property in the region but, like our OC transplant, was concerned about medical care.
Another reader who lives in Long Beach told us that she could not understand how Signal Hill got on the list. She drives through it all the time and thought it too industrial for a comfortable retirement.
Readers also wanted to know more, so we updated our list from the top 10 cities and towns to the top 25!
Read it here.
Today’s top stories
Why Trump is holding a rally in the California desert, weeks before election day?
- Former President Donald Trump will attend a rally Saturday in the Coachella Valley, even though he likely will lose California by millions of votes.
- In other election news, Kamala Harris had been introduced to much of the nation as “the female Barack Obama.” It built credibility, and a burden.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom hosted Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for a fundraiser at his Sacramento home.
- And in the U.S. Senate race in California, Rep. Adam Schiff and former Dodger Steve Garvey faced off in a testy debate.
Dozens of patients sued a former OB-GYN and Cedars-Sinai, alleging misconduct
- Thirty-five women alleged Dr. Barry Brock committed sexual and medical misconduct that was enabled and concealed by the health facilities where he worked, according to a lawsuit filed this week.
- Brock has previously denied any wrongdoing or sexual misconduct. He also faces an accusation before the Medical Board of California, where he is accused of committing “repeated negligent acts.”
A housing nonprofit alleged widespread discrimination against Section 8 tenants in California
- More than 200 California landlords and their representatives — including major real estate brokerages — are accused of illegally refusing to rent to Section 8 voucher holders, according to complaints filed by the Housing Rights Initiative.
- The allegations come as authorities face criticism for not adequately enforcing a state law aimed at protecting voucher holders from discrimination.
The Happiest Place on Earth is getting a little more expensive
- Anaheim’s Disneyland Resort is increasing pricing on most of its park tickets for attendees 10 and older.
- Disneyland officials said pricing is continually adjusted to balance demand, optimize attendance and reflect the value attendees get at the parks.
What else is going on
- The U.S. Supreme Court appeared to lean in favor of a federal ban on the sale of “ghost guns.”
- California and several other states sued TikTok, alleging the popular social media app exploits young users.
- Rolling Hills property owners are seeking answers about the threat from new land movement.
- Five people are dead after a twin-engine plane crashed on Catalina Island Tuesday night.
- His wife was murdered in Pasadena 36 years ago. Then he had to face one of her killers again.
- The Dodgers couldn’t overcome a disastrous inning and lost Game 3 of the NLDS to the Padres.
- A sports memorabilia collector paid $38,400 for a Bronny James jersey.
Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.
Commentary and opinions
- Donald Trump seems to think he’s losing, columnist Jonah Goldberg writes. Would the Republican Party survive his defeat?
- Mexico’s gun crisis is our fault, columnist LZ Granderson writes. Victims deserve their day in U.S. court.
- Cruising toward my mid-40s has been a wonderful surprise — including in how I dress, writes Melissa Febos, author of five books, including her forthcoming memoir “The Dry Season.”
- A Galaxy assistant coach finds inspiration from his Olympic medal-winning grandmother.
This morning’s must reads
‘Like freeing a ghost’: A sailor’s strange and wondrous journey back from Pearl Harbor. Everett Titterington, who died at Pearl Harbor, was interred at Riverside National Cemetery after his remains were identified.
Other must reads
- An L.A. River champion offers a vision for reimagining the waterway — and the city’s future.
- A wildfire charred their L.A. yard — but it let them create a lush native plant landscape.
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your downtime
Going out
- 🍁 The brilliant autumn foliage in this Eastern Sierra paradise is drawing a global crowd.
- 🎤 Coldplay will perform in Northern California next spring after the English band added 10 dates to its record-breaking Music of the Spheres world tour.
- 🏋️ Strength training may be the key to longevity. Here’s how to do it safely as you age.
- 🎥 A hot new movie theater in Norwalk bucks industry trends.
Staying in
- 🤡 Here are five unforgettably bad sequels to stream after you see “Joker: Folie à Deux.”
- 🥊 “La Máquina,” premiering today on Hulu, delivers an emotional punch and reunites actors Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, our critic writes.
- 🎧 Megan Moroney’s country songs reveal the tears behind a “sparkly and glittery” life, our critic writes.
- 📺 NBC’s “Dateline” added Blayne Alexander to its true-crime crew.
- 🍎 Here’s a recipe for apple galette.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
And finally ... what’s a good book to read this fall?
What book have you recently enjoyed and would recommend to a friend?
Feel free to email your book picks to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might be included in the newsletter this week.
And pictured above is Bart’s Books, a fixture on lists like “The Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World.” The Ojai landmark was inspired by the founder’s travels far from home.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
