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This is a follow-up to one of my first posts, 4 essential sites for anyone considering relocating. If you’re considering relocating or are trying to identify your perfect retirement location, these sites will be of great help:

1. Findyourspot.com is a terrific site that’s totally free and a lot of fun. You complete a simple 5 minute questionnaire which asks you to rank the relative importance (from your viewpoint) of a number of socioeconomic factors, and the website then suggests 24 communities which match your preferences. Give it a try – even if you aren’t contemplating a move, it’s fun to see which U.S. communities match the qualities you value.
2. epodunk.com has information about 46,000 different communities in its database – demographics, attractions, municipal websites (government, DMV, etc.), environmental data, maps, employment information, and on and on. Each town’s profile includes user reviews which help provide a little local color.
3. InternationalLiving.com Have you heard stories about people who’ve retired in Mexico, Venezuela, Costa Rica or other exotic locales like Belize? InternationalLiving.com is dedicated to the proposition that you can live better, for less, overseas. With over 30 years’ experience and 200+ contributors who provide “Postcards” – unique e-newsletters from expats around the world. While you’re there, be sure to check out the “Retirement Index,” which ranks countries in terms of their appeal as retirement havens.
4. NeighborhoodScout.com is a neighborhood search engine for homebuyers and a real estate resource center. One of the site’s neat features lets you find neighborhoods which will appeal to you by matching a neighborhood you already love… plug in an address and zip code, and the site will provide similar neighborhoods from across the U.S. Of course you can eliminate certain regions and climates. You’ll find a lot of free information on this site, but some of additional data requires a $30/30 day subscription.

Give these sites a try – I guarantee you’ll enjoy them! Finally, I want to mention one of the sites from the other post again, as it’s that good… Zillow.com enables you to identify property values for 80,000,000 homes across the U.S.

Good luck!

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If you’re considering a move, here are 4 terrific sites:

Zillow
Home values in any town in the U.S.!

Homefair
Lots of resources for anyone contemplating a move

Best Places.net: Cost of Living Calculator
Compare your proposed town to your current location

Best Places to Live – 2007
Money magazine’s annual list