ESTATE

With the economy in turmoil and lifestyle preferences changing, traditional retirement counties aren’t looking as attractive as they used to. With this in mind, Forbes magazine set out to identify the Best Places to Grow Old.

The magazine mined data from the U.S. Census Bureau to determine where people older than 65 live now. It examined housing costs, employment opportunities, and the availability of hospitals and eldercare facilities, among other things.

Of counties with populations greater than 500,000, here are Forbes’ top picks of places in which to grow old gracefully:

1. Montgomery County, Pa.
2. Nassau County, N.Y.
3. Pima County, Ariz.
4. Palm Beach County, Fla.
5. Honolulu County, Hawaii
6. Brevard County, Fla.
7. Montgomery County, Md.
8. Ocean County, N.J.
9. Westchester County, N.Y.
10. Lancaster County, Pa.

Source: Forbes, Lauren Sherman (05/18/2009)