Dubai, Bangkok, and Grand Cayman are home to the best retirement communities worldwide, according to BestRetirementDestinations.com’s 2013 rankings of the top 30 global retirement communities.
Best Retirement Destinations, started in 2008, is an independent directory for retirement communities that also evaluates and ranks them based on five evaluation criteria: resident options, visual appeal, recreational activity, social networking, and safety/security.
“We have done extensive research to determine what criteria are important to those seeking a seasonal or rental home in a retirement community,” says the site of its evaluation criteria. “The destinations that appear in our ranking system have proven themselves to be better than the rest in five different categories.”
The top community, Palm Jumeirah, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, ranks as “excellent” in all five evaluation criteria.
Coming in at number two is Soneva Kiri, in Bangkok, Thailand, received “excellent” ratings for four out of five criteria, as did the number three community, the Ritz Carlton in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
The top seven communities have a price range of above $3 million, with unit sizes ranging anywhere
Another Top 30 list ranks communities by price range. For communities with a price range under $250,000, Sea Trail in Sunset Beach, North Carolina tops the list, followed by Country Club Estates in Deming, New Mexico and Verandah, in Fort Myers, Florida.
The top communities ranked high in most of the five evaluation criteria and units generally ranged between 1,000 and 2,500 square feet.
Best Retirement Destinations also ranks the best communities by state.
Written by Alyssa Gerace
