7 Towns in New England that Are Ideal for Seniors

New England, in the northeast United States, is a six-state region made up of former British colonies. The region today is known for its high population, natural beauty, world-class industry and academic research — and ideal conditions for a happy retirement. Across the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, seniors looking for something fresh and different will find what they seek region-wide. As these towns show, New England may be the perfect fit for retirement with cultural interest, the outdoors, and charm in one of the United States' oldest regions. 

Kennebunkport, Maine

Kennebunkport, population 4,000, is known as the summer residence of the Bush political family, which counts two presidents. Kennebunkport incorporated as early as 1653. Kennebunkport's current and historic attractions center around Dock Square, displaying the port town's evolution from shipbuilding and fishing to warm-weather tourism.

The town's points of interest are sure to intrigue seniors and their guests, like the Seashore Trolley Museum, with its collection of old-time streetcars. St. Ann’s Episcopal Church, erected in stone in 1887, blesses the visitor ocean views from its premises. The town has five senior living centers, two of them low-income-affordable, and which offer a wide range of services, according to the online database Senior Housing Net. 

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Portsmouth, with 22,300 souls, also sits by the sea. For active seniors, outdoor options like Pierce Island and Four Tree Island make the town a great place explore. Prescott Park organizes a summer concert schedule each year. The town's historic main street attracts visitors of all ages. History buffs will be interested to know it was here that the United States hosted the signing of what would be called the Treaty of Portsmouth, a 1905 pact that ended the Russo-Japanese War. 

Portsmouth has nearly thirty senior care centers in and around town, from waterside options like Wentworth Senior Living, to quieter options away from downtown. 

Bennington, Vermont

The southwestern town of Bennington, population 15,300, has drawn do-it-yourself types and deep thinkers since it was founded in 1749. The home of Bennington College as well as Southern Vermont College, it is a classic New England college town — in a region famous for them. The town was also a hotbed of activity during the Revolutionary War that would earn New England, and the young United States, independence from British rule. 

Bennington's history shows up at places like the Park-McCullough Historic Governor's Mansion, a Victorian home built between 1864 and 1865 and boasting 35 rooms. The town also hosts the final resting place of famous American poet Robert Frost. The town has a half-dozen retirement communities, two listed as affordable housing, with more options just across the state line in Hoosick Falls, New York. 

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Gloucester, a seaside place with 29,800 residents, boasts a proud history as a center of maritime trade and industry on the Cape Ann Peninsula. The town provided the setting for the real-life story and movie "The Perfect Storm."  With its docks in operation since 1623, Gloucester continues a New England tradition of seafaring, while honoring those who have risked and lost everything in the deep. The Gloucester Fishermen's Memorial, and the nearby Fishermen's Wives Memorial, honors all members of the Gloucester fishing communities of past and present. 

Gloucester's retirement care sites sit together northwest of town, conveniently close to Addison Gilbert Hospital. Other nursing and urgent care options abound down the coast in the Beverly-Salem area.  

Nantucket, Massachusetts

Many are those who dream of a Nantucket retirement. The island has just 14,400 inhabitants and calls to mind iconic scenes of New England beaches, seaside meals, and moments with friends and family. 

For culture, and to impress your (many) visitors if you settle here, the town's Whaling Museum conjures former industries and ways of life. As an island, Nantucket is literally surrounded by beaches. The Great Point Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge gives nature fans a view to local species. For assisted care, the Landmark House, in the south of Nantucket town, is a low-income listing, per Senior Housing Net.

Farmington, Connecticut

Farmington, with 26,700 inhabitants, makes for a quaint, historic retirement setting in a larger town. The suburb of Hartford allows for big-city proximity at a comfortable distance. With low crime and a bucolic setting, the town's historic district is included on the National Register of Historic Places, as is the nearby Pequabuck Bridge, an unusually-named stone structure dating to 1833 and one of the few such bridges left in the state. For a touch of culture, the Hill-Stead Museum has French Impressionist paintings in a lovely Colonial Revival-style home from 1901. Visitors can also access to the more than 150 acres of grounds and gardens.

Farmington runs more than a dozen senior living centers, with a host of offices linked to the University of Connecticut medical school in and close to town. 

Narragansett, Rhode Island

Narragansett, population 14,500, reaches well beyond its reputation as a historic beach town. The town, whose name comes from the Algonquin Native American tribal language family, has no fewer than four historic districts across town, which showcase huge summer homes of America's past and present wealthy families, as well as St. Peter’s-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, a glorious example of English Gothic style that also features Tiffany stained-glass windows. The town's size more than doubles in the summer tourist season. 

Narragansett has four senior centers, three of them listed as affordable at low incomes. South County Hospital lies just outside town. 

A New England retirement promises beautiful senior years

All in all, these New England towns offer obvious charms for a retirement in the region. From Maine to Rhode Island, and from the Atlantic sea coast to inland spots like Bennington, Vermont, or Farmington, Connecticut, the region feels made to welcome the diverse needs and desires of seniors. Add to that retirement facilities for a range of budgets, plus the hospitals needed to reassure the family and friends who want the best care. A New England retirement may be the future for you.