Publication recognizes Shreveport-Bossier as certified retirement area

Shreveport and Bossier City, La., recognized as a certified retirement area in the Encore Louisiana program, have been featured by Where to Retire, the only magazine in America geared toward helping people with retirement relocation decisions. The Encore Louisiana program is profiled as part of the magazine’s series on various states’ retirement relocation programs. The story appears in the July/August 2018 issue, available nationwide June 12.

The Louisiana program has been luring retirees for nearly 20 years and recognizes eight certified retirement areas in Louisiana. Each locale is vetted to make sure it appeals to retirees, and criteria for the certification include plenty of housing, excellent health care, access to public transportation, lots of recreation and festivals, and more.

Where to Retire Editor Annette Fuller said the certified cities have plenty to brag about. “A couple interviewed for the article, who moved to Bossier City in retirement, highlighted the state’s low cost of living, pleasant climate and events like the Red River Balloon Rally,” Fuller said. Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, whose office runs the Encore Louisiana program, said that he hears over and over from relocated retirees that Louisianans treat them like family. “They get that warm, fuzzy feeling here,” he said. “People they barely know ask them to come on over to their backyard for a crawfish boil.”

Each year, 700,000 Americans relocate to new towns to retire. Generally, relocating retirees are healthier, better educated and more affluent than those who choose to not relocate. They bring significant economic benefits to their new states and hometowns.

Where to Retire, now in its 26th year of print, is published six times a year. The magazine covers the best retirement regions, towns and master-planned communities in the U.S.