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42. Washington

The Pacific Northwest should be pretty high on anyone's list of possible retirement spots. Washington, in particular, has pretty much everything you'd want out of the region, including friendly and chic mountain towns, huge expanses of forests, and, in some places, a cheap cost of living. That said, other places in the state are definitely not cheap to live in. The state has 7.8 million residents, with 1.35 million being 65 or older.

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Sales tax is 6.5%, but again, taxes can vary pretty starkly depending on where you live. Still, the region is beautiful, and if you're a fan of nature and small towns, you can't really go wrong with Washington.