A Lee-surely retirement
If you have plans to retire and are thinking of spending your golden years in warmer climes sipping sangria, you might want to reconsider, your ideal retirement is closer to home than you think.
Studies have found that not only is Cork the second-best European city to retire in, but we also experience higher levels of happiness in our retirement when compared to other parts of the country.
The happiness of Corkonians is easily understood - fantastic food, rich culture, stunning scenery and friendly locals all combine to make the quality of life here unbeatable.
But the new study from Shepards Friendly confirms what we already knew. They researched 48 of the happiest cities around the world, ranking them by a range of factors including average life expectancy, monthly cost of living and happiness rating.
Cork, boasting an average life expectancy of 83 and a happiness rate of 6.9, secured the second-best spot for retirement in Europe. It narrowly trailed behind Madrid, Spain, and triumphed over Dublin by a significant seven places in the rankings. The study also found that Dublin has the dubious honour of being the second most expensive city in Europe to live in during your retirement years.
Once you’ve made the decision to retire to Cork, get ready for a serotonin boost. A separate study has found people in Munster experience the highest levels of happiness in retirement in the country, with nine in ten (94%) retirees saying that they are happy, which is the highest level of contentment nationally, and significantly higher than people in Leinster (75% on average).
This is according to a new survey conducted by Standard Life Retirement, a national survey of 1000 people in Ireland which explores retirement attitudes, behaviours and experiences.
However, it appears that it’s not just Cork retirees that are happy, with retired people generally reporting high levels of happiness. More than 8 in 10 retirees say that they are happy with retired life, and among them, 51% express a strong sense of happiness.
According to the survey, retirees with a private pension are twice as likely as those without to feel this way. Just a small proportion of retired adults, approximately one in twelve, stated that they are unhappy. But if you are aiming to up your quotient of well-being during your golden years, it appears that Cork can offer a little slice of happiness.