Other features required an adjustment, however, from the local book selection -- plenty of religious history -- to the strict liquor laws, to the fact that she sometimes has to drive across state borders to see a movie that's on her list.
"For someone coming from Manhattan, who is used to going out for a cocktail, it would be a real shock to come here," Gebhard says. "The place pretty much closes up in the early evening. There is not a whole lot to do."
Disconnect
To be sure, there is sometimes a disconnect between such “Best Places” lists, and where retirees actually say they want to go. The magazine "Where to Retire" surveys its own readership about desired locales, and comes up with a very different -- and more traditional -- list of top destinations.
Its winners? Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia.
"It's true that retirees are beginning to look for alternatives," says Annette Fuller, the magazine's editor. "It's not just Florida and Arizona anymore. But we're tending to see more movement towards the southeast: the Carolinas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee."
Brookings Institution demographer Bill Frey, who studies senior migration patterns, agrees that Florida isn't the only game in town anymore. A few other areas that are climbing the charts for those over 55 are Atlanta, Denver, and Austin.
But the current champion for drawing retirees is the Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale metro area, according to Frey's statistics. Bankrate.com's top picks, for instance, aren't attracting anywhere near those kinds of numbers.
Lois O'Grady, though, is happy with her retirement choice. She gets to hang out with her daughter, who teaches at the University of South Dakota, as well as her grandkids and great-grandkids.
But the sleepy local vibe gets to her sometimes.