Video: Where to Live and Retire for Low-Cost Living and Saving Money

"Erie is a big little town," says Patty Hall, who lives here with her husband Mike, also 62, both retired teachers. "If you're bored, you're just not trying.

Watching the sun set over the lake, the gardens down at the Erie Zoo (those over 62 pay $5), swimming or boating, the foliage in the fall. It's got big-city options, but at a small-town

pace." The Ohio River shows the reflection of buildings in downtown Louisville. Justin Gilliland Photography/Flickr Open/Getty Images LOUISVILLE, KY.: A SOUTHERN ORIGINAL POPULATION:

1,250,000 Median home price: $128,200 Median mortgage payment: $489 Median annual property tax: $1,116 State tax on Social Security: No State tax on pensions: Partial GREAT EATING: Swing by

Muth's Candies to savor the bourbon balls and famous Modjeskas, a marshmallow-caramel treat named after an 1880s Polish actress. CATCH A GAME: It's no surprise that the hometown of

the Louisville Slugger (which has a terrific museum here) has great baseball: the Louisville Bats, a Triple Class AAA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. The team offers a $1 discount on all

tickets for those 65 and over. BEST FREEBIE: Yoga classes offered in Cherokee, Shelby and Rubel parks Louisville earns high scores for arts and culture. It calls itself the "City of

Parks" (and has 18 designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the famed landscape architect who designed New York's Central Park), and it's also home to the Louisville Slugger Museum

& Factory, the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs racetrack, and the Urban Bourbon Trail. But Louisville is also one of the most affordable big cities in the nation. Peggy Owens, 62, a

newly minted retiree, pays $650 a month for her one-bedroom apartment in the heart of Old Louisville. Her utility expenses range from $60 to $120 per month, depending on the season. Because

she is disabled, she is covered by Medicare. She spends an average of $300 a month on food. She no longer keeps a car, and can walk to the Kling Center, which offers a variety of services to

senior citizens, where she volunteers five days a week as a receptionist. "I had lived here before I had children, and always wanted to move back, because it's so beautiful,"

Owens says. "It's just such a pleasure to stroll through the streets at dusk, looking at the old Victorians. And our parks are beautiful — whether it's when the pears are

blossoming or the dogwoods are blooming, or even if it's snowing." It is also a town with plenty of heart, adds Betty Meneese, 76, who retired 15 years ago from Kentucky Fried

Chicken's corporate employee cafeteria. "I got bored six months after retiring, and started finding ways to work with other people." Since then, she's been logging an

average of four hours a day, serving lunches and working with other volunteers at a local senior center. Denison, Texas, is the birthplace of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

DeeBee/Alamy SHERMAN/DENISON, TEXAS: TEMPTING TEXOMA POPULATION: 120,600 Median home price: $79,400 Median mortgage payment: $303 Median property tax: $1,158 State tax on Social Security: No

State tax on pensions: No GREAT EATING: Barbecue fans swear by the traditional pulled-pork sandwich at the Cackle & Oink BBQ. CATCH A GAME: When the two local high school teams, Sherman

and Denison, play one another in football, it's known as the "Battle of the Axe" — and it is the longest-running high school rivalry in Texas. BEST FREEBIE: Hagerman National

Wildlife Refuge boasts an impressive 338 species of birds, 36 species of mammals, 60 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 61 species of fish. Some 70 miles north of the bustling

Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, both Sherman and Denison are typical small-town Texas. Yet this sunny metro region offers much more, including well-established neighborhoods, some of the lowest

housing costs in the nation, and the considerable recreational appeal of nearby Lake Texoma. With facilities for Stanley Black & Decker, Cigna, Caterpillar and Raytheon nearby, the area

is prosperous, which translates into many local perks. There's a symphony, plenty of annual festivals, and public transportation. All that suits Janet Freeman, 62, and Dick Freeman,

65, just fine. The two retired after selling their gymnastics school three years ago, and are sold on the area's affordable retirement advantages. "Our house is paid off, and

that's true for many of our friends here," says Dick. "But the main charm is that we can do all the things we think are fun, including fishing — we can have the boat in Lake

Texoma in 20 minutes, or in nearby Pickens Lake in five." Check out the historic downtown section of Pueblo, Colorado. Stephen Saks/Lonely Planet Images/Getty Images PUEBLO, COLO.: A

DESERT GEM POPULATION: 158,000 Median home price: $102,600 Median mortgage payment: $392 Median property tax: $765 State tax on Social Security: Yes State tax on pensions: Yes (with some

exceptions) GREAT EATING: Known for the distinctive Mira Sol green chile peppers that grow here, the city is famous for its "sloppers" — a cheeseburger slathered in green chili.

The Sunset Inn is the reigning champ. CATCH A GAME: The ThunderWolves, Colorado State University-Pueblo's Division II football team, has a fierce following. Tickets for seniors are $13

-($20 for reserved seats and $6 for admission to Thunder Hill grassy slope). BEST FREEBIE: Take in all three miles of the Pueblo Levee Mural Project‚ which holds a Guinness Book of World

Records distinction as being the world's largest continuous painting. This smaller desert community is winning attention as a bargain among Colorado's sprawling cities. While

skiers can be on world-class slopes in less than two hours, Pueblo's climate is blissfully temperate. And the city offers unexpected delights, including HARP (Historic Arkansas River

Project), archaeological treasures, an impressive library and expanding health care options. And people here are among the healthiest in the U.S., with a longer life expectancy, fewer deaths

from heart disease and cancer, and a lower stress index. HARP Riverwalk is one of Patricia Samson's favorite things about her native Pueblo. "You can walk for several miles along

the river, and it's beautiful — there are boats and ducks and restaurants and food vendors, with waterfalls and kids splashing," she says. "It's really special."

Samson, 69, lives in the center of Pueblo, just a block from the river. In addition to the $695 she gets in Social Security, she receives $27 a month in SSI and a $37-a-month pension from

the state. To make ends meet, she volunteers as a foster grandparent in a local school, helping fourth- and fifth-graders with their math. In return for that work, besides the company of

plenty of energetic 9- to 11-year-olds, she gets a stipend of $2.65 an hour, plus $2 a day for lunch and 43 cents a mile for driving expenses, which works out to about $200 a month during

the school year. She lives in an apartment building for those over 50, and her rent (based on income) is $206 per month for a one-bedroom, including all utilities except for phone.

"It's safe. It's warm. And it's a very comfortable, friendly place — I can leave my windows open, and there's a common area where we all have coffee."

_CORRECTION: Because of an editing error, there was some incorrect information regarding taxing Social Security benefits and pensions in Indiana, Colorado, Texas and South Carolina. This

information has been corrected. The article also incorrectly referred to the University of Notre Dame as Notre Dame University and said that the university was 151 years old. The University

of Notre Dame was established in 1842 and is 171 years old. A picture that ran with this story had an incorrect caption stating the College Football Hall of Fame is located in South Bend,

Ind. The College Football Hall of Fame's South Bend location closed at the end of 2012 and is reopening in Atlanta, GA._