AARP says 10 cities make for top-notch towns to retire to because they are financially friendly, come with affordable housing and offer stay-cation getaway destinations to vie for.

To compile the list, AARP examined the financial data on more than 350 cities, checking property- and sales-tax rates, median home price and the cost of living, as well as the tax rate on pensions and Social Security.

AARP also considered fun stuff -- recreation, climate, arts and culture.

Here's at look at the cities at the top of the heap for retirees.

Winchester, VA -- This hamlet of about 26,000 residents is just 75 miles from the nation's capital and it's dotted with more than a dozen National Register of Historic Places properties.

Colonel George Washington slept here in the Adam Kurtz House, his headquarters during his stint with the Virginia Militia at the beginning of the French and Indian War.

The town's "bucolic bliss" includes proximity to Skyline Drive, a 105-mile scenic highway through glorious Shenandoah National Park. The median home price is $151,500.

Portland, ME -- Portland's coastline, lakes, seafood, pull for art enthusiasts and well-preserved working waterfront makes for a diverse urban village near the great outdoors.

Bon Appetite recently named the town "The Foodiest Small Town in America."

The median home price is $202,800. With a local population about 66,000, the surrounding metro area adds another half million residents -- about one third of Maine's total population

Gainesville, GA -- Lake enthusiasts have Lake Lanier and dream homes on the water for a steal. The median home price is $141,800 and the population about 36,000.

Also known as the "Poultry Capital of the World," because of its poultry processing industry, Gainesville is also near the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chattahoochee and Oconee National Forests.

Wenatchee, WA -- North Central Washington's largest city and county seat of Chelan County has a population of about 32,000 enjoying a median home price of $192,000. The mighty Columbia River runs through it.

A Garden-of-Eden town, Wentachee includes the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail, a scenic 10-mile paved loop that crosses the Columbia and Wenatchee rivers.

Tulsa, OK -- The Arkansas River flows through this "small-city jewel" outfitted with an art deco downtown district, "first-rate" art museums, lots of green and 26 miles of paved cycling and walking trails that wind among fountains, playgrounds and sculptures.

The median home price is $125,600, population 392,000 -- the second largest town in the state.

Rounding out the Top 10 were:

Cheyenne, WY -- Laramie County's county seat, population about 60,000, Cheyenne does just what it sounds like -- holds onto the spirit of the Old West. The median home price is $141,400.

Columbus, IN -- The median home price is $124,2000 in this east-of-Bloomington town of about 44,000 residents enjoying architecture on par with Chicago and San Francisco.

Ithaca, NY -- Cornell Bears, Ithaca Falls, glacier-cut Finger Lakes, wine and foodie culture? What's not to like? The median home price is $146,100. Population about 30,000 until schools open and the population doubles.

Harrisburg, PA -- Approximately 50,000 people live here along the Susquehanna River, enjoying about one shade tree per resident, a 4.5-mile-long Riverfront Park and 20-mile greenbelt around the city, along with the influences of the surrounding Pennsylvania Dutch. The median home price is $144,200

Midland, TX -- Aptly named and founded as a railroad stop midway between Fort Worth and El Paso, the hometown of former president George W. Bush has a population of about 111,000 and a median home price of $96,600.

Published: September 8, 2011

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A journalist for 35-years, Broderick Perkins parlayed an old-school daily newspaper career into a digital news service offering editorial content and consulting services. Perkins' San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group includes the flagship news site, DeadlineNews.Com, offering real estate, personal finance and consumer journalism, and a backshop, the Deadline Newsroom.