Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The news came with excitement.

Bermuda Run was ranked as the No. 1 place in the United States for an affordable retirement.

We already knew it was a great place, but the most affordable?

Realtor.com thinks so.

An article about the rankings on the website even came with comments from local Realtor Amanda Cranfill. It looked at towns with above average median ages and below average home prices ($435,450 nationally), and proximity to larger cities with health care facilities.

Here’s what Realtor.com had to say:

“Nestled just outside the southwestern edge of the Winston-Salem area, Bermuda Run is a small community oozing Southern charm and natural beauty. With a median list price of $179,000, it’s our most affordable retiree-friendly locale.

“Worth noting: There is a significant price gap between most condos and single-family homes in the area. The median condo list price is about $169,000, whereas the median single-family home is around $387,000. While that’s significantly more, it’s still well below what retirees would pay in other parts of the country.

“On top of the great price ranges for homes in Bermuda Run, local real estate agent Cranfill says the town offers a variety of amenities that attract older adults.

“‘There are community events, like live concerts in the town square. There are volunteering opportunities at the public schools and local charitable groups,’ she says. And yeah, there’s plenty of golf, tennis, and pickleball, too.

“Cranfill says Bermuda Run draws retirees especially from the Northeast—largely for one notable reason: low property taxes. The state also doesn’t tax Social Security benefits.

“‘In 25 years of doing this, I hear from folks from New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, when they call and ask what the taxes are, and I tell them,” Cranfill says. “And they think I’m giving them a quarterly tax bill, and I have to tell them, ‘no, that’s for the whole year.’”

Be happy, but take the news for what it’s worth.

US News put out it’s Top 25 list of most affordable places to retire. Bermuda Run wasn’t even on the list, although Winston-Salem was 12th, just ahead of Hickory and behind Asheville at No. 7. They picked Ft. Wayne, Ind. as the most affordable place to retire.

Maybe so. But we’ll take Bermuda Run every time.

– Mike Barnhardt