Coastal Living ranks the best small waterfront communities for its annual Happiest Seaside Town in America issue, and for 2018, the happiest of them all is Ocean City, N.J.
1. Naples, Florida. Out of 145 oceanside beach towns, Naples, Florida, took the top spot with its sunny weather and low crime rate. Located on Florida's Paradise Coast along the Gulf of Mexico, the town offers lots to see and do, including pristine, white-sand beaches and day trips to nearby Everglades National Park.
According to Far & Wide and Southern Living, the best small beach towns to retire in the US are Folly Beach in South Carolina, Saint Michaels in Maryland, and Cape Charles in Virginia. Many other small beach towns also exist, but retirees should choose them based on their retirement incomes and cost of living.
Taking the No. 1 spot is Charleston, South Carolina. It has an average daily temperature of 66.7 degrees, with only 10 days below freezing. Florida has eight cities on the list, including Fort Myers, Gainesville, Daytona Beach, Miami, Tampa, West Palm Beach and Jacksonville.