10 cities for a car-free retirement insurance, payments, finances, distance

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If you're ready to put down your keys, certain neighborhoods and cities make getting around without your own set of wheels a whole lot easier.
A life within walking distance

The whole point of retirement is not going to work anymore, so why should retirees keep braving traffic as if they were commuters?
A fixed retirement income can transform car payments, auto insurance and weekly gas fill-ups from costly necessities to huge drains on the finances. If your stores, medical services, entertainment and transit options aren't within walking distance, a change of scenery may help cut costs a bit.
Neighborhood ranking site Walk Score keeps track of neighborhood density and convenience and helps real-estate firms such as Zillow and Trulia pair retirees and other homebuyers with neighborhoods that make the most sense for their budgets and lifestyles.
If downsizing the empty nest, ditching the car and diving into vibrant, tightly packed city life are on a retiree's agenda, Walk Score recommends the following 10 cities as potential destinations. It scouted out locations within a five-minute walk of grocery stores, public transportation and Zipcar rentals, and came up with some great places across the country to go car-free.