Part of the grand experience of travel is immersion in the culture, language and scenery of beautiful places. And more than one senior searching for the perfect place to retire has returned to that special spot and made it "home."

While traveling to search out special retirement places can be enjoyable in itself, there is a host of Web sites to help 50-plus citizens find the most suitable town or city to settle in for the rest of their days. One that I recommend is TopRetirements.com, which offers detailed information about the most popular places, many of them listed according to the best golf courses, college towns, small towns, rural areas, big cities, and outdoor recreation. There is information that a visitor might find difficult to obtain during visits, such as tax rates, health care, transportation and other services.

Tops on the Web site's list of most popular communities - and on many other publications' lists - is Asheville, N.C. One of its claims to fame is its mild climate. I must say, though, that the few times I have visited that city in the western corner of the state, I couldn't wait to escape the summer heat and get back to the cooler climes of Vermont.

But Asheville has much to offer, including developments surrounding lakes, mountain escapes, and charming art deco and gothic architecture. Author Thomas Wolfe let the world know of the enchantment of the city, especially its colorful and sometimes quirky citizenry, in his autobiographical novels Look Homeward, Angel; Of Time and the River; and You Can't Go Home Again.

So, it is a matter of personal choice.

Which state is tops for retirement? Web site president John Brady says that based on readers' interest, Florida is still No. 1 but fading, "North Carolina is hot," followed by Arizona and California.

Six Southern states - Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia - have state-mandated, certified retirement communities.

The Web site also lists active adult communities - complexes of adult homes with recreation and social offerings. According to the National Association of Home Buyers, the most popular communities are in Sumter County, Fla., northwest of Orlando; Nye County, Nev., about 200 miles north of Las Vegas; Archuleta County, Colo., east of Durango; Washington County, Utah, west of Zion National Park; and Collier County, Fla., between Naples and Everglades National Park.

The top 10 golf spots are Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Pinehurst, N.C.; Orlando, Fla.; Palm Springs, Calif.; Fort Myers, Ocala and Amelia Island, Fla.; Bandon, Ore.; Hilton Head, S.C.; and St. George, Utah.

If you want to hear from seniors who have made the move and are living in a city you're interested in, read the Web site's blogs. Some of them list retirement towns according to the most specific tastes, such as the places with the best bookstores.

Retiring overseas presents a different challenge because of the U.S. deficit and the dollar's weakness against the euro and other foreign currencies. Ireland was often a destination of choice, but the Celtic Tiger years of booming growth have driven up the cost of living. A modest house in Dublin can cost more than $700,000. A new four-bedroom house in Galway was listed at $224,000 last month on www.exploringabroad.com.

InternationalLiving.com provides a country-by-country breakdown on how best to relocate. And for an accurate appraisal of the financial and psychological cost, check EIU.com, which is the Economist newspaper's Intelligence Unit. You'll find information about infrastructure, access, education, crime rates, the environment, culture and events.

The site lists levels of hardship for expatriates in 130 cities, including major American cities. Melbourne, Australia, ranks as the place with the least hardship; Dublin is tied with New York at 51.

Senior Traveler: On This Page

Next week: Online Traveler

Oct. 19: Game Traveler

Oct. 26: Travel Deals