Where you ultimately choose to retire doesn't always come down to dollars and cents. Indeed, the top reason people move in retirement is to be closer to family, according to a survey by Merrill Lynch and Age Wave, a research firm focused on the aging population. Or, rather than move, maybe you just want to stick where you're comfortable and familiar and retire in your home state. For whatever reason, you may wind up retiring in a place where the living costs can be relatively high.

But it can be worth it. We pinpointed one great retirement destination in each state, taking into account safety, median incomes and poverty rates for retirement-age residents, locals' sense of well-being, and the availability of recreational and health care facilities, as well as living expenses. While the cost of living in each of these 14 retirement spots exceeds the national average by more than 7%, each offers plenty of attractive advantages for retirees in exchange for the higher price tag. Take a look to see if any of these pricey places to retire are worth fitting into your own budget.

Pittsfield, Mass.

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New England is notoriously expensive, but Pittsfield, located in the western part of Massachusetts, offers a small pocket of relative affordability--more reasonably priced than Boston and Cambridge, where living costs are, respectively, 48.1% and 38.1% above the U.S. average. Housing is notably affordable: The median home value in the city is $173,200, compared with $407,400 for all of Massachusetts and $592,300 for Boston proper, according to Zillow.

Leaf peeping in the fall may be enough to draw you to the Berkshires. But you have plenty to enjoy all year round, including excellent