SUNBELT RETIREMENT

Senior Power packs a wallop in the Sunbelt."" Plus: the cost of living is lower, the weather is milder, people are friendlier, hospitals and housing are apt to cost less. With that sendoff, the author of The Complete Retirement Planning Book takes us on a guided state-by-state tour of the region (and seductive, sky-high Hawaii), pointing out the attractions and drawbacks of each, sizing up regions and likely communities, larding statistics with pointed descriptions and personal comments. He confesses to ""ambivalent"" feelings about Florida, for instance, and regards Mississippi as less than ""stimulating""; in central Hot Springs, he sees ""some seedy-looking buildings and some seedy-looking people""--but if you're a self-motivated sort on a small budget, you could do well in ""Mountain View, Mountain Home, Eureka Springs, and even Hot Springs."" Dickinson's combination of thoroughness, precision, and candor is unusual. He makes it a pleasure to shop around.