Amid the pessimism, where can you find people who believe they are ready for retirement? Ameriprise Financial's  "New Retirement Mindscape 2011 City Pulse" index examines the 30 largest U.S. metropolitan areas to determine where consumers are the most prepared and confident. 

For a quick view of the top 5, click on the following pages >

5) Portland

• Preparation ranking: 20
• Confidence ranking: 2
• 2010 ranking (composite): 24

While residents of the Portland metro area are as likely as their peers across the country to be preparing financially for retirement (75 percent), they are more proactive on one front. Three out of 10 (30 percent) people from the City of Roses say they've consulted a professional financial advisor, significantly more than the national average (23 percent).

Perhaps this outside advice has helped them take a more realistic look at their retirement perspectives. The number of Portland residents who say they feel "on track" for retirement (45 percent), confident about their financial future (25 percent) and very prepared for retirement (21 percent) is significantly higher than the national averages (37 percent, 19 percent, 15 percent respectively).

Seven out of 10 Portlanders express positive feelings about retirement, with significantly more local residents saying they feel "optimistic" (46 percent) and "empowered" (22 percent) than the national average (34 percent, 14 percent). The bad news? More than one out of five (21 percent) said they feel "anxious" about retirement, a substantial increase since 2010 (11 percent).

Concerns about health insurance could be causing some of this stress. A third (33 percent) of those who are working believe this will be the worst thing about retirement, a significantly higher number than the national average (21 percent). What are even more concerned about? Loss of income from their primary career (41 percent), a sentiment shared by nearly a quarter (24 percent) of current retirees in the metro area.

4) St. Louis

• Preparation ranking: 7
• Confidence ranking: 14
• 2010 ranking (composite): 17

St. Louis residents appear to be more likely than their peers across the U.S. to seek professional financial advice when planning for retirement. Nearly one-third (30 percent) said they've consulted with a financial advisor, significantly more than the national average (23 percent). This number has increased since 2010, which may help explain why more report taking steps to prepare financially for retirement (78 percent) than did last year (73 percent).

Locals are also being more proactive about planning for the activities they'll pursue during their retirement years. Nearly six out of 10 (59 percent) report planning for at least two activities during retirement, compared to only 46 percent in 2010. What are the top things on their minds? Spending more time with family (49 percent), ensuring they remain healthy (48 percent) and traveling (24 percent).

This additional planning may help explain why residents of the Gateway City are significantly more likely to say they feel on track for retirement (45 percent) and prepared financially for retirement (21 percent) than the national average (37 percent and 15 percent, respectively).

What's an additional step St. Louis residents could take to prepare for retirement? For those who are still working, talking to current retirees might be a good option. While both groups agree that the best thing about retirement is having more control over your time, they have significantly different views on the difficulties. More than half (55 percent) of those who haven't retired anticipate that the hardest thing about retirement will be loss of income from their primary career, a belief that is held by only 29 percent of retirees. Retirees are equally concerned about healthcare (29 percent), which was cited by only 19 percent of those who are working.

While only 18 percent of locals say they've given a lot of thought to where they want to live once they retire, three-quarters (75 percent) say they plan to remain in the metro area both during and after their working years. They also cited overall cost of living (38 percent), proximity to family (36 percent) and availability of healthcare options (31 percent) as the most important features of the city they'll call home. While nearly four out of 10 said St. Louis offers excellent availability to healthcare (38 percent) and proximity to family (39 percent), a mere 2 percent felt the same about the area's state and local tax rates.

(AP Photo/James A. Finley)

3) San Diego

• Preparation ranking: 4
• Confidence ranking: 3
• 2010 ranking (composite): 6

While San Diego residents are as likely as people in other parts of the country to be taking steps to prepare financially for retirement, locals outpace the residents of other major metropolitans in several important areas. The number who say they've determined the amount of income needed in retirement (35 percent) or the amount they need to save for retirement (26 percent) are both higher than the national average (25 percent and 19 percent, respectively).

Three-quarters (75 percent) have also planned for at least one activity in retirement. Ensuring they remain healthy (53 percent), spending more time with family (32 percent) and traveling (27 percent) were cited most often. San Diegans are also a philanthropic bunch, with 22 percent saying they've made plans to volunteer during retirement, compared to only 13 percent of those surveyed nationwide.

While the number of locals who express positive feelings about retirement (70 percent) is significantly higher than the national average (63 percent), things aren't completely sunny in San Diego. The number of residents expressing negative feelings has increased in the past year (from 27 percent to 36 percent) with 10 percent saying they feel "depressed" – compared to only 4 percent who reported this sentiment in 2010.

A lackluster job market and higher than average unemployment rate may be taking its toll. The number of San Diego residents who reported a career setback or layoff in the past 18 months increased to 27 percent in 2011 – significantly higher than the number who reported similar occurrence in 2010 (17 percent) and the current national average (19 percent).

The good news for San Diego? Two-thirds (66 percent) of its residents plan to call the metro area home both before and during retirement. It's no wonder. The number who rate the metro as "excellent" with regard to weather (75 percent), availability of healthcare options and facilities (51 percent), entertainment options (41 percent) and home values (12 percent) are all significantly higher than the national averages.

(AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

2) Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto

• Preparation ranking: 3
• Confidence ranking: 4
• 2010 ranking (composite): 4

Sacramento residents aren't overlooking the fact that the best retirement plans also take into account how you'll spend your free time.

In fact, 81 percent say they've thought a lot about the activities they'll pursue during their retirement years – far more than the national average (72 percent). Among the most popular activities are ensuring they remain healthy (62 percent), spending time with family (42 percent) and traveling (30 percent).

How else are people in California's capital city preparing? Nearly three-quarters (71 percent) report that they have set aside money for retirement. Unfortunately, they may not know if they're on track as less than one-quarter (24 percent) say they have taken time to determine how much they need to save and even fewer (8 percent) have put their retirement plan in writing.

Maybe all the thinking they've done about retirement has helped locals be somewhat realistic. Nearly half (48 percent) of those in their working years expect the best part of retirement to be having more control over their time, which was also the top choice (49 percent) of current retirees. The worst part? Both groups responded loss of income from their primary career, although the number of concerned pre-retirees (60 percent) greatly outnumbers those who are already retired (40 percent).

More than six in 10 (63 percent) of area residents plan to reside in the Sacramento metro both before and during retirement, despite the fact that the number who rate the area as "excellent" with regard to healthcare options and facilities (29 percent), entertainment options (17 percent) and state and local tax rates (2 percent) are all below the national average.

(AP Photo/Bob Galbraith)

1) San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose

• Preparation ranking: 9
• Confidence ranking: 1
• 2010 ranking (composite): 12

San Francisco residents have a relatively bright outlook on the years ahead – a factor that helped propel the metro into the top spot on this year's index. The number of people who say they feel "happy" (51 percent), "optimistic" (42 percent) and "empowered" (19 percent) when they think about retirement are all significantly higher than the national average. Likewise, one-third (33 percent) of locals say they're very confident their retirement will work out they way they planned, compared to approximately two in ten retirees (22 percent) nationwide.

While the number of local residents who say they have set aside money for retirement (70 percent) is on par with the national average, they're significantly more likely to have determined the amount of income needed in retirement. Nearly one-third (31 percent) of locals report taking this important step, compared to only one-quarter (25 percent) of people surveyed nationwide.

Locals also seem to be keeping another important factor in mind – their health. More than six out of 10 (62 percent) San Francisco residents have made plans for staying healthy in retirement, compared to slightly over half (51 percent) of people nationwide. They also rank access to healthcare options and facilities as the most important factor (43 percent) when considering where they want to spend their retirement years. It's a good thing that just as many (44 percent) also rank the local area as excellent on this factor.

What could people in their working years be doing to better prepare for retirement? They may benefit from talking to current retirees. While nearly half (45 percent) of local pre-retirees say they expect loss of income from their primary career to be the worst thing about retirement, less than a quarter (24 percent) of current retirees report that this is the case. Retirees actually struggle more with loss of social connections at work (32 percent), a concern cited by a dramatically lower number (6 percent) of those still in the workforce.

While a majority (61 percent) of those surveyed plan to reside in the San Francisco area both before and during retirement, those who don't may be deterred by the metro's high cost of living. More than four out of 10 (42 percent) local residents cite an area's overall cost of living as a very important factor in determining where they'll reside during retirement, but only 3 percent ranked their current home as "excellent" in this category.

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)