Sarasota A Best Place To Retire

Sarasota and Venice scored twice in a new list of “Best Places to Retire” in the United States.

Sarasota was ranked the top place in the country and Venice was listed in ninth place.

The awards were announced by TopRetirements.com and were reported nationally by MarketWatch, published by Dow Jones & Co. As the top city, Sarasota was noted for its cultural distinctions, reasonable home prices, favorable living costs and warm winters.

The award pointed out that Sarasota is home to  , has many buildings on the National Register of Historic Places and is the cultural capital of the Sunshine State.

Venice was described as one of the first planned retirement communities, with a “charming” downtown, complete with a library and parks. The city offers numerous “active adult communities,” many of which are built around golf courses.

Venice also was noted for moderate home prices, low taxes and a low crime rate.

The city retirement rankings consider good weather, health care, property taxes and "a certain “wow” factor.

They also cover adult education, cultural activities, job opportunities for older citizens, low housing costs and income-tax rates, low crime rate, and good walkability and livability.

Sarasota was ranked above San Antonio, Tucson, Ashville, North Carolina; Beaufort, South Carolina; and Prescott, Arizona. Other Florida communities included Naples at No. 3, St. Augustine at No. 7 and Fort Myers at No. 8.