New Ranking: Best Places To Live The Simple Life
Lexington was recently ranked as one of 10 Best Places To Live The Simple Life by AARP Magazine.
“…residents, who are just as likely to be beer-drinking college basketball fans as julep-swigging Derby lovers, say this is one of those rare southern towns that offers four distinct seasons, and the relaxed graciousness of the Old South. In the heart of bluegrass music country, Lexington also boasts rich African American roots, an impressive history—Mary Todd Lincoln was born here, husband Abe about 80 miles to the southwest—and distilleries that produce some of the world’s best bourbon.”
Now, I know what you are thinking, I don’t really have much in common with your average AARP reader, but let’s take a look at their methodology. They took 324 metro areas across the United States and ranked them on the following categories: housing appreciation (or depreciation) and affordability, the employment picture, education, health, low cost of living, less congestion/traffic, more open space, numbers of farmers’ markets, outdoor amenities, hiking and biking trails, state parks, green values (number of food co-ops, farmer’s markets, and LEED-certified buildings and homes; possibilities for alternative commuting (walk, bike, ride); energy efficiency and renewable-energy policies), alternative energy sources, energy efficiency programs, stress index (divorce, crime, suicide, unemployment, rates of depression, and other social measures), healthy living (the number of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains the average resident consumes, and the number of residents who get regular exercise, from an annual survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), and percentage who commute by bike or by walking.
I’m nowhere near retirement age, but having Lexington ranked in the top ten of 324 metro areas based on this criteria is something to celebrate.
