Asheville named top city for retirement

Asheville is on top again, this time as the best place to retire in the country.

In its "Where Baby Boomers Go to Find Their Best Place to Retire," Retirements.com lists Asheville as number one, followed by Sarasota and Venice, Florida; Green Valley, Arizona; and three South Carolina cities — Beaufort, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.

The poll is not exactly scientific.

"While most of the 'Best Places' lists are either the subjective opinions of the authors or a ranking from various criteria, our list is different," the website said in a press release. "Ours is essentially a popularity contest that reflects the opinions of our visitors. It was compiled by calculating the 100 towns that receive the most online visits of the 1,000-plus cities reviewed at Topretirements.com during the last 6 months of 2014. Some probably made the list this year because they were featured in one of our weekly newsletters."

Asheville has made numerous "best of" lists over the past decade. In February, Asheville was named the "coolest city" in the country, according to the website Matador.

Topretirements.com noted that Florida "dominates our 2015 list of the best places to retire, with 25 of its cities and towns making the cut (two more than in 2014). Florida was followed by North Carolina (11 towns), South Carolina (10 – up from 8 last year), and Arizona and Washington with six each. Tennessee had five cities in the top 100."

The website offered this assessment of our fair mountain town:

"Asheville has a top reputation as a great place to retire because of its beautiful mountains, gentle four-seasons climate, and recreational/cultural opportunities such as the University of North Carolina at Asheville and its many programs for retirees."

For topretirements.com full list, visit www.topretirements.com/blog/great-towns/florida-tops-most-popular-places-to-retire-for-2015.html/