Indian River County Press Journal
Date: March 24, 2007
Section: Local
Edition: Indian River County
Page: B3

Vero Beach ranked among best places to retire…..AGAIN!!!

Byline:   HENRY A. STEPHENS henry.stephens@scripps.com
Source:  Press Journal Newspaper

VERO BEACH -- Nobody has to tell Legend Lakes resident Kathleen Keary the Vero Beach area is one of America's best places to retire. "Oh, it is," Keary, 60, said Friday. "It's been very good for me. ... There are great opportunities to golf, great weather and wonderful friends."

And the editors of Where to Retire magazine agree.

The Treasure Coast cities of Vero Beach and Stuart, along with Jupiter in Palm Beach County, have scored in the magazine's fourth edition of "America's 100 Best Places to Retire."

Publisher Karen Northridge said the book doesn't rank the cities, so it doesn't say whether Vero Beach or Stuart is better for retirement.

"They are a collection of communities that have been featured in Where to Retire magazine and chosen by our editors as stand-outs," she wrote Friday in an e-mail to Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers.

"Each place offers a different combination of attributes great for retirement so we stayed away from ranking them."

Vero Beach has been on the list since the first edition in 1995, while this is Stuart's first

appearance.

"Proximity to the beach is one of several reasons Vero Beach and Stuart were chosen for the book," Northridge wrote.

"We looked for towns that are active and appealing," she added. "Retirees like active, safe and clean downtown areas, good hospitals nearby and outdoor recreation in the area. Access to cultural venues like live theater and museums, where retirees can be active participants, as well as continued education opportunities were also factors in our decision."

Keary retired to Vero Beach 16 months ago from North Hampton, N.H., when her husband, Alan Keary, 54, was transferred by Florida Power & Light Co. to its Hutchinson Island station.

Many retirees hail the proximity to spring training baseball games. For Keary, she said, it's golf. But she also praised the beaches, cultural arts and lack of snow that lets her enjoy more of her time.

Plus, the drive between Vero Beach and her husband's job is relaxing.

"It's not congested, and there's less traffic than in Port St. Lucie or Jensen Beach, where it's a nightmare," she said.

She said she could complain about taxes, like some retirees do, but chalked that up to part of life and said she would rather focus on positive things such as the chances to volunteer teaching health and nutrition.

Bonnie Ares Royster, the development director for the Council on Aging of Martin County, said she was delighted to see Stuart place in the list. It's a big credit for the county, she added.

"Of course, I enjoy having our retirees," she said. "I think they add so much here."

Her Indian River counterpart, Mary Hynes, said she has heard local residents grumble that added traffic would come if the increased publicity leads to more people.

"But the Council on Aging welcomes them with open arms," she said.

Statewide, the book lists Florida with 26 retirement-

friendly cities, more than one-quarter of the national list.

And while the book doesn't rank cities, Northridge said, Where to Retire did publish the rankings of the 100 most popular places to retire in the January/February issue.

In that list, based on U.S. Census Bureau data tracking migration across state lines by people 60 or older, Melbourne led local cities at 14, followed by Port St. Lucie at 22, Stuart at 29 and Vero Beach at 30.

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