Retiring? Ann Arbor ranks among top 5 places in U.S.

Margaret Creder is retired, and she likes living in Ann Arbor.

More and more, national experts are saying she isn’t alone in her sentiments.

The city of Ann Arbor solidified its reputation among the best cities in the country when it comes to quality of life with yet another acolade.

This time it’s from Barbara Corcoran, a New York real-estate mogul and founder of the Corcoran Group. She recently ranked Ann Arbor as one of the top five places to retire in the nation.

Creder understands why.

“Whatever you are into, there is somebody in Ann Arbor doing it,” said Creder”.

Corcoran based her list on input from nearly 3,700 real estate brokers and residents from all around the country. The rankings were based on affordability, desirability, community involvement, recreation, cultural access and health care.

Corcoran’s publicist Lauren Weber said Ann Arbor ranked well becasue “it pretty much had everything.”

Weber said Corcoran will discuss her list July 13 on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

The other four cities ranked in the top five were Astoria, Ore.; Lincoln Center, N.Y.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Savannah, Ga.

Mayor John Hieftje said the quality-of-life issue attracts every age group.

“Seniors are looking for the same high quality of life in a community that everyone else is,” he said. “Ann Arbor has been repeatedly recognized for its high qualit of life.”

Ann Arbor has been popping up on “best places” lists since the late 1990s.

In April 1997, Readers Digest listed Ann Arbor as the 15th best place to raise a family. That same year, Money Magazine listed it as the 11th safest city in America.

In 2003, CNN/Money named Ann Arbor as among the eighth best place to retire. A 2004 book named “Cities Ranked & Rated” had Ann Arbor as the sixth best place to live in the country.

Tom Gantert can be reached at tganter@annarbornews.com or (734)994-6701

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