Sarasota ranks No. 2 on best places to retire list

Like the No. 1 contender in the retirement category — Santa Barbara, California — Sarasota has beaches and water and a picturesque, walkable downtown. But one factor in our favor, it seems, is that we have a lot of older people already here. Think of it as the “birds of a feather” argument.

“People do like to be around people like them, who are in the same life stage; it’s a natural desire to group with ourselves,” says Matt Carmichael, editor of the website, which targets consumers plotting a big move. “Also, when you have a large concentration of a certain kind of resident, it suggests that place is probably working well for whatever that demographic is.”

(Click here to see the full article: http://www.livability.com/…/top-10-best-pl…/2015/fl/sarasota)