Bradenton ranked No. 3 Best Small City for retirement

Downtown Bradenton Photo by Charles Schelle/Bradenton Herald

Another listicle, another ranking: Real estate brokerage blog Movato caught our attention by ranking Bradenton as the No. 3 Best Small City to Retire In.

(Sorry, Sarasota. You're No. 6.)

Bradenton was tied for third with Lakewood, Ohio, near Cleveland, and here's what Movato had to say about the Friendly City:

The first of three Florida cities in our top 10, Bradenton offers the third-largest number of retiree amenities of any city we looked at–and also ranked third overall in terms of amenities per capita. It did particularly well when it came to shopping, dining, and healthcare, although arts & entertainment options weren’t too shabby either. When it came to cost of living, Bradenton ranked 52nd, and dipped to 122nd in terms of crime. On the upside, it placed 11th overall where weather is concerned. With the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport located eight miles from the city’s center, it also tied for 14th in terms of travel.

Bradenton has a lot to be proud about, so good for the city, and Sarasota, too.

At the same time, I lament posting links to listicles, but we're all a sucker for them because we like to be validated or at times, vindicated (and they're easy picking for a quick blog post).  They're useful for promoting an area and for local bragging rights, too.

For example, I'm sure Bradenton officials will highlight that Movato notes Sarasota didn't rank higher because it ranked near last, 137th for crime, and 70th for cost of living.

Movato assembled some categories to make this list, including cost of living, crime rate, average summer temperature and air quality, distance to nearest airport and retiree amenities per capita like senior centers, and adult education.

It's interesting that Movato used average summer temperature. I'd think that would be a killer considering how the humidity creates a heat index that rivals the seventh circle of hell. Wouldn't the average winter temperature be more beneficial?

Take the rankings for what they're worth, but there's not much to complain about living here.