PBS Series Will Discuss “Top Ten Cities for Successful Aging”

Great hospitals! Good
public transportation! Booming economy! The best small city for seniors looking
to age well is…Sioux Falls, South Dakota? Forget the palm trees and warm sea
breezes, the health care facilities in this small western city “specialize
in geriatric services, hospice, and rehabilitation, and the metro has
recreation and an active lifestyle.” It’s enough, at least, to make Sioux
Falls No. 1 of 259 small cities in a recent study by the Milken Institute, a
non-partisan think tank. Looking for a more major metropolitan vibe? Set your
gaze to Provo, Utah, where the pro-business environment, a focus on wellness,
and high community engagement make it No. 1 in the big cities list. Not a
single town in Arizona or Florida cracked the top 100 in the major metropolitan
category and only the inland city of Gainesville, Fla., made the cut in the
small metro category. Why? Probably because the notion of moving someplace in
the desert or by the beach with “a nine-hole golf course, a shuffleboard
court, a rec room and cafeteria” is outdated, said Paul Irving, President
of the Milken Institute.