A Genuine Surprise on the Great Retirement Spots List

 

When I signed in to check my AIM e-mail this morning, I noticed a link that caught my eye: ”Great Retirement Spots.”  I’m not anywhere near the point of looking for a retirement spot yet (for one thing, I’m not old enough yet, and for another, there’s nothing to retire from!), but I thought, “I want to see if Murray made the top 15.”  It’s generally a darling of Retirement lists.

To my surprise, Kentucky (of course) was represented on the list - but it wasn’t Murray.  At #10 was Danville, Kentucky!  Go, Danville!

Below is the information they gave for a town that now has another feather in its cap:

Historic Danville hosts an annual hot-air balloon race at the Great American Brass Band Festival, and its Constitution Square boasts the original post office, a replica jail, and Grayson’s Tavern, built in 1785.

Total Pop.: 15,409
Med. Home Price: N/A
Med. Income: $31,816
Avg. Jan./July Temp: 31.9° / 75.9°

More Stats on Danville

By the way, when I say that Danville was a surprise, I don’t mean any disrespect to Danville AT ALL.  Like all Kentucky towns, it’s full of charm, beauty, and wonderfully friendly, big-hearted people.  It’s just that I had no idea anyone outside of our Commonwealth knew about it!  The biggest surprise, I guess, was that a town around the lakes didn’t make the list.  Usually that area is a mainstay on retirement lists of any kind.

Other cities on the list were:

Fayetteville, Ark.

San Francisco

Prescott, Az.

State College, Pa.

Lawrence, Kan.

Austin, Texas

Boulder, Co.

Anacortes, Wash.

Juneau, Alaska (Did you know that average January lows are only 21 degrees in Alaska’s state capital? I thought the list had entirely lost its mind until I read that.)

Kailua, Hawaii

San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Another surprise was the absence of Florida.  Having lived there before, I know firsthand that it’s Heaven on earth.  The weather not only feels amazing, it cuts way back on colds and other miseries typical winters bring.  I wonder if the cost of living kept Florida from making the list - it’s not cheap, that’s for sure.  That, and maybe the nasty hurricanes that have been making life miserable down that way.

No hurricanes in Danville!

For more information on Danville, Kentucky - check out their website, http://www.danville-ky.com/.

P.S.  I was doing a little research on the area and I found something that’s worth checking out:  Three Babes and a Monkey. It’s on 127 N. Fourth Street and features Teas, coffees, espressos, smoothies, shakes, sandwiches, quiches, and salads.  Some of my favorite things - especially the Teas, coffees, espressos, smoothies, shakes, sandwiches, quiches, and salads. 

When you go to TB and a Monkey, though, go early and don’t stay late.  During the week they close at 6 and on Saturday the doors close at 4. On Sunday, in true, old-fashioned (and perfectly lovely) hometown - the doors don’t open at all.  They’re all about Breakfast and Lunch at Three Babes - I dunno, maybe they have lives or something!

If you’re interested in supper, Danville offers a little bit of everything else: Cracker Barrel, Applebees, Popeyes, Pizza Hut, Pharoah’s Pizza, Lee’s Chicken, KFC, Jumbo (Chinese) Buffett, House of Cheung, Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant (2), Godfather’s, Freddies (Italian), Giovanni’s Pizza, Chinatown Gourmet, and many more fast food staples.

They also have a favorite of mine that’s really hard to find, A & W Rootbeer, in the Danville Shopping Center.  You won’t find a better rootbeer float this side of Heaven, and the chili dogs are ridiculously good.  Oh, who am I kidding, everything on the menu is amazing.