CRESTVIEW — For retirees, enjoying the golden years is what all that hard work was about.
Seeking to determine the best cities in the U.S. for retirees age 65 and over, website valupenguin.com used 24 data points and three main criteria to determine the best of 200 cities: Housing and Taxes, Healthcare and Safety, and Travel and Leisure. The site took into account such topics as number of doctors and hospitals per 1,000 residents; instances of violent crime per 100,000 inhabitants; climate, and quality of life.
Crestview, Fort Walton Beach and Destin took number one on the list, with Fort Collins, Colorado at second San Luis Obispo – Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande areas of California coming in at third place.
In the categories of Housing and Taxes, Healthcare and Safety, and Travel and Leisure, Northwest Florida ranked 7th, 35th and 53rd, respectively.
The Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent area was number 10 on the list, ranking at 27th for Housing and Travel, 34th for Healthcare and Safety , and 49th for Travel and Leisure.
For more information, visit http://www.valuepenguin.com/2016/best-cities-retire.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Northwest Florida tops website's 'best cities to retire' list