Homes along West Valley Drive make up part of the 17th best neighborhood in the U.S. in which to retire, according to the consumer finance Web site, WalletPop.com. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Fairview neighborhood rated
one of best retirement sites in nation
By Kevin Kelley
Fairview Park
Published March 31, 2010

Low crime, good housing options and a vibrant mix of residents.

Those attributes helped the eastern section of Fairview Park earn the distinction of one of the 20 best places to retire in America, according to the consumer finance Web site, WalletPop.com.

“It’s quite a compliment,” Mayor Eileen Patton said. All of city hall was buzzing about the news last week, the mayor said.

WalletPop, owned by AOL, Inc., used data from another Web site, NeighborhoodScout.com, to compile the list. Information on crime rates from the FBI and the percentage of college-educated seniors from the U.S. Bureau of the Census was used to rate neighborhoods.

According to the Web site, the section of Fairview Park that overlooks the Cleveland Metroparks ranked 17th in the nation among dream retirement locales.

WalletPop noted the variety of housing options in the neighborhood, which includes many single-family dwellings with a mixture of high-rise apartment complexes along with garden-style apartments.

“Safer than 98 percent of the neighborhoods in America, it’s also very educated with many well-to-do seniors who have chosen this as their place to retire,” the Web site said of the neighborhood. “Amenities are everywhere and the living is easy.”

NeighborhoodScout.com said the section of Fairview ranked 9 on a scale of 10 on the education level of its residents. The Metropark Road – Lorain Road area was labeled as upper-middle income, with 51 percent of its houses valued in the $135,000 to $270,000 range.

“Obviously we’re a great place to grow and a great place to stay,” the mayor said, referring to her administration’s slogan for the city.

Patton said another great attribute the city offers retirees is its popular senior life center.

“It’s a home away from home for our seniors,” the mayor said. Patton added she often tells people it has many well attended activities, such as computer classes, and thus is not the typical “BINGO” senior center.

A section of the Baltimore suburb of Towson, Md., was named the top retirement neighborhood in the U.S., WalletPop said. The Hills and Dales section of Canton was at the No. 5 spot on the list.

On the Web:

• City of Fairview Park
• WalletPop.com article
• NeighborhoodScout.com article