Where to Retire magazine has chosen … wisely.

The Houston, Texas, based magazine in their July/August edition selected Gainesville, GA, as one of America’s best retirement spots for lakeside living.

Well done, Where to Retire magazine.  Well done!

In their feature article titled, “Laid-Back Lakeside Living” — available nationwide on June 19, 2012 — the sages at Where to Retire alert the rest of the world to what we in Gainesville already know:

If you have to live someplace, you might as well live in Gainesville.

• Beautiful lake?  Check
• Nearby mountains?  Check
• World’s busiest airport down the road?  Check
• Private airport in town?  Check
• Appalachian Trail up the road?  Check
• 100 waterfalls within a short drive?  Check
• World-class race track?  Check
• Low crime?  Check
• Prestigious colleges?  Check
• Perfect climate?  Check
• State of the art hospitals?  Check
• Dandy statue of a chicken?  Check
• America’s best roads for motorcycling nearby?  Check
• Restaurants, hiking trails, cool shops, fun stuff happening all the time?  Check
• Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico not too far?  Check
• Good schools, friendly environment, civilized civilians?  Check

What’s not to like?

Where to Retire magazine’s editor, Mary Lu Abbott, said, “Lakeside communities, such as Gainesville, offer retirees a laid-back lifestyle away from big-city hassles and with all the recreational perks of water access.  While our eight featured towns share many similarities, including proximity to health-care services, shopping and entertainment, they vary greatly in climate and setting — from the mountains to the desert.  Another bonus: For the water-oriented, retiring around an inland lake is often less costly than a place on the coast.”

Other towns needlessly mentioned in the story are:

• Traverse City, MI — the world’s largest producer of tart cherries
• Lake of the Ozarks, MO — 70,000 homes line the lake
• Murray, KY — home of the Boy Scouts of America Scouting Museum
• Granbury, TX — home to Jesse James and John Wilkes Booth
• Sandpoint, ID — birthplace of Sarah Palin
• Lake Tahoe, CA/NV — If Lake Tahoe were drained, California would be buried under 15 feet of water.
• Lake Havasu City, AZ — “Where is London Bridge, Alex?”

The only surprising fact about this story is that ALL retirement publications have not yet chosen Gainesville as one of the perfect places to retire.

Simply a matter of time.