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• Editor's Notes: Let’s not be too quick to judge
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• Editorial: Setting the mood for our next season on Marco

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Most of us desire to live a long time, especially if we’re able to retain our health and quality of life. If you chose Marco Island/Naples to live out the second half of your life, then AARP says great choice!

This region scored second on the AARP’s list of life expectancy in the organization’s current report on healthiest communities in the United States and ranks 10th on the magazine’s just released list of healthiest hometowns.

In doing research, combing through the government records of hundreds of cities for more than 20 “measures of vitality,” AARP looked not only at the physical aspects of a community, like clean air and water, but also at the health and habits of the people who live here.

The two are closely linked, AARP reports. “If you live near a hiking-and-biking trail and all your neighbors use it, you’ll probably use it, too. If a farmers’ market is just down the street, you’re likely to eat more fruits and vegetables. If your city has multiple hospitals, there’s a good chance you’ll get superior medical care.”

The winners? It’s probably not surprising that the list includes several college towns. “Large universities often have teaching hospitals, which employ top doctors using the latest technology,” AARP reports. “In addition, college towns are full of young people, and younger residents often create a demand for lifestyle perks such as bike paths and accessible fitness programs, which benefit all members of a community.”

Oddly, few southern townships made the list, “despite the warm weather and the relaxed pace of life that have long attracted retirees.” AARP says research has consistently shown that cities in the South “tend to have some of the highest rates of obesity and chronic disease in the nation.” However, sunny Marco Island/Naples came out high on the list, as did Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Honolulu, Hawaii.

“Despite the area’s long building boom, Naples still deserves its real-estate nickname: Florida’s last paradise. At least 80 percent of Collier County’s land has been set aside as open space, protecting places such as Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park; biologists believe the Everglades is the only place in the world where crocodiles and alligators cohabitate. The downside is high housing prices and a high cost of living. Naples has been hit hard by the foreclosure crisis – but that means you might be able to find some bargains here.”

The Naples-Marco Island area did not rank in the top “greenist” (environmental), lowest body-mass index or percentage of residents who can afford health care. The only other Southwest Florida community to rank was the Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice area, which was listed eighth on the body mass index scale.

So what nine other cities ranked ahead of us for the title of healthiest?

The San Francisco Bay area (California) comes in at number nine, with “lots of neighborhoods where residents can easily get around via foot, bicycle, or public transportation.

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington (Minnesota) comes in at number eight, in part because Minnesota is the “top-ranked state for residents covered by health insurance, at 91.5 percent.”

Number seven on the list is Charlottsville, Virginia, which “ranks fourth among U.S. metropolitan areas in the number of physicians per capita, and it also makes the top 10 for family-practice doctors, oncologists, and cardiologists. The most obvious reason is the University of Virginia’s medical school and 572-bed teaching hospital.”

The number six spot goes to Boulder, Colorado. “Forty-one years ago the residents of Boulder undertook a bold experiment: they approved a referendum that raised the sales tax, to buy and manage parkland in and around the city. Since then, they have voted three more times to tax themselves for open-space protection. The result: 130 miles and 45,000 acres of open space and pristine wilderness at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains – boosting tourism and attracting an influx of environment- and health-conscious residents.”

Number five is Fargo, North Dakota. “People don’t move to North Dakota for the weather. But for the hardy residents of Fargo, the area’s four seasons – each with its own activities, from hockey and ice fishing to softball and vegetable gardening – are a prime attraction.”

At number four, Santa Fe, New Mexico. “Its rates of diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol are among the lowest in the country, in part because of a city-funded health campaign aimed at older residents. In addition to offering a 268-bed hospital and easy access to specialists in nearby Albuquerque, Santa Fe is teeming with alternative medicine specialists who graduated from the local University of Natural Medicine or the New Mexico Academy of Healing Arts.

“Known for its outdoor lifestyle and emphasis on healthy eating, Santa Fe boasts a network of trails that leads into the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. And Deborah Madison, author of several bestselling cookbooks, is a regular at the local farmers’ market, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary and has a new building in the city’s rail yard.”

Madison, Wisconsin comes in at number three. “Madison has worked hard to earn its reputation as a green – and healthy – city. An extensive bus system cuts down on congestion and air pollution, and the bike trails are numerous and well maintained (when it snows, bike paths are plowed at 4 a.m.). In warmer weather, kayaks, canoes, and sailboats dot the local lakes; in winter, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and ice-boating are popular.”

You’ll have to leave the continental U.S. for number two: Honolulu, Hawaii. “Hawaiians sum up Honolulu’s high marks for health in a single word: paradise. With Honolulu’s warm weather and postcard-ready scenery, residents spend more time exercising than do people in almost any other city we surveyed – and have one of the highest life expectancy rates.”

And finally, the number one healthiest city is Ann Arbor, Michigan. “Ann Arbor is a hotbed of medical innovation. The University of Michigan Health Center is one of the largest university medical centers in the world, and it created the first human genetics program in the United States, in 1940.

“That spirit of innovation spills over into the city’s economy – it’s no accident, for example, that Google recently opened a satellite office in Ann Arbor. The company says it chose Ann Arbor partly because of the talent pool the university provides but also because Ann Arbor is such a great community to live in, and that’s very attractive to people who might consider relocating.”