Pondering retirement? Then, think Sparks. A New York real estate company has rated the Rail City as one of hottest places in the country for retirees.
Sorry, Reno.
"This is just another area where we are getting the limelight," said Sparks Councilman Mike Carrigan. "They didn't name Reno. They named Sparks. That's very significant."
A survey by the Corcoran Group, one of New York's largest real estate companies with more than 45 offices and 2,150 sales associates, rated Sparks as tops in affordability, community involvement, recreation, cultural access and health care for seniors.
Those positives paired with praise from real estate brokers around the country earned Sparks the designation as a retirement hot spot, said Corcoran Group spokeswoman Lauren Weber.
"It's such a great area for retirees that are looking to be physically active," Weber said. "The weather is great all year around; the housing is generally still affordable, and it has pretty good health care."
Larger urban areas
Other positives included Sparks' proximity to larger urban areas.
"It's just a quick plane ride from Las Vegas or Southern California," Weber said.
Also among the company's top five picks for 2005: Ann Arbor, Mich.; Astoria, Ore.; Amelia Island, Fla.; and Yaletown, Vancouver, Canada.
The report is based on nine months of evaluation based on information provided by more than 3,000 real estate brokers, Weber said. Founder Barbara Corcoran, who also recently named the countr'?s Top Five Sexiest Suburbs, is scheduled to announce the findings on Tuesday's "Good Morning America." The morning television news show is seen in Northern Nevada on KOLO TV Channel 8.
Sparks resident Marilyn Brainard, 70, said wide open spaces, abundant parks, recreation offerings and a nearby golf course made choosing a retirement home in Sparks a better alternative over anything offered in Reno. Brainard and her husband, Bill, moved from Southern California to Sparks in 1998.
Took a chance on city
"We thought we would try something new," said Brainard, a Wingfield
Springs resident. "We've been very happy."
Sparks popularity with California retirees lured by affordable housing and no state personal income tax is widely known, Carrigan said.
City statistics available online show the number of residents age 55 and older living in Sparks has grown from roughly 9,200 in 1990 to about 13,300 in 2004 - a 44.6 percent increase.
The Corcoran Group finding could mean even more retirees might move to Sparks, he said. "(The rating) is going to open up Sparks to more people to move here (from other areas)," Carrigan said. "This is going to have some people on the East Coast and in the South looking at Sparks."
Not everyone saw the company's announcement as a surprise.
Mayor Geno Martini said people who already make their home in Sparks know the city's family-friendly, hometown image is welcoming to seniors.
"I've lived here all my life, and I knew 30 years ago this was a great place to retire," Martini said.