Second best city for seniors? Boston

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

Forget about Florida and the belief that old people crave the sun. A new survey finds that Minneapolis and Boston are the two best US cities for senior living, with Minneapolis ranking number one.

Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Denver also ranked high --- perhaps because senior citizens are as interested in support services and the cultural environment as they are in a day at the beach --- or a winter without snow.

So concludes a new “Best City for Seniors” survey, which was conducted for the Bankers Life and Casualty Company Center For a Secure Retirement by Sperling’s Best Places, a survey administrator.

In drawing up their list, the two groups looked at such categories as health care, economics, health and longevity, social, environment, spiritual life, housing, transportation, and crime.

“Most surprising is that the survey results contain many cities we don’t often associate with senior living,”Scott Perry, president of Bankers Life and Casualty Co., said in a statement.  “We weren’t interested in another study on where to enjoy your retirement, but instead wanted to find cities that did the best job in providing the services and support that seniors need.   Boston may not come to mind when you think about where to spend your golden years, but it ranks very high for access to health care and social outlets, and they’re in the top five for public transportation, including access to public and mass transportation.”