Best City Neighborhoods for Retirement: The Rest of the List

by Jamie Rhein on

Now that I’ve expressed my glee that Columbus’s Short North is listed as one of the best neighborhoods for retirement, here’s the low down on the rest of the list. The original article is from Money Magazine and posted at CNN.com. The version I saw yesterday was on AOL’s welcome page. It’s an abbreviated version. Instead of 30 city neighborhoods, there are 10 with a link to the other 20.

Here they are:

SoFa in San Jose, California. The sunny 300 days a year here attracted me. Cloudy days are the bane of Columbus living. According to the writers, San Jose also has a noteworthy art scene.

Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts. My closest college friend would probably second this. She lived here for one year and LOVED it. Unfortunately, the year she was living here, I didn’t have the money to visit her. The Back Bay was her dream come true, until her next dream came true which is the life she’s living now. The reason she only stayed a year? Just like the article said, it’s expensive.

Belltown in Seattle, Washington. I don’t know about Belltown, but I do know that Seattle is wonderful. I visited friends in two neighborhoods not far from downtown this summer, and living in either of them would be terrific. If I lived in Seattle, I’d head to Chinatown often.

LoDo, Denver, Colorado. Denver is another honey of a city if you don’t pay attention much to the brown cloud from the air pollution. I was just talking about how glorious the botanical garden is in Denver.

Midtown, Nashville, Tennessee is a terrific place for its music scene. The description of this area sounds a bit like the Short North.

Arts District Dallas, Texas. When I saw this choice, I was surprised. I went to Dallas years ago for a cousin’s wedding. I do remember going to the Blue Goose restaurant (I think that was the name) and liked it a lot. I vaguely remember someone talking about an art scene.

Mass Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana. Indianapolis is a bit like Columbus. The article mentions it being a little bit sleepy. I agree there. The Children’s Museum is anything but sleepy. It’s phenomenal.

Copper Square, Phoenix, Arizona. The things you can do here are the same ones offered in downtown Columbus. The difference is, it’s sunny. With the sun in this part of the U.S. comes the heat. That’s a downside.

Riverside/Avondale, Jacksonville, Florida. Interesting architecture, the arts, the river and the weather are just a few of what puts this neighborhood on the list.

You can see the next 20 by going to this link.

ShoeScanner Fails Orlando Tests

by Catherine Bodry on

A device that would’ve allowed passengers to keep their shoes on at airport security has failed. Removing shoes in airport security lines is one of a passenger’s biggest inconveniences, and the ShoeScanner raised hopes of faster, shorter security lines. After repeated tests at Orlando International Airport this year, however, the ShoeScanner “still does not meet standards to ensure detection of explosives,” the TSA said.

Of course, the Scanner was only available to those that could pay the yearly $100 fee to go through a separate line. For the rest of us, it was business as usual in the long line of peasants.

[via USA Today]

Skybus Opens for New Routes: Move Quickly for the $10 Deals

by Jamie Rhein on

I’m waiting for a Skybus route to upstate New York to open. Stewart Airport in Newburgh would be divine. Not yet, but there are four more routes to start December 5.

If you have any desire or need to head to Chattanooga, Gulfport-Biloxi/New Orleans Area, Milwaukee or Punta Gorda/Ft. Meyers, check out Skybus to see if its schedule and airport locations suits you. Starting December 17 there will be one more flight a day to Jacksonville/Daytona (actually St. Augustine.)

Keep in mind, when you do book a Skybus flight, make sure you have a way from the airport to where ever you are actually going. A friend of a friend of mine was thrilled to pieces over her cheap flight to Boston. She didn’t know that the airport Skybus considers the Boston area is actually about 50 miles away and in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The friend she is visiting in Boston does not have a car. At this moment, she has no idea how she is actually getting to Boston.

Last week I tried to find the route from that same airport into Logan International Airport for a friend of mine. He’s flying from Atlanta to Boston and then wants to come to Columbus. Figuring out the logistics of how to get from Logan to Pease Airport made me tired, so I quit. Sometimes it’s just worth paying the extra money to be able to get to exactly where you need to go–unless you are renting a car anyway. Then, I say, go for the bargain.

Extreme Geography in the United States

by Justin Glow on

Catherine’s post on the not-so-well-known geographical center of the United States got me thinking: there’s something fun and intriguing about visiting, say, the northernmost point in a country, or perhaps driving eastward until you can drive no further — if only so that you can say, “There’s no one further east than me,” unless there’s someone else standing next to you. If so you’ll have to say, “There’s no one further east than me…and this other person.” But somehow that’s not quite as romantic. Unless it’s a girl and you’re a guy and there’s a bit of chemistry going on. Anyway. Here we go:

All 50 states:

48 Contiguous:

P.S. This is my 500th post with Gadling. Woo!

World’s Sexiest Beaches 2007

by Justin Glow on

Each year, our friends over at Concierge.com put out a list of the world’s sexiest beaches, featuring the best places to “flirt with millionaires, lick the salt off a margarita glass, siesta in a hammock, and gaze at blood-orange sunsets night after night.”

If these don’t make you wish you were somewhere else, you’ve either got your toes in the sand right now, or you’re dead to the world. Here is 2007’s sexiest beaches:

  • Caprera Island, Sardinia, Italy — “La dolce vita meets Euro bling.”
  • Salvador da Bahia, Brazil — “Slow, happy, and inexpensive.”
  • Cousine Island, Seychelles — “Me Tarzan, you Jane!”
  • Playa de los Lances, Tarifa, Spain — “Surf hard, play hard. Flirt even harder.”
  • Pink Sand Beach, Harbour Island, Bahamas — “Colonial swagger with high society tennis games at dusk.”
  • Kuta Beach, Bali — “Beachcombing boho chic.”
  • South Beach, Miami, Florida — “Nightlife hub, arts mecca, de facto capital of Latin America, Miami is all sexy, all the time.”
  • Pigeon Point Beach, Antigua — “British aristos meet Hollywood movers-and-shakers for a love-in, colonial style.”
  • Bodrum, Turkey — “European? Asian? Yes”
  • Santa Maria Beach, Ilha do Sal, Cape Verde — “The calm before the storm.”
  • Laguna Beach, California — “California lovin'”
  • Ihuru Island, Maldives — “Just say no to shoes.”
  • Playa Tamarindo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica — “City kids get physical in a tropical playground.”
  • Paradise Beach, Mykonos — “You’re only young once. If you’re not, keep drinking-you’ll feel young soon enough.”
  • Grande Plage, Biarritz, France — “Beach bums meet fashion plates.”
  • Kaanapali Beach, Maui, Hawaii — “The vibe: Chilled-out aloha spirit.”
  • Cabo San Lucas, Mexico — “It was this big-honest!”
  • The Similan Islands, Thailand — “Wash my hair tonight? Why bother?”
  • Motu Tane, French Polynesia — “Fashionistas air kisses and catwalks on the beach.”

For detailed information on each of these beaches, including the best places to stay, visit Concierge.com.