The value of lists you see shared in the news media can vary wildly.
They can be completely subjective and good for only fun debate. I once wrote a piece ranking all of Jimmy Buffett's songs that were readily available. I did not use any of my college math while putting it together.
Other rankings and lists can be highly mathematical with a thousand criteria yet decided by a subjective formula. For example, most "happiness" rankings involve a heavy emphasis on wealth-related criteria. Have you met many rich people?
Still, the wealth categories affect health-care access, internet access, etc., so there's an obvious and objective connection to quality of life in some studies.
Remember to consider the source, the source's source, and the criteria used by the study. And then take them all with more than a grain of salt.
I said all that to say there've been a few lists released recently that I'll share here.
First, a ranking by Seniorly ranked Alabama 47th among states for places that are best to "age in place." That means it's one of the toughest places to stay in your home and neighborhood during those sunset years.
As criteria that affect your independence in old age, the study looked at risk of isolation, home health-care quality, home health-aide availability, emergency-care timeliness, smart-home adoption, housing costs, road safety, local walkability, food delivery access and weather hazards.
You can already read into some of those, especially since we're in our primary severe-weather season and at the start of hurricane season.
Alabama placed 49th with a ratio of 44 seniors to every one home-health aide. It ranked 50th in seniors who use the Internet for household devices.
On the plus side, the study found that the home-health agencies we have are pretty spectacular. Alabama was ranked first with more than a third of the agencies carrying a 4.5- or 5-star rating.
Switching listicle gears, Southern Living issued their list of the "10 Dreamiest Places To Live In The Coastal South," and Fairhope is on it.
An article said they were looking for cities with culture, natural beauty and stuff to do besides sitting on the beach.
Southern Living highlighted Fairhope's "flower-filled town square," "small-town feel" and waterfront dining.
Now, to illustrate what I said before about lists, let's go a little further out there.
The language-learning website Mondy took a survey of a few thousand people to determine each state's "culture capital." Not a tourist destination or center of many cultures, but the city in each state that most “speaks your language, cooks your comfort food, and lives by the rhythms that shaped you.”
The soul of the state, if you will.
And for Alabama it was Tuscaloosa. Wrote the folks at Mondly, after giving a nod to the Tide: “It’s a deeply rooted Southern city with a lived-in, unpretentious vibe. You’ll hear a thick, twangy drawl in corner diners and downtown bars, and barbecue joints like Archibald’s serve up vinegar-kissed ribs that locals swear by. The town mixes tradition with edge, thanks to the University’s influence, where Greek life traditions coexist with a rising chorus of new perspectives. It’s a place where heritage and identity are debated over sweet tea — loudly, and with heart."
I'll also add that I believe Tuscaloosa is the hottest-feeling place in the South in the summertime. That's just my experience. Florida's lower peninsula competes, but I think most people cut off the border of the Deep South just a little north of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
