Forbes Mag: South Florida Now a Rotten Place to Retire

Flickr: Alliance for Retired Americans

Dear South Florida elderly: Forbes says you and all your ballot casting friends should head north.

​Oh no! We've been dissed by a Forbes list! The magazine popular among rich old people is saying that South Florida is lousy place to be a rich old person. It ranked the Miami - Fort Lauderdale area 29th as a region to retire, blaming the "battered real estate and high housing costs."

Atlanta was first. Tampa and St. Pete checked in at No. 3 -- full list is here. Yep, that's us just barely beating out Cleveland.

Not to be age-ist, but for all the economic benefits of having so many retirees in this region, many of those retirees are an absolute terror at the polls.

I still shudder at watching how effortlessly Stacy Ritter charmed the elderly who showed up to hear her speak at Kings Point in Tamarac. In Deerfield Beach's Century Village, they voted for an accused felon (Al Capellini) and a candidate whose son had just been caught sabotaging opponents (Peggy Noland).

So, Forbes, I look at the bright side. Maybe fewer retirees means a better-informed electorate and fewer scandal-prone pols.