To the editor:

I found it doubtful that Lawrence could be identified as one of the top five retirement places in the country.

The cost of living exceeds the average earned income in Douglas County by almost $10,000 per year, according to Money magazine. It was also interesting to compare various features of Lawrence to, say, Fort Collins, Colo., another top retirement city.

For instance, we have dozens of bars, three times the number of golf courses, more museums and a significantly higher rate of personal property crime and assault than Fort Collins.

Most important, though, is the Median Family Income (MFI) versus the Family Purchasing Power (FPP). In Fort Collins, the MFI is $64,623. The FPP is $59,781. In Lawrence it is the reverse: The MFI is $57,476 and the FPP is $61,869.

In fact, all top 10 places, including Overland Park, have higher MFI than FPP. So help me (and others struggling to live affordably in Douglas County) understand how Lawrence got designated a top 10 retirement city?

Deborah Snyder,

Lawrence