Wellington can add another accolade to its growing list.
Fortune Well put the village at No. 8 on its list, “50 Best Places to Live for Families,” the media company announced today.
In developing the list, Fortune looked at about 1,900 municipalities, suburbs and exurbs with about 20,000 residents in all 50 states. The goal was to find “a broad universe of places that offered high-quality amenities in communities with a hometown feel,” Fortune said.
SIGN UP now for my Weekly Wellington Mom newsletter!
Mayor Anne Gerwig said Wellington has always been a great place to raise a family.
The top 10 best places were:
- Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Portsmouth, New Hampshire
- Silver Spring, Maryland
- Tualatin, Oregon
- Middletown, Delaware
- Olathe, Kansas
- Eastvale, California
- Wellington, Florida
- Greenburgh, New York
- Fitchburg, Wisconsin
“That’s how we started, and we’re stilling that, so it’s kind of nice to know you’re sticking to your roots,” she said.
Gerwig joked that after she heard Wellington ranked No. 8 on the list, she said, “I don’t know who the first seven are, because I think we’re No. 1.”
She said she really was very happy to hear about the placement in the list’s top 10. “We’re always happy with that,” Gerwig said. “Top 10 is great.”
For people who might see the list and consider moving to Wellington, Gerwig suggested making sure their future home is actually in Wellington, and not a neighborhood nearby.
“Our brand is so strong that people move into places around us and think they live in Wellington, and they don’t,” she said.
Data from five categories — education, aging resources, general wellness, financial health and livability — was examined, Fortune said.
Because of the growing number of multigenerational family homes, Fortune said it looked at the needs of these families, in which many may include adult children who care for their own children and their aging parents.
The list also looked at affordability for families, an area where Wellington ranked well compared to other communities in the top 10.
“I’m so happy that we can still be considered affordable to families,” Gerwig said, noting across-the-board increases in property values over the past year. “That’s encourages me, because I want to make sure we continue to be affordable,” she said.
Contributing to Wellington’s atmosphere for families is the number of youth programs provided by the village, she said, pointing to Wellington’s SWAG program, or Students Working to Achieve Greatness.
The village also works with schools through the Read for the Record program. And Wellington awards the Keely Spinelli Grant each year to all of Wellington’s public schools to help the lowest-performing 25% of students in reading and math.
“We don’t want our kids in Wellington who are low-performing to fall through the cracks,” Gerwig said.
In describing Wellington, Fortune calls it “a horse-lover’s paradise” that also offers “the delights of coastal living.”
The description dedicates a paragraph to Wellington’s equestrian industry, citing show jumping, dressage and polo competitions as draws, along with the village’s 65-mile system of bridle trails.
It also highlights Wellington’s public schools and the number of high-ranked assisted-living facilities in the area.
This will be updated.
Click here to see the full Fortune list.
SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER!
Get on the list now for my Weekly Wellington Mom newsletter, delivered to your inbox every Wednesday morning with the latest news and things to do in Wellington and the surrounding area.