Here’s a quiz for those of you with allergies looking for a place to retire. Boomers on the Move says a college professor reports that the sunbelt is still the place boomers like to retire. (duh!)

Florida and its beaches remain a popular place to spend the sunset years, yet the current hottest retirement destination doesn’t even have a coastline: It’s Arizona.

• 1. Phoenix.
• 2. Las Vegas.
• 3. West Palm Beach, Fla.
• 4. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
• 5. St. Petersburg, Fla.
• 6. Fort Myers, Fla.
• 7. Tucson, Ariz.
• 8. Los Angeles.
• 9. Sarasota, Fla.

are the top retirement destinations.

OK, now suppose you have allergies, which of the two above locations was rated the third and fifth worst place to live by Forbes?

Answer is in the comments. I was surprised, the rest of the list made sense, and when you read the article it makes sense.

If you are allergy prone I heartily recommend Flonase. It’s a anti-inflammatory nasal spray steriod.

I had very bad year round allergies. A scratch test when I was adult indicated that I had some degree of allergic reaction to everything but distilled water.

In the fall, when the ragweed pollen was it’s worst, I was a crabby recluse. My mood changed and I would avoid going outside because of the itchy, watery eyes, the sneezing, the itchy forehead and the low grade fever, that was always present.

Like most, I didn’t take pills because of the side effects.

Then an allergist suggested Flonase. Within 30 days of starting, my symptoms were gone. Not diminished, they were gone. The symptoms will return sometimes in the fall when the ragweed is at it’s worst, but it isn’t anything like it was before.

Yet when people tell me they are suffering immensely with allergies I am truly baffled that most won’t even consider my suggestion of trying Flonase. People tell me they take pills, but don’t like the side effects, or they hate using a nasal spray.

But I understand why they feel this way. They are feeling so rotten and have been feeling that way for years that they aren’t thinking clearly enough to understand that there is something that may help them.

All I can do is encourage and recommend. The misery of allergies is hard to measure and therefore hard to explain how poorly one feels.