Best Places to Retire in the Southeast: More Suggestions for Brian
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
April 13, 2024 — When it comes to learning about the best places to retire in the Southeast, it turns out there is no better source than the faithful Members of Topretirements. A few weeks ago we wrote about Brian’s where to retire quest. Immediately the comments and suggestions started rolling in, and they were both interesting and helpful. They were filled with details that you just can’t find anywhere else.
So to help Brian, and anyone else struggling to find a place in the eastern part of the country that has mountains and outdoor life opportunities, here is a recap of the suggestions made in Comments to the original article. Feel free to pile on with more Comments at the end. Note: we did a little editing for brevity’s sake.
One Editorial Comment:
One thing we have noticed lately is an uptick of retired people who are changing their plans. This comes not only from the comments we received here, but among our circle of friends. More folks seem to be deciding not to be snowbirds any more – because they want to travel more, or sometimes health concerns. A few appear to be capitalizing on their appreciated real estate. Are any of you seeing this?
Carol:
I am a New Englander but spent 6 years in Chattanooga. If you like the outdoor life AND cultural things to do (theater, music, TN Aquarium), along with a vibrant business energy, you definitely should check out Chattanooga.
Donna:
We moved to WNC from the West Coast about 7 years ago. Originally we were looking at Asheville, but fell in love with Hendersonville. The downtown & its activities left us gobsmacked. We love all the hiking available to us in the Blue Ridge Mountains & thoroughly enjoy the 4 seasons, especially autumn.
One thing we didn’t realize until we lived here is how centrally located we are for so many adventures! Asheville, Greenville & Charlotte are all in striking distance. Heck, we can easily be in Charleston in 3.5 hours! We love that.
RIchbp:
After 20 years of retirement and 30 years in what was to be our “retirement” home, many investigative road trips, and with feelings for mountain areas much like yours, we finally moved. We ended moving 8 miles to a very different, closer to services, more retirement oriented community. Moving in your 70s quite different (call it strenuous) than in your 50s.
Jes:
I’m your neighbor just down the road in Beaufort! I’m trying to get out too, mostly because of the lack of culture. I’m looking towards Savannah. Unfortunately, I do not have the financial means for most places. I mistakenly rented 7 years ago. Rather than buying a house, I would be much further ahead in the game had I purchased a home
Rosemary:
We are from New England and found a milder climate and affordable housing in the Richmond (VA) area. Winchester VA has a backdrop of mountains and a great over 55 community. We live in a regular community but find it harder to make friends.
Karen:
I currently live in the Northern VA area and it is cost prohibitive to retire here. I have looked in areas near Greenville, SC, Charlotte, Raleigh, and am now considering Richmond and Williamsburg. I have ruled out Greenville even though I like the area; the quality of health care is not what I’d like nor is the political climate. Ruled out Charlotte because of prices and crime.
Brenda:
Even though I did extensive research and road trips, it’s not the same as living someplace. I also will be escaping from Beaufort SC! PS… I’ve got a great house for sale! Although I’m glad I spent some time living in the South, I’m headed back to FInger Lakes region of NY.
CJ:
Try beautiful, wild & wonderful West Virginia!
Roberta:
We moved back to Massachusetts last year after 5 years in Arizona. At first it was exciting to us to live someplace out west where we had never lived before. The biggest mistake we made was in NOT becoming snow birds. We sold our beautiful condo in Boston and now can not afford to move back home. So we ended up out in the western part of the state.
MBP:
We have been in Hardeeville SC for 3 yrs now. My husband and I moved from LI for early retirement and purchased a new home in a new community – our first HOA. Well, we hate the HOA life and all that goes with it. Spent the past year of road trips in research, and we have narrowed down that we want: access to big box stores, medical access/quality is #1, not far from an airport, not far from all of our kids. We are setting our sights on Virginia from outside Fredericksburg to Richmond to Williamsburg. We are keeping our fingers crossed in finding a home that’s in reach of our budget.
Steve:
I’m going the snow bird route – spending up to a few months at a time enjoying a new an different place then back to NE for many months or until I feel like traveling again. There is no law that says you have to move when you retire and there is no law that says you can only have one vacation a year.
Clyde:
We have been snowbirds between CT and FL for ten years. At this point it might be better to sell our FL condo and return to Midwest. Consider occasional trips of a month or so to wherever we want to go, using Airbnb or something similar.
Stevo:
I decided to forgo FL and start looking for a place around Roanoke VA. The outdoor life is great there with lots of opportunities to get out and be in nature to clear the mind. They have some pretty good medical facilities and some culture if you look for it.
Norma:
I was 60 when we retired and moved to Water Oak, a 55 plus community close to The Villages. We learned in the first few months that FL was not for us. We are outdoorsy and it is too darn hot there. I thought we could work it out, but we were homesick and are not Republicans. It took three years, but we moved back to Maine in 2021. We live in Kingfield, 15 miles from Sugarloaf, a ski resort. We bought our house just in time because real property prices have skyrocketed. I plan to snowbird in FL with a friend.
Important lessons
There are a lot of great places to retire that can offer what you want. But it is apparent from these helpful comments (THANK YOU ALL!) that to find them, you have to get out and investigate. A short stay anywhere is no guarantee that you will end up loving a place for the long term. But, as so many of the people above have learned, it is never to late to admit you made a mistake, or that your life has changed, and you can move on from there.
Comments and suggestions? Where do you think Brian should retire?
Comments on "Best Places to Retire in the Southeast: More Suggestions for Brian"
Ellen says:
We are a couple of years away from retirement but are already making plans. We live in Atlanta (I'm a native) and have a small house on a lake in SC less than two hours away. We recently decided to downsize, sell our Atlanta home, and split our time between the SC house and a small place in Monmouth, Maine. We had a "camp" on a lake in central Maine for 18 years but sold it just before the pandemic. We miss Maine and our friends there so much, but we also enjoy our SC place and the friends we have there. We also plan to travel as much as we can.
Samuel Pace says:
WOW! Learned a lot reading all those wonderful comments. In my late 20's lived in Port St Joe, Fl. Love that area. Thought ii was going to live I was going there the rest of my life. God"s Plan and mine weren't the same. ( HE WON of Course) Now live in South Jersey ( A Great Place surround by farms the actual Garden State , Great Doctors in. PHILLY but taxes and car insurance high) Heart problems, C2/3 Spinal Cord (ASIA C ) wife has depression issues. Of all those tips to Brian , only one mentioned HEALTH Care. Brian - How's your health? Great places in the South for Health Care and how do people Snow Bird or actually keep 2 homes? Thanks!
Steve says:
Think twice, no several times, before you move in retirement. If you're from the northeast and you move to someplace less expensive, which is almost everywhere, you most likely won't be able to return because it will be too expensive. Also, a new location looses its newness and novelty in about a year so you better be moving there for move than just novelty. Think also of the family and friends you are leaving behind and won't be able to see as frequently as you would like. Also, coming back for visits may get to be a chore and more of an expense than and hassle than you realize. Recently, I met a realtor at an open house in a new condo building which was next to an old elementary school. She is in her late fifties and showed me a photograph of her in a third grade class picture at that same elementary school next to the condo building. She spent her entire life in that town and there was something very beautiful about that. Of course to each his own but moving retirement is a big deal.
Larry says:
Steve, I agree with most of your concerns but I think you are overstating that most folks who leave the Northeast will not be able to return because of housing expenses. For those who have owned a home up north for some time, and don’t owe any or too much on it, they will make considerably more in the transaction than they will pay for a home in the Southeast, especially if they downsize, which most of us do in retirement. And their cost of living, especially taxes, will be much lower; they can bank some of the difference and will also save on their monthly outlays. So for those who are careful with managing their money, a return to the Northeast is possible if things “go south” in the South.
Jes says:
Steve, what you wrote is what I've experienced. I left the Northeast and I don't regret it. However, you are 100% correct about housing costs as well as leaving family and friends. I find as I grow older I am less willing to make that long trip up north to visit. I'm realizing that there are people I will probably never see again. That is not something I thought about when I made the decision to leave. But I could not take the weather up there and ultimately I think it was the right move for me. But it has not been without its losses.