Brian Struggles to Find His Best Place to Retire

Brian, 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.

Here is Brian's response to our advice: (with one more comment: Be careful looking at crime rates. Most cities report high numbers, but usually most of that crime is in areas where no retiree would consider living):
That’s awesome ! Yes I like hiking and the scenery of the mountains . One of my other passions is live sports, in particular baseball and hockey , especially college hockey .

I'll get this figured out. I was looking into Knoxville but seems to have a high crime rate and the Shenandoah area .

I have been blessed with many great areas to reside in life . I’m going to see the most important thing to me and the thing I despise the most

Thanks I’m looking forward to subscriber comments , more sets of eyes are helpful

Brian, Road trips so you can get boots on the ground are the way to go!

That being said, 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.

So far as the sports you mentioned: Asheville Tourists & Greenville Drive provide great baseball. College hockey….not so much!! ??

Happy to answer any questions you might have. Good luck! ????

Sorry - my emojis turned into question marks. Disregard them please.

Again, road trips. Two major considerations are your health and physical condition as well as possibly the political environment in the days of apparent schism and no quarter. Your age now that you will be retiring could be a major concern. Some are hobbled in their 70's (or earlier) by arthritis, back issues or other more or less debilitating problems and these can be very difficult to anticipate when you 60's or before. Politics may not be an issue for you but some of the areas mentioned may be very conservative (frankly, could happen almost anywhere). You may be open minded but will the community be as acceptant. And consider our likes and values can change over time in retirement -- would you be open to consider another move. (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 you 70s quite different (call it strenuous) than in your 50s. Possibly the greatest help you may have is a variety of continuing interests that stimulate you and motivate you .

Hello from 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 at that time. Good luck to you.

Richmond VA area. We are from New England and found a milder climate and affordable housing. 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. We loved to be closer to family in DC and NJ areas. Road trip seems to be in your future. Good luck.

I’m a west coast girl through and through. It is rare that I find something, anything written west of the Mississippi on this site.

I love seeing all these comments! Thanks everybody. Nerissa, I hear you. Although the majority of our Members seem to be from the East, there is a significant number of you who live west of the Big Muddy. We will try to keep that in mind? Do you have any particular question or region you would like to hear more about? Let us know. Also, if you go the Best Places category in the Blog, you will find a number of western related articles. https://www.topretirements.com/blog-category/great-towns/

I agree with Nerissa. In my opinion, California weather can’t be beat and I wonder if I could even begin to tolerate/acclimate/enjoy anything beyond the Pacific Northwest. So I would be very interested in learning more about areas recommended for retirees in what would be considered more affordable areas for PNW standards- I know they are out there as, for example, the cost of living is extremely varied in California depending on the area. It would be ideal to learn about areas that are still within a 60 minute drive to a major airport!

I currently live in the Northern VA area and it is cost prohibitive to retire here. I have looked in the Greenville, SC area, Charlotte area, Raleigh area and am now considering Richmond and Williamsburg area for retirement. 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. I have ruled out Charlotte because crime is up as well as prices. I like the Raleigh/Durham area and was surprised that the health care ratings weren't higher but have not ruled it out. My preference is to stay in Virginia if possible, so I am looking in the Richmond area as well as Williamsburg area. I have used the AARP livability application and Niche.com to provide me with information about the communities I am interested in. Trying to find a landing place for retirement is definitely a challenge and a lot of work.

As someone who left the Finger Lakes area of NY because it was cold and gray, too much of the time, I’m heading back because there’s no place like home. I got romanced by the South through Reading too much Garden and Gun magazine And Pat Conroy!
Also, in the six years that I’ve lived down South my priorities have changed. I’ve learned that when it’s cold and gray in NY I can hop on a plane and be some place sunny for a while. The heat, humidity And hurricane factor of the South is just too much for me. Also, many areas of the South have Expanded without the necessary infrastructures. Politically, I just don’t want to live in a red state. 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. I’m glad I spent some time living in the South. Do what you need to do to be happy!

I feel exactly the same way. I'm back in Michigan (home) after living in the South for 30+ years.

Try beautiful, wild & wonderful West Virginia!

Brenda... I too am from the Finger Lakes and am currently living in Beaufort, SC! I could not go back to that weather, though. I do miss everything else about it. I find SC to be an extremely challenging state. I've been trying to get out for a long time but housing costs is the major issue for me.

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. Still far from our kids. About a 2.5 hour drive each way. We stay in a hotel overnight so as not to have to drive 5 hours all in one day. Getting expensive. Ok for now but when we can no longer drive? I think too much is made of moving in retirement. I have decided it is just not a good idea for many of us. Better to just go for a few months or so and keep your main home. It cost us too much to move twice and we really lost so much. Doctors, friends, family.....just not worth it in my mind. My two cents.

We are next door to you and have been in Hardeeville SC for 3 yrs now. My husband and I moved from LI for early retirement and purchase a new home, in a new community - our first HOA. Well we hate the HOA life and all that goes with it. Like you, we love the weather but we don't golf and we would boat but we don't want the hassle of it here. Plus my husband is an avid motorcycle rider and everyone in our community got ride of their bikes because of the drivers in this area are pretty bad. We don't get to use the bike much and it sits in the garage. We have been looking to relocate since last year mostly for better medical quality and access, its been very rough on us here. Especially for me as I have a gene disorder that I need to see a specialist for. For me the medical care is nothing like the northeast here and even veterinarian care is a challenge. We have looked in Florida, as we have family and friends who live in different areas and Florida is just not for us. The rising cost to live there along with high home prices, the climate, ect. keeps us away. Also were pretty sick of the alligators, and extreme bugs here (we live on a lake) The past year of road trips in researching we have narrowed down that we want to be able to have all the access to big box stores we like to shop in, Medical access/quality is #1, not far from an airport, not far from all of our kids which are in Bluffton SC, Wash DC, MD and Long Island. 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 with some property in a neighborhood. We decided we would be okay 45 mins outside of those cities in order to find that affordable home. My husband is a full disabled Vet and Virginia offers property tax exemption and to us the infrastructure in VA is so much better then where we are living now. In addition the areas we are looking at are not that far from the coast or mountains or even DC. Plus there are Harley Davidsons stores everywhere for my husband. lol The biggest hurdle for us is we are doing this at the worse time with the high interest rates, (we are leave a 3.5% rate uggh) home prices are still going up but I don't think its going to get any better anytime soon, possible only worse with home prices Best of luck

I am also on the west coast near Seattle. I was born and raised here. I am always looking for a new place to retire but have never found anyplace that would motivate me to leave Washington. It's really gotten expensive here but luckily we bought our house when prices were alot cheaper. Now the taxes are getting high but one good thing King County did(where I live) was raise the threshold on the property tax discount. If you make less than $84000(married couple) you would get the reduced property taxes. For years it was capped at $40000 for a married couple.

This has been VERY interesting so far - so many great comments and such interest. Along that line, we have had a suggestion to start a feature akin to what the NY Times has called "The Hunt". That features a buyer's search for the right home along with a description of the 3 properties they considered. The pluses and minuses for each discussed, and then at the end the reader is supposed to guess which one they purchased. It is a fun feature and very popular. We could run something like this, and the best way is probably to have some volunteers from our Members and Visitors as subjects. We could interview you to find out about what/where you considered for retirement and then set up the poll. Anyone game for being a subject (you could use your real name(s) or a pseudonym)? You can respond here and no one will see your email, or email us via the Contact Us form. https://www.topretirements.com/contact/

That sounds great—so many times I would have liked to click on a comment and say “tell me more!” Interested in all these Virginia comments and the attraction to Richmond area in particular.

I've been retired for three years and have investigated several potential retirement areas by actually spending a month or two in each. I'm from New England and I've looked at areas in the Southeast and in Arizona, which are totally different than New England. One thing I can say is the thrill of a new and different place wares off fairly quickly. Also, if you are leaving children and grand children behind you are going to start missing them at some point and if you have a long drive to get back to them you will soon regret the move. That's how I feel but that's just me. 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. I guess I'm not even a "snow bird" because I'll go somewhere for a month or two whenever I get the bug to go but my permanent home will stay in NE. Another consideration is some sort of recreational vehicle that you can live out of which gives you tremendous mobility.

I generally agree with Steve’s comment. We have been snowbirds between CT and FL for ten years. At this point it might be better to sell our FL condo and consider occasional trips of a month or so to wherever we want to go, using Airbnb or something similar. Our family is all in the Midwest, so we’re even thinking of selling both the FL and CT places and finally settling back close to family and roots. Spending your final years far away from family is not the greatest prospect. As to an RV, they are both freeing and limiting. But many people love that life.

Hey MPB , your right down the road , I feel your pain ! . Medical iand Vets are certainly a challenge here . For the person in Beaufort wanting to go to Savannah , I don’t think 35 miles will change much , especially Savannah , it’s nothing special .

I appreciate all who contributed even those all on the West coast . Virginia and West Virginia seem like areas to investigate . I just emailed John I wish I could combine the charm of Sarasota/ Venice and it’s proximity to Tampa ( pro sports ) , the low taxes of SC, cost of homes of Louisiana , climate of Ct , and New Hampshire Mountains !

I will do a road trip soon , I have a camper ( popup) love RVs but I have 5 dogs ???.

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.

I too am interested in the RV life but instead of buying I will rent one at location when needed. I find that driving is a bit hectic these days especially after COVID. Driving for miles and miles around frantic motorists tends to make me miserable. Being a snowbird for me includes beaches and ski slopes!

I would appreciate any opinions/comments on the Roanoke VA area....

Hello all I love reading your comments. My wife and I are both 66 years old and plan on working until 70 years old to get the max Social Security benefit. We have bounced back-and-forth from Florida to North Carolina. All of my wife’s family lives in Florida, so we thought we wanted to go there to be closer to family. We have no children. More and more Florida looks like a bad idea except for the nice weather in winter time. The Asheville area looks good, but it is starting to be so popular that it’s going to be overcrowded and too expensive. I have not checked out Virginia but after reading these posts I’m interested in checking it out. if anyone has any thoughts on Virginia, that would be great. We will be on a fixed income. We are looking mostly at manufactured home 55+ communities. We also have looked at a few park model communities the houses are smaller, but you’re allowed to put additions on. We’re looking for something that would be low monthly rent without the threat of it rising enormously at the owners whim. I’m gonna start checking out Virginia, so if anybody has any good ideas in what cities to look at
please let me know. Thank you.

Stevo, wanted to let you know that the Blue Ridge Parkway is so beautiful it will take your breath away. I lived on a farm in the vicinity of Buchanan, which is in the vicinity of Roanoke. Been gone for a long time, so am not up to speed on the area. There are quite a few smaller colleges in Roanoke, and it does have an airport. Roanoke Memorial Hospital is a trauma center I believe. Hope these small tidbits help.

Brian: I am a native New Englander from Maine. I have lived in Tennessee and and Florida. My husband and I spent weekends in Chattanooga, TN and we loved spending long weekends there. We were escaping Memphis. I don’t recommend Memphis. It was a job transfer for my husband. We spent a lot of time in FL VACATIONING. It is not the same when you live there year round. 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. Our home value has more than doubled after renovations. Kingfield is a quaint town with an old-fashioned downtown. We have four restaurants we can walk to. We can walk to the independently owned grocery store and convenience store. The convenience store has gas pumps. There is another convenience store that has gas pumps (good for the snowmobiles). Kingfield has a population of about 1,000. Otherwise, this is our personal utopia. I plan to snowbird in FL with a friend I have had since junior high school on the east coast the months of March and April in a camper. My husband will haul the camper, set it up, then return to Maine. He wants to ski, not go to the beach. There are many option. p.s. Portland is VERY EXPENSIVE. It is being overrun by speculators and people who want to enjoy the big city offerings, yet close to Boston and NH. I wish you luck.

How are people evaluating the quality of healthcare? I have looked at Medicare.gov but it has limited usefulness. Many hospitals don't participate in the programs that supply data to Medicare or don't generate enough patient responses to rate the facility and the search for doctors only gives a list with no comments or ratings. My online searches haven't helped, suggestions for research?

Mike, US News and World Report publishes reviews of hospitals and doctors. Search the internet for "US News and World Report Reviews" and it will take you to a drop down for hospitals and doctors. I also use word of mouth from people I may know who actually live in the area.

Sorry Mike I meant search "US News and World Report Rankings"

My husband and I have lived in Colorado suburb near Boulder. Because we have everything we love here, great services, health oriented culture, mountains mountains, great weather and views. We will keep our home as a base and travel to the beach or other warm climates in the winter months. Then when we are older and Not traveling-will stay put. I agree with living where you have the activities, lifestyle you really love. For us hiking, camping, tennis, walking, biking etc. Lots of sunshine and change of seasons. Most importantly, our family. If they all moved away, I would be tempted to follow at least one of them and the grands. You will find your home.

Lot's of great comments! If you have a general area of interest take a road trip. One you narrow it down spend time in the finalists. My wife and I have known we want a warmer, drier climate in our retirement than we have in the northwest. We're a few years out but we started taking road trips before the pandemic and now we've narrowed it to 2 primary areas. We're planning to spend 2 weeks in one of these areas in a few weeks and the other this fall. We are looking at the 55+ communities in these areas, and also evaluating the things most important to us like healthcare, safety and things to do. We spend time eating out, shopping, taking is show, etc., getting a feel as to how friendly residents are. Before we make a final decision We're going to spend at least a month in our 5th in our favorite. We've got a few years to go but we're going to be ready to roll as soon as we retire!

Consider Pennsylvania. My wife and I moved from NY to the Harrisburg area to be closer to family. Still have 4 seasons, though not as severe (or long) as western NY. No state income tax on your retirement income. Good healthcare (Penn State Health and UPMC). Downside is inheritance tax, but if you spend it while you’re alive, that won’t come into play.

I am not on board with any of those places. Any big city is going to have crime if you're going into town for activities and entertainment. It's not contained in 1 area. It's every where. However seeking a lower crime rate means you'll be more isolated and likely further out from the city. I live in St. George UT. We have the most beautiful mountains any where, dry climate with -0- humidity, blue skies every day, hot as heck from March to Sept. but the cooler months are great and my fav time of the year. It can get down to 20 but it's not the same 20 you would get in the NE or Mid West. It's cold but a different kind of cold, it's the desert.

It's a retirement town. If you hike we have 5 national parks that I hear are beautiful. We are close to Zion, 2 hour drive Bryce I think is 5 hours. I've not been to any of them yet. We have miles of paved bike paths, that take you all over the area on some amazingly beautiful rides with nature, and city scapes. I live next to one and the Virgin River. They're quite busy too. We have hot air balloons that are able to go up almost all year, there are people on those motorized hang gliders that look really fun too.

It's quiet, little to no crime, great police depts., views of the mountains no matter where you are in St. George, nice areas to live including some 55+ if that's your thing, a lot of new building happening too. We are blessed!

Now we are a bit isolated because it's pretty rural but we are the largest city in the area. Cedar City is 1 hour away, more mountainous living than St. George, they get more snow and winter weather with leaves changing, and their summers are not nearly as hot as ours. If you're looking for serious entertainment I'm not sure we have it here. If you're looking for a quiet life with safety, then this is your spot. We are 50 miles from Mesquite NV which offers casinos and is a smaller town than we are.

Vegas is 120 miles away so a good 2 hour drive in good traffic. When it rains in the fall/winter we do get snow but it doesn't stick on the ground, it does in the higher elevation mountains. If you want colder, seasonal tree changing colors then that's Salt Lake City or Cedar City. Salt Lake City area which has lots of mountain communities that are popular ski resort towns and cities. Way more activity up there than in St. George.

Their summers are also milder due to the elevation. When I want to take in an opera or ballet I go to Salt Lake down town and have a nice dinner. They have a ton of restaurants, huge international airport, tons of activities and things to do. St. George is a much, much quieter smaller place. We do have an airport I use frequently.

But I agree with everyone who said "road trips". That's the best way to check places out. Everyone has opinions, but experiencing for yourself is best. It's also fun and adventurous because you'll see things you wouldn't on planes. Good luck!

I am in Michigan, and would like to stay here. Can anyone suggest any communities in my neck of the woods? Thanks in advance!