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I'm a few years from retirement and I've started my travels to places that are known to be financially friendly to retirees - and have nicer weather than where I live now (NJ). I spent many years up North and once again recently visited Portsmouth (my cousin lives up there). I love Portsmouth! It's charming, has a variety of non-franchised stores and shops, is a great "art" friendly town (they have first Fridays where almost every art gallery has things going on to draw in interested collectors), is scenic, and has great restaurants. Oh, and Kittery is a stones throw away. Yes it can be a little "too" Colonial (they recently fought off a Whole Foods coming in). Unfortunately it's way too cold for me. I've been to the central Florida area and to the Phoenix / Mesa area (including Scottsdale), but I didn't get a sense of any thriving walkable towns like Portsmouth. Yes, Scottsdale has everything one could want, but it ain't walkable (too big). And Florida has Winter Park, but I don't know. Something just didn't gel with me in WP. More States and towns planned for the future.
I don't need to be that far South, as long as the State is retirement friendly and has more pleasant weather than where I am now. But do any of these parts of the country have their own "Porstmouths"?
Southport NC
Southern Pines/Pinehurst NC
Asheville/Hendersonville NC
Charleston SC
Beaufort SC
Savannah, GA
Jekyll Island/St. Simon GA
St. Augustine FL
Just some areas my wife and I (we're in our mid 50's) really like. We like Winter Park and Winter Garden in the Orlando area, but know no area is for everyone. Sorry your post got lost in the shuffle. Good luck in your search!
I've been to a number of these places, but not all of them recently.
Savannah. Love it, they have a decent art scene. I wasn't sure if the nearby living would meet my needs. More investigation required.
Winter Park and Winter Garden. Very nice. Winter Garden is a little small as a cultural area, as is WP even though it's a bit bigger.
Charleston. Loved it when I visited, but haven't been there in a long time. Not sure what the housing is like now, nearby. SC is also not quite as good as FL and GA for retirement income, but it's still considered good.
Annapolis. Interesting choice. My uncle lives down there, been there a bunch but hadn't considered it for some reason.
A bunch of places in NC. I'd read about Asheville of course, being a very desirable area.
@march2, which of your areas would you say gives you the best sense of both an art and "green" (local foods, organics) scene?
I've been to a number of these places, but not all of them recently.
Savannah. Love it, they have a decent art scene. I wasn't sure if the nearby living would meet my needs. More investigation required.
Winter Park and Winter Garden. Very nice. Winter Garden is a little small as a cultural area, as is WP even though it's a bit bigger.
Charleston. Loved it when I visited, but haven't been there in a long time. Not sure what the housing is like now, nearby. SC is also not quite as good as FL and GA for retirement income, but it's still considered good.
Annapolis. Interesting choice. My uncle lives down there, been there a bunch but hadn't considered it for some reason.
A bunch of places in NC. I'd read about Asheville of course, being a very desirable area.
@march2, which of your areas would you say gives you the best sense of both an art and "green" (local foods, organics) scene?
I'd say Asheville. The organics is not a big consideration for me personally, but you will have no problems finding that in Asheville. I think their Arts is really good, especially for its size. The city of Asheville itself is a bit expensive. But the surrounding area is pretty affordable. The people are incredibly friendly as well. My wife and I day trip to Asheville often and really love the place.
Great info. How would you rate the weather? Particularly the episodes of severe weather, and the amount of cold in the winter?
Asheville is in the Southern Appalachians, which, IMO, has the most moderate climate in the nation. The winters get snow (17"), get cold, but aren't bad at all. Summers it gets warm, but is nice. Springs and falls are heavenly, especially along the Blue Ridge Pkwy. Very little to no earthquake, wildfire, or flooding risk.
Southport NC
Southern Pines/Pinehurst NC
Asheville/Hendersonville NC
Charleston SC
Beaufort SC
Savannah, GA
Jekyll Island/St. Simon GA
St. Augustine FL
Just some areas my wife and I (we're in our mid 50's) really like. We like Winter Park and Winter Garden in the Orlando area, but know no area is for everyone. Sorry your post got lost in the shuffle. Good luck in your search!
Great list! That sounds exactly like what the OP is looking for. They all have the quaint, artsy feel that Portsmouth possesses.
I would add:
New Bern, NC
Wilmington, NC
Georgetown, SC
Bluffton, SC
St. Marys, GA
Fernandina Beach, FL
Apalachicola, FL
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