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You have described the area around Cookeville, Tennessee, which is an hour east of Nashville. It's a very popular retirement area, and one of the reasons is because of its low cost of living. It's also a beautiful area with a generally mild climate. Another big selling point (especially since you specifically mentioned the internet) is even the very rural areas outside of Cookeville have super fast gigabit/fiber internet.
Cookeville is a small town (35,000) but functions as a much larger town, with 200+ restaurants, lots of shopping, several breweries, a couple of wineries, and even a whiskey distillery right downtown. And it's surrounded by 100+ waterfalls, 1200 miles of lakeshore, and is just an hour from the Nashville airport.
Okay thanks.I have heard of Cookeville but had not considered it.Im glad Cookeville is close to a good airport.
Okay thanks.I have heard of Cookeville but had not considered it.Im glad Cookeville is close to a good airport.
I've never been to Cookeville but boy, you sure hear a lot of wonderful things about it. They have a nice mid size public university there (Tennessee Tech) that you could access for things.
As an aside, Cookeville is where Mack Brown grew up.
The Rio Grande Valley. Specifically the McAllen area. Very low cost of living and warm winters. You are 70 miles away from the Gulf of Mexico so are reasonably safe from hurricanes. Yet you are close enough to enjoy South Padre Island beaches. Someone here earning a $33,000 annual income and above is considered to be a "high wage earner".
The Rio Grande Valley. Specifically the McAllen area. Very low cost of living and warm winters. You are 70 miles away from the Gulf of Mexico so are reasonably safe from hurricanes. Yet you are close enough to enjoy South Padre Island beaches. Someone here earning a $33,000 annual income and above is considered to be a "high wage earner".
Thanks BusinessManIT....I appreciate your suggestion but I think the Valley would not be a good fit for me.it may be a good place to spend part of the year though. Its also too isolated for me lol.
Oklahoma fits the bill other than the Tornado risk. Most of Oklahoma City and points east would be similar to Midland with lower property taxes and more green areas/tree-belt within the Crosstimbers ecoregion.
You would have to deal with a lot of Oklahoma Sooner Crimson though. I don't know if you can handle that coming from Midland. :-)
Would I be safe from tornadoes if i had a storm shelter or storm cellar. Can they protect against the EF-5s?
I am considering retiring at some point.I want to keep my search limited to the South or Southwest. I figure I could possibly have a 30,000 to 40,000 a year income in retirement.I dont have many things i like to do besides church and television/internet,family,traveling and friends.Finding a good church for me to go to in my new location is very important in my search.I am a Republican but I would fine with living in a moderate-leaning environment.I would like to avoid the big cities.I dont want to live in coastal areas because of hurricanes and tornadoes really scare me.Are there any parts of the South that are lower twister risk like areas that are not in Dixie Alley?Good healthcare is important.
I would like a safe area.I am from Midland, Texas but the cost of living is real high.Rent is close to 2,000 a month here.I would like to live somewhere where its not dry so i can buy beer and wine.Also, having a starbucks or a coffee shop would be nice.I would also like the place to have a McDonalds and or IHOP or Waffle House or similar breakfast place.I would want my new location to have fried chicken like Kentucky Fried Chicken and donuts.I want warm winters.I would be fine with lows in the 20's and afternoons in the 50's.I would prefer small towns or small to mid-sized cities. I am single with no kids.Do yall have any ideas?Thanks in advance.
You could live comfortably on that salary in OK City...as long as you're single.
Once you put a ring on that Oklahoma Girl's finger then get ready to start spendin' money! (Even though they act like they're not, Okie women and Texas women are a lot alike.)
Would I be safe from tornadoes if i had a storm shelter or storm cellar. Can they protect against the EF-5s?
Yes, the storm cellars can protect you from any tornado hit.
I personally feel a lot safer in the traditional cellar rather than the so-called "safe rooms" that are being put in newer/nicer homes here in OK City these days.
Yes, the storm cellars can protect you from any tornado hit.
I personally feel a lot safer in the traditional cellar rather than the so-called "safe rooms" that are being put in newer/nicer homes here in OK City these days.
Thank you.That makes me feel safer if i ever moved to Oklahoma.
I would think that there would be plenty of small towns all over the Southeast that would fit your criteria. For small to mid-sized cities, Greenville, South Carolina or eastern Tennessee should work for you. Knoxville and Chattanooga have some rough areas, I would just be selective about where you live specifically. Maybe some of the college towns in Arkansas or Athens, GA would be worth investigating as well. Winston-Salem and Greensboro, as mentioned above, are also worth a look. They might be a little bigger than what you seem to be going for and again, you'd want to be selective about the neighborhood you live in, but I think you'd enjoy them. You may also look at towns near these cities or even towns near the bigger cities like Charlotte.
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(Even though they act like they're not, Okie women and Texas women are a lot alike.)
