Considering moving to Eastern Tennessee (tornado, taxes, living)

[usn]

We are considering moving from Hampton Roads, Virginia to the Midwest, notably Southeast Missouri, Western Kentucky and Western Tennessee (I’ll explain later). We are seeking input from any wannabe realtors, genuine realtors, gypsies, nomads, mountain people or anyone with knowledge of these areas.
My wife and I (mid 40's) are both retired military, hence the USN (go Navy), children grown and moved out, and we are sick of the traffic, high taxes, rude people and hurricanes. Originally we come from Iowa and Wisconsin, we still have family in both places and that is why we have chosen these areas (close but not too close if you know what we mean). Being retired sailors we are tired of the ocean and hurricanes but still love the water, we also love the big rolling hills in these areas. So with that said I will list some of our wants and don’t wants in order of precedence and let you experts convince us which area would be best suited for us. One last thing, we have retirements but will still need to work for spending $$$.
Wants:
Lakefront property with or without a house, acreage (2 and up), moderate winter climate, friendly people, relatively close to civilization but not a big city, reasonable taxes/cost of living.
Don’ts:
Tornado alley, crime, traffic, not too far out in the boonies, not too cold in the winter (wife can’t handle the cold).
We appreciate any advice or recommendation that you can give us and hope to see some of you some day.