North Carolina Best City To retire (Raleigh, Durham: chapel, house, luxury)

[newyorkscott23]

HI All,

What does everyone consider the best city to retire in North Carolina. I will be a retired Government worker so I will not have to pay state taxes on my retirement.

I would be looking for a house about 1500-1800 sq ft, 2 car garage with 3 BR and 2 1/2 Bths, with golf courses and shopping malls near by.

Please let me know of any cities that you feel are good for retirees.

Thanks.

[RDSLOTS]

In the Triangle area of the State, near Raleigh, Wake Forest, Durham, Chapel Hill, and smaller municipalities like Apex, Clayton, Garner.

Check out the official Town of Cary website.

We moved here from the NC Coast, which has also become a hot spot for retirees. I'd suggest Brunswick County, which is being developed fairly heavily right now. Cheaper to live just across the Cape Fear River in Brunswick County, as opposed to New Hanover.


Perhaps, make a list of what you are looking for -- and then search areas that might meet those objectives. For example, I much prefer the rolling hills of the Piedmont, and easy access to the mountains, as opposed to wanting to be able to go to the beach all of the time, in my youth. Central NC affords me the luxury of being roughly two hours away from either the mountains or the beach.

[mm34b]

As a retiree, I'd stay away from the high growth counties. You never know what the working-age newcomers are going to demand in the way of new governmental services, which in turn means higher taxes for everyone. Otherwise, you might find yourself having to move again to stay within your fixed-income (pension) budget down the road.

High Growth Counties (2007)

Union
Brunswick
Cabarrus
Wake
Johnston
Pender
Mecklenburg
Iredell

[autumngal]

We do the same mm34b. We stay just outside the heavy growth areas.

[mm34b]

You can see on this map which counties are currently the most popular with retirees.

http://www.ncatlasrevisited.org/Popu...s/popfg10L.gif

Percentage of 65+ Population (NC - 12.2%)

Mountain Region Counties
Cherokee - 20.3%
Clay - 22.5%
Macon - 22.8%
Haywood - 19.6%
Transylvania - 23.7%
Henderson - 21.5%
Polk - 23.0%
Yancey - 18.9%
Mitchell - 19.4%
Ashe - 18.8%
Alleghany - 19.5%
Piedmont Region Counties
Moore - 21.7%
Coastal Region Counties
Brunswick - 18.0%
Perquimans - 19.8%
Pamlico - 20.5%
Carteret - 17.3%