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As others have said, you might have to think out of the box a bit. How about West Virginia? Housing is very reasonable, and Wheeling West Virginia is along the river and in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains yet they don't get tons of snow or have really hot summers. It is about 40 miles from Pittsburgh giving you access to a pretty nice airport and some big city amenities. When money is a serious consideration you have to look at some places that are not at the top of the 'hit parade" of retirement selections yet still have potential. West Virginia can be a bit "gritty" but there are still some nice towns and areas and your money goes a long way. Just a thought. I would personally suggest Lewisburg West Virginia which is in the southeast corner because I have vistied that charming little city/town but it says it has hot and humid summers. It was a lovely little town with lots of shops and had an artsy feel with lots to do and nice people. And good food!
Yeah I wouldn't go the RV route, I have to think that would get old very quickly.
I'm about 10 years away but have been doing the same sort of research. Living in Central MD we are looking for a less expensive place to live with shorter winters too. Oddly enough the leader right now after 3 years of looking is Johnson City, TN. Roanoke VA is also in the running but I much prefer Tennessee. Here's why:
JC and neighboring Jonesborough are just nice small towns with beautiful mountain views. JC is a college town and there is that feel for sure, which we both like. Seems to be the perfect size, it has everything we could need but still small enough to get around easily. The downtown revitalization there has been tremendous, way way nicer downtown than my first visit 3 years ago. People are really nice and friendly but it's not "too south". It's strange, most of the local have a very slight southern accent, kind of like what you've hear in say Richmond. So if the husband is not a fan of the south this may be a good for him. The school and medical center brings in a lot of transplants from the NE, I met a guy from Syracuse who had been there for 20 years and loves it. So we won't feel like a fish out of water or ostracized as outsiders. When you go into a store don't be surprised to meet the owner's dog. We saw that a lot and as dog owners we loved it. Sure there are the local yahoos but they tend to be up in the hills. Jonesborough is right down the road, I think it's like 7 miles. Older with a cool Main Street it's also worth a look.
Weather looks great. We went in August to confirm the summers are not brutal, this will NOT be the case in other cities in TN including Knoxville. Shorter winters but still gets snow every now and then, I'd hate to totally say goodbye to snow but going from 30" to 7" that melts by the next day sounded good to me. Another factor: heating bills will be less for us, WAY less for you.
One of my main hesitations about Johnson City is the question of quality healthcare. I read today in their forum about this issue and it concerns me (I think it was on your thread?). I know someone who lives there and his mother died as a result of being misdiagnosed. She went to a doctor in JC regarding a sore on her back that was bleeding and was told it was nothing. Later it was discovered by another doctor that this was melanoma and it was too late for her by then. It may have been one of those rare cases but then reading today about another poster's experience causes me pause. Also, her son was not happy with the time his mother spent in the hospital there. Some people may not have serious health problems in their later years but it's just something I would not be comfortable to chance. Otherwise, it's a lovely area and sounds like a lot has improved in the downtown since I've been there.
One of my main hesitations about Johnson City is the question of quality healthcare. I read today in their forum about this issue and it concerns me (I think it was on your thread?). I know someone who lives there and his mother died as a result of being misdiagnosed. She went to a doctor in JC regarding a sore on her back that was bleeding and was told it was nothing. Later it was discovered by another doctor that this was melanoma and it was too late for her by then. It may have been one of those rare cases but then reading today about another poster's experience causes me pause. Also, her son was not happy with the time his mother spent in the hospital there. Some people may not have serious health problems in their later years but it's just something I would not be comfortable to chance. Otherwise, it's a lovely area and sounds like a lot has improved in the downtown since I've been there.
That kind of anecdote can happen anywhere. It is not such a small town that there is only "Doc" to go to or anything. I feel for your friend; that should not have happened. But you are right that it is likely a rare case. That kind of thing happens a lot more often in big cities where there are more people and more doctors and by extension more anecdotes like this. If there are only poorly rated hospitals nearby, that I would consider a drawback. But I shop hard for a personal physician and specialists. I see a dermy for skin issues. I have had several moles removed for what proved to be good reason when pathology came back; a couple of times they called me back in to dig a little deeper.
You have placed so many filters that it is going to be virtually impossible to find anything.
Many of the mountain areas of western NC are pretty much dominated by Yankees these days, especially the more scenic towns. Wealthy Yankees buy up property for a song (to them), but it's still expensive by regional and sometimes even national standards. The less scenic, less resort-like, towns that are dominated by locals are not likely to be to your tastes.
The mountains of VA are generally nowhere near as scenic as in NC, but land is likely to be much cheaper. VA and NC both have income tax, VA has personal property tax, but TN has neither.
You're basically going to have up loosen up a little on the filters.
WTF, are we still fighting the Civil War?
Yankees....geez.
Next, we'll be referring to people as darkies, crackers and carpet baggers.
I hear a lot of that regional chatter around here because of the expensive houses that have sprung up in the area largely because of people coming from other areas where housing costs were much higher. And I hear the term Yankee thrown around a lot when people discuss that. The odd thing is that because of the industries that bring a lot of people here, there are as a many or more people coming from CA with needs to keep a big equity in play (because going back is often probable) as coming down from the NE corridor.
Could you clarify what you mean by that please? Couldn't they just invest the equity then take is out again?
Yes they could. Lots of people are just wired not to mix their peas and carrots and like to keep house money in the house. I think there are potential tax implications of realizing the gain outside of equity in a primary residence also.
One of my main hesitations about Johnson City is the question of quality healthcare. I read today in their forum about this issue and it concerns me (I think it was on your thread?). I know someone who lives there and his mother died as a result of being misdiagnosed. She went to a doctor in JC regarding a sore on her back that was bleeding and was told it was nothing. Later it was discovered by another doctor that this was melanoma and it was too late for her by then. It may have been one of those rare cases but then reading today about another poster's experience causes me pause. Also, her son was not happy with the time his mother spent in the hospital there. Some people may not have serious health problems in their later years but it's just something I would not be comfortable to chance. Otherwise, it's a lovely area and sounds like a lot has improved in the downtown since I've been there.
I'm from the area and don't know of anyone personally (including well over a dozen great aunts and uncles) who was very dissatisfied with the medical care they received in east TN. It touts itself as a kind of regional health care mecca. With that said, a lot of more complicated medical needs ended up being treated at Duke, Fort Sanders Hospital in Knoxville, or at Vanderbilt.
Best option on the east coast by a mile is North Carolina. Sounds like you know that. If you don't like the combination of weather and COL there, you won't find anything on the East Coast. You may want to look into Colorado Springs and Pueblo in Colorado. The summers are beautiful and much cooler than you'll find in most places but the winters have average highs in the 40s for every month. That is a really nice average high in the winter (in my opinion).
If you wanted to do a snowbirding situation with two very affordable homes, you would want to look at doing something in Albuquerque, NM for winter and something in Montana for the summer. Since you're currently on a farm I'm assuming you prefer rural, hence Montana for being rural with mild summers.
I'm from the area and don't know of anyone personally (including well over a dozen great aunts and uncles) who was very dissatisfied with the medical care they received in east TN. It touts itself as a kind of regional health care mecca. With that said, a lot of more complicated medical needs ended up being treated at Duke, Fort Sanders Hospital in Knoxville, or at Vanderbilt.
Thanks. This is what I was wondering about. Knoxville is only an hour or so away so that wouldn't be too bad with UT-Knoxville, in addition to Fort Sanders. Actually Knoxville and Cookeville is also on my list of possible places to retire in TN, and I believe the COL is lower for both cities compared to JC, though I like the feel of the Tri-Cities the best. I have heard very good things about Cookeville Hospital and it's the closest to a big airport (Nashville).
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