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Oh... would I LOVE to live on a lake!!! I have been to Greenville but not to Keowee. I think I will plan a weekend ride in that direction just to look around and taunt myself.
My biggest problem is that I am super-conservative when it comes to money these days and I would love to find a nice house on a lake but if it is for retirement (assuming the end of my current income) then I would like to stay under $300K, and how many lake houses are there in that price range?! Well, I can dream, can't I?
Oh... would I LOVE to live on a lake!!! I have been to Greenville but not to Keowee. I think I will plan a weekend ride in that direction just to look around and taunt myself.
My biggest problem is that I am super-conservative when it comes to money these days and I would love to find a nice house on a lake but if it is for retirement (assuming the end of my current income) then I would like to stay under $300K, and how many lake houses are there in that price range?! Well, I can dream, can't I?
There are a lot of houses under that price range and as a retiree you guys ought to look at keeping the house size down and that will ensure you have a house in that price range. Almost any place with a house under 2000sf is under 300k.
I agree with you on Atlanta. Even up here we hear about how many home invasions hav been going on down there. Good luck in your search.
FWIW!!!! We live on a beautiful lake in SE AL. I can not wait to get back to Atlanta area! Realized that rural living is not all that appealing to us. Nothing is convenient and we want more culture and activities. SO we are the minority who are looking to move to the Marietta area. We lived in the North Fulton area/Peachtree Corners area for 30 years. We are looking forward to choices in so many areas of life. We will be near our daughter and we are looking at neighborhoods near Marietta Square. Just have to sell the lake house. If anyone is interested-----------?
I found the lack of interest in this 2008 thread surprising, considering the mid south and N. Ga./ SW NC,/ East Tn.have become very popular over the years, dating back even to the 50s-60s - 70s when so many people flooded into Atlanta and made the city the " Chicago of the South ". I heard so many times in the 70s when ( living in Chicago area ) people would say " If I were to live in the South it would have to be Atlanta". Not totally why that was, could have been that so many Northerners were transferred there with their jobs that the City "feel" became more Northern than Southern as so many of the burbs expanded, so quickly , much like Chicago.
Ether way the people being northerners or southerners, soon started looking for summer homes in the N. Ga. Mtns., mostly to escape the heat of Summer. The visitors/homeowners started spilling over the state line into SW NC. and NW SC.. Many also saw the possibility of making the MTNS. their retirement home.. It was nice living in NC. as in just two hours you could be downtown Atlanta, yet by night fall back home in your cozy retreat up in the Mountains. I wonder today what the orig. OP wound up doing ?
Today, with the real estate market recovery things are heating up once more.The demand has spread out to E. TN. and even to SW Va.. Granted some of these places were more than 2 hours from Atlanta, but it DOES show the trend has continued. From the " Half Backs" that came from Florida . , to the Southern born , to the transplanted Northerners , the escape to the mid-south remains today a very popular thing to do, retirement and relocation be it full time or week-ends.......What do you think , has the mid south and its fringes become even more popular, desirable, as it once was ?..., what and where will be interesting to hear about !
We are about five hours away from Atlanta here in Kingsport TN, three and a half from Charlotte, and four and a half to Nashville, so it's not easy for someone from this area to simply make a day trip to a major metro. You are pretty isolated here.
Taxes are very low in TN, but real estate isn't "cheap" in even semi-decent retirement areas - the median home price in Johnson City last month is now over five times the median income that CD quotes (though this is from 2009 - about $215k median home price this month vs. $36k median HHI - unaffordable ratio). If you're coming from NY/NJ/CA, this is "cheap," but it isn't cheap in relation to average incomes. Cheaper property is available, but this usually means a more remote location that has fewer services (and often a thirty mile drive or more to anything but a basic grocery stores) or a problematic town.
If you want to golf/boat/hunt, have a very low key lifestyle, and don't care about city access, maybe east TN can be for you, but you also have to remember the area is isolated, getting to a metro is time consuming, and crime is through the roof (TN was named the most violent state in the country by the FBI this year). If you want the TN tax benefits, why not move to rural counties between Nashville and Knoxviile?
Southwest VA is just a bad area to be in. Drugs and crime are rampant and many areas lack even basic infrastructure (municipal water, broadband, cellular reception). It's one of the poorest areas of the country. Many of these counties have been hemorrhaging residents for years and the area is in serious decline.
We are about five hours away from Atlanta here in Kingsport TN, three and a half from Charlotte, and four and a half to Nashville, so it's not easy for someone from this area to simply make a day trip to a major metro. You are pretty isolated here.
Taxes are very low in TN, but real estate isn't "cheap" in even semi-decent retirement areas - the median home price in Johnson City last month is now over five times the median income that CD quotes (though this is from 2009 - about $215k median home price this month vs. $36k median HHI - unaffordable ratio). If you're coming from NY/NJ/CA, this is "cheap," but it isn't cheap in relation to average incomes. Cheaper property is available, but this usually means a more remote location that has fewer services (and often a thirty mile drive or more to anything but a basic grocery stores) or a problematic town.
If you want to golf/boat/hunt, have a very low key lifestyle, and don't care about city access, maybe east TN can be for you, but you also have to remember the area is isolated, getting to a metro is time consuming, and crime is through the roof (TN was named the most violent state in the country by the FBI this year). If you want the TN tax benefits, why not move to rural counties between Nashville and Knoxviile?
Southwest VA is just a bad area to be in. Drugs and crime are rampant and many areas lack even basic infrastructure (municipal water, broadband, cellular reception). It's one of the poorest areas of the country. Many of these counties have been hemorrhaging residents for years and the area is in serious decline.
Take the crime statistic with a grain of salt as it's very misleading when portrayed as stat for the entire state. The crime is localized in certain cities. These types of statements should not be painted with such a broad brush.
Take the crime statistic with a grain of salt as it's very misleading when portrayed as stat for the entire state. The crime is localized in certain cities. These types of statements should not be painted with such a broad brush.
It's not as localized as you may think. Yes, Memphis has a deserved bad reputation, but take a look at small town Crossville, TN, a little town you've probably never heard of, compared to Detroit. Violent crime is about 25%-30% less than Detroit, but property crime is nearly double the rate of the city of Detroit. Yes, there are plenty of safe areas of TN (especially affluent Williamson County), but many of the small towns are terribly violent and unsafe (Newport, Crossville, Sneedville, many of the rural counties). We didn't get the most violent state ranking above MI, CA, and LA for no reason.
People from affluent northeastern areas often think "cheap and quaint" when they think of the southeast without realizing the crime.
CRIME INDEX
2
(100 is safest)Safer than 2% of
the cities
in the US.
Detroit Annual Crimes
VIOLENT PROPERTY TOTAL15,26343,95559,218annual crimes per 1,000 residents21.6062.2183.81
CRIME INDEX
0
(100 is safest)Safer than 0% of
the cities
in the US.
Crossville Annual Crimes
VIOLENT PROPERTY TOTAL1661,2071,373annual crimes per 1,000 residents15.23110.70125.93
We are about five hours away from Atlanta here in Kingsport TN, three and a half from Charlotte, and four and a half to Nashville, so it's not easy for someone from this area to simply make a day trip to a major metro. You are pretty isolated here.
Taxes are very low in TN, but real estate isn't "cheap" in even semi-decent retirement areas - the median home price in Johnson City last month is now over five times the median income that CD quotes (though this is from 2009 - about $215k median home price this month vs. $36k median HHI - unaffordable ratio). If you're coming from NY/NJ/CA, this is "cheap," but it isn't cheap in relation to average incomes. Cheaper property is available, but this usually means a more remote location that has fewer services (and often a thirty mile drive or more to anything but a basic grocery stores) or a problematic town.
If you want to golf/boat/hunt, have a very low key lifestyle, and don't care about city access, maybe east TN can be for you, but you also have to remember the area is isolated, getting to a metro is time consuming, and crime is through the roof (TN was named the most violent state in the country by the FBI this year). If you want the TN tax benefits, why not move to rural counties between Nashville and Knoxviile?
Southwest VA is just a bad area to be in. Drugs and crime are rampant and many areas lack even basic infrastructure (municipal water, broadband, cellular reception). It's one of the poorest areas of the country. Many of these counties have been hemorrhaging residents for years and the area is in serious decline.
You left out Knoxville ? As far as SW Va. You are talking about the old coal belt , which continues on into WVa. Yes, it's a very depressing trip. On a brighter side, I once led a caravan of vintage cars from Kingsport up US23 to Cloumbus Ohio. We did put out a press release to several towns along the way. I have to say we were greeted with a huge welcome, local TV , a lot of real nice hill folks along the way.
We lived in Atlanta for 30 years and could not get far away enough from it when we decided to make a change. The traffic negates any entertainment or social value. What's the point of living close "to things to do" if you can't get to them or find a parking space?
We moved to Chapel Hill N.C. we are 2.5 hours from the beach and as close to the mountains. Weather is mild, traffic decent, medical facilities top notch, entertain opportunities and education opportunities terrific. Campus activities easy to get ot with free community bus service. Now Chapel HIll is expensive. Realestate and taxes are high because we have the best schools in the state. We have kids in school so it is worth it to us.
In Raleigh, Durham and all around the Triangle there are plenty of affordable housing choices and we get so many yankee transplants people lament never knowing any Native North Carolinians. But all are welcome and not too many leave unhappy.
You left out Knoxville ? As far as SW Va. You are talking about the old coal belt , which continues on into WVa. Yes, it's a very depressing trip. On a brighter side, I once led a caravan of vintage cars from Kingsport up US23 to Cloumbus Ohio. We did put out a press release to several towns along the way. I have to say we were greeted with a huge welcome, local TV , a lot of real nice hill folks along the way.
Knoxville is considerably nicer but many people prefer to retire in smaller towns. I agree that living in or around Knoxville makes far more sense than living in the isolated periphery.
It's not as localized as you may think. Yes, Memphis has a deserved bad reputation, but take a look at small town Crossville, TN, a little town you've probably never heard of, compared to Detroit. Violent crime is about 25%-30% less than Detroit, but property crime is nearly double the rate of the city of Detroit. Yes, there are plenty of safe areas of TN (especially affluent Williamson County), but many of the small towns are terribly violent and unsafe (Newport, Crossville, Sneedville, many of the rural counties). We didn't get the most violent state ranking above MI, CA, and LA for no reason .
If you have lived in Detroit for ANY length of time as I have, you would know that MOST small property crimes in Detroit are NOT reported as the DPD will NOT send an officer out there. Wither you have to go to the station OR you will wait for days for a detective to get back to you. Ditto for St. Louis where the wait is at least three hours.
One of my employees in Detroit bought a new car. The next morning, she found someone in the car ripping out her stereo system. Her ONLY call was to her husband who placed a shotgun against the thief's head.
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