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Moved to central Florida several years ago was never really happy about it, heat, humidity, bugs, threats of hurricanes, tornados, wild fires, etc and now that we are both retired well need to find a less expensive place to live, hopefully with less a threat of the above mentioned. Like the Carolina's both North and South, East Tennessee, even Virginia and West Virginia but the last two unless we want a cabin in the woods, seem to be out of reach at least for us.
Looking for small city or town with medical facilities, shopping (nothing big just grocery, pharmacy, hardware store, veterinarian, library) not much of a mall person, do much of my shopping on line anyway, a larger city nearby for the rest. Amazing what you can't do without when you are young becames unnecessary when you get older. Not that we travel much anymore but an airport not to far away would also be nice. I know I'm probably dreaming but thanks for the input.
Cheap areas in the Carolinas are plentiful, especially in South Carolina. Clinton, SC is a good example. Nice college, Presbyterian, has a few grocery stores. Has good hospital too. 35 mi from Spartanburg, 45 from Greenville.
Hartsville also fits those. Coker College, has choices in grocery stores, has a good hospital for a small town like that, has a Lowe's. Florence less than 25 miles, large town with about everything you need.
2 hours from Myrtle, 70 miles from Columbia, only 90 minutes or so to Charlotte.
St. George is the most like those two in the Lowcountry.
I agree and Greensboro in particular is a nice medium-sized city with plenty of services, and a smaller town feel overall with it's lower density and greenery (lots of trees). It has plenty of essentials nearby (shopping, medical, etc) and it's own airport with decent levels of service. The cost is living is pretty low for the East Coast as well, especially housing. Check out the NW, SW and West side neighborhoods.
yeah, i agree with Greenville, SC, Greensboro, NC, and any of the small towns inbetween. The foothills of SC/NC sound like they could be your speed, moreso than anywhere flat, or within ~2 hours of the ocean.
somebody mentioned Hartsville. I would NOT recommend that. You said you didn't like "heat, humidity, bugs," and Hartsville sits in the upper branches of the pee dee swamp, so it has plenty of those. Same with Florence or St. George.
Among metros Kiplinger seems to place Anderson and Greenville as the cheapest for South Carolina with Winston-Salem and Charlotte as the cheapest for North Carolina.
Another vote for the Greenville-Spartanburg area (Upstate South Carolina). You run in to a growing number of folks like yourself here: people who moved to Florida and then left due to cost of living/insurance/weather, but wanted to stay in the South. They even have a term for them called "halfbacks".
I'd like to chime in here too. We are looking to sell our home in Colorado (Denver area) and relocate to the SC area, for not only the advantage of the differences in property values/cost of living, but to be closer to the ocean. Hard to beat the Colorado air (low humidity, lots of sunshine), but no beach!
Upon looking at real estate prices out your way, we couldn't believe our eyes! So much house for the money and LOW property taxes! My wife was almost ready to start packing, until she read about the indigenous insects in the area. Cockroaches (palmetto bug) the size of hummingbirds…giant banana spiders?
Aside from the creep-crawlers, it appears that there is a pretty significant crime rate, in places like Myrtle Beach in particular.
Any reassuring words on the bugs and the crime, or would we better off just sitting tight in Colorado? Crime, I guess, would not be the biggest problem, as I would be packin’ my piece…unless the Carolinas have become so liberal that they cannot abide a good old peace-loving American who subscribes to the 2nd Amendment.
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