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We are looking to spend the Winter months in the Blue Ridge Mountain area and the remainder of the year in the Midwest. We are looking for a very small, friendly, laid back community that offers some culture, history and arts. Where do we begin??
w/out a doubt in and around the area that surrounds the natural bridge area. i can't remeber how much of that is federal land, but anywhere as close as possible. since i'm somewhat of a loner, i have my belongings, my piano, oil paints, brushes, etc, my cat, i would absolutely love it. i attended william and mary, so i know the area can be sort of expensive, tax-wise. i'm sure that i could locate a small cottage, perhaps set up a large family room, open kitchen, bath, and a large bedroom. i might have to have to have my brother-in-law come up and build a studio attached to the cottage. $200,000 is not going to go a very long way, but my grandparents and my mother left me beautiful antiques, persian rugs, and some rare belongings. i would do fine. i still hear the water in the brook, smell the cool air in august, watch the trout, stare at the bridge for an hour or so. virginia probably, as a state, has the best of the best of everything a state could have, to my knowledge. love it.
We are looking to spend the Winter months in the Blue Ridge Mountain area and the remainder of the year in the Midwest. We are looking for a very small, friendly, laid back community that offers some culture, history and arts. Where do we begin??
OK, my wife and I are in our early 60s. Will retire in a few years. We live on Long Island, NY and are sick of it and New York in general, the rat race is everywhere. We are not hot/humid weather people. More spring and fall types. Winter is fine, but not 3 foot snowfalls all the time where you can't get out your door for days - LOL! Plus we have some joint aches and pains, and don't want to shovel snow all winter and into our old(er) age. Anyway, we are looking for a place to retire - a place with a gentle pace; beauty; near a decent sized town with things to do if we want (movies; places to eat, etc.) but not some city-fied place where everyone and everything is trying to play BIG CITY. I don't know how to describe it, just a nice easy life away from the rot that is infecting every mid-sized to huge city in the USA. My brother lives about 30 miles north of Charlotte, NC but after a few visits there we knew it was not the place for us. 104 degree summer temps is way too much for us. We never considered North Carolina after that, but recently we saw a show on TV which mentioned the Blue Ridge Mountains. A lot about the mountain life appeals to us, but we couldn't live a completely isolated life. I figured there must be places around the Blue Rideg Mountains that combine both, mountain life and what I described above. Can anyone lucky enough to know or live in this type of place give us some areas to consider - not expensive. Either retirement places, or smaller homes (2 bedrooms, fireplace, etc.). Maybe even email stuff to some1else1@msn.com
Thanks,
F&P
OK, my wife and I are in our early 60s. Will retire in a few years. We live on Long Island, NY and are sick of it and New York in general, the rat race is everywhere. We are not hot/humid weather people. More spring and fall types. Winter is fine, but not 3 foot snowfalls all the time where you can't get out your door for days - LOL! Plus we have some joint aches and pains, and don't want to shovel snow all winter and into our old(er) age. Anyway, we are looking for a place to retire - a place with a gentle pace; beauty; near a decent sized town with things to do if we want (movies; places to eat, etc.) but not some city-fied place where everyone and everything is trying to play BIG CITY. I don't know how to describe it, just a nice easy life away from the rot that is infecting every mid-sized to huge city in the USA. My brother lives about 30 miles north of Charlotte, NC but after a few visits there we knew it was not the place for us. 104 degree summer temps is way too much for us. We never considered North Carolina after that, but recently we saw a show on TV which mentioned the Blue Ridge Mountains. A lot about the mountain life appeals to us, but we couldn't live a completely isolated life. I figured there must be places around the Blue Rideg Mountains that combine both, mountain life and what I described above. Can anyone lucky enough to know or live in this type of place give us some areas to consider - not expensive. Either retirement places, or smaller homes (2 bedrooms, fireplace, etc.). Maybe even email stuff to some1else1@msn.com
Thanks,
F&P
I think NE Ga. Would be great place to retire , and on a budget too. The only problem is summer heat , unless you are at the highest elevations , which are very few compared to The NC. Side. The Blue Ridge was my home for 18 years @ 4,000 ft. Just over the Ga. Line by 6 miles. Check it out, Highlands , NC. People go to great measures just to live there. We were 6 miles from town , land was less expensive if you stay away from the high end developments. Heaven on earth is all I need to say....check it out !
If you're going to stick to the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Asheville area gets my vote.
However, if it's mountains in general that you're looking for coupled with a low cost of living, don't forget the Hot Springs area in the Oauchita Mountains of Arkansas! Hot Springs Village, outside of Hot Springs, is a gated retirement community that is absolutely beautiful and has more amenities than I've ever seen in such an area. My parents recently bought a gorgeous house for around $200,000 (it was a little less than that but then they finished out the basement as guest quarters so that bumped the price up to about $210,000). It's 2500 square feet and the views from the back porch are amazing. Coolish summers, winters that aren't particularly harsh, and Little Rock (a hidden gem of a city) is less than an hour away, and Hot Springs is about 30 minutes away.
The Asheville area of the Blue Ridge covers a large part of the highest peaks of the Eastern Mt. range.Mostly 100 miles north and 100 miles SW .Highlands is in this area.So are places like Brevard , Flat Rock , Hendersonville ,Siva , Waynesville to the south...Beach Mtn., Boone , Lenor , and more.
This part of the Blue Ridge far out distances the Ozarks for cooler summers w/ no AC needed . The Ozarks are a nice area, if you want to fish though.
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