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My husband's favorite hobby is sailing, so we moved to Sarasota, FL 6 years ago. We like it here, but the cost of living outrageous. Also, we both grew up in small Southern towns and miss the small-town feel. We would like to relocate to a small town that is on a large lake that is sailable. We would preferably like to be within 2 hours of an ocean/gulf, but that is not a must. A low cost-of-living is VERY important to us. I am a teacher and my husband is a computer programmer (he can work remotely) so we are pretty portable. We have 2 preschoolers, so safety and a good (or at least decent) public school system is important. Oh, and I can't handle lots of snow or severe winters...no NE or upper Midwest.
Any ideas?....small-town, on a sailable lake, preferably within 2 hours of a coast, low cost-of-living, safe, good schools, easy on the snow
If you can winter elsewhere or don't mind the winters, you probably won't find a more lake-filled state, in which there only about 4 cities, than Minnesota. The rest are suburbs or towns. Lakes abound here so much so that one is never too far from one. So you should probably find a multitude of options.
East Texas. I'm native from there and Lake Sam Rayburn, the largest lake in TX is there just out of Lufkin or Nacogdoches, TX. If you want rural, there are smaller communities as well. Our home (rental now) is in Huntington, TX...excellent school system there. The coast is 2-3 hours away.
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My husband's favorite hobby is sailing, so we moved to Sarasota, FL 6 years ago. We like it here, but the cost of living outrageous. Also, we both grew up in small Southern towns and miss the small-town feel. We would like to relocate to a small town that is on a large lake that is sailable. We would preferably like to be within 2 hours of an ocean/gulf, but that is not a must. A low cost-of-living is VERY important to us. I am a teacher and my husband is a computer programmer (he can work remotely) so we are pretty portable. We have 2 preschoolers, so safety and a good (or at least decent) public school system is important. Oh, and I can't handle lots of snow or severe winters...no NE or upper Midwest.
Any ideas?....small-town, on a sailable lake, preferably within 2 hours of a coast, low cost-of-living, safe, good schools, easy on the snow
Thanks SO much!!
Why leave Florida? I live in Polk County, it's FULL of lakes here! We are in Lakeland, but there are a lot of smaller towns here. What is your criteria for low cost-of-living? We used to live in Sarasota and that place is WAY overrated and overhyped and OVERPRICED. We love our quality of life here, it's fabulous. And way less than 2 hrs to either coast!
I might suggest Winter Haven, that is the "Chain-of-Lakes" city, the main lakes in the town have navigable canals between them.
If you can winter elsewhere or don't mind the winters, you probably won't find a more lake-filled state, in which there only about 4 cities, than Minnesota. The rest are suburbs or towns. Lakes abound here so much so that one is never too far from one. So you should probably find a multitude of options.
However, Oklahoma has more manmade lake shoreline than any other state. Most people are totally clueless of this fact. Decades ago many manmade lakes were built in response to the Dust Bowl. This is where many Oklahoma towns big and small get their water supply. Grove and Eufaula are among the most popular lake towns.
Much of eastern Oklahoma is beautiful, hilly, wooded country amongst the lakes. Winters don't get real cold. It won't snow more than several inches most winters and won't last on the ground for more than several days. And the cost of living is lower than in most other states.
The only weakness is that Oklahoma isn't as close as two hours to the gulf coast unless you chose to fly.
I noticed last year there were many waterfront properties listed in tennessee. I'm not from there but lots were very affordable. I tried to figure out which lakes, but the map has them listed all over the state. Tennessee State Map - Cities, Roads, Counties, Rivers, Lakes, Topo
Houghton Lake, MI is a town with a low cost of living that is a popular retirement spot. Winters are moderated by the Great Lakes so it really does not get too cold there.
For a warmer climate and low cost of living I would also look at the reservoirs in Missouri. The Lake of the Ozarks and Table Rock Lake are quite nice, but also more crowded during the summer.
The reservoirs in Oklahoma are pleasant, and those towns are closer to Tulsa, OK.
Stockton Lake in SW Missouri-rare clearwater MO lake,taken care of by Corp of Engineers.The "party" crowd goes to Lake of the Ozarks or Tablerock Lake.
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