Relocating to a warmer place (1 Viewer)

[matuski]

Agreed, no matter how you measure it San Antonio comes out on top of most lists 

https://www.google.com/amp/www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/crime/amp/San-Antonio-ranks-first-nationally-for-serious-12231174.php

Nice find.

I hadn't noticed - busy playing golf on these beautiful mid November days.  Which reminds me - golf - another reason to live here.  

Funny story about crime in my neighborhood though:

One of my new neighbors moved in from Denmark last month.  Has a daughter taking a year off from school (college) that is off the charts (not that I noticed).  About 3AM Sunday morning I hear a car horn and get up to investigate.

Out front down by my driveway - 6 police SUVs, 2 kids going through what looked like a sobriety test.  My next door neighbor is a Sheriff or something for the county.  I start walking down the driveway and one of the officers yells at me to go back inside.  Nah.  The officer yells at me again and shines some stupid bright flashlight in my eyes and starts toward me when another officer tells him "stop being a #### that is my neighbor". 

I laugh and wait for my police friend to come over where he explains our neighbor's daughter decided to park in front of our houses with her boyfriend and knock out a quickie.   Apparently the boyfriend panicked when my next door neighbor banged on the window and tried to run. 

The parents of both kids were eventually allowed to come pick them up and go home.

Just another day in this gated, guarded hood.  Suburb thug life.

 

[eoMMan]

If you're considering Memphis, look at Nashville. Great city.

 

[Politician Spock]

I could never live in Memphis...

...because according to John Grisham's books a lot of ####ed up things happen there. 

 

[worrierking]

Honestly, if Public Transportation is a big deal, I don't think you will like living anywhere in the South. 

 

[Godsbrother]

My wife and I like to dream about retiring to Sedona, AZ or Sonoma, CA but it won't happen.   We're going to stick in Pittsburgh because of our kids and grandkids.  You still get cold winters but typically nowhere near the snow that Boston has been getting.  Still a big city vibe without many of big city problems.

I think if I had to move to the southeast I would be looking in the Charlotte NC area.

 

[Wooderson]

Wife and I are moving to nevada in a couple years. Same as you, F winter.

Where in Neveda? Neveda is on my short list to move for retirement   

 

[parasaurolophus]

Where in Neveda? Neveda is on my short list to move for retirement   

We are thinking Summerlin. So close to the spring mountains and Red rock, still close enough to the action.

 

[[icon]]

Honestly, if Public Transportation is a big deal, I don't think you will like living anywhere in the South. 

This is pretty much true. Even cities that have established systems (MARTA, etc), they're not all that great. 

 

[Warrior]

Richmond, VA

mild winters with a snowstorm once a winter

2 hrs to VA Beach, <2 hours to DC, 3 hours to Outer Banks, NC, fair skiing 1.5 hours away

top rate breweries and an under estimated food scene. 

No public transportation aside from buses in the city itself

All those are true, but the downtown business area is the pits.

 

[bosoxs45]

Do people out in LA use their subway system?

 

[Brunell4MVP]

From a family of Southerners...

Southern retirement areas are great.  Golf   Warm weather.  pools.  friendly to people from everywhere.  It doesn't matter if in GA, NC, SC, or FL.  They are great once you get older.

But for where the jobs are:   About the only ones worth considering are Charleston if you don't mind bugs, Dallas if you don't mind sprawl, and Raleigh/Durham becasue of a lot of reasons.  San Antonio and Austin are nice, but Austin has outgrown itself and is a shadow of what made it great 10 years ago, and SA is easy to get bored with quickly.  All of these do have very good food and relative to what you are used to, they are cheap.   Cities to avoid:  ATL, HOU, NO, Richmond, JAX, TB, MIA.  Overpopulated, traffic ridden dumps that each have one area that isn't so bad (ie Buckhead in ATL, Manakin Sabot in Richmond, St. Augustine/Ponte Vedra in JAX, South Beach in MIA.  But if you stray from those areas, they drop off quickly in likability so are to be avoided.  I guess MIA does have some nice areas, but they are unaffordable for most.  There are some great smaller cities like Athens, GA, Tallahassee, FL, and Wiliamsburg, VA.  But it's because they are college towns with a lot of young people to keep them somewhat exciting.

The south is more spread out around cities.  So you have to have a car IMO.

 

[Shutout]

I've lived and been in a lot of places and my personal list if I factor in weather, affordability, and general good place to live, I'd say:

Prescott Arizona

North Carolina, in general

South Carolina, in general

Gulf of Mexico side of Florida 

I also love the outer Banks in NC, but rank it lower based on affordability. 

 

[Jedi Knight]

I just moved to Palm Coast, FL.  One thing to consider about Florida is that they have no state income tax.  To us, that represented a $500/month increase in monthly income, so that would cover the cost of owning a car.

As far as why I chose here:
1- I am 1 hour away from two big cities (Jax and Orlando), so I can get the benefits of them (Concerts, Football games, Shopping, Food, Fun, etc...) without having to live in them.
2- I am 30 minutes from two medium size cities (St. Augustine and Daytona).
3- Palm Coast itself is growing, but still has the "small town" appeal and feel.
4- I am 5 minutes from the beach.
5- The weather is amazing.  Close enough to the beach to get the daily sea-breezes during the summer that takes the edge off of the heat/humidity.  WInter only lasts about two months.

I don't regret a single second of moving.  Best thing I've done in years.

 

[Wingnut]

That's how it feels here in Tampa, more people every freaking day

We still have room, come on down! But Id recommend St Pete over Tampa.

Check out the...

"The Ref Moves to Florida" 

thread from about 6.5 years ago.

Ended up in Palm Beach county Florida from Boston.  Absolutely zero regrets.

I love Palm Beach county. I was thinking about moving there from Lakeland until my gf got a job and relocated here a few months ago. Heading down there this weekend, first stop Friday: Dixie Grill and Bar in West Palm for their amazing nachos, and then up to Jupiter for a kick ### beer fest on Saturday. 

 

[pantherclub]

I just moved to Palm Coast, FL.  One thing to consider about Florida is that they have no state income tax.  To us, that represented a $500/month increase in monthly income, so that would cover the cost of owning a car.

As far as why I chose here:
1- I am 1 hour away from two big cities (Jax and Orlando), so I can get the benefits of them (Concerts, Football games, Shopping, Food, Fun, etc...) without having to live in them.
2- I am 30 minutes from two medium size cities (St. Augustine and Daytona).
3- Palm Coast itself is growing, but still has the "small town" appeal and feel.
4- I am 5 minutes from the beach.
5- The weather is amazing.  Close enough to the beach to get the daily sea-breezes during the summer that takes the edge off of the heat/humidity.  WInter only lasts about two months.

I don't regret a single second of moving.  Best thing I've done in years.

In regards to the no income tax thing, I was always under the impression that the gov't got that money on the back end from other various taxes and such.

 

[wilked]

I just moved to Palm Coast, FL.  One thing to consider about Florida is that they have no state income tax.  To us, that represented a $500/month increase in monthly income, so that would cover the cost of owning a car.

As far as why I chose here:
1- I am 1 hour away from two big cities (Jax and Orlando), so I can get the benefits of them (Concerts, Football games, Shopping, Food, Fun, etc...) without having to live in them.
2- I am 30 minutes from two medium size cities (St. Augustine and Daytona).
3- Palm Coast itself is growing, but still has the "small town" appeal and feel.
4- I am 5 minutes from the beach.
5- The weather is amazing.  Close enough to the beach to get the daily sea-breezes during the summer that takes the edge off of the heat/humidity.  WInter only lasts about two months.

I don't regret a single second of moving.  Best thing I've done in years.

Is that from California?

 

[AAABatteries]

No way on Atlanta.  No effing way.   I was on a work assignment there for 6 months and that place is horrible.  Bad traffic bad people way too many suburbs.  

I agree on the traffic and suburbs but the people are typically solid all around.

 

[Tackling Dummies]

Raleigh, period. 

 

[AAABatteries]

Atlanta is booming like the early 90's again, and housing prices are starting to catch up so it's not the bargain it once was. Traffic is absolutely suffocating now too. If I were moving here I would make sure I could afford to live in town and have a short commute. Living out in the burbs and commuting in to the city every day is pure hell.

Yep - the Xpress buses are pretty nice if you are coming from the burbs all the way to downtown or midtown but you are still commuting 2-3 hours a day 

 

[Brady Marino]

That's how it feels here in Tampa, more people every freaking day

I was born in Tampa and love the area still, but it feels like one big sprawling suburb. I'm more familiar with areas like Tarpon Springs/Hudson (my dad has a condo in the latter) and that whole part just feels packed to the gills with people and strip malls. It kinda sucks, but I still enjoy the area.

 

[AAABatteries]

The city was grossly unprepared for the amount of people that have migrated here. Atlanta is favored to be the east coast Amazon HQ, I can only imagine how much worse it will be at that point. 

That and I always love to remind people about the dumbasses who created the connector instead of keeping 75/85 separate - there’s a special place in hell for the idiot who came up with that idea.

 

[Jedi Knight]

In regards to the no income tax thing, I was always under the impression that the gov't got that money on the back end from other various taxes and such.

Tourism generates a ton of tax revenue here, so there is really no need to utilize other taxes.  We moved from Charlotte and our cost of living is really no different, so the lack of state income tax is a bonus for us.  We got a condo on the intercoastal, so we use it to pay the HOA fees.

 

[jerry jones]

I was born in Tampa and love the area still, but it feels like one big sprawling suburb. I'm more familiar with areas like Tarpon Springs/Hudson (my dad has a condo in the latter) and that whole part just feels packed to the gills with people and strip malls. It kinda sucks, but I still enjoy the area.

I love the area!  Just sucks getting anywhere with all the dang snowbirds 

 

[Brady Marino]

I love the area!  Just sucks getting anywhere with all the dang snowbirds 

As do I. Though if you know the roads well enough, there's always a quicker way somewhere.

 

[McGarnicle]

Damn, lots of Atlanta FBGs. We need to do a cornhole at the Cheetah.

 

[wazoo11]

Check out the...

"The Ref Moves to Florida" 

thread from about 6.5 years ago.

Ended up in Palm Beach county Florida from Boston.  Absolutely zero regrets.

Link?

 

[wazoo11]

From a family of Southerners...

Southern retirement areas are great.  Golf   Warm weather.  pools.  friendly to people from everywhere.  It doesn't matter if in GA, NC, SC, or FL.  They are great once you get older.

But for where the jobs are:   About the only ones worth considering are Charleston if you don't mind bugs, Dallas if you don't mind sprawl, and Raleigh/Durham becasue of a lot of reasons.  San Antonio and Austin are nice, but Austin has outgrown itself and is a shadow of what made it great 10 years ago, and SA is easy to get bored with quickly.  All of these do have very good food and relative to what you are used to, they are cheap.   Cities to avoid:  ATL, HOU, NO, Richmond, JAX, TB, MIA.  Overpopulated, traffic ridden dumps that each have one area that isn't so bad (ie Buckhead in ATL, Manakin Sabot in Richmond, St. Augustine/Ponte Vedra in JAX, South Beach in MIA.  But if you stray from those areas, they drop off quickly in likability so are to be avoided.  I guess MIA does have some nice areas, but they are unaffordable for most.  There are some great smaller cities like Athens, GA, Tallahassee, FL, and Wiliamsburg, VA.  But it's because they are college towns with a lot of young people to keep them somewhat exciting.

The south is more spread out around cities.  So you have to have a car IMO.

As an archivist, having history/culture is necessary for my work. 

 

[-OZ-]

Raleigh, period. 

We're big fans of Raleigh. If we moved back full time to the Carolinas it would probably be there, or closer to the beach. Wilmington seems decent the few times we visited.

We love Huntsville but the rest of the state has issues.

 

[wazoo11]

We're big fans of Raleigh. If we moved back full time to the Carolinas it would probably be there, or closer to the beach. Wilmington seems decent the few times we visited.

We love Huntsville but the rest of the state has issues.

How is Asheville compared to Raleigh?

 

[Dedfin]

Fort Mill, SC

Everybody else in the ####### world is moving here, whats a couple more?

Fort Mill/Population

15,029 (2016)

 

[-OZ-]

How is Asheville compared to Raleigh?

Nice, if you like hippies

Ideally live in Raleigh, have a cabin near Asheville.

 

[McGarnicle]

From what I've seen of Raleigh - Durham, agree 100%, really nice area.

 

[wazoo11]

From what I've seen of Raleigh - Durham, agree 100%, really nice area.

I could see myself working at NC State or East Carolina. 

 

[Kal El]

Palm Beach County has a bus system, a Tri-Rail train system, but it only runs as far north as Palm Beach Gardens; traffic is okay, but gets worse the closer you get to Miami and when the snowbirds come. Moving north, the Treasure Coast has a couple options, depending on what you want. Just avoid Fort Pierce, it's a dump.