quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Savannah is a great place, but the humidity can be oppressive (not sure if you have ever experienced southern humidity).

This ^^^^^

If the OP's a native Californian that humidity will be as big a shock as would, say, a N. Dakota winter.

Thanks for all the info....We are looking at a great looking house in Clarksville TN...I like the look of that town. We fly out next weekend to look around Clarksville. Class III dealer 2 minutes from the house we want!!!

Kinda excited and retirement is suddenly VERY real.

Cheers
Jaycat

If I retired tomorrow and moved, I'd move to Hampton Tennessee. Close to Johnson City and far enough away to be quiet. Not too far to Knoxville if you need a bigger town, but Johnson City has pretty much anything you'd need.
They actually have all four seasons too. And if motorcycle riding happens to be your thing, it's in the heart of the best riding around.

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
Going from CA to someplace in the SE is a big leap, not only culturally but, weather and societal attitudes...for better or, worse.

I visited the Tampa/Sarasota area and came away impressed. Maybe I just went to the nice areas but, Clearwater and a handful of other parts I liked. Hurricanes rarely hit that area and if so are kept at bay with all the mangroves, enough beaches and waterways to satisfy the water needs, enough cultural touch points to keep things enjoyable. Check it out.

If you're trying to stay West, perhaps Boise, Bend/Sun River. I'm leaning towards the CA Central Coast someplace between Paso Robles and Santa Barbara.

We escaped the Bay Area to the Central Coast in ‘94. San Luis Obispo is great (and Paso is much the same but hotter in the summer and colder in the winter). Santa Barbara is way to plastic/fake (the people not the town), and way too liberal. SLO/Paso is much more conservative, and while there are a lot of liberals around, you won’t have trouble finding sane people in this area. The major problem is that we are still subject to state law and the state is unrecoverably libtard.

Despite living on a beautiful, private ranch with great ocean views, plenty of room for whatever, I can’t wait to escape CA. The kids are in a great school, but when the youngest finishes high school in 4.5 years Mrs. slosig and will likely have quite the battle...

YMMV, but while the central coast is great, it is still trapped in CA.

Great article in the WSJ awhile back about this.

Summary of things to consider:

1. What do you want to do?
2. Close enough to children / grandchildren?
3. Are you open to renting? (get a feel for it first...)
4. Will your doctor accept your insurance?
5. Will you be able to get an ice-cream cone? (in other words ... find your little sources of comfort)
6. How will you change a light bulb? (in other words - find help with tasks...)
7. Who will you socialize with?
8. How busy / crowded is the area likely to be? Are you fine with that?
9. What's wrong with your current location?

Again those questions are spelled out in greater clarity in the article but good food for thought.

Good luck!

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Ah, Clarksville. Home to Austin Peay State University. At their games they chant, "Let's go Peay!"

You'll be near Fort Donaldson and Land Between the Lakes.

I live in Savannah, been here for 64+ years. I’m open at retiring in 2 or so years.
I’m looking at Eastern Tennessee. It’s been said numerous times in this thread and I can echo that Savannah and this area are unbearable in the summer. When the weather here is perfect, like now, the gnats can carry you away.