killain

I'm thinking about moving. I have the 2003 50th 1SC Corvette, my 2007 Supercharged Pontiac Grand Prix and my 1990 Chevy Silverado pickup truck. I'm looking for a nice easy going place where a 61 year Disable Veteran can find a nice single level home ? I'm very lucky as I live in a beautiful Township that sit along the Delaware River. You can see the river from my front door, but you can't see Russia.

Atlanta seems too rough for me as does Jacksonville. I don't want to leave my cold heaven to a warm madhouse atmosphere. Got guns, but don't want to have to use them. So to all you folks, Where is a Yankee welcome ? Back in 1970 I was based in Charleston SC and I can't tell you how welcoming and kind the folks were to me. I bought an old car from a nice elderly couple and I spent every Sunday with the couple. It was like I was with my own grand parents. great folks.

Sabre34

You may want to check out the west coast. I really like the Sarasota area. Good luck with your search.

D&C vette

Savannah, GA - history
Richmond Hill, GA - 15 minutes from Savannah, depending how far back you go.
Brunswick, GA

All offer waterfront opportunities as well as communities that are very welcoming

Olustee bus

People who move to jacksonville love it. It is a nice town. Just like anywhere else, you gotta go the right areas. You get a change of seasons there which I like but it is not too harsh a winter.

GaDoll

i LOVE Chattanooga, Tennessee. Lots of good car people there.....Corvette clubs, old school hot rod clubs, you've got river city and country areas, lots to do, small metro area that offers lots of restaurants, world class hospital (Erlanger) and you're close to Vanderbilt in Nashville.......Chattanooga is located in a beautiful valley right on the Tennessee River with mountains and the air port is your window to the world should you want to open it........yep, Chattanooga is HOME to me! University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is there, baseball at Look Out stadium, downtown near the river is wonderful as well as North Shore....great shopping at local malls, a short drive to Tail of the Dragon, Great Smokey Mountains, and if you ever have the need for traffic only 2 hrs from Atlanta and Nashville.... Check it out.

Tally Ho

Florida panhandle - Ft.Walton Beach, Niceville, Crestview, Destin area (Okaloosa Co., FL). VA facilities, miltary installations, plenty of single level homes available. Low crime rate, occasional hurricane. I did not plan to stay here after I retired from the USAF but the job market was good and the area is nice. I've been here 12 years now.

road pilot

You would probably like Central Florida. Well now that I think
about it you are from the north and probably would have a hard
time adjusting to good weather year round. You need a freeze
and snow and those fall leaves. Folks here fly up to the north
if they need a fix. Of course we have the Atlantic Ocean and
it's so flat here that means there are alot and I mean alot of lakes.
The water has to go somewhere. Lots of car action, lots of
clubs. Mostly one story homes and no basements--the water
table is high.Hope you find your heaven on earth.

Olustee bus

Chattanooga is a great little town. And, like you say, driving distance to some great places.

ebf2k

The Villages, perhaps?

JKbride

I like this area a lot myself. Only draw back would be the occasional hurricane. Tampa is also a nice choice. It a good location and its geographic location helps it avoid hurricanes that come up thru the Gulf of Mexico.

Monkey D. Luffy

Jasper Ga. Small town, low crime rate and the place i'm moving when I retire.

killain

Thank you all ! Florida is fantastic, I'm trying to think of the name of that huge Man-made lake in central Florida, I passed it once on a road trip. I'm not scared of the Hurricanes, we just had a massive Hurricane Sandy REALLY rip up the outer & inner shores of New Jersey. But the meteorologists have for the last twenty years repeating their warnings that even if "Technically over-due" Many, many people moved and built out further and further to the water. I grew up in Atlantic City and in 1962 my aunts home was flooded and we were stuck on the second floor for a few days, as the first floor had five feet of water in it. I'm a disable Veteran, and my legs and knees don't do second floors too well.

Personally the Hurricanes are endurable, but things like tornado's are just something I couldn't get comfortable with. Now Georgia, there's a place I think I could find some sanity and comfort in. Somewhere close to the Florida border. How many license plates do Georgia folks have to put on their cars ? Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina are really places I can get a real warm welcome at. My home here in Pennsylvania is a nice comfortable place, but my family are all gone or dead, I rent out the two biggest garages to my neighbor and in return to rent that gets paid every so often but he deals with cutting the grass and plowing the snow, two things I'd farm out no matter what. but my old bones are really tired of it here. So . . .

dunbindun(tov)

St Marys GA. Small town, but we have a Lowes and a Walmart Superstore. If they don't have it, you don't need it. We have plenty of affordable housing, a Navy base, a VA clinic and are less than an hour from Jacksonville or Georgia's Golden Isles. Local taxes and homeowners ins. are low; you get a big break on state income tax at age 62 so that is not a big deal. We came from Charleston SC 25 yrs ago and while we love it, the traffic there is horrendous. The downside: no one local to work on the Corvette.

PM for specifics.
DBD

69L46

As someone who owns homes in both states, let me offer my opinion, from a 'car guy' point of view

FL:
Pros:
-No State income tax
-No excise tax
-No vehicle inspections
-Year round cruising weather
-Reasonable property taxes
-Affordable real estate
-Very active car show/club scene, close to major events
-YOM (Year of manufacture plates) allowed, rear plate only required

Cons:
-High homeowner's insurance
-Moderate/high car insurance
-Summertime generally too hot for daytime car stuff

GA:
Pros:
-Nice combination of terrain for cruising
-Reasonable property taxes
-Affordable real estate
-Active car show/club scene, close to major events
-Reasonable homeowner's insurance
-Reasonable auto insurance
-YOM (Year of manufacture plates) allowed, rear plate only required

Cons:
-State income tax
-Excise tax on vehicles (graduated- i.e. my '69 only costs $1.21 this year-my 2004 Marauder $137.80, 2007 Harley $150.51) - You get the idea.
-Vehicle inspections -Emissions only, vehicles < 25 years only, not statewide.
-Hail/Tornados do occur.

Keep in mind, costs vary greatly, depending on where you live in both states, but hopefully this should provide a rough idea. I think it comes down to personal preference on landscape and topology. Also, besides hurricanes, sink holes are a major insurance problem in FL, so be careful of the areas you look in.

It might sounds nit-picky to worry about excise tax, inspections, etc but I own 10 vehicles so it becomes a real PITA when you have to do that stuff each year. I think any of the states you mentioned would be a fine place to live. Good luck with your decision!

NuckinFutz93

North GA is very nice also. So is western NC. Cost of living in WNC is pretty dang cheap. You can get a 1600-2000 sqft house on an acre for 90-120k. Taxes in WNC are alot cheaper than NGA. I have a 3/2 on 5 acres in NGA and I paid little over 1500.00 in taxes. I have a 3/2 on 1.56 acres in WNC and taxes was a little over 300.00. The NC house is worth 25k more than the GA on the tax papers.

Tuscany

FL and GA both are relatively gun-friendly and slowly improving.

JKbride

Based on your comments for GA, I think the area around Savannah is nice...very historic town and it has a nice vibe, being very southern and close to the coast and beaches.

I live outside of ATL by 50 miles and enjoy living in a town big enough to have one of everything. I would suggest you also consider how far you have to drive for everyday things like food, restaurants, shopping and the like. I'm 5 miles from everything and it's nice to be an easy drive from shopping areas.

GA is a VERY gun friendly and conservative state. My property taxes on a $350K house (3000sqft and on a lake) is only about $2,500 a year. Lots of military, both active and retired (I'm retired Army) in the state, so it's a military friendly place.

Here is a list of bigger military bases in the Area and their general location:

• Dobbin’s AFB-Atlanta
• Ft. Gordon-Augusta
• Robbins AFB-Macon
• Kings Bay Naval Base-2 hours South of Savannah
• Ft. Benning-Columbus
• Ft. Stewart-1 hour South of Savannah
• MCAS Beaufort, SC-1 hour North of Savannah
• Ft. Jackson, SC-1 hour North of Augusta

Very active car scene here in GA, with lots of shows, cruise-ins and clubs. In the end, I like it here and would recommend it

dunbindun(tov)

Corrected location of Kings Bay (2 hrs South of Savannah).

JKbride

Noted and changed

Tnxs John

steveale

Having moved to and around the southeast from Illinois I can tell you that you will find good people anywhere you go. Just take the time to find the right/good neighborhood when you are house hunting.

I have lived in Florence, Columbia and Greenville SC....Jacksonville FL (which I LOVED) and NW Georgia in the foothills (2 locations). My blood must have thinned because the GA weather seems a bit "too cold" in the winters now

Good luck with your search...