South east Vacation/retirement locations

[casts_by_fly]

Hi All,

 

I know we've had a few threads on this the past couple years but my google-fu is weak and I can't find them.  It's also getting cold for a lot of us so we need something to talk about.

 

My wife and I are still a little ways from retirement.  We're not planning to move out of this house for at least another 5 years or more with the jobs we have and where things are located.  Retirement is likely a 10-years from now time frame.  That said, we want to start exploring options in case an opportunity arises.  We are not planning a bigger vacation this year like we've done in the past and instead we'll be doing some long weekends and maybe full weeks with some remote work during the week.

 

We'd like to find some lake houses or houses semi-near lakes for now to explore areas (ultimately we'd buy a lake house).  We'd need to be within an hour or so drive of a bigger city (or less even).  My wife can't handle 'out in the sticks' living so regular trips to the city are going to be necessary.  Obviously I need the fishing to be decent.  To move there permanently with a lake house I'd have a boat on the water and trailer to nearby lakes.  For this exploring phase I'll have some form of watercraft with me but it's more important to explore the areas.  My wife would also love to be close to a beach, though that's a little bit limiting and not a hard constraint.

 

A couple that have come to mind so far:

 

* Santee Cooper area.  1 hour to charleston or the beach.  'Santee Cooper' as the lakehouse lake.  I think that might be my leading choice and one we'll explore first.

* North Georgia. You're an hour to atlanta or so (we have friends in atlanta).  Lanier is one option (plenty of lake hosues!) though I'm not sure that's my preferred fishing.  Other lakes exist.  Hartwell could be a good choice.  90 minutes to our friends in Atlanta, 60 to Greenville.

* Charlotte area.  Could be on either side of the border.  Tons of lakes in the area generally, but I know nothing of the fishing for most of them.  

*John Kerr/Gaston reservoirs.  An hour to Raleigh-Durham.  3-4 hours to the beach.

* Nashville area.  The city is cool and being able to drive there would be awesome. The lakes don't fill me with joy but I could be convinced?  The Tennessee river lakes towards chatanooga would be too far to live on and drive to Nashville often.  I don't think Chattanooga is going to be a big enough city but could be convinced.  Probably one we should explore if just for my sake.

 

Any other broad areas that we need to put on the list for further research?  Any specific lakes in those broad areas that we should consider?  I'd considered Sam Rayburn but it's too far out from a city. Austin would be a good city but lake travis doesn't excit me.  Also don't think we want to go to Texas.  

 

Depending on the locations and what we find, I'll probably plan the first long weekend in late March/early April which would be pretty ideal fishing for Santee Cooper...

 

thanks

rick

 

[MediumMouthBass]

I dont have any advice on those lakes, but what i do have to offer is this.

Years ago i was in a similar place, but i was retired already and planned on buying a place in NY to be close to fishing and my family since they planned on moving up there as well, we were thinking for awhile maybe we would go in on the place together if it had two cabins or 2 small homes on it.

I wouldve have been minutes from a world class river for Salmon, Lake Ontario, dozens of creeks, several ponds and lakes with great fishing. Phenomal ATV/UTV/dirt bike trails all throughout the county as well as a track that had events. The places i wanted to be were in the country almost, between 10-100 acre properties next to farmland or state game lands, but your 10 minutes from the city, stores, fast food, and dozens upon dozens of tackle shops. It was 100% set on moving to this area.

 

The prices were much lower than most places in PA, although still higher than what they wouldve been years ago. Looked at several properties and homes for over a year, made a bunch of trips up there, found land that was nice to build on and was going to buy it, realtor said he would send us the documents to sign for it that night, then all of the sudden he informs us he sold it to someone else....

Good thing that happened, the land was considered a wetland, and you would have to tear down anything built. But guess what? You wouldnt be able to find that out unless you waited 2 months for some state office to call you back.

 

learned that day from the phone call that most of the land in that county had water issues, some were deemed unbuildable, while others werent, but any time it would rain, there would be lots of problems.... And the wetland maps didnt show anything useful, i would have to call them anytime i wanted to know if a property was deemed wetlands. The realtor "knew" nothing of this, shocker.

Also learned the taxes changed, people were now paying 10k in taxes a year for a small house on a few acres. And they planned on raising them even further. Now i know why everyone was leaving and was putting their homes and land for sale....

Then from talking to a really nice guy that did excavation work, part time fire fighter, etc... the crime was bad, the local economy looks good on paper from all the shops and seasonal tourists, but is actually hanging on by a thread, and most the surrounding areas are in poverty....

So my goals of going there are no more, now im semi retired with my own business, work a few hours a day, planning on "unretiring" myself and going back to work full time doing something i would love and make some money for my extreme car and motorcycle addiction. Not sure where to go from here, i have a few states and cities in mind but im young so theres no need for me to jump into anything immediately. 

 

Sorry for this long reply, but its point was that even if you find a place you love, hold yourself together and do more research on the area than you ever thought possible. Taxes, crime rates, local economy, flood and weather from past years, local environmental issues, taxes, taxes, and taxes....

You really have to know what you are jumping into, but you said you have about 5 years for this, that already puts you in a great spot, goodluck to you.

 

[casts_by_fly]

thanks.  We've moved a few times and are familiar with the pitfalls now.  Always good for a reminder though.

 

We will also be moving from NJ where the annual real estate taxes are enough to buy a car.  Three years of not paying these taxes and I can buy a fully rigged Pro-V Bass.  Outside of Hawaii and maybe California, everywhere else will be cheaper.

[Tennessee Boy]

I’ll speak to the places I’m familiar with.  
 

Nashville - I grew up in Nashville and now live east of the city.  The city is booming.  It has a lot to offer culturally.   It is experiencing a lot of growing pains.   Expect to pay a half million more for a house on the lake compared to one across the street. The area lakes offer decent fishing.  They are impossible to fish on the weekends during the summer but if you’re retired it’s not a problem.    If you’re willing to drive a couple of hours you’ll have access to very diverse and world class fisheries.
 

Chattanooga - I love the city.  You should visit there to check it out.   The fishing is good.  Chickamauga seems to be in decline back to where it was before it boomed a few years ago with the introduction of Florida bass genetics.  Any lake on the Tennessee River offers good fishing.  There are some good lakes within a couple of hours.

 

North Alabama -  I lived in Huntsville for 12 years in the late 80s and 90s.   It’s a good sized affluent city full of engineers that work for NASA and the military.  The fishing is fantastic on all of the North Alabama lakes on the Tennessee River.  The cost of living is reasonable.   I always recommend that people take a look at Wilson lake if you’re looking for a home on the lake.  It’s a beautiful lake with very nice homes that are reasonably priced.  The nearby towns in northwest Alabama are small but full of charm.  Take a vacation to Mussel Shoals and you might fall in love with it.  I love fishing on Wilson Lake.    It’s a unique lake on the Tennessee River and has great smallmouth fishing.   Pickwick,  Guntersville, Wilson  and Wheeler are world class lakes that are within a 90 minute drive from anywhere in North Alabama.   You can also head south to Smith lake or one of the Coosa river lakes.  It’s all good and offers a lot of fishing diversity.

[TnRiver46]

Santee cooper is in the middle of nowhere 

[casts_by_fly]

32 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Santee cooper is in the middle of nowhere 

yeah but in an hour you can be in Charleston. And that’s a pretty cool city. 

[VolFan]

Chattanooga and Knoxville are both really cool cities. Maybe not quite Charleston but really great. You could do much worse than any of the lakes surrounding them. There’s also Huntsville, AL.

[Deephaven]

Curious what about Knoxville is nice.  I just took a job there and while not moving I am there often and so far completely underwhelmed and would love that to change!

[WRB]

Charleston SC looks good with beaches and Santee Copper lakes about 60 miles with several smaller within an hour drive.

Tom

[VolFan]

@Deephaven - Hard to tell you what you should like about it unless you tell me what you like 😀. The outdoors opportunities with lakes and public hunting areas are significant all within an hour or so drive and that goes from cold water trout to striper to musky to all of the normal freshwater fish. Great hiking, four seasons, great smaller towns around it. There’s a few fun downtown areas with theaters and restaurants if that’s your thing. There’s the university with educational and sports opportunities if you want to learn something and/or paint your face. It is a manageable size of a city to get around in as well. It just depends on what you want.

[TnRiver46]

7 hours ago, Deephaven said:

Curious what about Knoxville is nice.  I just took a job there and while not moving I am there often and so far completely underwhelmed and would love that to change!

This was in the middle of downtown Tuesday night . 
 

 

you mean outdoor activities or dining/social/music type stuff? Let me know if you want a tour sometime. I live right across the water from downtown in the urban wilderness , world class mountain biking that I don’t dare participate in haha

 

There are some nice walleye/sauger downtown as well, and the occasional 30-40 lb striped bass 

[TnRiver46]

9 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

yeah but in an hour you can be in Charleston. And that’s a pretty cool city. 

Yeah, I’ve been to it all. Just trying to paint the picture for ya. My buddy got all his rods and reels stolen that were leaning against his camper with his kids sleeping inside while camping at santee. We grew up right next to national parks and wilderness areas but santee is OUT there. A really cool place, especially the fishing (though I didn’t get to participate), just read where you said your wife couldn’t handle out in the sticks and it fits that definition to a T 

[gim]

10 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Santee cooper is in the middle of nowhere 

 

That's most of the central plains states too.  We call it flyover country or the land of rocks and crows.  😂

[FryDog62]

Casts_by_fly, I smiled when I read your post… my wife and I have been on the same journey, but started 3 years ago. I’m not ready to retire but can work remote and so we started our search of several SE locations. Your wife sounds similar to mine, likes the beautiful outdoors but needs to be by a decent size enough metro area. 
 

We spent 3 years, many visits, and more money than I care to think about - lots of research, fly-ins, hotels, VRBO’s, due diligence trips, etc. Some places we went back to 4-5 times. 
 

The final verdict is no place is perfect and they all have their pluses and warts. 
 

We spent a lot of time in: Naples, St. Augustine, Nashville, Charleston, Nexton, Hilton Head, Knoxville, Greenville, Clemson, Charlotte.  Plus a few other places ~
 

Some of our findings:

 

•Charleston/Santee was our first destination and one we looked forward to the most. Regrettably, it ended up last on our list at the end of 3 years of research. Santee is a well known lake with big fish but few and far between as it gets hammered by constant tournaments. Charleston is cool “to visit” but we decided we wouldn’t want to live there. Great history, landmarks, restaurants, etc. But by the second/third time we visited, realized it was a land-locked industrial port city at its core. It is at/below sea level and floods every year… stinky, musty, and a bit liberal for our liking. A hurricane would be devastating there.
 

•Hilton Head/Bluffton, etc. Really little to no bass fishing, would have to switch to Redfish. They are great, but I’d have to get a saltwater boat and at the end of the day would miss the green fish. 
 

•Nashville, fun town, growing pains, seemed a bit far from really good fishing in the eastern part of the state. 
 

•Charlotte, we both liked it but it is getting big and bad traffic. We heard repeatedly that it’s the next Atlanta which is enough to say no. Norman/Wylie are ok lakes but more crowded, pressured than I’d care for. 
 

•St. Augustine older/smaller than we liked… but the combination of nearby bass lakes, and great saltwater fishing - might be the best spot we visited in terms of pure fishing opportunities. 
 

•Greenville, SC is where we ended up, but we’re renting so who knows. Our daughter moved here to be near her new man so that was the final decision maker for us. Best urban downtown in America we’ve ever seen. All walks of life, different ages, races, etc. river walk, restaurants, low crime, awesome fun town. The way it should be. Smaller and more quaint than Minneapolis (of course, even before it became an undesirable metro area and semi-war zone).  The suburbs in Greenville are hit/miss though, they haven’t figured out how to develop this high growth town - there are new suburbs, but they're right next to old industrial areas, trailer parks, bad roads, etc.  There's good proximity to many lakes - Hartwell, Jocassee, Murray. Jury is still out on the quality of fishing here. So far it seems “average to slightly below average” compared to north Florida, Minnesota, East Tennessee, etc.  But the area has an incredible year round 3 season climate (no real winter) and it “blows us away” every day how little to no wind there is here. I used to have a Pro-V Bass… you wouldn’t need something that substantial here honestly.. but it would be a great boat on the few days it gets a little windy.
 

•Knoxville… we wrote it off initially because it’s a college town. But each time we were there it really impressed us. I think I’d like the fishing in East Tennessee even better than upstate South Carolina. But in the end, my wife liked the size/city of Greenville better… and our daughter is here 👍

 

Good luck with your decision. Life is too short to freeze your arse off up North for half the year! 

 

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, FryDog62 said:

Casts_by_fly, I smiled when I read your post… my wife and I have been on the same journey, but started 3 years ago. I’m not ready to retire but can work remote and so we started our search of several SE locations. Your wife sounds similar to mine, likes the beautiful outdoors but needs to be by a decent size enough metro area. 
 

We spent 3 years, many visits, and more money than I care to think about - lots of research, fly-ins, hotels, VRBO’s, due diligence trips, etc. Some places we went back to 4-5 times. 
 

The final verdict is no place is perfect and they all have their pluses and warts. 
 

We spent a lot of time in: Naples, St. Augustine, Nashville, Charleston, Nexton, Hilton Head, Knoxville, Greenville, Clemson, Charlotte.  Plus a few other places ~
 

Some of our findings:

 

•Charleston/Santee was our first destination and one we looked forward to the most. Regrettably, it ended up last on our list at the end of 3 years of research. Santee is a well known lake with big fish but few and far between as it gets hammered by constant tournaments. Charleston is cool “to visit” but we decided we wouldn’t want to live there. Great history, landmarks, restaurants, etc. But by the second/third time we visited, realized it was a land-locked industrial port city at its core. It is at/below sea level and floods every year… stinky, musty, and a bit liberal for our liking. A hurricane would be devastating there.
 

•Hilton Head/Bluffton, etc. Really little to no bass fishing, would have to switch to Redfish. They are great, but I’d have to get a salt boat and at the end of the day would miss the greenies. 
 

•Nashville, fun town, growing pains, seemed a bit far from really good fishing in the eastern part of the state. 
 

•Charlotte, we both liked it but it is getting big and bad traffic. We heard repeatedly that it’s the next Atlanta which is enough to say no. Norman/Wylie ok lakes but more crowded, pressured than I’d care for. 
 

•St. Augustine older/smaller than we liked… but the combination of nearby bass lakes, and great saltwater fishing - might be the best spot we visited in terms of pure fishing opportunities. 
 

•Greenville, SC is where we ended up, but we’re renting so who knows. Our daughter moved here to be near her new man so that was the final decision maker. Best urban downtown in America we’ve ever seen. All walks of life, different ages, races, etc. river walk, restaurants, low crime, awesome fun town. The way it should be. Smaller and more quaint than Minneapolis (of course, before it became an undesirable metro area and semi-war zone).  The suburbs in Greenville are hit/miss though, they haven’t figured out how to develop this high growth town - new suburbs, but next to old industrial areas, trailer parks, bad roads, etc. Proximity to many lakes - Hartwell, Jocassee, Murray. Jury is still out on the quality of fishing here. So far it seems “average to slightly below average” compared to north Florida, Minnesota, East Tennessee, etc. Incredible year round 3 season climate (no real winter) and it “blows us away” every day how little to no wind there is here. I used to have a Pro-V Bass… you wouldn’t need something that substantial here honestly.. but it would be a great boat on the few days it gets a little windy.
 

•Knoxville… we wrote it off initially because it’s a college town. But each time we were there it really impressed us. I think I’d like the fishing in East Tennessee even better than upstate South Carolina. But in the end, my wife liked the size/city of Greenville better… and our daughter is here 👍

 

Good luck with your decision. Life is too short to freeze your arse off up North for half the year! 

 

 

 

Thanks, this is super useful and the same exercise that we were planning.  Greenville was lightly on my list so I think we'll bump that a little higher.  What's the best time of year for fishing so far?  march/April?

 

St Augustine would be cool, but florida is a hard no for us.  We'll still visit charleston for sure just because its a cool city break.  We wouldn't live in Charleston, rather outside it and drive in (same for all of these places in the end).  We're currently ~1 hour to NYC and that level of 'close' or slightly closer is what we're looking for, just on a lake.  With non-NJ level taxes.  

 

 

 

"Good luck with your decision. Life is too short to freeze your arse off up North for half the year! "

 

agreed.  I grew up in pittsburgh so I know cold and snow.  Maybe not minnesota, but still plenty cold.  I don't mind it too much but why deal when you don't have to.  

[FryDog62]

3 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

 

Thanks, this is super useful and the same exercise that we were planning.  Greenville was lightly on my list so I think we'll bump that a little higher.  What's the best time of year for fishing so far?  march/April?

 

St Augustine would be cool, but florida is a hard no for us.  We'll still visit charleston for sure just because its a cool city break.  We wouldn't live in Charleston, rather outside it and drive in (same for all of these places in the end).  We're currently ~1 hour to NYC and that level of 'close' or slightly closer is what we're looking for, just on a lake.  With non-NJ level taxes.  

 

 

 

"Good luck with your decision. Life is too short to freeze your arse off up North for half the year! "

 

agreed.  I grew up in pittsburgh so I know cold and snow.  Maybe not minnesota, but still plenty cold.  I don't mind it too much but why deal when you don't have to.  

Yes, best fishing time of year (however, most crowded on Hartwell/Murray, etc) is March/April. Jocassee is stunningly beautiful and worth a scenic trip (and fishing). If staying in Greenville, I  recommend people stay at the Hampton Inn Riverplace downtown to get a full/great view and perspective of downtown from the roof top restaurant https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/gspdthx-hampton-suites-greenville-downtown-riverplace/

 

If you visit the Charleston area - maybe take a look at Cane Bay/Nexton. Outside of downtown but accessible. Very close to Santee. And they have their own 300 acre lake I hear is pretty good for bass... someone on here on the forums moved there but I can't remember who? 

 

Good luck!

 

[WRB]

Good luck with final decision.

We thought of moving from California and couldn’t find any location better then what have. Cost of living isn’t good but we have everything on your list.

Tom

[SC53]

@casts_by_fly curious why Florida is a hard no for you.

 

[FryDog62]

33 minutes ago, WRB said:

Good luck with final decision.

We thought of moving from California and couldn’t find any location better then what have. Cost of living isn’t good but we have everything on your list.

Tom

Tom, you're right.. you live in a beautiful state with great fishing. But like my dad said when I was growing up - "Too bad 5 billion people figured that out before I did.."  

 

You're one of the lucky ones that probably grew up with the housing environment there and built the equity over time, but its pretty much impossible to move there from most other places now..  As a headhunter who moves people all over the country, I haven't been able to get anyone to move to California in over 15 years because of the housing costs... and these people make some pretty serious money. 

34 minutes ago, SC53 said:

@casts_by_fly curious why Florida is a hard no for you.

 

I just moved from there and could go back, liked it well enough. But a fair amount of people are either moving away, or more likely not going there when they relocate, because of the rising HOA/Insurance costs. Sink holes, condos collapsing, hurricane's, crazy uninsured motorists, etc. 

[gim]

1 hour ago, SC53 said:

@casts_by_fly curious why Florida is a hard no for you.

 

 

Hurricanes and the cost of home insurance would be my immediate thought.

 

I know a lot of people are afraid of northern winters here but its something you just get used to.  And I'll be honest, they are becoming milder and milder over time.  We've literally had about 2 cold weeks (consecutive days below freezing) here in the past two years.  That's about 15 days out of 730-something, a whopping 2%.  And even after a blizzard, my house is still standing.  Not so much after a hurricane or wildfire.  Just sayin'

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, SC53 said:

@casts_by_fly curious why Florida is a hard no for you.

 

 

1 hour ago, FryDog62 said:

I just moved from there and could go back, liked it well enough. But a fair amount of people are either moving away, or more likely not going there when they relocate, because of the rising HOA/Insurance costs. Sink holes, condos collapsing, hurricane's, crazy uninsured motorists, etc. 

 

3 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

Hurricanes and the cost of home insurance would be my immediate thought.

 

I know a lot of people are afraid of northern winters here but its something you just get used to.  And I'll be honest, they are becoming milder and milder over time.  We've literally had about 2 cold weeks (consecutive days below freezing) here in the past two years.  That's about 15 days out of 730-something, a whopping 2%.  And even after a blizzard, my house is still standing.  Not so much after a hurricane or wildfire.  Just sayin'

 

 

All of these things and then some.

[FryDog62]

30 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I know a lot of people are afraid of northern winters here but it’s something you just get used to.  

Extreme weather - either 6 months of extreme cold or humid/heat are not fun. That being said I spent over 50 years in Minnesota and never got used to the cold, gray, damp weather. There isn’t one thing I can do for over half the year without gritting my teeth.
 

Despite the extreme heat for 6 months in Florida, I would choose that bag of hammers over the frozen tundra. At least in Florida, you can walk the dog in the morning, or go for a walk at dusk and it’s beautiful.  During the day you can look outside and see sunlight, green grass, flowers, birds. In Minn, it doesn’t matter if you go out early, late or mid-day you can literally die on the way to the mailbox and back and it’s so gray and depressing. 
 

It’s good we all want something a little different or it would be really over-crowded in a limited number of areas in the US.  I’m all for diverse opinions on best climates to live in, but mine has been a long time in formation - and I still haven’t settled in 100% yet! 

[Choporoz]

Went through the same for several years... around 2015-2022.  Lived in Northern VA.  Wanted waterfront, no colder than Mid-Atlantic.... and not much warmer.  Spent long weekends with kayaks across eastern TN, VA, NC, ..and briefly checked out some PA and MD.  Settled on Dandridge TN.  But in the intervening years between decision and action, proximity to growing number of grandchildren became a higher priority than it had been.

  Changed decision to north-central NC and couldn't be happier. Bought house 3 years ago intending to rent it out until my retirement this year, but my wife decided she was through with Northern VA, so I've been splitting time, making the 4hr drive every weekend.   I'll be there full time by end of the year.  I'm really really happy to be living on the lake.  Being able to walk out the back door and be on the water in minutes is amazing.  

[A-Jay]

@casts_by_fly  a year or two before you 'buy' ~

Perhaps rent a place near where you think you might like to settle down.

Learn the area.

Probably won't be long before you know if it's the right place or not.

Don't forget to think about what the two of you might need 10-20 years from now.

The relative distance from family needs always seems to increase as we age.

Also if you folks think a place in "Nice" you'll probably have plenty of company.

Could be Good, might not be so good.

Good Luck.

BTW - Northern Michigan is a Horrible place to live

and I think it's actually closed now. 

j/k

A-Jay

[FryDog62]

2 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

@casts_by_fly  a year or two before you 'buy' ~

Perhaps rent a place near where you think you might like to settle down.

Probably won't be long before you know if it's the right place or not.

Sage advice, and exactly what we’ve been doing. You gotta wear the shoes awhile to know if they fit.