Ken, I just left Lincoln, CA 2 weeks ago after 9 years there to return to Georgia. My job changed and I had a chance to come home again and took it. I miss Cali, no doubt. But there are great roads here, lots of Vettes and while the weather isn't as good as NoCal, it's pretty good when it's not raining. Just bought a big house on a nice lot w a 3 car garage for way less than CA prices in south Forsyth county just about an hour north of ATL. PM me if you want, I'd be happy to answer any questions about Lincoln vs. living in the ATL area. Cheers!

 

Might want to check out the Springfield, MO/Branson/northern Arkansas area. Mountains, lakes, top notch medical, great shopping, couple of corvette clubs. We have transplants from all over living here.

 

Boat loads of people are moving into the Fayettville area (N/W Arkansas). Like Joe said.....MO. has the nice mountians, also. I have relatives that live in Republic, Mo., which is outside of Springfield.....very nice place.
A place I really liked was Eastern Tenn. The Smoky Mountains are something special, and there's always the 'Tail of the Dragon'.
You will find that you can buy a 2K sq.ft. house and acreage around here for the price of a tin can in Calif.
Good luck with your hunt. If you move a little West into Ark. or Mo.....don't forget about Eureka Springs Corvette Weekend, the first of October.

 

Hope to retire from US Customs and Border Protection in the next three years, so my wife and I are in the same boat, looking for our next adventure. I currently live in Northern Virginia but far out in the Blue Ridge Mountains, close to Winchester.

We want a warmer climate, lower cost of living, less taxes, and a place we can afford to purchase a house on a fixed income. So we are looking at South Carolina, near Charleston, and further south in the Gulf side of Floridia near what they refer to as the Green Coast, north of Tampa.

Our next step this next winter and spring is to visit some friends down and Floridia and check that place out. I would like to take several days later in spring and visit Beaufort, SC. I have heard so many nice things about that area.

So like you need to get out of the Northern Virginia rat race. Retirement years will be hear soon, and I want to be prepared for a major lifestyle change...so this is so imporatant to VISIT the area you wish to live and see for yourself if you like it.....

Although I have read a lot of the places I hope to visit soon, I still must experience it myself to see if I and my wife fit in, which is very difficult to do in a few days, but your first inisticts are normally your best ones and that is why we will visit those places.

Good luck in your search, its a big change from the left to right coast, especially the culture change....

 

I'm a CA transplant myself. Lived in Morgan Hill, just south of San Jose, from '90-'99.

Give NC some consideration. You won't be sorry!

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WOW!!!! Everyone on this thread is great... I know I'd love living out there especially with the great low cost of living. Living out here is too damn expensive and I couldn't bring myself to pay $350,000 for a tuff shed.
I'm now retired and just have to convince my wife that we need to get out of dodge. Thanks all for your great responses and kind words.

 

Cumming is getting crowded. If you are retired I'd live further north Ellijay, Dawsonville, Dahlonega, Blairsville etc. If you are a boat person you may want to look around Lake Lanier. Athens has also been rated highly for retirees plenty of events with UGA in town but I will warn you gameday traffic can be fun during football season.

If you have to work and go into an office I like Cumming, Woodstock, or Canton. Roswell and Marietta have their strong points but traffic is getting heavy.

I also like my commute from north of Woodstock to Alpharetta, 2 lane back roads that move relatively well. I've been spoiled avoiding 75/85/GA400.

Florida is great but you have heat, insurance, and no mountains. You can make the coast in 6 hours from metro Atlanta.

 

Making headway with my wife. All I have to do is convince my son and wife to move there with our granddaughter and we're there. Daughter in law has a sister in AK, they are a close knit family so this is doable. I just need to plant the seed, her sister is visiting next week so the seed will be planted.

 

Grew up in the north Atlanta area which I consider too crowded currently. We're north of Atlanta now in a community called Hickory Flat, about 10 miles north of Roswell, and about 8 miles south of Canton. Been here since 1978. The area has rural atmosphere and plenty of acreage to be had if you want that at decent prices.
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The downturn in the housing market made for some great deals around here but I think since the market is starting to rebound the "deals" are more scarce. We're close enough to get to Atlanta but most everything we need is nearby. New Hospital getting built just 5 miles north of our location.
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The north Georgia and North Carolina mountains are superb with many attractions and the lakes are beautiful. I think Lake Lanier has too many large boats running around on it and prefer Lake Blue Ridge if you into the boat thing. We keep a pontoon boat on Blue Ridge and I like the less crowded lake environment.
as others mentioned I think a trip down and look around would be in order for your and yours.

 

You are in the area I want to move to. I'm currently near the new outlet mall in Woodstock.

 

With college football in the air, I'm going to throw out a Go Dawgs to any and all Dawg fans!