A few years ago, my mother-in-law moved back to her hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee, to care for her ailing parents. Her parents have since passed away, and with nothing to keep her in Chattanooga, she is eager to relocate somewhere in the United States in the next couple of years that is more to her liking. She has always found Chattanooga to be too conservative, religious, hot, and dry for her taste. (The last two points matter because she loves to garden.)
Ideally, she would like to find somewhere with all or most of the following qualities:
[ul]
[li]Generally liberal social culture[/li][li]Good climate for gardening[/li][li]Temperatures between 50 F and 90 F for most of the year[/li][li]Sunshine[/li][li]Access to cultural events—especially classical music (she’s a former violinist), but also art museums, lectures, plays, classes, etc. (a university town might fit the bill, or somewhere within easy train ride of a city with a major orchestra)[/li][li]Smallish houses (2 br/2 ba) available for less than $200,000[/li][li]A walkable downtown area with some good dining options[/li][li]Bonus points for proximity to beaches or beautiful parkland for walking[/li][/ul]
Does such a locale exist? My first thought was somewhere in the Pacific NW, but as a former Ohioan, she finds endless gray skies depressing. An English-speaking locale outside the United States might be a possibility, assuming that a residency permit wouldn’t be too hard to get.
Thanks for any suggestions from the SD collective!
Maybe Charlottesville, VA? It does get really hot for a portion of the summer, and below freezing with some snow in the winter, but for a lot of the year, it is temperate and pleasant. Short drives to Shenandoah National Park, and the University for walking 'round and cultural events. There’s definitely a foodie scene. For under 200s in the downtown area, you’re probably looking at a townhouse, not a detached home.
Well, your list fit several parts of the San Francisco Bay Area to a tee until I got to this part:
That pretty much rules out all but the grossest parts of California, unless she wants to move somewhere rural and remote in the northernmost part of the state.
However, if she’s willing to rent and/or can scrape up another half million bucks or so, she’d love it out here.
As a San Diegan, I can tell you my city fits ALL the criteria except for the housing costs. However, its possible to find a condo in a decent area for that price.
The Atlanta area? Walkable is a bit of a stretch - I’m not sure what houses in Decatur are running now, but that’s an area that went from shithole to nice just in my college years at Agnes Scott.
Have you googled for “best places to retire” or “affordable places to retire”? I know that SmartMoney had a great list of places that were economical not long ago.
ETA: Found that smartmoney article. It’s like “instead of this pricey place, try this other place that’s cheaper”. Smartmoney Retirement
And I wouldn’t count on great nightlife without a price tag. Sure, San Fran meets the requirements, but she should ideally lower her cultural expectations. Pittsburgh is perennially on best places to live/move to lists, but the weather isn’t great.
Portland area? Not sure about current housing prices, and temperature range is not exact but close. Sun levels may be big sticking point as they can sometimes be covered by rain clouds.
ETA: Doesn’t sound like she’d be interested in typical retirement community, but is being around a bunch of young people (e.g. college towns) a plus or minus for her?
Lexington, KY (except for the liberal part) - Has winter but not too bad.
The Research Triangle area in NC.
Charlottesville, as mentioned above - a former Best Town winner, also has winters.
Maybe Santa Fe, NM, although I believe the real estate is above her limit.
Richmond, VA?
My friend is trying to convince my husband and me to work for him and assures me that Albuquerque NM has all those features. He knows music is important to me, and assures me that Albuquerque has lots of interesting musical/cultural events. Not sure about the gardening, since neither he nor I gardens, but a quick google check gives generally 30-70 F (so, maybe just slightly bit colder than her ideal).
The one thing he said that really made me sit up and take notice is that the median single-family home is going for about $200k. I live in CA, and ours cost more than three times that much… maybe we’ll consider his offer.
The Western Kentucky lake area (Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake) is supposed to be a great retirement area. It’s not terribly far from Nashville, Tenn., for cultural activities. It does get hot in the summer, but perhaps a little more bearable than Chattanooga. Anywhere in rural Kentucky will get you housing prices much, much better than a two-bedroom for under $200,000. You can get a four-bedroom for $200,000 in many places.
I live in Lexington, Ky., mentioned above, and it’s a college town and a lovely city with a lot of cultural offerings. We do get cold, though — this past week we’ve hardly budged out of the 20s. But often I can go with whole winter without putting on gloves.
Did a little searching in the Southern California beach cities region (also some Orange County). Would your MIL consider a mobile home? We don’t get herd-thinning tornadoes out here, y’know. Only way I can think of to overcome the cost hurdle (I saw a couple of pre-manufactured homes in the $90K range, and I recognize that it still leaves open the problem of space-leasing).
Maybe what your MIL could do is take a look at this thread and rent for a year or two in the most likely places. That way, she could decide for herself what items on her list are non-negotiable and which aren’t that important. This would take a lot of time, but no one place will satisfy all of her bullet points.
In the slideshow I linked to, many of the sites fulfill all but the major cultural requirement. Many are still in university towns and many still have cultural nightlife, but none are going to have a world class orchestra without a price tag. Just not gonna happen. As I see it, if she’s willing to sacrifice that one point, she can easily have everything else she wants at a healthy price point.
I used to live in ABQ and I’d suggest going out there to check it out first. I, and everyone I know, absolutely hated it. I just looked at the City Data and the average crime index for the nation is around 319. Last year ABQ was 511.
Okay, I know I’m biased, because I love this city, but has your MIL considered Savannah, Georgia? Warm, temperate (hot in summer, but regulated somewhat by the Gulf Stream right off the coast,) 2 public universities, 2 private ones, a couple of satellite campuses of major universities; terrifically walkable downtown; parks and squares; beach 15 minutes away; and reasonable real estate, even in the historic/Victorian/Ardsley Park/Gordonston areas. The orchestra is still a work in progress, after the established one went bankrupt a few years ago, but the museums and historic societies are quite good, and the “new” symphony is becoming better each year. Larger cities (and their cultural stuff) are within reasonable driving distance: Jacksonville, Charleston, Charlotte, and Atlanta are all close enough for day or weekend trips. Fantastic place for gardening, dining, etc. Easy air, rail, and interstate access. And (for a coastal area,) reasonably safe from hurricane events - the westernmost point on the east coast, hasn’t been hit by a hurricane directly for more than a century, hasn’t had an indirect hit for over thirty years.
Seriously. Nice place.
People may warn you about the local crime. In my experience, the violent crime is “criminal vs. criminal,” not “random bad guy vs. random stranger.” Property crime isn’t bad in most residential neighborhoods - mostly crimes of opportunity (i.e. “leave your nice camera in plain sight = no more camera.”) I’ve worked and lived all over this city, and (using a modicum of common sense, like not walking alone through dark alleys at 3 am) have never felt unsafe, nor been a victim of random street crime.
Ha. Thanks for the tip – I appreciate it, and it may save us from making a costly mistake. My friend has always been notably, uhm, optimistic, so I can totally believe ABQ is not the mecca he’s painting it – but I hadn’t talked to him in several years, so had forgotten how much that is a facet of his personality.