I NEED to say, I would never choose Jax or nearby over Charleston!! Also, Starrs does say something about the college kids. There are also YEAR round tourists. It's a happening place.

Gretchen: The money situation is 'enough' but we have to be thoughtful. The Cape house is our family home. We don't live in NYC now. We live and work in CT.

I don't want to be exclusively on the Cape off season but I also don't want to be in a retirement community for the bulk of the year. My husband has suggested we buy in Charleston or Savannah (small condo or house) and spend the time away from the Cape and this other second home wherever we want.

I 'need' access to good museums, symphony, theatre for part of the year.

Charleston and Savannah are becoming increasingly appealing.

Everyone: Thank-you so much for sharing your insights and opinions. I so appreciate the effort you've all made. Life is fun when you consider the world, may in fact, be your oyster. This discussion has been fun.

Both Charleston and Savannah have symphony orchestras, chorus, museums and theater plus some mighty fine dining.

I must go back to revisit Savannah. When I visited I didn't warm up to that place for some reason.

I forgot to mention: I haven't finished writing my little report (shame on me) but I have posted photos from Charleston and Savannah over the week of Thanksgiving.

Warm weather that week. Low 80s!

The next ten days look like 50s-60s-70s there... so nice.

Bowsprit, is it possible you're actually married to my DH?

To answer some of your questions:

We stay in Nantucket from mid-May until after New Years. We stay in Virginia from New Years until May with some exceptions. I like to go home about once a month. We travel in the US for a week or so at a time in the fall and to Europe for a week or two or three in the spring. And we go to Nantucket for a couple of weeks in April to get the house set up and get the garden ready. We use Boston for concerts, weekends, doctor visits, seeing friends, and as a base for launching trips. All my travel clothes are there, for example.

Is it too much moving around? Yes, but if you don't do it when you can, you won't be able to.

If we were to rent in Florida it would be either North Naples near Vanderbilt Beach (for a month or the season) or Key West or Coral Gables for a shorter period. The nice thing about not owning is that you can choose a different place every year.

Finally, at least for this post, I would look really carefully at airline connections between any place you might consider and Boston or Providence for the Cape. We are able to use JetBlue, and they are wonderful and cheap.

I have read retirement articles that suggest that being in a college or university town has many advantages. Usually theater, cultural events, sporting events and the opportunity to take classes. So, even though I don't have a particular place to recomment, if it were me I would definitely opt for a town with a larger college or university.

ACKislander, that sounds just simply fantastic. It doesn't sound so rootless because such a large part of your year is in one place even though you travel quite a bit. Plus, you still have home base even when you are traveling to the next place/going to symphonies etc. I love being on the go although I'm really glad I don't travel for work (or very minimally - in ten years I am still only counting on hand two for the number of work trips I've had). I think I'd really enjoy doing things the way you do them!

If you don't mind me asking, where in VA? Northern VA, or near Charlottesville, or where?

bowsprit, if you get something at Wild Dunes, or any of the beaches for that matter, you can rent it out in summer.

And Charleston has Spoleto:
http://spoletousa.org/home/

I forgot to mention:

Savannah has a fair amount of tourist or film type of interests on facebook that are updated frequently. I follow a lot of them.

Just based on what I see on facebook there seems to be a thriving film community. They have a number of film festivals and a Film Office.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sa...e/256920514523

https://www.facebook.com/#!/savannahfilmfest

https://www.facebook.com/#!/VisitSavannahGA

https://www.facebook.com/#!/savbikecampaign

Here are some from Charleston:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/charlestoncitypaper

https://www.facebook.com/#!/carolopolis

If you follow the various pages on facebook it's like having a daily "city entertainment news" to read.

I do this for a number of cities/museums etc.

Living in the historic district of Charleston is VERY expensive plus there are many tourist & students. Also the traffic is pretty tough if you're dealing with it every day. Better to live in Mt. Pleasant, North Charleston, Summerville or one of the other surrounding communities and go into the city. There's also a Del Webb community nearby.

Have you looked at Charlotte, NC? It is a major aiport hub; not far from beaches in SC & NC; has many cultural events.

Someone else's suggestion about visiting/renting before you buy is reasonable. Winters in SC are wonderful.

SC native

Again, Thanks everyone. We're planning a trip to the area soon. We'll likely rent in both Savannah and Charleston for an extended time (a few months in each place) before buying in either.

Regarding hurricane season: Savannah has had a lot of 'misses', correct? How about Charleston?

Same thing. The last time we had a mandatory evacuation was in 1999. But you'll still need to think about what you will do if you're not here and your place needs boarding up.

Georgia hasn't taken a hit from a major hurricane in more than 100 years.

I built my house and hurricane panels were included!

Haven't needed them... HHI and environs usually gets a miss too.

I am curious, why are you against Florida?

I ask this because NORTH Florida, close to the Georgia border, is very different from the south. It's a lot cooler.

And there is one town you might like to consider. That is Palm Coast, in NE Florida. I believe it is the best place to live in the USA. It is a beautiful, modern, MASTER-PLANNED community. It's on the beach. Mobile homes are not allowed. And best of all, it is CHEAP compared to most other places.

Have a look at the pictures at http://www.besttowntoliveinflorida.com/
and see what you think.

I am following along with interest. Although Florida has been ruled out by the OP, I will link a Florida thread here so anyone interested can read. There is some very useful info by ACK and others:





http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ral-advice.cfm

lotusflower, you are obviously a realtor. No one else would have the gall to suggest Palm Coast!