Looking to retire in Georgia
 

My husband and I are looking to retire within the next 5 years in Georgia. Looking for recommendations for some up and coming areas within an hour's drive to the ocean - maybe near Savannah. We would like to plan a trip to check things out within the next 6 months.

The Landings is a section of Savannah south of town where quite a few people from other areas have retired, but it is not a retirement community per se. These people are a major driving force behind surprisingly active arts scene in Savannah. The area reminds me a lot of Hilton Head in housing style--gated, bike paths, golf courses, lagoons, some lovely marsh views. Alligators are plentiful in the lagoons, unfortunately, and the deer population is thriving, to the delight of some, but not all residents! :) It's an easy drive into downtown for symphony, restaurants or whatever. The beach would be Tybee Island which I'm not fond of, but it is beach, and the north end of it especially is quieter and prettier. Mid section of the beach can be a bit trashy IMHO.

We used to live in Savannah and really loved the area...enough so it's been in the back of our minds too as a possible retirement location, and the Landings is definitely the area I would head toward first, although others are popping up as well (Richmond Hill might be worth exploring as well).

Would you consider nearby SC? Blufton, Beaufort are all fairly close to Savannah and also to ocean. On another note - are you prepared for the heat, humidity and bugs???

When people say they want to retire near a coast, or near mountains, or near a big city, or near their children, I think of all those I know who did what they wanted, then later wondered why they did it. It gets old, driving to the coast every week or two, or up into the mountains, or into the big city. And children move away after you move to be near them.

So I'm wondering: why do you really want to be in Georgia, and what is it that makes you feel you must be fairly close to the ocean? My guess is that within 2 years after moving to your chosen destination, you will lost interest in the ocean. What will matter a lot more to you is the people around you with whom you have contact every day -- your neighbors, your local business owners, your church relations, your local library, and other such things.

It isn't any of my business, but when I see someone wanting to plan a retirement, I have to ask these questions: What really matters to you? Is it really the mountains, or the ocean, or a beautiful view, or a specific state or city? Having such things is certainly nice, but in the end you will find the people around you to be the source of the most comfort and enjoyment.

If I knew exactly why you chose Georgia, I might have more recommendations. Do you like small towns, such as something not too far away from Savannah, or do you want to be right in the city because that's where you are most comfortable? Outside of Savannah, and not too far from the ocean, are some nice small towns in Georgia -- Claxton, Jesup, Glennville, Blackshear, Nahunta and others.

Arts, culture, entertainment, and big city features might be what you want. If so, obviously Savannah is your only choice based on your criteria. The suburbs of Savannah are growing, and there are plenty of choices. Good luck, but I urge you to think about the reasons for choosing whatever you choose.

Wayne has some very valid points...living in Asheville I encounter a lot of seniors/retirees who come here for the cooler mtn temps but then are frustrated with trying to get family to visit or having to spend their time on planes or in cars trying to see children and grandchildren.

Wayne, I am looking for a small upscale town in Georgia with close proximity to the ocean.

Going along with Wayne's thoughts another thing I think is important when planning on where to retire is how close one is to a good airport.

I have some family members that live in an area in S CA that is lovely but trying to fly into or out of their area is a pain in the neck. So they are constantly upset because they do not see their family as much as they would like to.

So IMO that is something to keep in mind.

When you get into the area around Savannah, you will find a lot of river access homes and lake front locations. Were you looking to be near the ocean so that you could have family vacations there?

I don't think you will find "small upscale towns" within an hour's drive of the Ocean. There are numerous communities such as Wilmington or Whitmarsh Island, Isle of Hope, The Landings, Long Point and South Bridge. Savannah Quarters is one that is just being developed. Some are built around golf courses. Some also have tennis courts. Some have condos. All are a few minutes from both Savannah and the beach. All have what you would consider "upscale" housing. None of them are towns, but are under the Chatham County umbrella. When you move farther inland, it gets hotter and less convenient.

Also, being of retirment age, you need to think about the ease of getting to a hospital or doctor offices. An hour's drive to the beach is going to also mean an hour's drive to the nearest medical center. The smaller communities have small, very small hospitals that are not top notch.

Wayne, after vacationing on the ocean all my life and living on the beach for the past 20 years, I have yet to tire of it.

OO, Mr.GoTravel and I are in the process of trying to find a peice of property to eventually build on in McClellanville before property values go through the roof. Geez it is getting tough.

Forgot to add that I agree with everything else you mentioned Wayne.

My husband & I plan to retire in about a year to Phoenix. A major consideration is location of a hospital & proximity to the airport.

Leaving our families behind will be difficult, but we feel that we can have a much better retirement there than anywhere in the NE. We have done our research & feel it is the right place for us. I think that's all you can do.

If you make a mistake, you can always go back; or on to some other place.

I agree with aileen. If you really want something a bit upscale, you'll have a hard time finding it except in the form of a suburb of Savannah. But Savannah is growing so much that some of the county communities feel like separate towns. About the only thing they probably lack is their own mayor and town administration. Still, I like Claxton a lot as a nice smaller town with decent facilities including a good hospital. You might try to look at it and at a few others. Good luck.

There is another thing to consider when you are thinking about retiring to Georgia. And to put it bluntly, it isn't called the Bible Belt for no reason. The smaller cities tend to have a denomination that is preferred by the majority of it's citizens. The social life tends to revolve around what goes on at the church. If you are a non-church goer, you may feel left out. It's something that you should be aware of and look into before you make your decision.

The communities around Savannah, while not cities in themselves, are large enough to have all the shopping facilities and have a varied mix of all types of people. There will be a social life that is not church centered.

Statesboro, home of Georgia Southern University, may be another place that would interest you. It's within resonable distance to the beach.

GoT...tell me moe about McClellanville--I'm not familiar with it.

Aileen--I giggled at your post...so true of what we experienced when we moved to SE Georgia. It was different than what I was used to, but also good. We moved away in '95 but still use our CPA from there, who, yes, went to church with us, lol!

McClellanville is a tiny little shrimping community on Bulls Bay. It is about a half hour north of Charleston and a half hour south of Georgetown.

Deep water access by boat. You can still buy an acre of land within spitting distance to the water for $100,000. Waterfront homes are still well under the $1 million mark.

I don't expect this to last much more into the next decade.

McClellanville is in the middle of the Cape Romain Wild Refuge. It is also where Hurricane Hugo came ashore in 1989.

Most of the homes there are lovely 100 year old residences.

Extremely charming however a little removed.

Also, check out:

http://coastal-sc.com/mcclellanville/

We too want to retire in Georgia. Have you ever been to Clarksville?

It looks beautiful, but you are right, a little removed. Probably more removed than I want to be....wherever that is...I haven't figured it out yet. City center? Country but close to city center?

When we lived in Savannah there was a townhouse we looked at just across from E Shaver's bookstore. E (Ed) Shaver was an architect and he built this from scratch...to match the historic district row houses perfectly, but it was new, so you didn't have the money pit baggage that comes with all those places. 3 floors, hardwood floors, fireplaces, apt on the bottom for 200,000 something, facing on the square. I liked it...DH didn't partially because there was no yard of any sort and only parking for one car. Another lost opportunity. I'm sure it's 8 or 9 today. :(

GoT...to continue the real estate discussion...

There are deals to be had here. We are headed down to the coast one of these weekends to look around Port Aransas area. The nice part of Windmill Harbor is that we could have kept our sailboat there--there are even locks to get out.

There's a new area around Port Aransas that is promising the same thing, but but at prices from the 370s to 800s. "The Moorings at Mustang Island...townhomes and condos between the Gulf and Corpus Christi Bay. Two private lagoon-style marinas (perfect protection and what we have now in St Pete) and boat slips for each home". Sounds too good to be true doesn't it? So, it proably is. www.livetheisland.com.

OO, because it is surrounded by about 500,000 acres of protected maritime forests (Cape Romaine Refuge and Francis Marion National Forest), it isn't close to anything! Yikes!

However, that is one of the things I love about the town. We can still have dinner in town (Chas) and make the 30 minute drive home.

Whooda thunk I'd turn into such an enviromental nut? Mr.GoTravel calls me a lipstick enviromentalist (that's Chanel's CoCo Red thank you very much):-D

OO, if you want to be truly frightened, check out:

www.ionvillage.com

It is Pleasantville. I've never seen a planned community so utterly gorgeous. All the houses are wood siding, tin roofs, brick driveways, 8' porches, manacured to death yards.

It is like stepford neighborhood.

Homes start at $700,000 and go up. This isn't even on the water.

Loved LiveTheIsland.com! Those townhouses look great!

robbiegirl--I've been to Clarksville and other areas around there. Of course, it isn't near the ocean, which is OK by me. It's in the hilly country of north Georgia and is one of the more charming towns in that area. It's a little like an American version of an Italian hilltop village. The old downtown area sits on the crest of the hill with charming shops and restaurants. It has all the character and charm of a real "home town" and is the kind of place I'd consider retiring to, except that my wife likes Gulf coast Florida. But I do indeed like Clarksville very much.

Oh yes...I've heard of Ion Village, but hadn't seen their website! Pretty nice, but I burned my fingers just looking. :) If we had a grand daughter, she would have to wear hand-smocked dresses only when she came to visit. Style-wise it reminds me of the community they built just over the Beaufort bridge from The Point area...it had a Southern Living Idea home in it...I'm blanking on the name of the development now. That seemed a bit Stepfordish too, and VERY definitely Celebration does. We saw a boy riding his bike through downtown Celebration with a fishing pole over the handlebars and my DH was positive it was an actor. LOL

We drove through it Sunday afternoon, wanting to see how the other half lives, and I swear we didn't see a single soul for the first 30 minutes ("everyone hide! Someone let the riffraff in!")

They have Canals exactly like some I've seen in Venice that are painted to look 1000 years old.

It was too perfect. Simply gorgeous.

There is a lot of great advice posted. My parents always wanted to live in Florida, hating Wisconsin weather. They did a lot of traveling along the Gulf coast and finally decided to rent a small house in a small town in Florida. They liked it so much after a year or so that they bought it. However, they also kept their house in Wisconsin and use that from May to October, when it is too hot to live in Florida.

My mother had a stroke last year and was fortunate enough to have been in Ocala at the time. She was brought to a major medical center there and had excellent treatment. However, this brings up the point that if they had been at home, the results would have been much different. They live about 20 miles from Ocala, without a good medical center nearby. She could be paralyzed in a wheelchair now.

My sister also lived in SC for several years. She was able to build a beautiful masonry home (you don't want wood siding or components in the South due to termite and insect problems.) However, it got so hot spring through fall that if you didn't also have a pool, you were pretty much stuck in the house all day. My sister and her husband enjoy art, cultural events and a diverse circle of friends. They were shocked to find they could not have a drink in a restaurant on Sunday. The entire culture was centered around the Baptist church. They had a hard time finding a decent restaurant that was not a chain that specialized in fried food. She also loves gourmet cooking and found it hard to find great quality beef, seafood and bread, if you can believe it. They finally found some of their best friends became the gays who ran a notable "Wine Spectator" listed restaurant. They definitely did not fit into the southern lifestyle and culture and were estatic when he was transferred back to Wisconsin.

Several people I know who live in Phoenix make the point that it is too hot to leave the house for a good part of the year except in early morning or after the sun sets. They also mention having to replace auto tires regularly due to the pavement heat melting the tires. And they need to be vigilant bout skin cancer treatment. There are some downsides to all that sunny weather.

Another valid point is the distance to major highways and airports. My parents live in a very rural area of Florida, and it's about 1.5 hour's drive to either Tampa or Orlando. They are disappointed that the kids don't visit more often but it's expensive and time consuming to travel there, between the two days travel time to and from on the airline and in a rental car. Other acquaintances and relatives living in Palm Springs, Greenville, SC have similar tales: Long, expensive plane trips with multiple stops and changes to get from the midwest to their homes, with a rental car at the end always an additional expense. This discourages relatives and friends from visiting.

Moral of the story: Look carefully before you leap. Weather and taxes aren't everything.

Hey, shorebrau--There are several million people who will be surprised to hear (quoting you) that "it's too hot to live in Florida from May to October." Are we all dead and don't know it?

Of course, there is a saying around southern Florida retirement areas that "the average age of south Floridians is -- deceased."

A few thoughts -

The comments about finding gourmet foodstuffs, varied ethnic restaurants, etc. in South Georgia may be true - but is true elsewhere in this country once you get more than an hour or so from a major city. I've heard friends/ family express similar experiences when moving to Cheyenne, Wyoming, in the valley in CA and in the midwest. The comments made earlier are not specific to South Georgia.

Yes, it is the Bible Belt - and Southern Baptist predominantly. I found driving from GA to FL after 9/11 on a weekly basis more than a bit scary when I heard some of the radio broadcasts that were "normal" programming. Of course, I hear equally scary commentary when I walk into my parents' house and hear the icky (to me) "news" channel that is on most of the time in that house.

Savannah is hot. Charleston is hot. Florida is hot. Period. I spent the day yesterday traveling with a friend who was thrilled to be transferred from Charleston to the upstate (SC). Quality of life in terms of heat and humidity (and bugs) increased measurably. After a few years, they sold the Charleston house and would never move back to the coast.

I'd check on insurance rates (of all coverages) before buying on or near the ocean.

Planned, gated communities give me the creeps. I moved out of one that had 4 pools and 11 tennis courts. That lifestyle isn't for me. Try to determine if it's for you before you buy.

For retirement, I would lean toward the cooler temps in North Georgia, upstate SC and/or Western NC. I'd rather have that quality of life than live on/near the coast on a fulltime basis.

Many friends who live within 20 minutes of a beach rarely go. I would love morning walks on the beach - but would not drive an hour to walk on one every morning.

I'd suggest renting a house in the areas you think you may be interested in for a week up to a month before buying.

You might check into the following towns:

Statesboro, GA: College town (Georgia Southern Univ.)1 hour from Savannah west on I-16.

Vidalia, GA: Growing small town, known for it's sweet onions, that recently got a Lowe's. About 90 miles west of Savannah near I-16.

Both of these towns are growing but still have that small town feel. Relatively inexpensive housing and taxes, good medical amenities, low crime.

shorebrau, please do tell where you cannot have a drink on Sunday in South Carolina in a restaurant?

Also, my 50 year old house is made of wood. It sits on wooden pilings with wooden siding. My decks are wood. My neighbors houses are wood.

Where did your sister live? In the middle of a termite nest at Bob Jones University?

No one (I don't think...hard to digest all of this quickly) has mentioned the Darien/Shellman's Bluff area of GA located on the coast between Savannah and Brunswick. Close to beaches with some 'upscale' housing and proximity to the all important (to a retiree) adequate health care. I grew up in the 'fringe' areas of Savannah mentioned here and can assure you that many of them have health care adequate for first aid, but to find a specialist you will need to go to Savannah or Brunswick.

Anyone that is considering retiring in coastal Georgia needs to be sure they can handle:

1. Sandgnats
2. Horseflies, deerflies
3. The humidity
4. The sulfur taste of the water

Sand gnats, yes. Serious issues. They like to be out when humans do...not too hot and not too cold.

Deer flies? In 4 years living in Savannah, I ran into them...or they ran into me, only once. I walked innocently into the woods, was covered by them, and ran out. We'd wondered why we saw one of the employees in beekeeper outfit at the Oatland Island Preserve when we arrived. LOL It wasn't the bees.

Humidity...pshaw...Coastal GA ain't seen nuttin'. We moved from there to Tampa. Tampa is humid. GA is dewy. Great for the skin. Take a coastal Georgian away from the coast and they age 10 years instantly.

Sulfur taste to the water? Where? I could drink the water there with no problem, but haven't been able to in the next two moves: Tampa and San Antonio. San Antonio water tastes like dirt. I'll take sulfur over dirt. Me thinks you've been sniffing too many paper mills, bsam. Smell and taste are intertwined. Get away from Union Camp or the mills around Brunswick and your perception of the water will change.

OO--You are reminding me of why we were very happy to leave SE coastal GA, lol! Sand gnats, yellow flies, paper mills, sulfur smell, fire ants, etc. We were just not cut out for that area. Those yellow flies were the worst!

mms...those sand gnats were wicked, weren't they? No doubt about it. I don't know yellow flies--what are they? Were you in St Mary's, am I remembering right?

You can put up with a lot of negatives in a location if everything else is pretty good. Savannah had gnats, small town politics, "War of Northern Aggression" alive and well, but gosh, otherwise, it had so very much to offer, we wouldn't give the negatives a 2nd thought. Good restaurants, better symphony than Atlanta, live theater. It was a terrific place to live. There was a zero adjustment period to that town, which is a first for me. Most places, for me anyway, require at least 4 or 5 years living to begin to be likable and feel like home. Not Savannah.

OO--Yes, St. Marys. The yellow flies were the size of a housefly, but were sort of a neon yellow color and oh their bites were awful! The worst part is that they would bite you repeatedly. You are so right in that if there are enough positives it will outweigh the negatives...where we were the positives were that we could get in the car and go elsewhere, lol! we were they for 3 1/2 years. I did enjoy various areas nearby, but not where we lived. Most of our friends stationed there with us were also counting the days til new orders arrived, lol!

mms, Yup that was a pretty small town. I can't imagine it, myself. It looked sort of pretty though...I went <i>through</i> there to catch the ferry to Cumberland. I'm sure you can only go there so many times before it too loses its appeal and you are yearning for great restaurants and a change of scenery. Did you ever get to the Greyfield Inn?

I've never run into a yellow fly...good thing from your description! :D My dh used to refer to the gnats as flying teeth. They were misery near the marsh!! Imagine the early settlers in coastal GA. They had to be a strong and determined bunch!

OO--Unfortunately we never made it to the Greyfield Inn. The kids were babies, literally, and with DH deployed half the time, I was just lucky to get by day to day. Day trips were all we managed while we lived there. Did go to Fernandia Beach a lot (DS was born there). I did like Jeckyl and St. Simons Islands, and St. Augustine. Oh, and I did have the best hairdresser in St. Marys! lol! Priorities, you know:)