Need help finding a small town to retire to

Old Oct 10th, 1998, 07:49 AM
  #1  
nancy
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Need help finding a small town to retire to

Looking for 4-season climate, but not hot and humid summers or blizzards all winter. We made a mistake and moved to Yuppieville, NC. Seeking 2,500 or so population with good library, schools, viable downtown, diverse population and friendly people and major airport within an hour or two. Cost of living is also a factor. Does such a place exist? Your positive and negative comments appreciated.
 
Old Oct 10th, 1998, 08:12 AM
  #2  
Owen O'Neill
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Investigate Ithaca NY in the Finger Lakes region. Population 25,000 full time residents and 25,000 students. It's an 80 minute drive from Hancock Int. Airport in Syracuse (Ithaca has an airport but it is relatively small). Despite the number of students, it does not have the party atmosphere of a typical college town but instead offers a wealth of cultural resources and scenic natural beauty. Most Ithaca College students live on campus (about 2 miles out of downtown) and Cornell University students live both on campus and off. Property taxes tend to be on the high side and although real estate is not cheap, the recent construction of an all inclusive retirement community (Kendall) has resulted in many homes becoming available in the desirable Cayuga Heights area. An interesting trivia fact - Cayuga Heights has a higher percentage of adults with at least a 4 year degree than any other community in the US. Nearby Lansing (a suburb)is in the top 10. The winters may be a bit colder than you like but snowfall is substantially less than areas even 20 or 30 miles north, due to the city's sheltered position in a valley at the base of Cayuga Lake. It's a small city with the feel of a small town and very politically progressive - worth considering. If you need links to info about the region, please e-mail me and I'll forward them.
 
Old Oct 10th, 1998, 11:08 AM
  #3  
nancy
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Thanks Owen. How high are those taxes and what's the typical single family home sell for? Have visited Ithaca and did enjoy it. Had dinner at Moosewood. 'Twas wonderful.
 
Old Oct 10th, 1998, 04:18 PM
  #4  
Owen O'Neill
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I'm taking a wild guess here, Nancy....

an average to nice 4 bedroom home with the usual amenities probably ranges from $100K to $150K contingent on style, substance, lot size, location etc..

Taxes vary depending on whether you're in Lansing or Ithaca but I suspect a house w/$150K market value runs $3,500 to $4,500 in taxes (sorry I can't be more specific. Over 50% of the land in the county is non-taxable (owned by Cornell and other institutions) and the industrial base is not substantial, thus the high taxes. The schools are good and although there a few empty storefronts on the "Commons", downtown is still viable, as you may have noted on your visit. I lived there for 4 years until a job change brought me back to Syracuse but I loved it there and wish I could have stayed. One can park (or walk to) downtown, shop in some excellent stores (good clothiers, gifts, handcrafted artisan products, CD's etc.), have a choice of excellent restaurants (Thai Cuisine, Moosewood, Renee's Bistro and Giovanni's Osteria Paisano among them), step out after dinner to several places for good coffee and dessert, and then walk back across the Commons for a choice of independent/art films at Cinemapolis (with REAL butter on the popcorn!). I haven't lived there since 1993 but visit regularly and it appears much the same as it did when I left. If you need more specific info on taxes I can probably get it for you - just give a post or a holler.

 
Old Dec 2nd, 2001, 01:39 PM
  #5  
snow bird
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Have you consider having a summer place and a winter place and commuting between the two?
 
Old Dec 2nd, 2001, 02:09 PM
  #6  
Ryan
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There are some great towns in New Jersey to consider. Try Toms River, Lakewood. They are about half way between NY and Philly, right near the beach and with big retirement populations.

You might also want to look at the Charlottesville area of Virginia.

You might also consider places like Mystic, Connecticut or Princeton, New Jersey. Great little downtown area, and plenty within 2 hours in either direction.

For any of these towns, I'd get a sense of taxes by going onto a local real estate website.
 
Old Dec 2nd, 2001, 03:25 PM
  #7  
Dottie
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We were transfered to West Lafayette IN 12 yrs ago and will return to Ohio when we retire because our family is there. But, we will miss this place so very much. Population around 30,000 but a lot of small towns 2-3000 around it seperated by corn and soy bean fields. No slums. Our taxes are around 1300-1400 a yr. Homes in a good area are around 150.000. We have diversity and culture because of Purdue University. Indianapolis is an hour away and Chicago 2 hrs. We have a wonderful beach on Lake Michigan at Michigan City. It is also 2 hrs away. The marina in Michigan City is the best on Lake Michigan and reasonable in price if you want to slip a boat there. We are sailors and live on our boat every weekend April thru October. West Lafayett/Lafayette is a good community.
 
Old Dec 2nd, 2001, 05:17 PM
  #8  
Carol
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Hi Nancy - I read your post and was so thrilled that Owen suggested Ithaca. We live in upsate NY too and just love Ithaca. What a quant beautiful town with so much culture. We live near lake Ontario and take our boat through the canal system from Kayuga lake to the Oswego Rive to Lake Ontario. The finger lake are beautiful. As I read on the post became bitter sweet because our son went to Purdue University and loved West Laf. The only problem with Indiana is it was just to flat for us. The weather is just about the same as in Ithaca. I know that you can get a nice home for your money and the taxes are not out of site. Whichever you decide on I'm sure you will be happy.
 
Old Dec 2nd, 2001, 05:33 PM
  #9  
hello
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The original question was posted in 1998. Let's hope Nancy has found a new home town by now.
 
Old Dec 3rd, 2001, 03:53 AM
  #10  
carol
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How embarrassing. Never thought to look at the date. Yesterday was another Willy chaos Key bashing day. I think that Fodors brought some old posts up instead of just deletting the Troll. I hope they found a place too. Oops!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Old Dec 3rd, 2001, 04:59 AM
  #11  
the realist
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Nancy, I'm sorry, but I don't think such a place really exists. You can take a look at pubs such as Kiplinger's to come close, but there's no "perfect place." 60% of a place is what you make of it.
 
Old Dec 3rd, 2001, 06:32 AM
  #12  
Flapflap
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SNOWBIRD: What on earth were you up to, scrolling back to 1998? What on earth were you looking for and why on earth did you think THIS was the thread that desperately needed topping?

Realtor? Travel writer? RELO agent?
 
Old Dec 3rd, 2001, 07:01 AM
  #13  
ncgrrl
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Why do I think Nancy ended up in Chapel Hill? Chapel Hill used to be a happening little village that has turned into Yuppieville with good library, schools, viable downtown, diverse population and friendly people and major airport within an hour or two. Though the cost of living and taxes are high and summers are brutal.

Chapel Hill keeps getting high ratings from Places rated almanac and best places for xxx, but I don't think the raters actually visit the community. I think they only gather information from the chamber of commerce. Maybe the raters went to college at UNC, but didn't live in the community outside Franklin Street and didn't own property in town. Life on campus is very different than life in town.
 

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