We are considering small towns in Georgia or South Carolina for retirement. Our wish list includes: pop. 5,000 to 10,000, viable downtown (not just stip malls on the highway), four seasons but not more than a "trace" of snow (if any), good medical services, reasonable real estate prices and taxes, community college would be nice. Does this town exist or are we asking for the moon? Thank you.

Yes, we ask the same question two years ago, and we found Aiken, SC. I'm going to ask my wife to send you a note as well, do come this way and let us show you our little town, do you play golf? Aiken is is about 22,000 downtown is nice, see the November Southern Living stour on downtown Aiken. Aiken also on the net. We love our retirement here. E-mail us and we can get you more info.

Betty Ann,
Take a look at Rome, Georgia. It's located in northwest Georgia in Floyd County. Floyd is unique in that it has more medical professionals per capita than any other location in the U.S. It has a community college (Floyd) and the extraordinary Berry college. Berry, a liberal arts school with an excellent reputation, is situated on the largest college campus in the world! Two rivers, the Etowah and the Coosa are in close proximity as is the Chattahoochee National Forest. While its population exceeds your criteria, it has an honest to God Main Street in addition to some unobtrusive strip malls.

Richard & Wes
Thank you both for your suggestions. We will definitely check them out. Richard, could you give me the web site for Aiken, please? I tried Aiken.com but didn't get anywhere. Sorry for the delay in responding, we've been away since Nov 1st. Thanks again!

Betty Ann,
Try this address for a start:

htpp://www.aiken.net/city/

Let us know what else we can tell you about this place we now call home. If you make a visit we would love to show you around. If you can not reach us through aol, try [email protected]

We have been here a little over a year and a half and love it. Summers are hot, but the rest of the year is just great, today the last day of November it is up to near 80F. Hope to hear from you. Richard

We had gone on a long weekend to Wilmington,SC and thought it was really a nice place to live - the people and the town - on the Cape Fear River and the town seemed to have a lot to offer. Look into it..

I don't want to be the one to douse cold water on this discussion, but I would question your desire to live in the smalltown South...if you are not a native of that part of America. Our family found that no matter how we tried we were never accepted in North Carolina because we originally lived in the Midwest. The usual greeing was: "Where you from, boy?" They were more interested in who my grandfather WAS rather than who I was. They lived in a Civil War-drenched past, calling all who were from the Midwest "damnyankees," and making smart-aleck jibes at my wife and children. We were only too glad to leave (of our own choosing) when the opportunity presented itself...after eight years.

I do not know how to respond to that guy who said why would you want to relocate to the south mmmmmm I am a hybrid born in UK lived there for 30 years then moved to Canada lived there until 1996 when I moved to the south...SC to be precise I think it is great. I feel that people are how you find them, how you treat them and basically people are the same the whole world over. You can find bigots in UK Canada and I am sure many other places, you may not be accepted by various people but hey there are a whole group of folks out there who are wonderful and well worth knowing. So when you choose to relocate think about your own personality and how willing you are to adapt. I have been there and done than that!

Well, we are still working (but very near to retirement age!), and have found our prime location in the Charleston, SC area. Great medical facilities nearby, lots of people who have re-located and are our age, but with the laid-back southern lifestyle.

Because of the size of Charleston, you will find a real mix of different types of people--diehard Southerners, transients, and, as I mentioned, a great MIX!

It sounds like you're looking for a smaller town, but look at our suburbs in the way of Mt. Pleasant, Summerville, James Island, etc.

Visit the web site of http://www.charleston.net
to see all that there is to do (lots of cultural events).

e-mail for more info if interested!

Well, we are still working (but very near to retirement age!), and have found our prime location in the Charleston, SC area. Great medical facilities nearby, lots of people who have re-located and are our age, but with the laid-back southern lifestyle.

Because of the size of Charleston, you will find a real mix of different types of people--diehard Southerners, transients, and, as I mentioned, a great MIX!

It sounds like you're looking for a smaller town, but look at our suburbs in the way of Mt. Pleasant, Summerville, James Island, etc.

Visit the web site of http://www.charleston.net
to see all that there is to do (lots of cultural events).

e-mail for more info if interested!

Dot - We loved Wilmington when we visited too -- but it is in North Carolina, not South. My only concern is that it is in hurricane country. Our daughter went off to school at NC State in Raleigh and is now a resident. My husband is a UNC Chapel Hill grad. We spend lots of time in North Carolina (from Maryland) and really like it.

Kind Folks: Thank you all very much for your great suggestions!