Advice needed from Southern DISers

[yoopermom]

You know how your dreams change over the years? Well, we love the small town we moved to here in MI's beautiful UP (esp. after the congestion of SE WI), but are seriously looking at buying land to eventually retire to in "the south". I want to spend the summer (I'm a teacher, luckily) motorhoming around and "exploring" various areas we might be interested in. Although we like KY/TN, I don't think that'll be far enough south for us. I'm thinking more along the lines of rural GA or??? Any or all ideas of places to visit would be much appreciated...
Terri the Yoopermom

 

[Tiggerkeeper]

Rural, huh, as maybe the North Georgia Mountains rural? Say Blairsville, Hiawasee, Clayton, Cleveland. I can't help with South Georgia, sorry.

We have a house and land in Blairsville and to go to the grocery store it is a 30 - 40 minute drive. The National Forest is across the street from our place and time just stands still when we are there it is so peaceful. Atlanta is probably an hour and a half drive south but you'd never know you were near a big city.

Hope this helps.

TK

 

[browneyes]

I live in the NW corner of GA. It's VERY rural. My former hometown is about 32 miles away and I know many, many people migrate from the North to live there because of it's small town appeal. If you like mountains and caves, my area is a good place. It's also got a lot of Civil War history that might appeal to your teacher's heart. If you're interested in Indians, etc. Calhoun, GA is a good place to visit, and it's very historical too.

I live near Chattanooga, TN. There's a lot of interesting places to visit there, too.

NE Alabama is a good place, also. We have Sequoyah Caverns to visit (there's a camping area there, very small camping area). If you're looking into something more touristy, I'd suggest Mobile, AL.

If you can give me an idea of exactly what kind of rural you're looking for, I might can give you some better ideas of places to visit.

 

[kdonnel]

My family has a "compound" in rural south Georgia just outside of Reidsville. You are in the middle of NO WHERE!!!

Two of my wife's aunts built houses on the same property. My wife’s mother also built a house there for their future retirement. They bought 30 acres. Each has 5 acres and 15 common acres.

I can't imagine living there. Visiting is ok for a few days. After that I get bored senseless. It is a 30 minute drive to Wal-mart and an hour drive to Savannah.

I am too used to having everything close by.

Land is cheap though. They paid $500 an acre.

 

[nativetxn]

If you are going from the UP to the deep south you will need to go into training to be prepared for the humidity there. Perhaps you should start sitting in a steam room at your gym a few hours each day

 

[yoopermom]

See, I knew y'all would come through! Let me tell you where we live now, and you can just *add heat* to tell me where I should look down there: 45 minutes from "town" (grocery/movie/etc), 2 hours from "big town", lots and lots of state land/forest around, DH hunts with his hounds, really we just love "country quiet", but will be deathly tired of the cold by then! Mts or lakes are an added plus, of course. I am not afraid of the "redneck" label, but would not want any area that is completely hostile to the idea of "outsiders". Keep those ideas coming! Thanks!
Terri

 

[yoopermom]

My family already thinks we're nuts because we have spent the past few Augusts at WDW! The older I get (okay, I'm only mid30s, but there are days...) the more my bones love that wet heat. We belong to the Y (30 miles each way) and I do sit in the steam room 3X/week! I'm actually more worried about the damp cold in the winter then the damp heat in the summer.
Terri

 

[CarolA]

Well, it is only in Tennessee but Paris, TN has become a big retirement community. Low cost of living, good healthcare facilities, great recreational faciilties (TVA Land Between The Lakes Park is there) and close to Nashville and/or Memphis.

 

[TinkerPixie]

You might want to think about the area I live in, we are about 40 minutes from the Florida line. Right down I-75. Tifton, Valdosta, Moultrie, all these towns are about 20 minutes from me. We drive about 20 minutes in any direction to get to Walmart. There are malls, movie theatres great restaurants, lots of conveniences.
The area is great for hunting, we have lots of preserves, and camps for hunters that are only short drives away.
Best of all, we are three hours from Orlando!!!
Let me know, if I can tell you any thing else....

 

[FairyGF]

Hey! I like your plan Yoopermom! Don't know much about rural GA or TN...but I've heard really great things about Chattanooga, TN. Here's a link:

http://www.chattanoogafun.com/

 

[yoopermom]

Wow, thanks everyone! I'm drawing a map as we speak for our summer "exploration". (July can't come soon enough!) I know we'd "fit in" since we sort of fit the stereotype already (yes, we own hound dogs, drive a pickup, hunt critters, shop at Wal-Mart, etc, etc.) but I also know that people are people wherever you go! How about winters, cold and damp, snow, rain, ??? (I know this winter hasn't exactly been typical for you!)
Thanks again!
Terri

 

[Boots]

I live about 15 miles of so over the GA line in TN in Etowah. Look it up on the map to see exactly where. Have a beautiful view of the mountains. We are about 60 miles from both Chattanooga and Knoxville. I love it here. I live in the country. There is white water rafting here, hiking, lakes, and gorgeous scenery. I am about 90 minutes away from the Smokies and Gatlinburg. We have some snow in the winter but not a lot. Let me know if you are interested in my area and I'll try to tell you more.!

 

[Buckalew]

Come to the Smoky Mountains, Terri the yoopermom! It is God's country here. You'd love it. (I'm not too far from Boots!) Winter's are generally mild with little snow. Ususally if it does snow it melts by afternoon. We have 4 beautiful seasons. Knoxville is 30 mins away, PF and Gatlinburg are about the same. There are rivers and lakes and trails to hike. WDW is about 10 hours from here.

We moved South 28 years ago (from NJ). One summer we just vacationed in TN, KY, VA, NC and maybe even GA. We came to the Smokies and as soon as pulled into the motel driveway, we all knew this was the place! (My parents bought a small motel & went into business)

Maryville was listed on A&E's top 10 places to live or retire or something like that... still, it is a wonderful place to call 'home'.

 

[Beauty]

Well I would definatly not recommend the Mississippi Delta. The job market here is awful, there is nothing whatsoever appealing here.

The two places that come to my mind are Shannon's area of Tennessee, and Georgia. It is simply gorgeous around Chattanooga.

The other place is northern Arkansas and the Ozarks. It is so nice there, beautiful, peaceful and rural. I think if we ever moved with John's company that is where we would end up.

Good luck!

 

[WillyJ]

Well, my folks have been looking to get out of Oklahoma and retire somewhere down around the Gulf Coast. . I love the area around Gulf Shores, Alabama. . . but my folks are leaning to a little town called Fairhope, AL. right on Mobile Bay. .

Here's a link if you'd like to check it out. .


Good luck with the mover Terri!!

 

[jipsy]

I grew up in Decatur, Alabama. You are 20 minutes from Huntsville which is a small city with a big city feel. You're a little over an hour north of Birmingham, 2 hours south of Nashville and about 3 hours from Atlanta. Decatur is probably too "city" for your tastes, but any of the surrounding rural areas around the Decatur/Huntsville you could still find great deals on land/homes. The weather is hot and humid from about April till November. It does get cold there however. It is a wet cold, so it can bite. If you have alot of allergies, then you need to get out a topographical map of Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia and stay OUT of the valley part of the Tennessee Valley. The reason is the pollen is very high because it falls from the mountains.

Living in the south is alot different from up north and I don't mean weather. I did the opposite of you - I moved from the south to the north. No offense, but you will always be considered a yankee, no matter how long you choose to live in the south It will be YOU who has the accent and your most likely sentence to hear the most will be "Y'all ain't from 'round here, are ya'?" Your cost of living will be lower, but so will the wages. People in the south live at a much slower pace, which can be difficult for some northerners to understand. They are friendlier, but they are also nosier and can get all up in your business LOL.

By the way, just over the TN line is a small town called Pulaski. It is VERY southern, VERY rural style, and there is lots of acreage for sale at very good prices there.

 

[yoopermom]

Oh, I had to chuckle Jipsy, because we moved up here 7 yrs ago, and we'll *always* be outsiders (but they'll still want to know our business...! I really think rural life is rural life, no matter what part of the country it's in! (Don't start me on *time*. DH's concrete business is booming, largely because he actually calls people back and goes and visits them when he says he will, not "eventually/someday..."!)

I always thought fondly of the Ozarks, too, but after visiting there last summer, decided it's just not for me. That's why seeing a place in person is so important, I think.

Keep those thoughts coming, my map's getting more crowded!
Thanks!
Terri

 

[nkjzmom]

Just wanted to say Good luck, yoopermom.....there are some really beautiful places to live down here.

Jipsy....I'm in Decatur!!!