Georgia or South Carolina
 

Wife and I are starting to figure where we will go once daughter is out of grad school. We've considered Sarasota Fla or the West coast of Fla but honestly I am not sure I want to be around all the busy busy....I am thinking of mountain home near a lake where we can still enjoy our boating...I do not want to be boating on a small lake...We boat on the Chesapeake Bay right now so I am not sure how I will like lake boating... Hoping I could get some insight from members....Want to keep our home budget no more than 350K... I do not even know if we are being realistic.


Thanks,

Lake Keowee, SC

I love Fl, my parents have had a place there - first on the gulf side, now in the Vero / Ft Pierce area - for several years, but I don't think I could live there.

I'm embarrassingly ignorant RE our eastern seaboard, but I can tell you that in my opinion mid to NW Michigan has some of the most beautiful water in the world...for about 1/3 of the year.

Water so blue it looks like the Caribbean, and in parts so clear it looks like the boat is suspended in the air. Large inland lakes, and harbor ports all up and down the coast provide incredible opportunities for travel by boat...when Lake Mi cooperates enough to allow it.

If you can handle the winter weather, or more correctly if you want to handle the winter weather, it's a great place..there are a lot of MI OSO members who I'm sure all have a list of "don't miss" they'd be happy to share. Visit in the summer, but visit in the winter, because the "not summer" season is a lot bigger part of the deal than the summer part, but when it's nice here it's "Chamber of Commerce" nice.

Politics ? The state tends red, with the big cities mostly blue & make for "interesting" political discussions. Our last local township elections several of the seats went to republicans running unopposed, so it really just means you need to do your homework on where you want to live.

What are you buying on Keowee for 350K ?? Plus it's a small lake.

Yall welcome to come check out Hartwell anytime. But for decent place with good water looking 500k min.

Sam,

Thanks for replying... Wendy and I will come visit with you guys and look around for sure....We are in the "figure it out" process now....we are slammed with work and have zero time to get away now but I will call you in the coming weeks so we can chat. Say hello to everyone and speak soon my friend.

Thanks,

I am in NE Georgia. 30 min to Lanier, hour to Hartwell but I dont live on the water. have 5 acres near the mountains. I prefer the peace and quite and privacy more than I want to be on the water full time.

what city? I’m looking at moving up that way next year. I’d like a nice chunk of property

I think you’d like lake Hartwell. I don’t think you’ll be on the water for 350k but near the lake sure. Big lake, fairly quiet, clean water, sights to see, etc.

PM sent

thank you

I live just outside of Dahlonega. I am near several nice wineries and the mountains. I can be in Charlotte in 3 hours or so, Knoxville in 3 hours, I like the seasons, hate the heat of FL which is why I left there, only see snow for maybe a couple weeks during the winter, worst part of where I am is the weekend tourists especially during "leaf" season in the fall.

BadMonkey,

Have you looked at Cumberland in KY? It's a bit further north, but there's a lot of available shoreline. We have a place right at the junction of the Cumberland River (North Fork), South Fork and the Main Lake. We see all four seasons there, but the winters are pretty mild. It's 101 miles from one end to the other, 1200+ miles of shoreline, several large marinas, lots of coves to hide in and several large boating events every year. You're within fairly short driving distance to several other good size lakes, as well.

Thanks. Brad.
Model Machine and Precision LLC
(937)545-8991

Hartwell or Murray in SC, Norman in NC, Lanier in GA. Those 3 are on my list of retirement locations. Out on the coast, Emerald Isle NC is still pretty quiet.

Not sure on SC but GA has state income tax. Screw that I'm getting crushed enough and is why we have looked toward east TN. Make sure you find out if the lake has a speed limit, noise limit and able to boat when you want to due to water depth changes. I've seen northern GA lakes down 50+ feet from where ends of docks!

We looked at relocating my biz down to Gainesville and lake Lanier. Ended up buying a new shop local in Syracuse so we didn’t. But we looked all over. TN , FL , NC etc.

lots of nice areas. We seemed that north GA was best bang for buck for realestate with the best boating compared to other southern lakes. If you’re looking to retire , murray is really low key. And plenty of boating to be done

I apologize if this reply appears more than once. I haven’t used this forum very often, and I’m not sure I am doing it correctly. Anyway, if you’re considering the West Coast of Florida, I highly recommend taking a look at Crystal River. Crystal River is about 75 miles north of Tampa, but it is a world away in terms of the hustle and bustle. All the services you might need are nearby (things like grocery stores, Home Depot, SuperWalmart, lots of local eateries, bars, and some fine dining, two hospitals and other healthcare services, repair facilities, car dealerships, a Harley dealership, etc.), but there is very little traffic and we have a distinctive small town vibe. It’s rare that it takes more than one cycle to get through a light. There are almost unlimited boating opportunities, with hundreds of miles of lakes, multiple rivers, and the Gulf of Mexico. Although the speed limit going to the Gulf is 30 mph, it’s only about a 7 mile/20 minute ride, and of course once you’re in the Gulf you can go as fast as you’re able. I’ve boated extensively on the Chesapeake Bay, and I would say the average chop is roughly equal to the near shore Gulf. There are tons of other recreational opportunities in this area as well. We are called the Nature Coast, because Nature abounds. There is hiking, biking, mud trucking, hunting, tubing, and of course all kinds of fishing, diving, scalloping, hanging out in the springs, or on the sandbars, and so forth. We even have a small local airport if you’re into flying. You can buy a VERY nice house here on 1 to 5 acres for $350,000. For the same price, you might be able to find a more modest home on a canal, but those are becoming few and far between. Most canal homes are running $400,000-$600,000. For $250,000 or so, you could also buy a pretty nice house (3/2/2), but with maybe a half to 3/4 of an acre. Quite a few houses have pools. As you probably know, Florida has no state income tax, which is an attractive feature. One of the things I like best about the area, being that I originally came from Northern Virginia, is that we have seasons here. They are milder than up north (thankfully), but there is a winter, spring, summer, and fall. Although we seldom have a hard freeze, it’s not uncommon in the winter to get down to the high 40s/low 50s, which I find refreshing, and yet it almost always warms up to the mid 70s during the days, so boating is comfortable all year long. If you’re interested, you might want to check it out soon, because prices seem to be rapidly rising, and I think we’ve been “discovered.“ If there’s any other information I can provide, please let me know. Shannon.