Retire Near Water at Reasonable Cost

[Purron]

Smith Mountain Lake in the blue ridge mountains of Virginia might be worth a look Smith Mountain Lake: Jewel of the Blue Ridge Mountains

 

[HFWR]

Dallas Fort Worth is surrounded by lakes.

And sometimes they even have water in them...

Southcentral Kentucky and northcentral Tennessee have Lake Cumberland and Dale Hollow Reservoir. Living on the lakes would be expensive, but the small towns surrounding them are less so. Don't expect much in the way of culture or amenities...

But then, Louisville, Nashiville, Knoxville, and Lexington are only a few hours away.

 

[tangomonster]

You can own your island, as this article in TIME shows:

Your Own Private Island - TIME

 

[haha]

DW and I want to live near water, either ocean or substantial lakes, so we can enjoy boating (though we probably won't be boatowners in retirement).

You have received many suggestions. What I don't quite understand is how you plan to "enjoy boating" without being boat-owners? Volunteer as sailing crew? Buy beer for a boat-owning neighbor? Go out on fishing charters?

While all these things will work, they will only work in some places. Can you give more detail on this?

Ha

 

[wildcat]

And sometimes they even have water in them...

Southcentral Kentucky and northcentral Tennessee have Lake Cumberland and Dale Hollow Reservoir. Living on the lakes would be expensive, but the small towns surrounding them are less so. Don't expect much in the way of culture or amenities...

But then, Louisville, Nashiville, Knoxville, and Lexington are only a few hours away.

Land Between The Lakes | HOME

Land betwee lakes is the best choice IMO. About 45 min-1 hr from Nashville. Not too expensive. Great boating/fishing. Easy shot back to Chicago if you ever have to go.

I have lived north/south of the Mason Dixon. Going to extremes either way is a tad much for me in terms of weather. I think in the humidity soaked portions of the US, the upper south is pretty decent.

 

[freebird5825]

re Buy beer for a boat-owning neighbor?

i have a small boat and a large cooler. LOL

 

[unclemick]

You have received many suggestions. What I don't quite understand is how you plan to "enjoy boating" without being boat-owners? Volunteer as sailing crew? Buy beer for a boat-owning neighbor? Go out on fishing charters?

While all these things will work, they will only work in some places. Can you give more detail on this?

Ha

Offering to buy gas and/or Beer always worked on Lake Ponchartrain.

I DO NOT recommend volunteering - some of 'my sailing friends' at least wanted you to train for race days, got super competitive and real grumpy.

Too much like work. Culling thru the sailors to find 'the right attitude' was harder than gas and beer in my humble 25 yrs on the lake.

heh heh heh -

 

[RunningBum]

If you like Austin, you might check out the hill country lakes west of Austin. A bit higher elevation keeps them from getting quite as hot, and you'd still have reasonable access to Austin.

The Wilmington suggestion sounded reasonable too, unless you are really worried about the hurricanes, then you might as well be upfront and say you are looking for lake property, not ocean.

 

[Moemg]

re Buy beer for a boat-owning neighbor?

i have a small boat and a large cooler. LOL

I have a large boat but I only drink wine ! and bring some cheese and crackers along !

 

[REWahoo]

If you like Austin, you might check out the hill country lakes west of Austin. A bit higher elevation keeps them from getting quite as hot...

Heh. Yep, away from the 'heat island" of big city asphalt, concrete and air conditioning exhaust, temps in that area can be up to 4 degrees cooler than in Austin. Not that you can feel much difference between a temp of 98 and 94F...especially when the humidity in the lake area runs 60 to 70%.

 

[Midpack]

You have received many suggestions. What I don't quite understand is how you plan to "enjoy boating" without being boat-owners? Volunteer as sailing crew? Buy beer for a boat-owning neighbor? Go out on fishing charters?

While all these things will work, they will only work in some places. Can you give more detail on this?

Ha

I have owned sailboats for 19 years and I love it. But it's a very expensive pasttime, and my intent is to sell mine and go out on OPB, charters, etc. in retirement or shortly thereafter.

 

[Midpack]

Offering to buy gas and/or Beer always worked on Lake Ponchartrain.

I DO NOT recommend volunteering - some of 'my sailing friends' at least wanted you to train for race days, got super competitive and real grumpy.

Too much like work. Culling thru the sailors to find 'the right attitude' was harder than gas and beer in my humble 25 yrs on the lake.

heh heh heh -

I've raced sailboats for many years as skipper and crew, so I am used to 'grumpy.' But not all boats are that way, in fact the better ones tend to be quiet, it's the hacks that tend to be yellers.

 

[Midpack]

If you like Austin, you might check out the hill country lakes west of Austin. A bit higher elevation keeps them from getting quite as hot, and you'd still have reasonable access to Austin.

The Wilmington suggestion sounded reasonable too, unless you are really worried about the hurricanes, then you might as well be upfront and say you are looking for lake property, not ocean.

Actually my Dad had a boat on Canyon Lake, and then moved to Lake Travis. But DW says she won't go for Austin, too hot. Austin is a wonderful place though, wish it wasn't so hot...

 

[Brat]

... And for you Puget Sound folks, Port Townsend or thereabouts is on our list.

Port Townsend is cute, and if you love restoring wooden boats that is the place to be. It is the perfect place for the sail-boat crowd, always a breeze.

There are several communities in more sheltered areas you should also explore.

As you approach the time of decision I recommend you rent for a year in any area where you want to live. What seemed perfect from a distance often doesn't live up to your expectations.

 

[Midpack]

Port Townsend is cute, and if you love restoring wooden boats that is the place to be. It is the perfect place for the sail-boat crowd, always a breeze.

There are several communities in more sheltered areas you should also explore.

As you approach the time of decision I recommend you rent for a year in any area where you want to live. What seemed perfect from a distance often doesn't live up to your expectations.

Actually Port T itself is probably too small and expensive, that's why I said thereabouts. The time of decision is 2-4 years, so we're planning some trips beginning this year, but we're trying to plan those trips at the worst time (weather) of the year at those places, most likely winter months for Pac NW.

 

[freebird5825]

I have a large boat but I only drink wine ! and bring some cheese and crackers along !

touche! LOL
i'm a really good cook. AND i know how to make authentic Buffalo chicken wings from scratch. <any points?>
need galley crew on your BIG boat in FL?
all kidding aside, what kind is it?
mine is an 18' Starcraft I/O for use on a small reservoir.

 

[Moemg]

It's my SO's boat but if you bring the wine you are wecome aboard !

 

[laurence]

I'm going to push the NE corner area of WA state as well. So amazing, and with Vancouver and Victoria and Seattle all nearby, you have endless adventures. We took a zodiac tour out of Victoria and had a pod of killer whales pass underneath. Simply amazing. The culture, the food, the arts, unreal. And the weather is very temperate, it very rarely snows. A friend of mine and I stayed in a youth hostel in Vancouver over New Years and while it was cold, it was more than tolerable to pass midnight on the beach in sweaters to ring in the new year.

 

[twaddle]

I'm going to push the NE corner area of WA state as well.

I didn't realize there was any water in the NE corner.

 

[haha]

I didn't realize there was any water in the NE corner.

If his compass wasn't broken, maybe he missed the Welcome to Idaho signs and he is talking about Coeur D'Alene Lake.

The weather is very nice for 8 months of the year anyway, and pretty good for the rest if you like winter sports.

Quality medical care and normal medium large city amenities half hour away by interstate in Spokane. Or choose an even bigger lake, good ski area and similar social attractions 40 miles or so north of there at Sandpoint on Lake Pend Oreille.

Ha

 

[laurence]

Bleh, NW! You knew what I meant!

 

[haha]

Bleh, NW! You knew what I meant!

True; but we love funning. It is an antidote to cloudy days.

Ha

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Clear Lake, California (Lake County).

Moderate weather, pretty large lake, not far from the coast, wine country, and a jaunt to san francisco. Plenty of airports. $150-200k buys you a modest home. $350-400 would buy something pretty nice.

Some parts are a little redneck, some parts are pretty upper middle class. Lots of pretty nice small towns a reasonable drive to the lake that have very different cultures, like Ukiah, Cloverdale and Calistoga.

A deep secondary is the Lake Oroville, CA area. Quite inexpensive right now. Close to a really nice college town with a lot of good retail restaurants (Chico) and under 90 minutes to the state capitol. Very clean lake (its used as a drinking water source) and home to a lot of houseboaters. Very rural, lots of rednecky areas. Tough traffic on the weekends.

So the left coast isnt necessarily all high priced...you could get a right smart place somewhere between lakeport and ukiah and spend your afternoons tripping through big name wineries, 5 star restaurants and the california seacoast all under an hours drive.

 

[honobob]

So the left coast isnt necessarily all high priced...you could get a right smart place somewhere between lakeport and ukiah and spend your afternoons tripping through big name wineries, 5 star restaurants and the california seacoast all under an hours drive.

CFB You're leaving out the best part... HOME>>Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino CASINOS!

And coming March 15th... WAR in concert! All your favorite 70's and 80's bands and super groups. O0

 

[haha]

And coming March 15th... WAR in concert! O0

Oh wow. I saw them in 1971 at the Hollywood Bowl. I thought they were all dead.

Ha