I would suggest Huntsville and Athens, Alabama (but South east Tennessee and North western Georgia could work as well). Plenty of clean, (almost) gator-free lakes that allow water sports (jet ski, boating, swimming, fishing...), winters are mild (snow falls are rare) though the temperatures might dip in the 20s some time to time, rolling hills, larger cities nearby (Nashville, Birmingham, and Chattanooga are all within 1.5 hour drive, Memphis and Atlanta are about 3.5 hours away). Huntsille has a pop. of ~350K for the metro, a well served airport, good hospitals, one of the most educated population in the country (lots of engineers), striving economy, and it is neither too conservative nor too liberal. In northern Alabama housing prices are very affordable, property taxes are cheap. No housing bubble here either according to the media. Home prices are up nearly 8% year over year (top 15% home price growth in the country for the past year). Humidity levels are very high in the summer but reasonable in the winter.
The gator situation is this: we have a fairly small population (less than 100 in our larger lakes from what I can gather) and no recorded attack on humans as far as I can tell. Northern Alabama is geographically on the bubble: if you go south of here, the winters are milder and the gator population strives, if you go north of here, the winters are colder but you have no gators.
Racial tension is very low as far as I can tell.
The gator situation is this: we have a fairly small population (less than 100 in our larger lakes from what I can gather) and no recorded attack on humans as far as I can tell. Northern Alabama is geographically on the bubble: if you go south of here, the winters are milder and the gator population strives, if you go north of here, the winters are colder but you have no gators.
Racial tension is very low as far as I can tell.
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