TN, SC, NC and GA all have about the same thing to offer regarding climate, scenery, roads, small towns, etc. But only one of these states have ZERO state taxes.

Edit: zero state income taxes. Sales tax is pretty high at ~9.25% depending on county.

Must be estimating the readings

Yes, I know it pretty well. Our lakehouse is on Lake Hartwell, about 45 minutes from Athens. UGA is there, of course (my daughter is a student there). A very nice city. Only complaint would be airport access (a long haul, with the city of Atlanta in between). If that's not a concern, there are some beautiful towns in that region. Clarksville (about an hour away) is in the foothills of the mountains...just beautiful and amazing roads. If you're a motorcyclist, it's nirvana! Of course, Lake Hartwell is on the state line and has 1000 miles of shoreline. Great fishing, boating, etc.

I'm a little more than 30 miles away. College town of course - although most of us Ramblen' Wrecks don't consider it much of a college :)

I hear you. Our climate here in SW Ohio is similar and I've had thoughts like these many times. I still might move south. But after a lot of soul searching I have to admit I love the seasons. I don't like the cold, getting up at 4 AM when it's 10 degrees and getting colder (anybody get that reference?) to plow my buildings' parking lots sucks big time, but I'm still man enough to do it and I take some pride in that.
But spring here can be heaven. Every year the world miraculously comes to life, and frankly I love watching the miracle happen. Autumn is similarly miraculous, watching the world prepare itself for winter. I've found new hobbies to do inside during the winter, and it has been good for me to push myself outside my natural inclinations. (Who knew I had an artistic bent?) So you might look into doing something outside your normal wheelhouse in the winter. You might surprise yourself with newly discovered abilities. I'm still hardy enough to hike in the ice and snow. I admit I have to suck it up sometimes a push myself to do it, but being hardy is good for my attitude.
But I still might move south.

Gordon Lightfoot?

They are claiming that's not the case.

We'll see what the next statement looks like.

Bingo!

NC is a great option. They even came up with a acronym for the town of Cary, NC: Concentrated Assembly of Relocated Yankees.

Seriously, there's a not to like about the Raleigh-Durham area, including good job opportunities, but it is expensive.

If you are a retiree further west in NC is nice. A family friend had a place there and joked that it was him and a bunch of retired executives from Coke in Atlanta.

I also have relatives in the Myrtle Beach area, and a bit north of Tampa, but both of those might be a bit too far south for me, and neither of these is a hotbed of high-tech jobs.

My wife and I were born/raised in upstate N.Y then moved to Orlando. Did 18 years there then moved to Marietta GA. almost 6 years ago. We like it here in Georgia. You do get four seasons just not the crazy cold. If it sleets or drops 6 snow flakes everything shuts down :D. I'm close to Lake Alatoona and Lanier. Great mountain roads just a few miles away. Atlanta airport is a plus if needed. Traffic is a ***** !!!! But the wife and I enjoy it here and plan on retiring here in the house we are in. She is already retired and I'm going to pull the trigger in 18 months !

What are the property taxes? I had someone in Oregon just tell me that they wish there was a sales tax, their overall tax bill would be a lot less. :(

I've only been to GA. and Atlanta once but it was in the spring and it was gooooorgeous. Really lush and green, beautiful place. I need green around me, even in the desert, (where I am right now). :)

Thanks for the info. I'd like to find something within a reasonable distance to Road Atlanta. I still plan on working corners long after I retire.

Property taxes vary by county here. Portland proper is in one of the higher ones, but our total tax burden is about average in the US. Yes, some of us want a sales tax, especially those of us who are past our "consuming" years - i.e. we've got all the "stuff" we could possibly need, with the exception of Porsche parts...

We're CA transplants too. Both natives, were living in SF bay area before coming here. Bottom line is that to have the quality of life we wanted (culture, food, airport) the numbers added up better here than anywhere in CA we could afford. Sold our CA houses and bought here cash. Never looked back. When we visit family in CA it's always nice to see them, and the SF bay is simply one of the most beautiful bodies of water in the world, but I'd never move back there unless I won the Lotto and had at least 3 mil for a house. If I could afford that I could afford the rest too.

I would look west of the rockies ... the South is a bit too bible-belty for me.

G

I've been a lot of great places in the USA, it all depends on what you want to do. I love the heat and am happiest when sitting on a boat, so somewhere like FL or AZ would be fantastic to me. Others hate the sometimes extreme heat, obviously to each their own. Sounds like a good excuse to do some traveling!

btdt.......imo Florida is awesome, been here 8 years, moved from north east Ohio which probably has worse weather than where you are.
yes summer gets hot, but it's the exact opposite of up north, June- Aug when you want to be outside you do everything before noon. but sept-may is awesome, temps get into the 40s in "winter" but realistically is only intolerable for a couple weeks then warms back up.....
plus no state tax, no vehicle emissions, beaches on the Gulf and Atlantic are 1-2 hours apart.....
hurricanes? only hurricane I've experienced so far was when I drove 3000 miles north to newfoundland for the targa race.
it'll rain everyday in the summer.....for 10 minutes, unlike up north where itll rain all day....stuff just blows over.....
pm me if you want more insight....
race tracks......
Sebring, Daytona, road Atlanta, Roebling, palm beach (old moroso track) etc
plenty of autocrosses

Don't pick Raleigh NC.

Too many people moving here and almost every weekend there is local. C&C or local Porsche event going on ;-)

VIR is only a 90 minute drive :-)

and you'll get acclimated to the heat after about a month, then anything below 70 you'll have on a sweat shirt and jeans...

Raleigh, NC