Calling all Southerners
 

I am looking to relocate to the southern part of the United States. This may seem strange, but I am really open to a new location and do not have a specific area (city/state) selected. My husband has a very early retirement from his career and now has a business in which he can work anywhere.

So, he would really like to move to an area with true southern charm and I have noticed many of Greek Chat members are from the South. I would love an area that would be family friendly since we have young children and one in which they would receive a strong education and could develop a strong foundation/roots. The beauty and charm of the area would then follow. Any suggestions are most welcome.

Do you like the beach? Then I would suggest Savannah or Charleston. If you prefer a small town, not on the beach, Aiken may be a good fit. There are several nice suburbs of ATL if you'd like to be close to a big city. Charlotte is nice too. If you like golf, Augusta or Aiken would be good.

PM me if you want specifics on any of those :)

Thank you SthrnZeta!

I am going to do a little google search on your suggestions. I may take you up on your pm offer, since you extended a helping hand.

It is very hard to narrow down a new area to live when you have lived your entire life in one spot. It is time to make a change and I know that this change is important in the lives of my children. This is very serious for me and I have always felt it is best to speak with people who actually live where I may be moving.

On a side note, we will be visiting numerous areas in the coming months to help us as well. It will not be done blindly.

I'm in Charlotte. PM me if you have any questions.

That's exactly what I was going to suggest before scrolling down to see your response.

I am in the mountains on the border of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. If you like that kind of thing, let me know! No big-city amenities though. But Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte are about 4 hours away....

I may be a little biased since I grew up here, but Columbia, SC is a pretty great place to live. The public education and the private education system as well are excellent. But again, I may be biased ;)

http://www.hsvcity.com/

If your husband's business is anything related to defense or aerospace, this is a great place.

Keep the ideas coming! Don't be worried about cheering on where you live, especially if you love it. I know there must be many wonderful places to live and so many that I don't even know about. I am all ears on this one.

How is Huntsville, in general, as a place to live? Do you know?

Do you mind if I PM you?

Hilton Head!!! All the way...

I haven't been to Myrtle Beach, but I heard it is nice.

Parts of NOLA were nice, too. :(

It's nice to purchase huge swaths of land and build your dream home. I just know I have to live by the ocean near the outer banks or sea islands. That is just me.

My parents and I relocated to Texas about 10 years ago and I've enjoyed my time here so far. If you live near the larger cities (Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio), there's plenty to do. If you're more comfortable with smaller cities/towns, there are several communities along I-35, I-45, and I-10 that are nice and allow you to easily access the big cities. The cost of living here is very low and there's no state income tax :D


The only downside about Texas (in my mind) is the weather. It takes some time, but you get used to it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas

http://wikitravel.org/en/Texas

Summerville-Charleston area of South Carolina... hands down. It is my hometown and the most wonderful place on earth to live. I'd be happy to give you info if you're interested. :)

I have grown up in Florida (I know not the true South!)

I love both Jacksonville (Believe me it really should be called Southern GA) and Savannah!

I grew up in Nashville and LOVED IT! I can't wait for me and my husband to move back in a few years. It's a great city, big, but small town feel. Plus, it's growing alot right now with even more industry.

I'm also a huge fan of the Savannah,GA & Charleston, SC areas.

Stay AWAY from Memphis though. That's me personally, but I could give you lists days long of why (and get alot of people to back me up on that).

So true!!

I love Columbia. I didn't know you were from there. And I don't think you are biased. Columbia is great.

I'm from Charleston too! :D I agree with her that Summerville is good. You may want to look in Mount Pleasant too. It's more expensive there, though.

Hilton Head is expensive to live in too. Beaufort (which is nearby) maybe better. And I see Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach as big tourist attractions.

Greenville is good if you have young kids. But if you don't like people spitting God to you at almost every turn, it may not be the place for you.

"Adlanta" has good and bad parts. So, let me know where you're thinking and I'll try to steer some info your way.

Actually, the City of Atlanta isn't that large but Metro-Atlanta is a whole lot bigger, lol.

I live south of the Atlanta Airport but grew up near Athens (where U of Ga).

I agree with others..I want to move to their city too, lol.

L

LOL...You are right about that. As much as I love my school (Univ. of Memphis)...that is one city I have no desire whatsoever to live in...NONE...for MANY reason...including what you see on First 48 just about every week.

I grew up in Jackson, TN and I love it so much. We moved there in 1991 from Little Rock, Arkansas and it really has been great. It is a growing city and I just love the people there. I am currently living in Murfreesboro, TN which reminds me so much of Jackson and is about a 30 minutes from Nashville...its a nice city and the cost of living is very low in both places. You get a lot of house for your buck.

Oh, I vote for Raleigh, NC or it's suburb Cary, NC! We lived there for 3 years and I loved it!!

Hey!!!! I was just getting ready to list Greenville. I grew up there (Mauldin actually) and it is definitely a family place. You probably would be a little uncomfortable there if you do not have any religious affiliation. Most people's lives revolve around the church...

I would also recommend Columbia, Charleston, Savannah, or Charlotte. I live in a very small town outside of Charlotte.

This thread is awesome because in a couple of years, the bf and I are moving South. Where depends more on grad school than anything, though.

I love living in Nashville. I grew up in Atlanta, and it's a lot like that without the traffic, two-hour security lines at the airport, over-bloated city feel, etc. My visitors are always amazed at how NICE people are here. There is a ton of culture (obviously a huge music scene) and pretty much any store you could want. And you are right to think of relocating to the south - anyplace the DMV employees say "can I help you, ma'am?" instead of "NEXT!!!" has my vote. :) Plus, no income tax!

I am so thankful for all your responses. I appreciate each and every one of them.

I am spending a nice portion every day researching various places and today I started incorporating some of the earlier suggestions. There is so much to read and take in and it takes a great deal of time.

As I said before, I welcome any information! Thank you all so much.

I agree with all of this :) And I also grew up in metro-Atlanta and love Nashville so much more!

It is not the deep south, but have you thought about the Hampton Roads area of Virginia? (Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Suffolk)

Darlin' get used to it...that is what they say alot in the south...went to school in Kentucky and it is hard to beat....southern charm and super basketball for your hubby to enjoy..not to mention the Derby and super mint juleps...

if not there, how about the days of Scarlett and Rhett and Charleston or any city along the South Carolina coast....just so charming and laid back....but the houses there are pretty pricey if available at all...and you also have to learn to pick seafood espeicially crabs....

Good luck and if I can offer any other suggestions....I hate snow...would give my right arm to be in Charleston with some cool breezes...

Cheers!!

I'm originally from Fayette County, GA, have also lived in midtown Atlanta and south Cobb County, GA, and currently reside in Savannah, GA. Depending on what you're looking for, there are pros and cons to all of these, of course :) I would be happy to help answer any questions if I can.

One thing that's pretty important --- while the smaller Southern cities are wonderful, Atlanta is one of the few places in the country right now that has a decent job outlook. Many people are moving into the metro area from all over right now because of that. In Savannah, we have a good amount of available jobs in engineering and medical fields --- in other areas jobs are few and far between.

I'm going to give props to Chattanooga. If I were finished with school, I would move there in a heartbeat. It's a GREAT town.

hazelle, when you say "Charleston or any city along the South Carolina coast....just so charming and laid back....but the houses there are pretty pricey if available at all"-
Just how pricey are they and are they in demand?

Lots of people want property in Charleston proper or coastal areas, so the demand is very high. Prices range from the $700,000 upwards to multimillion dollar homes found in Isle of Palms or Kiawah... Summerville, which is about 20 minutes inland from Charleston has a depressed market right now, so you could probably find some great deals. I have found one myself that I'm looking into purchasing for retirement. I don't know about the specifics of the market for the coastal areas right now. I'm sure there is some demand, but I don't know if it's outpacing the supply right now or not, given the economy.

have you considered Richmond or the other cities in Central Virginia? I know we are not "the deep south" but I would say hospitable

I would live on HHI in a heartbeat.

We used to live on Ft. Knox and I grew to love Louisville. It was a lovely little city.

Currently we are in Northern VA. Despite the fact that we are below the Mason-Dixon line, there is very little Southern charm in this area.

Check out Birmingham, Ala. Business is booming...excellent schools in several suburbs...reasonable housing costs. Good shopping, and it's getting even better. 2 hours from Atlanta, and 4 hours from the beach.
I'm close to Huntsville...great area, too...

Ooh, I LOVE Chattanooga! I don't know what it is exactly, but that city has just got a great vibe and it is so pretty :)

Some places in Mount Pleasant can be just as high as Isle of Palms, Kiawah or Sullivans Island. It's not hard to find a home at $500,000. Summerville is growing so fast Dorchester County is trying to put a six-month halt on new homes built. You may also want to try Johns Island (part of it is in the City of Charleston) or West Ashley (which is in Charleston).

The housing market is slowing down her, but hasn't been as bad as some other places across the country.

The Mr and I argue about this all the time. He's from SC. Virginia IS part of the South; he shut up about it NOT being Southern when I pointed out that the capital of the Confederacy was in Richmond. lol.

Northern VA is a whole 'nother beast, lol. There is Virginia and Northern VA, its like night and day. The Tidewater area is nice, too, as someone said (Hampton Roads, Norfolk, etc).

My heart is in the heart of North Carolina, actually. Enough mix of city and country to give you enough of both when you need to escape, good schools, great economy, great University system (GO TARHEELS!!!) and nice people.

birmingham is lovely-the suburbs of homewood and mountain brook are especially nice. franklin, tennessee and brentwood, tennessee are suburbs of nashville and are very nice too.

i lived several years in jacksonville,fl. and it does have southern charm. the riverside and san marco neighborhoods are my favorite.

the research triangle area of nc is well thought of.

southern living magazine always has nice things to say about wilmington,nc. there is an informative article in the april 2008 coastal living magazine.

my sil and her family live in the woodlands, texas, which is a suburb of houston. good schools and nice neighborhoods.

And easy access to the beach and the mountains.

Baci, how old are your kids?

Oooh, me too! We go to a huge family reunion every Thanksgiving at Mr. C's uncle's house and all the neighbors on the cul-de-sac let the Carnations have their houses free. I love that area and even towns close to it...Statesboro, GA is a favorite. Reminds me of Houston, TX before it got so huge.

I also adore Valdosta, GA.:)