<p>we have 10 years or so to go , so haven’t narrowed list very much - I want to be near my future grandkids but kids don’t know where they are going to be ( and I assume the future grandkids will live with the kids ) but:</p>
<p>after 25 years in the middle of the country - I want my shore again. dh doesn’t like sand or ocean as much but is willing to live near a beach/shore.</p>
<p>want to be near a reasonable sized airport </p>
<p>don’t want two homes - have already done that and am over it.</p>
<p>want access to a reasonable sized city with museums music etc maybe 1 hour or so</p>
<p>don’t want to be so remote that a health crisis is a death sentence.</p>
<p>My first choice is Bay Creek Resort in Cape Charles, Va. But, H says it’s too rural. (One hour from Norfolk, Williamsburg, Virginia Beach.) So he’s pushing for Wilmington, NC. I guess that would meet your specs better than the Cape Charles boondocks. </p>
<p>Very interested in suggestions since we are looking for pre-retirement; I want to get out of the midwest climate and near a shore also. I fell in love with Irvine CA but DH thought the homes had too much of a townhouse feel. Don’t want to feel isolated, i.e. don’t want to have to drive distances to get anywhere and prefer places to walk to nearby. Don’t want to be in a “family neighborhood”; I’m more in the “get off my lawn” phase by now! Memphismom’s criteria sound good to me (except we also need synagogue options in the area).</p>
<p>The St. Augustine/Ponte Vedra/St. Johns County area in north Florida is really nice. My husband and I just returned from a trip up there to have a look around and get a feel for the area. It’s quite close to Jacksonville, where there’s an airport, decent hospitals, etc.</p>
<p>Many years ago, my grandmother retired to Cayucos CA. Just north of Morro Bay, near San Luis Obispo, great weather, nice beaches, still somewhat affordable. </p>
<p>Maine is lovely but after what will be 35 years in my adopted Southern city - don’t think me, a Jersey girl, nor dh, an Upstate NYer, could take Maine in winter.</p>
<p>East Coast. never lived west of the Mississippi…kids will probably end up on East Coast .</p>
<p>Newport Beach, California would be my suggestion. It’s a really nice city with great weather. Not hot, and not cold. Near both the beach and a big city in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>Just returned from St. Simon’s Island,GA. It’s a beautiful place with homes in all price ranges right off of I-95. Savannah is an hour north and Jacksonville FL is an hour south.</p>
<p>There is an airport in close-by Brunswick. Don’t know how big it is but my sister routinely flies in from Atlanta.
It’s a real community, not just a beach town.</p>
<p>If you want 1 hr access to significant museums and an airport and the coast and you don’t want a northern winter, you’re going to have to look at the Chesapeake area, I think, and Virginia. At least as far as the East Coast is concerned.</p>
<p>Savannah is a lovely city, and it does have an airport, but that area is probably thin on the museum front.</p>
<p>Winston-Salem, NC. We will retire there in all likelihood. Lots of arts (called the ‘city of the arts’), airports accessible in Greensboro, Charlotte, Raleigh. TWO major medical centers in the town. Moderate cost of living. Moderate climate with a change of season…but not too much snow. About equal distance to the ocean and mountains.</p>
<p>My parents retired to San Luis Obispo 20 years ago and a lot of their criteria was similar to yours. They are still there and perfectly happy. Not a lot of museums but plenty of cultural activities at Cal Poly.</p>
<p>I second that St. Simon’s / Jekyll Island is a beautiful area. There are cities nearby, too, if you are willing to live close, but not actually on the beach. Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC are classics. We also really enjoyed Chincoteague.</p>
<p>I’m not much of a beach person; I’m trying to talk my H into retiring to Ashville, SC.</p>
) but:</p>