What wonderful advice, thank you! How did you ultimately settle on Alabama?
The Army brought me here to work on missile programs back in the seventies. Loved the work and the area. You could consider the Huntsville area. It’s not anything like the image you might have of Alabama. It’s a creation of the space and missile programs.
The population of Huntville is about 188K. The greater Huntsville area is around 400K. More than 61,000 people work in Huntsville’s aerospace and defense industry, at more than 300 companies and federal agencies. The Huntsville metro area has the highest per capita concentration of engineers in the country. It is ranked third for computer, science and technology workers. Huntsville has over 20,000 engineers. In Madison, AL (bedroom community), 57% have at least a four year degree.
There are three lakes within a two hour drive that are ranked in the top 100 for bass fishing. Hunting is plentiful. Property is relatively cheap. Existing construction, maybe 75/square. New construction under 100. Two universities.
Thought I would do this in two posts.
As I said, we seriously considered moving to central florida about five years ago so we researched the area. We scheduled a 10 day trip to spend time at several facilities. We ultimately decided against florida and decided to stay where we were. We never took that trip but I did contact several people who had moved there and spent hours on the phone.
I guess the main reason we decided not to move was this. We learned that many who do move decide they really miss their old home towns. We looked at the properties for sale and decided that this is an area where buying is easy and selling is hard.
One of the major reasons we considered moving was the golf. If you’ve seen the villages commercials, you’ve seen the “play free for life”. Well, that isn’t exactly what you might think. The villages are built around nine hole golf courses. You get to ‘play free’ there. The big boy courses, are not ‘free for life’. BTW, you don’t always get to ‘play free’ on the par threes either. Whether you get to play depends upon demand and how long since you played last. Kind of like a ‘duty roster’.
We found a house here in Huntsville that is across the street from the only 27 hole country club here in Alabama. I have my own cart and can play anytime I want.
Now, we don’t have all the facilities that the Villages offer. We can’t drive to the grocery store in our golf cart. We can walk to seven different places to eat including the club. We just decided this area was good enough and it wasn’t worth the risk of trying an area so far away.
I do recommend you visit several of the facilities in central florida. They are fantastic. We drive by them a couple of times a year (we drive to florida for the cruises) and we often wonder, ‘what if’.
Two last thoughts.
You need to visit at least twice. Once in the ‘low season’, summer, and once in the high season, winter. It is my understanding that the population varies widely and the temperatures do too.
When we drive to florida, we see a constant stream of travel trailer, RVS, goosenecks, etc. In the spring, they are travelling north. In the fall, they are travelling south. There are a large number of folks who move back and forth. That should tell you something.
Wish you luck. If you have specific questions, let me know.
Thank you freepertoo! What a nice relief this thread has been. My hubby and I are in your neighborhood now, Virginia side. Our plan is to get the hell out of Dodge in a few years too. Our plan is to go to Alabama. We have lots of family that live in a small town west of Huntsville. Close enoug for good health care. Are you dead set on Florida? Just thinking you have a few years to consider.