Johnson City is where the beloved "" HOBO SHOESTRING "" lived before his untimely demise....Got a lifelong buddy who just moved from the west coast to N.Carolina , LOVES IT !! ....
I’m partial to Russellville, Arkansas. Small town(29,000). Has a huge Honda Motorcycle dealership. Arkansas A&M is a local university. Plenty of places to eat. Petit Jean State Park, Mount Nebo, close to Mount Magazine. AR7 and 27 are great biking roads. Close enough to Branson, Mountain Home, Fayetville. Right on I40 so either end of the country is on that road.
My grandmother was from Mobile,Al she was always proud of that. She rented a house it had a front porch back porch a large kitchen two bedrooms a den as well as a livingroom i was amazed she paid $250.00 a month. I lived in N.Y.
Math professor here. I would appreciate if you would give both median and average. Averages are skewed too much by outliers. A median is much more informative.
As a math professor you should know better. Outliers can only skew the averages meaningfully if n is a small number overall or there are a lot of outliers, in which case are they really outliers? Mean is informative. Median is useless. Honestly can’t even think of a statistical test that uses it.
This was one of your Best Videos regarding Retirement. I would have to say Crime, Cost of Housing/Living. Retired. No job needed. But an add on to this video would be Things to do in retirement as in Community service/volunteer ideas. But I do understand. I'm retired and not helpless. I should be able to find a good cause to help out.
Thanks for sharing all of these towns for retirement. Most important to us on your list are 1 Cost of housing (including property tax), 2 Crime, 3 Jobs
I've lived 45 minutes from Macon for the past 6 years Macon, it is NOT a nice place!!! There are certain areas outside the downtown area that are decent, but most of Macon is not a place you'd wanna walk around past a certain time of day! I'm from Wilmington, De which is worse and I still feel safer in Wilmington!
Hey, Briggs! I actively avoid any reference to politics and life is less stressful. I moved to Huntsville earlier this year from Provo UT and so far it has been great. Plenty of Mill House rentals are available in my new neighborhood so rents are manageable and there's room for those moving in. Seriously, I love it here.
I can vouch for Columbia SC, Spartanburg SC, Greensboro NC, and Johnson City TN. 😊 ...Also, these nice places in NC: Winston-Salem, Southern Pines, Asheville, and Hendersonville. 😊
Sorry I live in South Carolina and if there are 2 cities i would not want to live in, it's Spartanburg and Columbia. There are some nice places to live here but those 2 towns are not them.
Moving to the Johnson City TN area this year. House prices, then crime, the jobs are my order of importance as my wife and I are retired, and fleeing California for a sensible state, more aligned to our moral and political values. It will be nice to out of this fiscal disaster. Excited for our next adventure. Keep up the good work, we really enjoy your channel.
The heat would bother me, to be honest. If I lived in the USA, I would be more likely to live in one of those lovely towns near NYC, but then you have all snow to cope with, which would not be a joke. Thank you for the video! For me: 1. Crime Rate 2. Affordability. 3. Cultural Life (art galleries etc) 4. Jobs.
I have been meaning to tell you that I so enjoy your sense of humor. The name of your channel has always meant to me that it is your perspective on things more than about a geographical place. You know Briggs world! Hope that makes sense.
Thanks for sharing your research. I consider the cost of living as #1, then crime (and weather), then health care over jobs, I'm already retired and the wife still works, for a while anyway.
Great video, and great list of cities - one callout though - your title slide at 2:23 incorrectly depicts Greensboro as 'Greensboro, South Carolina' :/
If your home is paid for, not too large for your needs and you've kept it reasonably good condition, you can pretty much stay where you are and retire on Social Security. I did that about 15 years ago, am living quite well and still haven't had to dig into my savings.
Merci for all of your videos. Have not been in USA for 20 years, so all of your videos inform me. Crime, Cost of housing are of most concern. Do not need to work. Recent widow so definitely safety is first.
Hi Briggs! This couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. I’ll be moving to the South from Maryland next year. Your video includes 3 places I’m considering. Columbia, Spartanburg and Greensboro. And to answer your question: Cost of living, crime then jobs. As always, great video! Thanks for being you! ❤
Columbia is a pretty nice city with tons of government jobs and a very large university. The downtown areas are nice and the suburbs are as well…of course, it is a city…a small city but a city so there are some rougher areas but they are easily avoided. Also, it’s only 1.5 hours from Charlotte, NC, 3.5 hours from Atlanta and 2.5 hours from Myrtle Beach.
My choices would be cost of living, followed by crime, and followed by jobs, as I am near retirement. I would also assess the climate, which I’d rank on a par with crime.
Maybe it's just me but after traveling to coastal SC and GA over decades ,I've noticed a sort of lessening of the coastal regional accent that I found attractive and appealing during visits,
Thanks for the video! I especially like the idea of retiring in northern TN or southern KY- maybe not as hot as north Alabama but also not bitterly cold winters that involve shoveling snow.
@@morpheusjones4753 Don't forget the mosquitos. I was born and raised near the Gulf. Got the tee shirt. Not looking for anymore of that. Retiring somewhere in the mountains sounds better.
@@M.Campbell Oh yeah! I concur!! I should've remembered the mosquitos. I grew up in North Florida and can't count how many gnats I probably mistakenly devoured during the summers while riding my bike.
These cities all have their issues, but you could live a decent life in any of them if you do your research when choosing what part of town to live in.
I only lived there for a summer, so I'm no expert... but Winston-Salem is pretty good, depending on the neighborhood. Greensboro isn't as nice in my opinion, but probably has more clubs and bars for the younger people. Anyhow, those two cities are only about 25 miles apart, and part of the Triad, which also includes High Point.
As I get older health care is my number one priority. I’m fine now but you never know what will happen and I’m sick of trying to get an appointment only to have it booked months out. By that time I don’t need them any more I’d either be over whatever it is or dead!
Columbia SC is one of the hottest, as in termperature, cities in the South. Greenville SC is so expensive, so congested, totally unaffordable for someone on SS alone. Spartanburg SC isn't a bad city at all. It does have some crime but Sheriff Chuck Wright is a legend. Traffic isn't too bad, in that you can drive from one side of the city to the other in about 15 minutes or so. Spartanburg Regional is a trauma center hospital, they have great health care professionals. There are plenty of part time jobs for retirees in Spartanburg.
Briggs , since you mentioned your cruise, did you know you can cruise from Mobile? Right now it's only between Ocotber and April each year, but at least that avoids most of hurricane season.
Greensboro is also the furniture capital of the US and decor too! An Incredible international furniture & decor festival every year which is a great draw. It is also so green, lush and beautiful city with friendly people and pleasant temps usually. Your video doesn't reflect that.
Originally from Azusa, California. Born there in 1971. Lived there until 1980. Moved to Reidsville, North Carolina in August 1980. Left North Carolina in October 1993 for New Mexico and Colorado. Moved back to Reidsville, North Carolina in December 1994. Moved to Ruffin, North Carolina in January 1997. Lived there until February 2004. Moved to High Point, North Carolina in February 2004. Lived there until March 2016. Left North Carolina in March 2016 and went to Pensacola, Florida. Left Pensacola in late August/early September 2016. Now residing in Auburn, Alabama. I plan on moving back to North Carolina, not sure when I will, but when I do, I will never leave North Carolina again.
I love your channel and so appreciate all the work you put into these videos. If I don't agree I still want to hear what your ideas are. Even if I know better, haaaaaaa 🤣
Hi, I'm considering moving to the Greenville/Spartanburg area in 2026. Visited both twice and Love them both! I live in Columbus, Ohio and the influx of people because of Intel, Google and the rest has priced most everyone out . Rent is High, home prices for this Cow Town now Boom Town are way too high! My house has seen a 100K increase since 2022, and honestly its worth 150k. Between the crime, the traffic and the homelessness and beggars I can't wait to retire to South Carolina!
Love Spartanburg, live here 31 years, retired here. Weather good, city services good, great arts, affordable, sure beats NY,NJ. Many vineyards within 60 miles or less. Medical excellent.
Georgia, is FULL ,I can’t even get out of my suburb house , too many people moved, raised our home prices, I lived here 36 years, it’s getting disgusting ,traffic beyond horrible .
I call bs on Mobile. No offense but not anything there. Bad traffic for a small city. Check out Ocean Springs MS about 45 mins away from Mobile and next to Biloxi. Small town charm. Artsy. Great people.
Johnson City is great for the money. As the video said, has everything you need. Right by the mountains, you can swim at Boone Lake which has a beach and everything. Only a couple hours from Piegion Forge and Smokie Mountains. Very affordable really, you can buy a BRAND NEW home for under 300K. They are building like crazy here and the large national builder is selling homes under 300K for some and very low interest rates well below the standard (they buy it down) In OH these same homes would be in the 400's and no special promo rates. Oh and good medical care in J.C. with a great local university that specializes in medical.
Appreciate the Alabama love, I do think you may be wrong about Mobile. Kinda high crime rate and I know people that are there that aren't loving it. On the other side of the bay different story. Fairhope , Orange Beach. Here's the best way to understand Alabama it's kinda like one big city Quartered it's why it doesn't have one big city but 4 midsize ones north /Huntsville covers tech and DOD funding, Birmingham is the industrial and medical the GDP financial power. Montgomery is the govt mobile is the port to the world. I'll conceded you could be correct as it's port is being heavily invested in if not mistaken it's currently the #11 largest and the #2 most heavily invested in recently. It's also deceptive looking at city populations cause Huntsville, Montgomery and Mobile are all less the 500,000 while Birmingham is around 1,3 million
The city of Huntsville has a larger population than Birmingham, although Birmingham has a larger metro population than Huntsville. None of the population figures in any city or metro area in Alabama reach the 1 million mark.
I researched southern towns and southern small cities extensively when I decided to leave California 3 years ago. Two things to avoid are Hurricanes and High Humidity - Ocean Springs MS and Sulphur LA both feature torturous levels of Humidity🥵😰!! Johnson City has a decent climate; as does most of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. I ended up in Northwest Arkansas - paying under $1000mo in Rent💪👍😎!!
Here's a tip from a southerner.... don't forget why you left California. Meaning don't make your new southern home like the liberal s-hole you left. Oh, and welcome to the south!
@@mikeyc7072 Ocean Springs is only miserable for about 60 days. Most of the year it’s nice. It’s also an awesome little town of cool people. Almost no crime. Great music. Cool art. Pretty sunsets. Nice beach. Tree lined streets. Cool houses. Can drink all night. Lots of good food. Good fishing. Gambling and entertainment over the bridge in Biloxi. I’ve been to Hot Springs Arkansas! It reminded me of Ocean Springs!
Being at that age where retirement is closing in, or even already closed in due to health concerns, these are some plaves that could be worth looking into. I've had at least some passing familiarity with some of them over the years, ao that does help a bit.
Those monthly numbers at the beginning yikes who could live in that. I took my draw at 62.5 I make more than that and sometimes it’s tight. Johnson city one of the tricities. Southwest VA was cheaper. Where I’m at in KY is cheaper
Welcome to USA retirement -- where you only are expected to work PART-time. Its worth mentioning that if you want to live just outside pretty much any of these cities you can get a trailer/modular home for 50K - sometimes less (or more for a big one). There is a reason they are so popular in the south. Alternatively you can get a "park model" RV for $25K and stick it on a lake lot.
I love across the bay from Mobile AL in Fairhope. Just watched your video where you said mobile is a safe place to live. Man you should watch the news from over there. They're shooting each other fast and people are moving out of there to the Eastern shore constantly. Not at all safe
Nice video, Jimmy. Here's your list. I'm already retired. 1. Cost of living. 2. Crime Rate 3. Jobs. That's my order. I have to be able to afford to be at whatever place. If it's affordable, I like places that don't try and make me kick the oxygen habit and allow me to keep my stuff. I won't be working AT ALL so jobs are meaningless to me.
Southeast Texas here real-estate tax $390, brick home on 1.25 acre $18000, insurance $1500 but be careful county will issue building permits at bottom of pond
Using the median home price is much more accurate. It means 50% of the homes are priced below the median and half are priced above. Using the average is much more inaccurate because one very high priced home can throw off the average. Median is always a better measure.
Cost of housing, crime, jobs. I like Spartanburg, S.C. for it's southern charm. However if you have a need to travel on I-85 it has been under some form of construction since the 80's and does not look like it will ever be finished. Huntsville, Mobile, Johnson City are thumbs up. Macon, Sulfur, Greensboro and Columbia are a Nope.
Crestview Hills, KY is a small city basically among a cluster of small communities in suburbs of northern Kentucky, across the Ohio river from Cincinnati. I wouldn’t have thought of this as a city on its own…. Technically it is but more of a suburb in greater Cincinnati.
If you are from coastal CA, WA, NY, MA, MD, NJ, there is no southern state you could tolerate for very long. Trust me, they are very, very different in AL, MS, LA, TN, KY, OK, NC, SC and AR.
I thought Virginia and North Carolina would be less hard for one to adjust to if from a northeast or west coast state, versus if one from the northeast wanted to move to somewhere like South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, etc? Though even in these states, there are more liveable areas. I.e. Charleston(SC), Huntsville, Fayetteville, etc.
I like working in the summers in Wyoming and Montana but the south is my favorite area of the country. Preferably towns with 20,000 or less people. People moving into Nashville for instance thinking it's very cheap when it's probably the most expensive place in Tennessee to live is hilarious
Yes the color of the kislux is beautiful and it is a great decision, maybe one day they will add feet and straps. It would be nice to have a bigger bag during the colder months when we have to store gloves, beanies, scarves, etc…
Sorry Briggs but already you mentioned a town that is way out of my brother's and mine pocketbook prices. He's a veteran and barely gets enough to live on and I don't get as much as he does. We both share the expenses of rent etc. I buy the food and other necessities which doesn't last a month, so both of us are almost broke by the end of the month. I know of several people who have to work to pay their expenses. The American dream of owning a home is out of sight for us. God bless.
Macon GA? I live about an hour and half away. There are some nice areas on the northeast side but Macon is really run down. Not the city in GA I would tell people to move to.
Love your videos, your content and your humor! Always appreciate what you have to say.
I appreciate that!
I been to Mobile back in 1983 for vacation when I was a kid and I remember loving the scenery and the battleships
very high crime there.. You can live outside Mobile in Robertsdale and the crime drops significantly.
I'm looking forward to seeing this same kind of thing for all the other regions of the US, too! Thanks, Briggs!
That is the plan. Thanks for watching
Surprised no place in western AR or SE OK made the list. There is some great scenery there.
Johnson City is where the beloved "" HOBO SHOESTRING "" lived before his untimely demise....Got a lifelong buddy who just moved from the west coast to N.Carolina , LOVES IT !! ....
thanks
I’m partial to Russellville, Arkansas. Small town(29,000). Has a huge Honda Motorcycle dealership. Arkansas A&M is a local university. Plenty of places to eat. Petit Jean State Park, Mount Nebo, close to Mount Magazine. AR7 and 27 are great biking roads. Close enough to Branson, Mountain Home, Fayetville. Right on I40 so either end of the country is on that road.
My grandmother was from Mobile,Al she was always proud of that. She rented a house it had a front porch back porch a large kitchen two bedrooms a den as well as a livingroom i was amazed she paid $250.00 a month. I lived in N.Y.
Cost of housing/living, crime, jobs (in that order). Love your videos... who can go wrong with informative content and tongue and cheek humor!
This is a great channel because it has a little of everything! Well done! 👍
Math professor here. I would appreciate if you would give both median and average. Averages are skewed too much by outliers. A median is much more informative.
As a math professor you should know better. Outliers can only skew the averages meaningfully if n is a small number overall or there are a lot of outliers, in which case are they really outliers? Mean is informative. Median is useless. Honestly can’t even think of a statistical test that uses it.
Love Johnson City, Tennessee. Been there several times
I’d love to retire there. My BFF of 56 years lives there.
@@virginiawaters955 Then you need to go!! We only live once. Don't let anything or anyone stop you 💯
This was one of your Best Videos regarding Retirement. I would have to say Crime, Cost of Housing/Living. Retired. No job needed. But an add on to this video would be Things to do in retirement as in Community service/volunteer ideas. But I do understand. I'm retired and not helpless. I should be able to find a good cause to help out.
Thanks for sharing all of these towns for retirement. Most important to us on your list are 1 Cost of housing (including property tax), 2 Crime, 3 Jobs
Some is a bit misleading. In Columbia, tax wise it's less expensive to move across the river to the Lexington side.
Love your videos. I visited Ocean Springs, MS and really enjoyed it there. You helped me settle on where to retire, in a few years! Thank you!!!
You named some nice cities I've been to Macon it's a nice place it just stinks so bad because of the paper mill. Thanks Briggs.
Thanks for watching!
I've lived 45 minutes from Macon for the past 6 years Macon, it is NOT a nice place!!! There are certain areas outside the downtown area that are decent, but most of Macon is not a place you'd wanna walk around past a certain time of day! I'm from Wilmington, De which is worse and I still feel safer in Wilmington!
Paper mill, in Macon?
Hey, Briggs! I actively avoid any reference to politics and life is less stressful. I moved to Huntsville earlier this year from Provo UT and so far it has been great. Plenty of Mill House rentals are available in my new neighborhood so rents are manageable and there's room for those moving in. Seriously, I love it here.
I can vouch for Columbia SC, Spartanburg SC, Greensboro NC, and Johnson City TN. 😊
...Also, these nice places in NC: Winston-Salem, Southern Pines, Asheville, and Hendersonville. 😊
Sorry I live in South Carolina and if there are 2 cities i would not want to live in, it's Spartanburg and Columbia. There are some nice places to live here but those 2 towns are not them.
I live in Spartanburg and its great here. The city is updating and gentrifing.
@@rblume1968so what’s cities to recommend
My Niece lives in W/S. I love it there, but it is expensive now. NC in general is expensive because of taxes.
He's speaking on affordability. Those places aren't.
FriYay video!!!! And about the south!! Thank you Briggs ❤ p.s. NC in the house 🎉🎉🫶🏿🫶🏿🎉🎉
My pleasure!!
I rank cost of housing last, jobs second, and crime rate first.
It's why the south is a concern for me. I tried it once from midwest to FL and was shocked at the crime even in small towns.
Moving to the Johnson City TN area this year. House prices, then crime, the jobs are my order of importance as my wife and I are retired, and fleeing California for a sensible state, more aligned to our moral and political values. It will be nice to out of this fiscal disaster. Excited for our next adventure. Keep up the good work, we really enjoy your channel.
Locust are migrating pest that swarm an area and destroy it
I'm sorry for the locals
The heat would bother me, to be honest. If I lived in the USA, I would be more likely to live in one of those lovely towns near NYC, but then you have all snow to cope with, which would not be a joke. Thank you for the video! For me: 1. Crime Rate 2. Affordability. 3. Cultural Life (art galleries etc) 4. Jobs.
Lol affordability and near NYC? Good luck. I don't want to be anywhere near NYC. Overpriced, overpopulated, and overrated.
I have been meaning to tell you that I so enjoy your sense of humor. The name of your channel has always meant to me that it is your perspective on things more than about a geographical place. You know Briggs world! Hope that makes sense.
Thanks for sharing your research. I consider the cost of living as #1, then crime (and weather), then health care over jobs, I'm already retired and the wife still works, for a while anyway.
Great video, and great list of cities - one callout though - your title slide at 2:23 incorrectly depicts Greensboro as 'Greensboro, South Carolina' :/
Yeah, that caught my eyebrow. Don't even think we have a Greensboro.
Fellow Oregonian here. After watching your recent sit down with viewers, I want to show that I engaged with your channel’s content. :-)
Thanks so much for including the average rent I really appreciate you including it. 😊
Briggs, you are a funny and entertaining person. You bring relevant info and topics we desire to see. Good work.
I love Johnson City😄
HEY kislux I have been watching you for years and im so proud of where you have made it! I love you so much! Also thanks for making my day
If your home is paid for, not too large for your needs and you've kept it reasonably good condition, you can pretty much stay where you are and retire on Social Security. I did that about 15 years ago, am living quite well and still haven't had to dig into my savings.
Same here...
Merci for all of your videos. Have not been in USA for 20 years, so all of your videos inform me. Crime, Cost of housing are of most concern. Do not need to work.
Recent widow so definitely safety is first.
Hi Briggs! This couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. I’ll be moving to the South from Maryland next year. Your video includes 3 places I’m considering. Columbia, Spartanburg and Greensboro. And to answer your question: Cost of living, crime then jobs. As always, great video! Thanks for being you! ❤
Spartanburg is nice.
Columbia and Greensboro look rough from when I drove through, but thats just what I saw passing through, so could be wrong
Spartanburg and Greensboro are both nice. Have been to both a number of times. I live on the west coast, so everything is nice in other states.
I did some research and SC has much lower taxes. That is the top thing I am looking for.
Columbia is a pretty nice city with tons of government jobs and a very large university. The downtown areas are nice and the suburbs are as well…of course, it is a city…a small city but a city so there are some rougher areas but they are easily avoided. Also, it’s only 1.5 hours from Charlotte, NC, 3.5 hours from Atlanta and 2.5 hours from Myrtle Beach.
My choices would be cost of living, followed by crime, and followed by jobs, as I am near retirement. I would also assess the climate, which I’d rank on a par with crime.
Maybe it's just me but after traveling to coastal SC and GA over decades ,I've noticed a sort of lessening of the coastal regional accent that I found attractive and appealing during visits,
Thanks for the video! I especially like the idea of retiring in northern TN or southern KY- maybe not as hot as north Alabama but also not bitterly cold winters that involve shoveling snow.
Lived in Johnson City for two years great times
If the South didn't have summers I'd move there in a minute. But that heat and humidity is no joke. Thanks for the video.
Love Bugs, gnats and flying cockroaches are no fun either...
@@morpheusjones4753 Don't forget the mosquitos.
I was born and raised near the Gulf. Got the tee shirt. Not looking for anymore of that. Retiring somewhere in the mountains sounds better.
@@seriousbutfunny2 The southern summers aren’t as bad as northern winters. That below zero stuff can kill you.
@@M.Campbell Oh yeah! I concur!! I should've remembered the mosquitos. I grew up in North Florida and can't count how many gnats I probably mistakenly devoured during the summers while riding my bike.
@@morpheusjones4753 They are an excellent source of protein! 🤣🤣🤣
Macon is a beautiful city and it’s so much to enjoy here. I’ve been here all of my life and it’s grown so much.
These cities all have their issues, but you could live a decent life in any of them if you do your research when choosing what part of town to live in.
Genius!!!
woh like any city?!?!?
That's what I was thinking@@niavellir7408
Yeah, anything has issues
@@niavellir7408 _"woh like any city?!?!?"_
LOL, definitely not like _any_ city.
Upvote for Mobile. Went to Orange Beach to visit for a week and drove up for a day. It's really adorable and has a great feel.
GREETINGS FROM THE PPRC, GREAT VIDEO AS ALWAYS. DON’T THINK I WILL GO BACK TO THE HUMIDITY ANYTIME SOON.🇺🇸🍺🍺
I appreciate your Channel!!! 👍😉🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I appreciate that
I only lived there for a summer, so I'm no expert... but Winston-Salem is pretty good, depending on the neighborhood. Greensboro isn't as nice in my opinion, but probably has more clubs and bars for the younger people. Anyhow, those two cities are only about 25 miles apart, and part of the Triad, which also includes High Point.
Winston Salem is on my list
As I get older health care is my number one priority. I’m fine now but you never know what will happen and I’m sick of trying to get an appointment only to have it booked months out. By that time I don’t need them any more I’d either be over whatever it is or dead!
Briggs, loved the video. Crime, housing, jobs
My favorite channel
Thank you
Columbia SC is one of the hottest, as in termperature, cities in the South. Greenville SC is so expensive, so congested, totally unaffordable for someone on SS alone. Spartanburg SC isn't a bad city at all. It does have some crime but Sheriff Chuck Wright is a legend. Traffic isn't too bad, in that you can drive from one side of the city to the other in about 15 minutes or so. Spartanburg Regional is a trauma center hospital, they have great health care professionals. There are plenty of part time jobs for retirees in Spartanburg.
Always enjoy your videos!
Cost of housing
Always great
Briggs , since you mentioned your cruise, did you know you can cruise from Mobile? Right now it's only between Ocotber and April each year, but at least that avoids most of hurricane season.
Greensboro is also the furniture capital of the US and decor too! An Incredible international furniture & decor festival every year which is a great draw. It is also so green, lush and beautiful city with friendly people and pleasant temps usually. Your video doesn't reflect that.
Actually, High Point is known as the furniture capital. It's only about 18 miles from Greensboro.
Originally from Azusa, California. Born there in 1971. Lived there until 1980. Moved to Reidsville, North Carolina in August 1980. Left North Carolina in October 1993 for New Mexico and Colorado. Moved back to Reidsville, North Carolina in December 1994. Moved to Ruffin, North Carolina in January 1997. Lived there until February 2004. Moved to High Point, North Carolina in February 2004. Lived there until March 2016. Left North Carolina in March 2016 and went to Pensacola, Florida. Left Pensacola in late August/early September 2016. Now residing in Auburn, Alabama. I plan on moving back to North Carolina, not sure when I will, but when I do, I will never leave North Carolina again.
Good luck! Sending hurricane Helene 😢donations to NC@@dustinleonsky4513
Love Soda City Columbia! It's a great area to live and I am transplant from New England!
I love your channel and so appreciate all the work you put into these videos. If I don't agree I still want to hear what your ideas are. Even if I know better, haaaaaaa 🤣
Spartanburg SC is booming since BMW moved in . Many USA corps that are auto based also moved in
Hi, I'm considering moving to the Greenville/Spartanburg area in 2026. Visited both twice and Love them both! I live in Columbus, Ohio and the influx of people because of Intel, Google and the rest has priced most everyone out . Rent is High, home prices for this Cow Town now Boom Town are way too high! My house has seen a 100K increase since 2022, and honestly its worth 150k. Between the crime, the traffic and the homelessness and beggars I can't wait to retire to South Carolina!
@@AquarianSnflower it’s also a boom town now but still affordable.
Love Spartanburg, live here 31 years, retired here. Weather good, city services good, great arts, affordable, sure beats NY,NJ. Many vineyards within 60 miles or less. Medical excellent.
Looking to move near the southern Appalachias on a dime! It's do-able. Cost, safety, and a seasonal/ part-time job.
Glad you didn't mention Guntersville Alabama. No State Tax on Social Security, Plus one of the Best Lakes around. Very reasonable prices.
I was there a few years ago visiting family. Beautiful area.
The entire Mississippi gulf coast is beautiful, affordable, and very nice people.
Georgia, is FULL ,I can’t even get out of my suburb house , too many people moved, raised our home prices, I lived here 36 years, it’s getting disgusting ,traffic beyond horrible .
No offense but I'm guessing you live somewhere around Atlanta 😂 I think Georgia's great I again would never live in a town over 20,000 people
I concur. Crestview Hills is a great little town. Very convenient to Cincinnati and not too terribly far from Dayton, Louisville or Columbus.
Yeah it's a nice area, not sure if I'd consider that true southern US since you can't get a Krystal burger there.
Heyyyyy Mobile.. That city is pretty overlooked in my opinion
I love Macon!
It’s horrible in the summer
Crime rate, cost of living, then jobs.
Nice list!
Good stuff, per usual, Briggsy. You need to edit your 'Huntsville' graphic. It's spelled wrong.
I call bs on Mobile. No offense but not anything there. Bad traffic for a small city. Check out Ocean Springs MS about 45 mins away from Mobile and next to Biloxi. Small town charm. Artsy. Great people.
Johnson City is great for the money. As the video said, has everything you need. Right by the mountains, you can swim at Boone Lake which has a beach and everything. Only a couple hours from Piegion Forge and Smokie Mountains. Very affordable really, you can buy a BRAND NEW home for under 300K. They are building like crazy here and the large national builder is selling homes under 300K for some and very low interest rates well below the standard (they buy it down) In OH these same homes would be in the 400's and no special promo rates. Oh and good medical care in J.C. with a great local university that specializes in medical.
Nashville does the haunted thing too and uses the lanterns
I am glad to see Mobile first in something!
The Allman Brothers Museum in Macon, GA ❤
I'd really like to visit this museum, one day!
Appreciate the Alabama love, I do think you may be wrong about Mobile. Kinda high crime rate and I know people that are there that aren't loving it. On the other side of the bay different story. Fairhope , Orange Beach.
Here's the best way to understand Alabama it's kinda like one big city Quartered it's why it doesn't have one big city but 4 midsize ones north /Huntsville covers tech and DOD funding, Birmingham is the industrial and medical the GDP financial power. Montgomery is the govt mobile is the port to the world. I'll conceded you could be correct as it's port is being heavily invested in if not mistaken it's currently the #11 largest and the #2 most heavily invested in recently. It's also deceptive looking at city populations cause Huntsville, Montgomery and Mobile are all less the 500,000 while Birmingham is around 1,3 million
The city of Huntsville has a larger population than Birmingham, although Birmingham has a larger metro population than Huntsville. None of the population figures in any city or metro area in Alabama reach the 1 million mark.
Ocean Springs, Mississippi is the pick.
I'm glad you like barbecue. Don't forget South Carolina's own "Carolina Gold" mustard-based barbecue sauce!
I researched southern towns and southern small cities extensively when I decided to leave California 3 years ago. Two things to avoid are Hurricanes and High Humidity - Ocean Springs MS and Sulphur LA both feature torturous levels of Humidity🥵😰!! Johnson City has a decent climate; as does most of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. I ended up in Northwest Arkansas - paying under $1000mo in Rent💪👍😎!!
Here's a tip from a southerner.... don't forget why you left California. Meaning don't make your new southern home like the liberal s-hole you left.
Oh, and welcome to the south!
@@mikeyc7072 Ocean Springs is only miserable for about 60 days. Most of the year it’s nice. It’s also an awesome little town of cool people. Almost no crime. Great music. Cool art. Pretty sunsets. Nice beach. Tree lined streets. Cool houses. Can drink all night. Lots of good food. Good fishing. Gambling and entertainment over the bridge in Biloxi. I’ve been to Hot Springs Arkansas! It reminded me of Ocean Springs!
I landed in Russellville, AR 2 1/2 yrs ago. Closer to I40 and a university. Nifty town.
Being at that age where retirement is closing in, or even already closed in due to health concerns, these are some plaves that could be worth looking into. I've had at least some passing familiarity with some of them over the years, ao that does help a bit.
Thanks I love watching your videos. The deal breaker for me is too peoply
Those monthly numbers at the beginning yikes who could live in that. I took my draw at 62.5 I make more than that and sometimes it’s tight. Johnson city one of the tricities. Southwest VA was cheaper. Where I’m at in KY is cheaper
Macon is very pretty. Nice hills and historic homes
The country club in Kentucky is called, "5 seasons because 4 seasons was already taken". 😂😂😂
Welcome to USA retirement -- where you only are expected to work PART-time.
Its worth mentioning that if you want to live just outside pretty much any of these cities you can get a trailer/modular home for 50K - sometimes less (or more for a big one). There is a reason they are so popular in the south. Alternatively you can get a "park model" RV for $25K and stick it on a lake lot.
Johnson City is wonderful
Mountains!!
Greensboro DOES have traffic just not Portland traffic.
I love across the bay from Mobile AL in Fairhope. Just watched your video where you said mobile is a safe place to live. Man you should watch the news from over there. They're shooting each other fast and people are moving out of there to the Eastern shore constantly. Not at all safe
Nice video, Jimmy. Here's your list. I'm already retired. 1. Cost of living. 2. Crime Rate 3. Jobs. That's my order. I have to be able to afford to be at whatever place. If it's affordable, I like places that don't try and make me kick the oxygen habit and allow me to keep my stuff. I won't be working AT ALL so jobs are meaningless to me.
Southeast Texas here real-estate tax $390, brick home on 1.25 acre $18000, insurance $1500 but be careful county will issue building permits at bottom of pond
Using the median home price is much more accurate. It means 50% of the homes are priced below the median and half are priced above. Using the average is much more inaccurate because one very high priced home can throw off the average. Median is always a better measure.
Cost of housing, crime, jobs. I like Spartanburg, S.C. for it's southern charm. However if you have a need to travel on I-85 it has been under some form of construction since the 80's and does not look like it will ever be finished. Huntsville, Mobile, Johnson City are thumbs up. Macon, Sulfur, Greensboro and Columbia are a Nope.
Yeah, Macon, Greensboro, and Columbia if you enjoy crime
Where I live is much much worse.
Crestview Hills, KY is a small city basically among a cluster of small communities in suburbs of northern Kentucky, across the Ohio river from Cincinnati. I wouldn’t have thought of this as a city on its own…. Technically it is but more of a suburb in greater Cincinnati.
Price per square foot would be a better indicator of home prices. Not having to have a heavy coat would be a better indicator of livable weather.
If you are from coastal CA, WA, NY, MA, MD, NJ, there is no southern state you could tolerate for very long. Trust me, they are very, very different in AL, MS, LA, TN, KY, OK, NC, SC and AR.
I thought Virginia and North Carolina would be less hard for one to adjust to if from a northeast or west coast state, versus if one from the northeast wanted to move to somewhere like South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, etc? Though even in these states, there are more liveable areas. I.e. Charleston(SC), Huntsville, Fayetteville, etc.
#1 was a shocker!
I like working in the summers in Wyoming and Montana but the south is my favorite area of the country. Preferably towns with 20,000 or less people. People moving into Nashville for instance thinking it's very cheap when it's probably the most expensive place in Tennessee to live is hilarious
I hope you do New England soon.
I would love to see low crime videos in the south
Yes the color of the kislux is beautiful and it is a great decision, maybe one day they will add feet and straps. It would be nice to have a bigger bag during the colder months when we have to store gloves, beanies, scarves, etc…
Retiring on just Social Security alone? You’re screwed.
I read WEF’s plan was you will be happy and own nothing. I think the $35 Trillion in debt is the reason. Big debt trap by govt
Hmmm.....isn't it Huntsville instead of Hunstville?
Correct, the spelling is Huntsville for the northern Alabama city.
Sorry Briggs but already you mentioned a town that is way out of my brother's and mine pocketbook prices. He's a veteran and barely gets enough to live on and I don't get as much as he does. We both share the expenses of rent etc. I buy the food and other necessities which doesn't last a month, so both of us are almost broke by the end of the month. I know of several people who have to work to pay their expenses. The American dream of owning a home is out of sight for us. God bless.
Macon GA? I live about an hour and half away. There are some nice areas on the northeast side but Macon is really run down. Not the city in GA I would tell people to move to.
Funny, my Maternal Grandmother’s family moved from Johnson City, TN to Central CA in the late 1800’s for a “Better Life.”
Well this list tells me to stay where I'm at lol
I want two videos of cities with a livibility score over 90.
1st video. High-end neighborhoods
2nd video. Affordable cities over 90 score.