Originally Posted by
lakeboy
Take a look at Chattanooga. Tennessee has no state income tax and a low cost of living in general. We are getting more and more retirees who like seasons, but want a milder climate. There are about 300,000 people here, and the city is located on the Tennessee River. Urban planners are coming from all over the US to study what Chattanooga accomplished transforming the city from one of the dirtiest in the country to a vibrant city with parks, bike trails, urban residential, etc. You can be in the mountains in 45 minutes, Atlanta in 1.5 hrs, Nashville in 2. I've been hear 13 years, and whenever we have out of town guests, they all just say "Wow, what a great city".
Chattanooga is nice but Nashville is better. It is on my list for places to retire. I can be close to Vanderbilt University, my Alma Mater, where I stay involved. The bicycling is really nice there on good weather days. Sometimes it gets a bit gloomy.
Like Texas there is no income tax in Tennessee. Nashville is fairly progressive. It was the first to combine city and county governments.
I may just retire here in Houston and ride almost every day. Air travel is also great from Houston.