[vinnie]

My wife wants us to live closer to kids.
We would keep place in The Villages and spend 6 months in middle of kids who live in St Louis Cleveland and NYC.
Seiverville Tn vs Asheville NC. Is one place better than another...tax wise, lifestyle wise. Would try to buy something up in the mountains yet be about 15-30 minutes away from shopping, golf, medical etc.
Has anyone lived around this neck of the woods that can give me their thoughts. Heading up to check it out. Thanks

[billethkid]

Sevierville and Gatlinburg (ala Smokey mountains) are ranked among the most visited by tourists in the nation.

During the summer the daily traffic is bumper to bumper in both directions....3-4 lanes in each direction....solid.

Holidays forget even trying to get near there.

Of those mentioned Ashville, while still a very frequented tourist area, is not like the other two.

We have a home in the foothils of the Smokies in the woods on Lake Norris...in LaFollette, TN....about an hour North of Sevierville/Galtinburg....for 22 years.

A great area to get away from it all with the advantage of being able to pick and choose when to go to those other areas.

Usually during school and during the week when most folks are at school/work.

[Chatbrat]

NC is a high tax state

[l2ridehd]

For the cost of owning a home in any of those places (exclude the purchase price) you can fly or drive to all those places, stay in the finest hotel, several times each year. Look at taxes, utilities, insurance, home watch, maintenance, and home watch here while you're there. And because those three places are still many miles apart, will you still have the travel and stay expense anyway?

If it's a must do, pick one of those three places and buy a condo there. Pick the one where you know the kids wont move away from. And St Louis and Cleveland will be a lot less than NYC.

But definitely do a cost comparison of owning vs traveling. Travel is almost always cheaper.

[vinnie]

We have the same problem at Village of skaneateles, in central NY south of Syracuse. It is like The Hamptons but on smaller scale.
there is a balance between being too far away from shopping ...Marshalls, Wal Mart Super Center, Sams Club. Kohls, Target and having some privacy where it is you, your wife and a bear. Will go through some towns to get a feel for the area.

[vinnie]

My property taxes in NYS are 27,000. Not overly concerned with 5.75% state income tax rate when property taxes would be cut by 18,000.
still, no one likes to pay taxes

[vinnie]

We may eventually have 1 home and it may be Gatlinburg/Asheville. I like The Villages but my wife would never live here full time. Besides that, the property values in The Villages do not increase anywhere near where they should because you are competing against a builder that continues to build new homes.
I will stay as a Florida resident for some time but I do not want one home to be central NY and my wife would not want Florida. Move to a city that my kids live in? And then if they move? No. and condos are not an option. I lived in an apartment and my wife loves our 5000 sq ft home on a lake up north. I could give that up but prefer rustic living with no maintenance so to speak