Good news for retiring Georgians: You don’t need to leave the state to get a cost-saving retirement.
Home search tool Movoto has a list of the eight best places to retire in the Peach State. While Atlanta made the list, here are the top three cities that have a lot to offer retirees.
St. Simons Island
Part of the Golden Isles, St. Simons Island is one of four barrier islands. It’s the most populous with 17,000 residents, RetirementLiving reported. It also offers an ideal climate for year-round outdoor activities — frost doesn’t come until early December and leaves before February ends. Semi-public golf courses, biking, tennis and coastal waters are some of the offerings. It’s also affordable: $310,732 is the median home value, Movoto reported.
Augusta
Aside from the Masters, Augusta has many things to offer retirees. The Augusta Riverwalk offers a multi-level brick trail where you can visit the Morris Museum of Art and the Augusta Museum of History at the end. There are also lakes, parks and bike trails.
The city has a low cost of living, Movoto reported, and the median home value is $99,965.
Athens
Despite being a college town, Athens has more to offer than just the University of Georgia.
“Athens consistently ranks as among the nation’s best places to live, making it a top spot for relocation and retirement,” the city’s tourist information website said. “New residents are drawn to Athens by its moderate climate; convenience to Atlanta; median housing cost; top hospitals and medical care; plus the culture, opportunity, and excitement a college town provides.”
Movoto reported the median home value is around $148,158.
Livability.com ranked it Georgia’s No. 1 best retirement spot in 2020.
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