Retirees are moving to this quiet North Carolina beach town to avoid Florida's heat, costs, and crowds

"Fleeing the Northeast and flying south - usually to Florida - to wait out the winter in warmer weather is a common move for snowbirds. But some retirees aren't flying quite as far south anymore for an escape. Take Diana Cawood, who skipped Florida altogether and relocated to North Carolina from New Jersey at the end of 2019. "Florida was not an option," Cawood told Business Insider, adding that it was important that she be in reasonable driving distance back to New Jersey to see her children and grandchildren. "We can drive back to New Jersey in about nine hours," she said."

"Cawood, 61, started looking for places five years before she retired in 2019. She knew she wanted a warmer climate than New Jersey, more favorable taxes, and a quieter life than the city provided. Wilmington, North Carolina, didn't quite fit the bill, and neither did Hilton Head, South Carolina. Then she discovered a retirement town that's less crowded than Florida cities like Naples or Tampa and is a shorter commute back to the Northeast: Calabash, North Carolina. The coastal town near the border of South Carolina is about 27 miles northeast of Myrtle Beach and offers a quiet, beachy lifestyle for retirees. Cawood and her husband settled on Kingfish Bay, a housing development about four miles from the nearest beach - and 569 miles from Medford Lakes, New Jersey, where they moved from."

Many retirees from the Northeast are choosing North Carolina coastal towns over Florida for retirement. Reasons include a warmer climate than the Northeast, favorable taxes, quieter lifestyles, and shorter driving distances to family. Diana Cawood moved from New Jersey to Calabash at the end of 2019 to be within a nine-hour drive of her children and grandchildren and settled in Kingfish Bay about four miles from the beach. Calabash is less crowded than Florida cities like Naples or Tampa, lies about 27 miles northeast of Myrtle Beach, and offers a low-key, beachy lifestyle attractive to retirees.

Read at Business Insider