Question for the North Carolina guys.

[sc419795]

The wife and I are probably 5-7 years from retirement. We currently live in what you would call a suburb of Chicago. Winters are pretty harsh around here so we want to move further south. We are fortunate to have a lake house 90 miles from here in northern Indiana which has made very easy for me to get the wife to agree we need to retire on the water.

Ideally, I am looking for a decent size body of water. Our current lake is 550 acres - you all probably consider that more of a pond. We agree that we would want something larger than the lake we are currently on. We like the convenience of being right on the water, and having our own pier/boat house. If possible - we would like to be reasonably close to a larger city - maybe 75-100 miles.

Just wondering if anyone knows of a lake or two that fits that description? I know we probably limit ourselves wanting to be right on the lake with our own pier - but to be honest, as I think through retirement not sure I would want to constantly trailer in every time I want to fish or take the wife out for a cruise.

Thanks guys! Appreciate the help.

[SkidMark]

Lake Gaston, border of NC and VA. Water level is mandated +-2 ft of 200 ft so fixed docks are allowed. Awesome lake with clean clear water and grass. Big bass.

Lake Norman...by Charlotte NC. Biggest Lake in NC. Big $$ houses but also a mix of "avg Joe" houses. Clean clear water. Fixed docks. Lots of largemouth and spotted bass.

High Rock Lake, NC by Salisbury NC. Part of Yadkin River chain. Stained water with alot of rocks/wood. Alot of fixed docks but water level does flucuate. Good size bass.

Kerr Lake NC by Henderson NC. 2nd biggest lake in NC, part is in VA. Floating docks as the water can be 285 to 310 ft. Clean water and lots of bas.

Lake Gaston would be my choice. An hour from Raleigh. South Hill Va close, Henderson NC close.

[rdc5445]

Lake Norman would get my vote. Hope to retire on lake myself someday, and Lake Norman would be my pick.

[TBirck]

Check out Tillery or badin lakes . They are both within 50 miles of Charlotte. The trafic on the lakes are not all that bad. The housing is very open right now. Houses anywhere from $250 to $2mil.

[CigarBasser]

Lakes Tillery and Badin seem to have awesome houses and lots and is pretty central to two cities.. Lakes over where I am (Jordan and Harris) don't allow houses..

Good luck on your search.. NC is a great location to retire!

[riverhawg]

Tillery or badin would be my vote as well...hr from greensboro and 30min from charlotte, both are excellent lakes to fish but very affordable and peaceful. Personally I wouldn't live on high rock but that's just a personal thing lol

[JJS]

I would say Tillery or Gaston. Both are great frog lakes.

[LaCajuninNC]

I agree..generally good weather..mild winters for the most part..and some GREAT year round fishing all within 20 minutes to 6 hours drive...

[Z1]

Steve,

You can't go wrong with Lake Norman or Lake Wylie. I've helped hundreds of families relocate to the area. Both lakes are very convenient to Charlotte which is a mecca for entertainment, dining etc. Coming from Chicago you and your wife will feel right at home when you visit Charlotte from your nearby lake home.

As some of the guys already mentioned, Charlotte is about 20-25 miles south of Lake Norman. Norman is a numbers lake, and absolute fish factory. The lake is loaded with spotted bass, but has a healthy population of largemouths as well. It does have big fish as well, you just have to "work" a little harder for them. Norman is loaded with housing options. From the rustic weekend cottage to multi million dollar mansions, there's something for everyone's taste. Prices vary (300 & up), and have fortunately come down off their highs from 3 years ago. There are some excellent buys now which were unheard of in years past.

Lake Wylie is approximately 10 miles south of Charlotte, depending on where you are on the lake. Both numbers and big fish on Wylie. Its more a river type setting than open lake type except for the very central part of the lake. Wylie is a great lake, but ranks second as far as relocation to the area. Norman has many more definitive towns, shopping locations and unique areas of living, whereas Wylie is a bit choppy comparatively.

Can't really go wrong with either one, it depends on what feels right to you when you're here. As I mentioned the majority of my clients find their niche on Norman as you can live right in the heart of everything or find a quiet tucked away location somewhere on its 520 miles of shoreline.

Tillery, Badin and High Rock lakes are fantastic for fishing but I find the majority of my clients still prefer waterfront living on Norman & Wylie, and simply trailer to the other lakes if they want to to try something different.

Either way you can't go wrong living down here! I'd be happy to send you whats on the market just to give you an idea of whats available. Shoot me an IM and let me know.

Hope this helps!

Mark Zoltanski
Z1 Realty, Inc.
Broker / Owner



Modified by Z1 at 9:27 AM 6/22/2011

[SteveDyer]

Lake Norman hwy and boat traffic is a cluster F#^$ 99% of the time...if I was to retire I would pick a quieter lake and area. High Rock, Tillery...something more like these.

Still an easy tow to Norman and Wylie if you want to.

[Tommy Arnold]

Agreee on the "Cluster ----" at Norman and Wylie. But more so on Norman most of the year. Homes are more "High Dollar" on Norman and Wylie. But in the end, it's whatever "floats your boat".

[Chuck D]

Mark's right on this one guys. When you retire, it's more about the amenities than it is when you are younger. I have lived on the lake for 9 years here on Norman and Steve's right, it's busy but we looked at property on Badin, High Rock, Tillary, James, Hickory, etc and they are too remote. No grocery stores, hospitals, hardware stores, tackle shops nearby at all!!!! LOL! You get my point right?

Re: it being busy, who cares really? When you are retired you fish during the week anyway when the lake is flat and you're the only boat out there. Also when you live on the lake as I do you do the same (trust me). I don't get out there on the weekends with the nuts, I go fish smaller lakes and enjoy my Saturdays and having my kidneys where they belong vs moved due to boat beatings. By the way, Spring, Fall, and Winter are better fishing seasons anyway and there is no boat traffic then, it's really only between Memorial and Labor day as you'd suspect.

You need to be near first rate services such as health care facilities, airports, etc. Keep that in mind for sure.

My dad lives on Lake Anna up in VA (between Charlottesville and Richmond) and has recently been diagnosed with mid stage Parkinson's.... They live on the moon by most people's standards and now are forced to move to a place where he can get the medical care he needs because the local services just don't have what he requires now so they are trying to sell their home in a down market and I'll let you guess how that's going.... Be smart about it and think ultra long term.

It's a reality so don't overlook it. That's a major decision to possibly make wrong so play it smart and talk with Mark about what's where and what fits your needs. He knows these areas, lakes, etc and can also give you a fishing report or too if you need one. The guy knows his business and his business is real estate and catching fish when he gets time!

Hope to see you down this way soon enough friend!

[Basswipe]

If I could live on a lake in NC it would be Gaston.

[SkidMark]

Totally agree.

Everything is quiet....except for the weekends. Shopping close by in South Hill Va (15 min) Roanoake Rapids ( close ) Henderson NC 30 min, Durham NC 60 min(hospitals #1 if needed...Duke n VA) Raleigh 60 min. Va Beach Va 60 min or so.

[JJS]

There are a lot of "good" docks to flip during the summer.

[Chuck D]

Gaston is a fine pond but in an emergency or as a retiree I would much rather have a 5 minute ambulance ride than a 55 minute one if I had to take one.

Trust me, they almost put me in the ground 2 years ago and had that ride in the rolling bone box taken longer, I'd likely be pushin' up daisies which would may well have been some pretty daisies but I'm much happier that I'm here pushing my big foot on the hot foot and running this boat up and down the lake still and catching fish.

Happy to tow to the other lakes as they are better fisheries for larger fish but you can't beat convenience, particularly when it matters.

Lots to choose from, that's for sure.

[Rodney P]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by lknbassman &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Mark's right on this one guys. When you retire, it's more about the amenities than it is when you are younger. I have lived on the lake for 9 years here on Norman and Steve's right, it's busy but we looked at property on Badin, High Rock, Tillary, James, Hickory, etc and they are too remote. No grocery stores, hospitals, hardware stores, tackle shops nearby at all!!!!</td></tr></table>


The remote part is very true here. High rock is not so bad but the other lakes you would need to plan your trips to town for the most part. I have looked hard at lake front property and this has been major factor for us not moving lake front, it does not bother me so much but the wife will not do it. With that said I would never live on Norman retired or not. The traffic there is a pain in the arse on and off the lake on the weekends. It makes up for it be slow during the week x10

[SteveDyer]

Hickory, HR and Tillery James remote..lol

Hickory is in the town of HICKORY. They have running water indoor plumbing and even a MALL.

HR is 5 min from Sailsbury where there is ANOTHER MALL and even a college. Tiller and Badin are both just outside Albemarle...such a remote place they decided to put a Lowes, Wal-mart and hey...a hospital.

[Rangerman]

Lake Norman is "The Place", you learn when to go, and when not to go to mis the Cluster as Steve calls it. After all you will be retired North and South Carolina has some of the best fishing year in and year out fresh and saltwater as any place in the world. LKN you are 4 hours from the coast for saltwater and within 2-3 hours of Santee, Clark Hill, Hartwell, Dry Rock, Badin, and the rest. come on down and join the rest of the transplanted Yankee's we need your money. Sure nuff you get down I'll give you the 50 cent tour. Life is good at LKN.

[sc419795]

Guys - thanks for all of your replies. I think we are going to start to zero in on Norman a bit. We like the idea of being "close enough" to a larger city in Charlotte. Plus as someone said - if we are retired, we can let the weekend warriors have their fun on Saturday/Sunday and we can have the lake the other 5 days.

I do appreciate all of your feedback!