Athens for retirement?

Late 30s Gay male here. Athens wants to be a gay friendly and accepting community. And they are working hard to get to that goal. But Athens is a drop of blue in a sea of red and we don’t have walls around the city. Jody Hice is our representative and he is a top tier…. well you can google him. He and people like him will often cross paths with you. I have been here for over 20 years and still would only hold my husbands hand downtown, and not on a football game day. This will not be where we retire.

Athens is scored 29/100 by HRC.

HRC's Municipal Equality Index

Athens is not a walkable city, you would have to own a car.

As for retirement here, it’s not bad.

You do need to speak to an advisor to see if your tax situation would be better in Georgia, Tennessee or Florida.

We have a greenway trail that is very nice and is being expanded quickly, the river is a great way to relax and we are getting a second boat ramp very soon. This will make a very easy two hour boat ride, downstream from Ben Burton park to Macon highway. There are great restaurants to try. The botanical garden is amazing. The home prices are some of the lowest in the country. The University is also available if you want to learn, I think they will let you take a class for free after age 55, not sure. There is a very large group of retirees here and many were previously professors. There are many things that would be very attractive to someone in retirement here.

And if you get bored the airport is a Groome shuttle trip and you can fly anywhere from Atlanta.

/r/Athens Thread