Where's a good place to live for a fixed income, disabled, retiree, seeking a moderate climate, with friendly people?

The southern states generally have a lower cost of living and a moderate climate.

The southwest

Senior Ark has this top ten list.

I personally believe that most towns in Nebraska, Iowa and Oklahoma would be good, and several north east Texas towns from Dallas/Forth Worth up and over.

Dominica Moderate climate, a beautiful, lush tropical island approx 15mi x 35mi, elev from sea level to 1 mile, combination of white sandy palm beaches and wild rocky cliffs, artesian wells and hot lakes, 365 rivers, many waterfalls, cooled by constant Atlantic breezes, no poisonous spiders or snakes, tropical hardwood forests, excellent sailing, fishing, diving and surfing, an economy based on shipping, agriculture and eco-tourism, a stable democracy, very friendly, naive people, very low crime rate compared to the US, last of the aboriginal Carib Indians live up in the interior mountains, an interesting history and rich culture, excellent buses in towns and from town to town, English mother tongue, lies between French speaking Martinique and Spanish speaking Guadeloupe, and the dollar spends very well.

The link provided by @YARNLADY is excellent. Not every place on there is in a moderate climate, but there are some good ones. Good luck.

I read the write ups on several of them and if you have the money to buy a house that’s great. The focus is on house prices not necessarily subsidized housing.

It would be nice if they included RL estimates on waiting list times for subsidized apt buildings.

In the Philly area the wait time for a unit in a HUD building you could live in (as opposed to being shot in) was a minimum of five years.

Here in MI it’s more like 6 mos. to a year. Big difference. If paying market rate rent prices is not an option for five years, why move there?

Nashville, Tn. i live here and retired. love it. four changes of weather. the humidity is a little sticky in the summer, but you will get use to it.

Tennessee, let me second @johnpennington. Eastern Tennessee is absolutely gorgous, the home prices are moderate. You could go for a city like Knoxville or a larger town such as Crossville.

@Espiritus_Corvus Do you live there?

@ETpro No, but I’m giving it some thought. I am looking at ten acre parcels on the sparsely populated east coast which is very wild, lots of cliffs and coves, good surfing and surf fishing—it reminds me a lot of the rugged northern California coastline around Mendocino, but warmer and much, much cheaper.

Over the past 7 years, I’ve now and then sailed boats down into that area for delivery to new owners. The first trip down on my way to Martinique, I sailed into Dominica out of curiousity because I knew nothing about it and it looked incredible from offshore—like a huge peaked emerald dramatically jutting out of the azure sea. I was fortunate to meet some locals that same night who have become good friends over the years. Since then, I’ve been back for a month at a time when I can.

It’s a pretty sedate island, but for me its about kayaking, sailing, billfishing, stream trout fishing, solitary camping on the beach or in the mountains, hiking to a mountain ledge for a panoramic view of the island, surfing, or just hanging in a cafe in town. When it’s 86F on the coast, it’s always 60 degrees 7 or 8 miles away in the interior mountains. The Atlantic trades keep the temps between the low 70s and mid 80s year round – subtract 15 to 20 degrees for the upper elevations.

It is a very small island with a relatively low population density (especially for the Caribbean), with small villages scattered here and there, mostly along the coasts. It is packed with an awesome variety of climate, terrain and culture. I’ve never been disappointed or bored there. The place is blessed as Hawaii is blessed and the people are incredibly hospitable. The interior is all streams and waterfalls, hardwood forests, interspersed with valleys carpeted with avocado, mango, papaya, banana and tangerine orchards which represent a lot of their export. There is birdlife that is found nowhere else in the world. The waters along the shore and in the bays are boiling with fish, like Florida 100 years ago.

Overall, the traditional native cuisine is very healthy. Spicy but not hot. Lots of fish and chicken, fruit of all kinds, lots of fresh vegetables, and for starches plantain, cassava (yuca), and rice. Their food has French Creole and Spanish influences. Today, of course everything is available, but beef is expensive all over the Caribbean.

It isn’t very touristy. I’m told it’s still very much like it was in the ‘50s, very quiet. Ecotourists are a different sort altogether and tend to go for the nature and native culture, rather than clubs, high-end restaurants and bars (all of that can be had a short sail away at Martinique or Guadalupe). They come in smaller numbers as well and aren’t dumped into port by the thousands from cruise ships like in places such as Forte de France, Martinique and I think that has a lot to do with the Dominican’s positive attitude toward foreigners—they aren’t overwhelmed by demanding people inflating local prices. There are a couple clubs in the capital city and main port, Roseau, but mostly the establishments are intimate little ma and pa joints serving local cuisine, little hotels, B&Bs and rooming houses. The villages are active, but at a slow, friendly pace. There are signs of geothermal energy everywhere and I don’t understand why this hasn’t been exploited in lieu of the big fossil fuel energy plant near Roseau..

Up on the north end, near Portsmith, there are some American college kids in an international exchange program and there is a Peace Corp presence up there as well.

If this island was ever cut off from the rest of the world, it is capable of independently supporting its population with more than adequate water, food and energy (geothermal). Not may Caribbean islands can make that claim.

I saw a piece on HGTV about a couple shopping for a place there. It truly looked tempting. Most homes are sold competelyu furnished, because getting furniture imported is time consuming and costly. Best of luck if you decide to take the plunges. I hope you will still be able to maintain Internet connection. I guess satellite is an option.

Have you read up on the US white supremacists 1981 plot to overthrow Dominica’s government and corporatize it into a nice little Nazi stronghold?

The Aristocrat Hotel in downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas. Lots of people go down the elevator in their motorized wheelchairs and wheel right down to the bank. The pizza place will deliver, too.
I’m not saying it’s a real attractive place. There’s another hotel closeby .. but the name escapes me. It’s a lot nicer and people live in there, too. Both hotels are very very close to the bathhouses.

@ETpro Oh, yeah, that was a famous incident. Fillibusterers! Unlike many Americans concerning this type of thing, the Dominicans are able to differentiate these whackos from the average American citizen. Their schoolbooks explain the incident in detail. The educational system is quite efficient and thorough and many Dominicans attend university in the UK and US, although they have their own post secondary institutions as well. The present prime minister is a graduate of Alabama State, then Georgetown.

The other famous incident in living memory were the voting riots in the 60s—growing pains of a young democracy newly out from under British management. I think the things that have protected this island paradise from exploitation has been their history of frequent earthquakes and the fact that they directly in east caribbean Hurricane Highway, storms hurled at them from the west African coast. But it sounds worse than it is.

They have small tremors that shake things off the bookshelves a few times a year which, as you know is a good thing on active islands. A few years ago, they had a richter 5 that knocked down a fine old church up in Portsmith. Nobody got killed, but the church was very old and traditional and the locals felt the loss.

They get hit by major storms (for which I have a strong affinity) during the summer on the east coast, but the mountains protect the rest of the island from major damage. Hurricanes come through about as often as they hit the Pensacola-Panama City stretch, but again the mountains protect the island. Other than hot lakes, some of which mix with cool mountain streams and you can bathe alone in for hours surrounded by jungle, there is no real volcanic activity. These are really lucky people and I think their generosity is rooted in their knowledge of that.

Internet is widely availble, broadband just coming in the last year or so. Wifi hotspots and cafes are prevalent and they have a couple of online newspapers and blogs which I like to lurk in and read the comments.

The trick to expatriotism is to never burn bridges. And Dominca isn’t that far away from Miami by plane although I prefer to sail. People don’t realize how small the world really is and most of it can be theirs with a little stoutheartedness and effort. Many people cover no more of the globe than a pinprick in their lifetimes. That is inconceivable to me.

It looks delightful. Let us know if you decide to make the move.