• Linda Beyer and her husband moved from New York to a 55+ community in North Carolina.
• She says they are very social and enjoy their comfortable three-bedroom home with views of the woods.
• She says she appreciates the warmer weather, but there's a lack of services and cultural offerings.

Linda Beyer, 79, and her husband, 87, were ready to leave New York after five decades in the Hudson Valley. They wanted to be closer to their kids, and the weather was challenging to navigate as they got older.

The couple moved 11 months ago to the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina into a community for those ages 55 and over, purchasing a home. It has allowed them to be more social and take life easier, though it has taken some time to adjust to North Carolina.

“They try hard to be neighborly and to help one another,” Beyer said. “It’s nice to be able to spontaneously socialize with people. You just go to the clubhouse, and on Friday nights, there’s a ‘mix at six.’ People bring their own wine and hors d’oeuvres; you can chat with your neighbors.”

She says that while the population of her area is growing rapidly, many services are not meeting the growing demand. Though she’s paying much less in property and school taxes, the prices for most things are equivalent to what she was paying in New York.

“It’s great to save on taxes, but you get what you pay for,” Beyer said. “People flooding in here are going to create more strain on the services.”

The Census Bureau shows New York had a population loss of more than 0.5% from July 2022 to July 2023 — or about 102,000 people. Meanwhile, North Carolina had a 1.3% gain in population during the same period. The Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey found that from 2021 to 2022, more than 25,000 people moved from New York to North Carolina, while under 11,000 made the opposite move.

Business Insider's analysis found that among those leaving New York State from 2021 to 2022, more than a third were millennials, and nearly a third were Gen Z. More than a third owned a home in their new states of residence, averaging $563,300.

Some movers to retirement communities recently told BI that they were less stressed, more satisfied with their lives and social connections, and comfortable alongside like-minded people.

Leaving New York

Beyer and her husband lived in Poughkeepsie, New York, for 54 years. Beyer, originally from Ohio, retired at 56 after decades as a psychologist and public-school administrator, while her husband worked at IBM and retired at 65.

The couple enjoyed their time in the Hudson Valley, building their dream home and having a strong network of friends.

Because properties were larger in New York, they didn’t see their neighbors as often, as most of them worked during the day, Beyer said. They were active in the community with the Rotary Club, and they never felt isolated, though interactions weren't very spontaneous. Still, she said, her neighborhood was beautiful, filled with historic homes with their own character.

Beyer said they moved because they were getting older and wanted to be closer to their kids in North Carolina and Washington, DC. The cost of living was not a major consideration, though they figured North Carolina would be comparably cheaper.

They sold their New York home for $660,000 — $10,000 more than the asking price — and moved into their North Carolina home. They paid about $600,000 for the 2,400-square-foot home in North Carolina with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. They have an upstairs space for guests, including friends visiting from Poughkeepsie.

“Our home here, we say it kind of feels like a beach house that we’ve rented,” Beyer said. “It’s not as well built; it’s not as solid. It’s expensive for the quality that they are.”

The bill for her property and school taxes is now $5,000, she says, compared with $18,000 in New York.

Moving to a 55+ retirement community

The home is part of a 55+ community built by Lennar, which has about 500 residents. The community has a clubhouse with a pool, tennis and pickleball courts, and other amenities that make them feel at home. Beyer says her husband often runs into retired IBM folks with whom he worked in New York.

“We do have a comfortable-size home here, we’re not crammed up against everybody else,” Beyer said. “We have a nice wooded view behind us.”

Many of the homes in her community and neighboring communities look similar, she says, lacking the charm of historic Poughkeepsie. She says her community is across the street from one with 1,500 homes, and many others are being built, in addition to townhome communities and single-family home communities. Since moving, six new communities have opened or are under construction.

“You don’t feel really unique here at all, but it’s comfortable, and we’re not taking care of the property; that’s being done for us,” Beyer said, adding that she wasn't missing the big snowfalls.

Beyer says she values the community atmosphere where most people are retired and more relaxed. She’s not as connected with organizations in her new community, though. She hardly hears a Southern accent in her community, as many people are from the Northeast.

Still, it has taken some time to get adjusted to the new area, especially after being spoiled by the culinary options in New York, she says. She says the prices are about the same for costs such as medical and furniture, though her gas and electric bills are cheaper.

She’s noticed the food in North Carolina isn't as fresh, with smaller produce sections and lots more frozen and pre-prepared foods. She says there’s also a tax on grocery food in North Carolina and none in New York, and she estimates she’s paying more in North Carolina on groceries.

“We do miss the culture of New York. All of us here who are from New York are looking for a good bagel shop,” Beyer said. “We miss the proximity to the city — we could get on the train and go down and be there all day and easily come back the same day.”

A calmer life, but the move hasn’t been perfect

In her part of North Carolina, everything is further spaced out. While this hasn’t been a major issue for them, Beyer says sometimes the slower pace of life in her area has its consequences. 

She recalled how one time, when her husband had a medical issue, they waited a few hours for paramedics to come. They had to try a few different hospitals, some of which had no room. After a few tries and diagnoses, Beyer decided it wasn’t worth trying an ambulance again and personally drove from hospital to emergency care to primary care to get her husband treatment. They had luck with Duke University Hospital after some subpar experiences at others in the area.

She also said she struggled to get a license from the DMV, as it was so crowded that she had to drive hours away to a town near the Virginia border to get an appointment for a few months later. Getting license plates was less onerous but still took some time, though the vehicle title transfer process was burdensome.

“In North Carolina, there’s an explosion of population, but the services have not kept up with the number of people who are coming,” Beyer said. “They’re not widening or repairing the roads. They’re not building new schools.”

She and her husband are trying to explore the area, though the nature and destinations don’t compare to New York. Still, Beyer says they appreciate the warmer weather down south compared with the cold and occasionally icy winters in New York. She often swims outdoors year-round and said most days are pleasant temperatures.

“As we’ve gotten older, it’s been difficult to manage the harsh weather in the Northeast,” Beyer said. “Someone plowed our driveway, but not husband was out there doing the details. I slipped on the ice last year just before we moved, and that was an omen we had to leave.”

Have you recently moved to a new state? Reach out to this reporter at nsheidlower@businessinsider.com.

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