Chattanooga is the 'all-around best city' to retire in the South
[[Southern Living]] and [[Investopedia]] partnered to rank small towns and cities across the South for retirees, comparing candidates drawn from Southern Living’s South’s Best Awards across metrics including cost of living, home values, access to hospitals and continuing-education programs. The analysis picked [[Chattanooga, Tennessee]] as the best all‑around Southern retirement city, noting its proximity to [[Nashville]], [[Atlanta]] and the [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]], outdoor amenities such as the 16‑mile [[Riverwalk]] and plentiful golf, plus financial perks like relatively low property taxes and no state income tax in Tennessee. Investopedia and [[Zillow]] data also highlight an average home value around $295,930 (up 2.8% year over year). The piece also lists specialty winners such as [[Beaufort, North Carolina]] for healthy living and [[Ocean Springs, Mississippi]] for home buying to help retirees weigh lifestyle and affordability.