It is impossible to think of East Tennessee without thinking of the Smoky Mountains. They frame the region’s eastern border in a haze of blue, with the streams and rivers of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee National Forest feeding the area’s many lakes and reservoirs. These mountains have been the inspiration for [...]

Up a long and winding road, past Little Switzerland and through the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, aspiring writers from around the world make their annual pilgrimage to Wildacres Retreat, seeking tranquility and inspiration. Some are making the trip for the first time, but for most, the week-long retreat and workshops are something they [...]

Despite the sluggish economy and down real estate market, those who have the means are out looking to buy now. Thousands of people who attended the Winter 2009 Live South Real Estate Shows took advantage of discount travel opportunities to visit their favorite communities in the South this spring.
Spring is the perfect time to visit potential retirement [...]

With the Blue Ridge Parkway curling around it on the east and the blue haze of the Smoky Mountains bordering it on the west, Asheville is the consummate eastern mountain city.

A bronze hawk perches on the dining terrace rail at Sedona’s Enchantment Resort and Spa. His ruffled feathers, modeled mid-flight by the sculptor, simultaneously reflect the wildness and the serenity of his surroundings.

For decades, the Myrtle Beach, SC area has described itself as the “Golf Destination of the World.” And with good reason, considering that annually, a million golfers play nearly four million rounds at Myrtle Beach’s 102 golf facilities.

It was 1982, and my young son Kurt and I were working at the Australia Outward Bound School in Tharwa when we heard that Reinhold Messner, the first man to ascend Everest without oxygen, was to give a talk at the University of Tasmania. Armchair Everest groupies, we went to hear him.

Ideal Living magazine would like to take this opportunity to share a very special place with you—Wilmington, NC, where we are headquartered.

When Robert and Carol Crate moved to the South 20 years ago, they had two small children and a third on the way. Today, their children are grown and many aspects of their lives have changed, but the Crates still call the sunny South home. Here are five reasons why.

One of the most leisurely and scenic drives in the U.S. is the Gulf Coast route of the Panhandle, where the sand is the color of moondust and the crystalline, emerald-hued water looks like nectar poured by the gods.

A legacy of swashbuckling pirates, complete with Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge. Crystalline ocean waters, winding inlets, marshes and shaded maritime forests. Incredible restaurants boasting boat-to-table seafood, some of the best diving on the East Coast and unparalleled fishing. This is North Carolina’s Crystal Coast, a string of barrier islands in the southern Outer Banks…

A true Southern belle, Savannah, GA has been luring visitors with her abundant charms for almost three centuries. General James Oglethorpe of England was the first to fall under her spell. In 1733, he journeyed to this halcyon, Spanish moss-draped spot on Georgia’s northern coast to establish what would become America’s first planned city.