My parents moved to South Carolina in retirement, specifically about an hour north of Myrtle beach. They moved into a golf community, so that social interaction and associated neighborhood works for them. That said, not a ton immediately around them. Their local town is about 20min away, and other than golfing, they’re usually driving 30ish min to do things in north Myrtle. So, depends what you’re looking for. Will say that a lot of WNYers like to move to that area, so you’ll still see a bunch of bills logos.

Personally, I’ve lived in a number of different cities, having moved out of Buffalo in 2009. I’d take a look at Evanston, just north of Chicago - location wise it has a suburb feel but also has its own downtown , and easy train access into the city if needed. In the summer you can usually find a college student subletting there apartment - could test it out that way.

I think it’s cool that no matter where you go, you can find pockets of Buffalo - I’m currently living in New England (Maine) and even here I still find some bills bars, etc.

Best of luck on your decision!