Charena Swann sounds as if she’s tattling on her husband, Lynn. She’s actually just proving a point about how their lives have changed. “He’s still in his workout clothes,” says Charena, whose friends call her Charlie. It’s 3:30 in the afternoon. Lynn went to the gym eight hours ago. “You know what?” he says, as if just remembering. “I did the same thing yesterday. This is an interesting rhythm for us.” Their days are full, but unhurried. They can wear t-shirts all day without judgment. Charlie, who has a PhD in psychology, calls it being “peacefully productive.” This rhythm is much different from the tempo they left behind in Los Angeles.
[Lynn] It’s a logical question: Los Angeles to Georgia? There’s no question that Southern California has its perks. You have the beach in one direction and snow on the mountains in the other. But you have to fight traffic if you want to enjoy any of it. Just going to the grocery store was time-consuming. At the end of the day we were too tired to even use our pool. Here, everything is right outside our door. Golf. Walking trails. Boating. We use our pool all the time now, which says a lot.
[Charlie] It’s warmer here, too. When I say that, I’m talking about the people. Everyone is so genuine and friendly and easy to meet. [Lynn] I’ve always enjoyed being with people. [Charlie] He becomes energized around people and then uses downtime to refuel. I like the fact it’s peaceful whenever I go outside to knit or read or go for walks. It fits us.
[Charlie] Something happened to me when we visited in 2019. We wanted to be on a lake and had considered a few places. But when we saw this lake for the first time … it took my breath away. We went biking, boating, and toured some homes. I didn’t need to look anywhere else. [Lynn] When she said, “This is it,” that was it. A few months later we were moving across the country.
[Lynn] People aren’t chasing the wind here. Everyone has things to do, but it’s in a relaxing and enjoyable lifestyle. I still travel to do consulting, appearances, and board work, so I don’t consider myself retired. I’m in flux, and that’s a nice place to be when you’re in this type of environment.
[Charlie] Pickleball has taken me over. For a while I was figuring out how to be OK with not working because I had a clinical practice for a number of years. We hadn’t been here long when some ladies at a social event asked me if I wanted to play pickleball with a group of them. I said, “What’s pickleball?” The next day I went to The Landing to find out and to meet people. Now I’m addicted. I’ve been to a pickleball camp, and I play four, maybe five times a week.
