Best areas to buy a house for a retiree?

My father is retired and living near the Great Smokies in North Carolina but would like to move to be closer to where I live in NYC. He still wants to be around nature so we're looking into areas in the Poconos. He likes a lot of solitude and is not interested in being part of an HOA community.

A lower crime-rate area would be preferable, though I'm not sure how what I've read about crime in the Poconos on this subreddit matches up with our expectations since the Great Smokies area supposedly has a much higher crime rate than the Poconos in general.

Looking for suggestions for areas to explore!