Living in Tennessee? Pros and Cons?

[NYEXPAT]

There is an area popular with retirees ( on CD data) that is around Loudon, TN.
I forget the name but you should look into it. Tenn would be too much Deliverance for me!

[ER Eddie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet The only negative I can think of concerning Middle and East Tn would be the hot, hot summers if you aren't high in the mountains. But, I think Chicago summers are hot so it's all relative.......

I'm from MS, and it'll be a few degrees cooler in Chattanooga, so I'm ok with it. I dislike the MS summers but there isn't much you can do about it. Just stay inside, mostly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYEXPAT There is an area popular with retirees ( on CD data) that is around Loudon, TN. I forget the name but you should look into it.

I looked it up, there's a place called The Neighborhood at Tellico Village there. It's a retirement community. Looks pretty upscale.

https://www.55places.com/tennessee/c...ellico-village

I wouldn't want to live in a retirement community, personally. I like to live free.

[Bamaman]

Tellico Village is a very nice development around Vonore,.south of Maryville. It may be on the Little Tennessee. It is a Cooper Community which has a bunch of real estate deve!moments around the south.

Other great developments are in Crossville, like Fairfield.Glade. It is a city of golf courses and country clubs.

[ScottS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harley It's off my list, due to a distinct lack of ocean.

I guess Hawaii would be your first choice, then ?

[ER Eddie]

Here are my pros for moving to Chattanooga:

- 3 to 5 degrees cooler
- CoL about the same, maybe a little more. Home prices about the same, maybe a little more
- It's a hub city: 2 hrs to Nashville, Knoxville, Birmingham, or Atlanta.
- Nickname is "The Scenic City."
- Lots of support for outdoor activity, including hiking and biking.
- 57 trailheads within half an hour's drive.
- Fastest internet
- The art scene, Hunter Museum, Bluff View art district
- Lonely Planet named it "Best in the US"
- Outdoors magazine named it best twice.
- No state income tax
- State interest/dividend tax is getting phased out.
- TN Riverpark (runs 10 miles along river)
- Aquarium
- Ruby Falls (underground caverns and falls)
- Audobon Acres

The cons are basically the hassles, expenses, and losses of moving. Severing of a few friendships. Loss of easy employment.

At this point, I'm tentatively planning to go full retirement in 1 year 2 months, and then move to Chattanooga or thereabouts.

I need to take at least one long trip there. 10 days or so. I can do that in Sept. or Oct.

[harllee]

I live in the summer in a small place -- Linville North Carolina. About 30 minutes east of Johnson City Tenn. and about 30 minutes south of Boone, NC. Wonderful summer weather. We are at 4000 feet altitude. Never gets above 80 degrees and has low humidity. Great hiking (Linville Gorge, Appalachian Trial, etc). Great fly fishing. Fun bluegrass music and flatfooting dancing. Several Universities nearby (Appalachian State, East Tennessee State). Nice golf courses. In the winter there is some cold and some snow but not too bad. There are several ski resorts close by.

I never hear of any serious crime in our area (maybe a few drug deals, some drunk driving, I can't remember anything really serious).

Come and take a look at the Linville, NC, Banner Elk, NC, Boone, NC, Johnson City TN area.

[Bamaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYEXPAT There is an area popular with retirees ( on CD data) that is around Loudon, TN. Tenn would be too much Deliverance for me!

Wrong state. Deliverance was filmed on the Chattooga River on the GA/SC border. I am sitting about 25 miles from there in my RV, and I can hear those chords in my head.

[ER Eddie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman Wrong state. Deliverance was filmed on the Chattooga River on the GA/SC border. I am sitting about 25 miles from there in my RV, and I can hear those chords in my head.

cue banjoes. That does sound more like Georgia than TN. I hope.

Quote:

Originally Posted by harllee Come and take a look at the Linville, NC, Banner Elk, NC, Boone, NC, Johnson City TN area.

Thanks for the tip! I will. I'm thinking TN rather than NC, but they're very similar in that area.

[davebarnes]

On the losing side in the War of Nortern Aggression, not for me.

[ER Eddie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davebarnes On the losing side in the War of Nortern Aggression, not for me.

lol

[brucethebroker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davebarnes On the losing side in the War of Nortern Aggression, not for me.

Nortern Aggression.....hmmmm.

[target2019]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davebarnes On the losing side in the War of Nortern Aggression, not for me.

Made me look. That is one difficult statement to interpret.

[Dawg52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ER Eddie At this point, I'm tentatively planning to go full retirement in 1 year 2 months, and then move to Chattanooga or thereabouts. I need to take at least one long trip there. 10 days or so. I can do that in Sept. or Oct.

Wherever you go, lease an apt for a few months before buying. Just to be sure that is where you want to reside long term. Perhaps you said that earlier in the thread.

[Mr._Graybeard]

All this Tennessee talk reminds me that Joe Namath is peddling homes somewhere in the state. Has anyone checked them out?

[ER Eddie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dawg52 Wherever you go, lease an apt for a few months before buying. Just to be sure that is where you want to reside long term. Perhaps you said that earlier in the thread.

I'd like to do that -- rent an apt. for a few months. I'd have to quit my job first. Couldn't get that much time off.

I could spend 7 or 8 days in a motel, check out the neighborhoods. I'd probably have to take a couple of trips like that, to get a feel. I'll use the shorter week-long trips to figure out if I want to move there.

That's a lot more research than I've done on any place I've ever moved. I've lived in about 7 states, moved about a dozen times. I've never known much where I was moving, just went there for other reasons (school, family). I never "sampled" a place like this before.

[ER Eddie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr._Graybeard All this Tennessee talk reminds me that Joe Namath is peddling homes somewhere in the state. Has anyone checked them out?

Yeah, here he is, pitching his retirement community:


https://youtu.be/PQGglTXAIhA


69K for the 3/2 house on 1/2 acre
350 prop tax
450 property insurance
No state income tax

That's a pretty nice deal, Joe.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ER Eddie Here are my pros for moving to Chattanooga: - 3 to 5 degrees cooler <> The cons are basically the hassles, expenses, and losses of moving. Severing of a few friendships. Loss of easy employment.

Everyone is different, but for me the cons are the bigger group here. Re: 3-5 degrees cooler, up in the sweltering range, 3-5 degrees F really matters hardly at all. You are still going to want to be inside with the AC on high. If a climate change is attractive, make it matter. Get some altitude and cooling in the Rockies, or the Sierra.

Ha

[frayne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ER Eddie Here are my pros for moving to Chattanooga: - 3 to 5 degrees cooler - CoL about the same, maybe a little more. Home prices about the same, maybe a little more - It's a hub city: 2 hrs to Nashville, Knoxville, Birmingham, or Atlanta. - Nickname is "The Scenic City." - Lots of support for outdoor activity, including hiking and biking. - 57 trailheads within half an hour's drive. - Fastest internet - The art scene, Hunter Museum, Bluff View art district - Lonely Planet named it "Best in the US" - Outdoors magazine named it best twice. - No state income tax - State interest/dividend tax is getting phased out. - TN Riverpark (runs 10 miles along river) - Aquarium - Ruby Falls (underground caverns and falls) - Audobon Acres The cons are basically the hassles, expenses, and losses of moving. Severing of a few friendships. Loss of easy employment. At this point, I'm tentatively planning to go full retirement in 1 year 2 months, and then move to Chattanooga or thereabouts. I need to take at least one long trip there. 10 days or so. I can do that in Sept. or Oct.

I moved from west central Ohio to the Chattanooga area twelve years ago and absolutely love it. We still have the change of seasons with very mild winters. The summers are hot and humid but you adjust accordingly and probably not all that different than what you are used to in Miss. I play golf year around and the mountains are less than an hour away if you want a change of scenery. I actually live just across the state line in N. Georgia primarily because of the better schools and the real estate was more reasonable at the time I bought. There are plenty of things to do in Chattanooga plus Atlanta and Nashville are both only about 90 minutes away. The place is rich with Civil War history and the town has quite a bit of culture and diversity which I like. Now the downside, rush hour traffic on I-75/24, 153 and 27 can be a real pain plus we have the ridge cut over Missionary Ridge which is a real bottleneck, especially for big trucks. People don't know how to drive in rain and when we do get any snow don't even think of venturing out unless you have a death wish. There is some urban decay but the city officials are working hard to convert old factories and warehousing areas into condos and green living spaces. We have state of the art EPB fiber optic internet hence the name gig city and a pretty robust and growing economy. VW and Amazon have facilities here. The people are wonderful and the pace is a bit slower than in the northern cities of equivalent size. If you have any questions about the area, shoot me an IM and I'll be more than happy to respond.

[Red Badger]

I'll pile on for Chattanooga as well. We did a few weekend road trips there when DS was growing up. I also did fairly extensive biz travel there. It was always a good thing when work took me to Chattanooga. Good dining option and hotels (including the Chattanooga Choo-Choo).

[mrc758]

I moved to Lenoir City in 1992 which is just outside of Knoxville. Great area in that it's small yet very close to all the amenities. I'm a physician at the hospital in Oak Ridge and my kids went to college in Chattanooga. It's a beautiful area of the country. My family loves it. My children especially love Chattanooga with the river and outdoor activities.