Talk to me about TN (Knoxville/Maryville area)

[ignorethefringes]

My wife and I have been seriously talking about making a move up there within the next year or two. With some personal things going on right now with my wife's job it may bump our schedule up to as close as year end. Some things that you may find useful and/or I'm specifically curious about below.

• We're looking for better weather than scorching hot year round. I miss mountains, and changing seasons, and places to hike, and local freshwater trout fishing, etc. Also, I'm not thrilled about raising my family in south Florida with the local politics looking the way they are.
• I work from home and we could likely live on my income as long as is needed for my wife to find a job. She is a teacher at a private school right now but has banking background as well. What are employment opportunities like?
• We'd be looking to buy a place (hoping to keep our house down here too as an investment/vacation home). We're hoping our expectations of places up there are reasonable (they seem to be per Zillow surfing)
  • Budget would be +/- $375K.
  • 3+ bedrooms
  • 1+ acre (real as large as I can afford without jeopardizing house quality lol)
  • Preferably within 45 minutes to 1 hour from southwest Maryville area.
  • No immediate renovations needed
  • Hi speed internet an absolute necessity for work (I'm having a hard time narrowing down whether this is generally available).
• We'd likely go private school for the kids. Part of the reason we like this area is the school system in general, and a specific private school in particular.
• What sort of public land deer hunting is available within +/- 1 - 2 hours? Down here public land is somewhat scarce, and limitations are abundant. I'm not interested in having to search for a lease to hunt every year.
  • Are regs pretty straightforward? Obviously I'll look this up myself too but opinions are appreciated.
  • Is public land pretty crowded and/or filled with crazy people?
  • Any other hunting opportunities that I should know about? Turkeys? Small game?
• Anything else you're willing to share that you like/dislike? Weather? Traffic? Pace of life?

Any and all opinions are appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read

 

[Hatchie Dawg]

East TN is beautiful. Economy there has generally been strong. You should have plenty of deer and turkey hunting opportunities and fabulous multi species fishing opportunities. Plenty of public. People come from all over the world for the hiking. Regs are not complicated.
HD

 

[WNC2500]

AJ: I live in Asheville which is Western North Carolina. Feel free to ping me via private message if you have questions about this area. I don't know much about Knoxville. Are you set on TN only or open to NC?

 

[C17loadclear]

That is a nice area and we actually considered moving there at one point. The weather will feel incredible compared to Florida but it does still get hot and humid in the summer.

good luck with your endeavor

 

[1100RemingtonMan]

I would push further North up to the Johnson City area if it was Me. Take a look around Holsten Lake.

 

[ignorethefringes]

I would push further North up to the Johnson City area if it was Me. Take a look around Holsten Lake.

I've actually looked around there as well and have a Zillow alert set up for that area. Why would you go up there instead?

 

[1100RemingtonMan]

Great Fishing and a lot of National Forest to Hike. Less People than Knoxville. I live in Iowa but travel to there once a month for Work and usual for three days at a time. I’m a Pilot and until I fly passenger home I hike a lot out there. I also have been going there for 20 years and know the area well.

 

[JDL]

I grew up in Farragut, a western suburb of Knoxville and also went to the University of TN. My parents are still there. My dad fishes an obscene amount-probably 3 days a week, more in early spring when the crappie are really biting. You’ll have a lot of great things in your backyard. No reason to not own a boat if you live there. Plenty of hiking, small game, and fishing. You may have some competition in the deer woods though.

I can’t say enough good about east TN. I wish I live there!

 

[BigHornRam]

A potential retirement area that has popped up on my radar recently is Ashe County-Boone area, North Carolina. Just over the ridge from Johnson City, Tenn. Never been there but it looks nice, and very affordable compared to what is currently happening in the West right now. Even Southwest Virginia looks nice and affordable. So how does each state, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia stack up against each other? Pros and cons?

 

[seeth07]

I have a cousin who lives in the Chattahooche national forest 1 mile from the TN Georgia line and absolutely loves it. I've only ever seen pictures and it looks like a great place to live.

 

[FLS]

My dads family is from SE TN. Knoxville is a big town with all the associated problems, traffic, crime etc. Maryville is better, but growing fast. Hunting is good but gets better as you go west.

 

[OleRedbeard]

You would love east Tenn. I live in the tri state region on the Virginia side. The further east you go in Tenn the lower the cost of living. We shop in Kingsport, Bristol, Johnson City, Sevierville area often since its the biggest areas around to do so. Plenty of public land, Plenty of places to fish and lots of good people.
The further you get outside of Knoxville and all its issues the better and slower the pace of life is. I have family that live there outside of a place called strawberry plains. Its got all the issues and problems you normally see in a city that size. Plus the fact they are trying to expand and the traffic is terrible.

 

[JohnCushman]

Here's a thread I started when I was going to uproot....luckily I shitcanned her

Tennessee move..info please

My girlfriend and I have decided it's time to start a new chapter in our lives. Colorado has pretty much played out for me and neither of us want to move back to upstate NY. We have decided Tennessee seems kind of cool. She has a lung disease and the only specialist is in Nashville, as well as...

www.hunttalk.com

 

[TN_Rifle_Junkie]

We live in the Sevierville area and travel through Knoxville and Maryville all the time. Downtown Maryville is okay but going more towards Seymour you will find land. If you are looking for cooler temperatures you need to go up to at least 1000-1200 feet of elevation. Internet is relatively slow in the county around 22 MB down and 7 up. If you need more help, let me know privately. We live 1 hour from Knoxville and 25 minutes from Maryville with a large network of friends all over the area.

 

[TN_Rifle_Junkie]

A potential retirement area that has popped up on my radar recently is Ashe County-Boone area, North Carolina. Just over the ridge from Johnson City, Tenn. Never been there but it looks nice, and very affordable compared to what is currently happening in the West right now. Even Southwest Virginia looks nice and affordable. So how does each state, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia stack up against each other? Pros and cons?

TN has no state tax. My total tax bill annually is only $1850 for a house and three cars. COL in TN is much much lower than any other southern states.

 

[TN_Rifle_Junkie]

I've actually looked around there as well and have a Zillow alert set up for that area. Why would you go up there instead?

Johnson City, TN is well known for its less than savory crime element (meth trafficking) and is a hub for the mid Atlantic area for drug distribution. Some things to consider about the JC area.

 

[SmTN]

The deer hunting is considerably better the further west you go in TN. You lose the mountains but gain better deer numbers. The areas that border western KY also have good trophy potential.

 

[BigHornRam]

Johnson City, TN is well known for its less than savory crime element (meth trafficking) and is a hub for the mid Atlantic area for drug distribution. Some things to consider about the JC area.

That damn crap seems to be everywhere, and particularly in rural areas. That is one negative about Tennessee I've heard more than once. Higher level of crime than most other states.

 

[Pucky Freak]

I think it would be a significant upgrade in lifestyle over just about anywhere in FL in terms of outdoor recreation, landscape, and weather. Plus you’re in the mountains. I don’t know enough about the differences between E TN, W NC, and SW Virginia to comment on that subject. I mainly appreciate the region for fishing and hiking, although I think it would be fun to hunt there too. There’s plenty of places that require a bit of a hike to get into where you can get away from the crowds, and plenty of public land. Some people prefer deer hunting in nearby ag areas such as further W in TN for better WT opportunity, and others prefer the lower densities and relative solitude of chasing them in the mountains. Learning to follow tree nut production can be helpful. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are (IMO) ugly tourist traps not too far from Maryville (E) that get a ridiculous volume of traffic from the greater GSMNP area, so keep that in mind if/when settling near Maryville.

Be prepared for a significant culture shift of Appalachian South. Lots of Christians, tight communities, and slower pace of life, especially outside the Knoxville metro. I mainly grew up in Minneapolis so that’s my reference point.

 

[brownbear932008]

A potential retirement area that has popped up on my radar recently is Ashe County-Boone area, North Carolina. Just over the ridge from Johnson City, Tenn. Never been there but it looks nice, and very affordable compared to what is currently happening in the West right now. Even Southwest Virginia looks nice and affordable. So how does each state, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia stack up against each other? Pros and cons?

I hate to say this but VA is stacking up to be the next CA when it comes to many things. The state is a D stronghold now at the state and federal level and we are having gun laws pushed down our throats by northern VA and parts of E VA. I would go to TN hands down personally I'm trying to go that route myself hopefully in a few years. Lots of outdoor opportunity and fishing in VA. but it's not the state it use to be. I've already had a few friends move to TN. to get away from these issues. Crime isn't bad in any of these areas so don't allow that to push you away. Violent crime is rarely ever seen in SWVA, NETN, or WNC. Thieves can be an issue but the key there is to make yourself a hard target and living in the right place usually helps.