Looking For Specific Neighborhood Recommendations (Cookeville, Algood: transplants, for sale, real estate)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Things are heating up in the search for a college for our eldest son. We are currently in NC and desire to move on. Tennessee is where we'd like to be.
We have heard glowing reviews regarding TTU and Cookeville High School. So, we are beginning to seriously focus on finding a house in an area in close proximity to the 2 schools, but with a decent sized lot, preferably NO HOA, but in a nicer, somewhat upscale neighborhood. We would be looking in the $300,000 to 450,000 range.
It looks like CHS is right next to the airport. Is it a noise problem there? Are there any nice neighborhoods to live in nearer to CHS but close to TTU?
Any ideas/suggestions would be much appreciated. We are looking now for next year. One son starting college, the other starting high school.
Things are heating up in the search for a college for our eldest son. We are currently in NC and desire to move on. Tennessee is where we'd like to be.
We have heard glowing reviews regarding TTU and Cookeville High School. So, we are beginning to seriously focus on finding a house in an area in close proximity to the 2 schools, but with a decent sized lot, preferably NO HOA, but in a nicer, somewhat upscale neighborhood. We would be looking in the $300,000 to 450,000 range.
It looks like CHS is right next to the airport. Is it a noise problem there? Are there any nice neighborhoods to live in nearer to CHS but close to TTU?
Any ideas/suggestions would be much appreciated. We are looking now for next year. One son starting college, the other starting high school.
Thanks!
Cookeville High School was built on what used to be the airport, but it's not an airport anymore. A newer, larger, regional airport was built just south of town in White County. There used to be a few hundred feet of runway left at Cookeville High but I think it's now been made into a soccer complex.
Cookeville High is only a couple of miles from TTU, and there are some gorgeous neighborhoods around there. There's only one gated community in Cookeville, and as far as I know none of the other neighborhoods have anything even remotely resembling an HOA except maybe some of those built around golf courses.
Because CHS was built on what used to be an airport, the area immediately surrounding it is not the most attractive: industrial areas, low-rent apartments, and what is I believe Cookeville's only trailer park.
But the area around TTU is beautiful, and there are some wonderful, upscale neighborhoods worth checking out.
This home is within walking distance of TTU and less than 2 miles from CHS (and it's one of my favorite neighborhoods in Cookeville, the Lowelands):
JMT you gave me more to review than I could ever dream of! My wife would no doubt prefer to live in a Victorian style house, as would I (are there any in town?) but all of the links you posted are going to be reviewed closely. Thank you very much for the plethora of leads.....and BEST of all, the fact that it is no longer an airport, where Yahoo maps still show it as such. Thanks for that!
I've been searching the MLS all evening but don't know how to limit my search to certain areas.......I will keep at it. This is fun and should get us closer to being there! Your selections are great.
JMT has answered your questions about the airport and has given you a nice cross section of homes (don't think the rules would let me get by with that...ha). I would probably classify a few of those as being in an 'upscale' neighborhood - Whites Point, Buckingham, and certainly the Lowelands. Depending on your style (new vs older, lot size, amenities) you can buy a lot of house for 3-400k, and in that price range we are in the most definite of buyers markets in Cookeville. Again, depending on your style, there are several other neighborhoods you might like - Bear Lake (though most homes are over 500 - its close to CHS), Capshaw Woods, Village Green, Hickory Flats (omg we toured one there the other day that was AMAZING), and one of my faves is White Plains (different than Whites Point) - its on the golf course but the HOA is only 180/yr.
Cookeville is laid out to where you can get from one side of the city to the other in 20 min or less so its not such a huge deal to be in s
uper close proximity (unless you prefer that). Although, it feels like the high school is on the other side of the universe from where I live. Even still, I can get there in 15 min, now the traffic is another story, haha!
Good luck to you!
Last edited by AmberFlynn; 02-12-2010 at 08:06 PM..
JMT is so great, isn't he? I always try to give him praise but apparently I do it so much I usually get the message that I need to spread it around a little first!!
Anyway, those links he provided look really good. If you are looking for older homes, there are some right in town, close to Tech and CHS, that are older. Not Victorian but there are some gorgeous, older places you might find interesting. Your price range will get you just about anywhere you might like to live with a few exceptions. You will have lots of fun looking, that's for sure!! I like Capshaw Woods pretty well, dunno about their HOA situation. Then there are the houses not in a subdivision that are right in town--is that the lowelands or something like that, AmberFlynn? I can't remember. Anyway, there are some gorgeous homes around 6th street and in that area. Gorgeous. If you are not into HOAs, this might be more what you are looking for. Many of them will be right solidly in your price range, too. Oh and Amber is right about White Plains--it's in Algood and we looked at a house there when we were househunting. There is a point where you turn into the neighborhood where the view is so spectacular it just took my breath away. It's probably my favorite of all the neighborhoods for that reason but the house we were looking at wasn't going to work for us. Definitely check it out if you can!
Capshaw Woods doesn't have an HOA - it has subdivision restrictions but all the upscale neighborhoods too. There are even a few Victorian style homes in there (kinda) but not currently on the market. There are several offshoots of White Plains too - Enclave (which is technically WP), and the Overlook (on the mountain - most of these homes are on a couple of acres) and Heritage Green - and neither of those have the HOA. As Wordy mentioned, the view is gorgeous - did I mention I love it over there, lol!
I'm not sure the Lowelands has a real definite area - I've seen homes all around the 6th st area claim to be in the Lowelands. I've often wondered if that area would be as desirable to transplants. Its old time Cookeville and has lots of history. Seems to be more attractive to people from here.
Looking online is the way to start, but don't forget that real estate agents are marketing professionals . Plus its hard to get a feel for a neighborhood from listing pics, so be sure to visit with an open mind. Its certainly very exciting!!
Ha speaking of real estate people being marketing professionals: I looked at all of JMT's links and one of them has the oddest photo. It's of the bathroom and is just a photo of a wall with busy wallpaper and the toilet paper holder. What the heck? I thought that was so funny!!
I love that whole White Plains/Buck Mountain area! Every time I go to Cookeville I make it a point to take a spin around those neighborhoods. The drive up Buck Mountain Road all the way to Monterey is one of my favorites.
And you guys are right, with the OP's price range they'll be able to find just about anything in Cookeville although there aren't too many Victorian homes in town. Cookeville was a teeny little one-horse town back in the Victorian days. However, that East Broad Historical District (the few blocks just east of the courhouse along Broad and Freeze) have some beautiful Victorian homes.
There are some neat old Victorian/Gothic farmhouses scattered around the countryside outside of town. My favorite is the old Draper farmhouse on the corner of Dodson Branch Road (state hwy 135) and Howard Draper Road just north of town. I wish I had a picture of it to share.
And of course there's the Queen Mother of Victorian homes in Cookeville, the one next to the funeral home (Whitson?) on Dixie next to the First Prebyterian Church. At one time it had been the Sigma Chi fraternity house but fortunately it was rescued and restored to its former glory. There are also a few Victorian cottages in the neighborhoods between Dixie and Washington just north of downtown. If the OP can find one of those for sale, grab it, as they don't stay on the market for long.
I found this at the city's web site. It's an inventory of all the properties located in the city's three historical districts: North Dixie Avenue, Cream City, and East Broad/Freeze Street. It's interesting to peruse:
You people are making my eyes mist up! What a great help you are. We are definitely visiting Cookeville this summer (July?) and will follow ALL of your leads. I have yet to uncover even ONE negative comment about the area.
One of the biggest determining factors on where we set down will be proximity to TTU and the HS. But, there appear to be a multitude of choices in the vicinity! We now live in a subdivision in Cary, NC, with an HOA (that's not always a negative, btw) but my wife is definitely not too keen on another house that's a contractor special with the typical peaks, brick front and such. Something old and sturdy would be ideal, first choice, but not only choice. An historic house would be put into good hands with us, but there is a lot of room for variety.
I so much appreciate all of the responses so far and all of them are being documented for our visit this summer. I would love to meet any or all of you for lunch/coffee/conversation during our visit. Thanks a ton and please feed us all the info you can spare! Very grateful!
We will also be doing a lot of our own dirty work, so we don't expect to be armchair travelers!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. Plus its hard to get a feel for a neighborhood from listing pics, so be sure to visit with an open mind. Its certainly very exciting!!
