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You really need to read SC's post a few more times. Your idea/plan/vision/ability of fitting into the local culture is probably unrealistic for the areas you are thinking about. Come and visit, and spend a week or more in that area, then see if its a good fit for you.
Awesome! I hear you and completely understand where you are coming from. Perhaps I should not have stated that we are from "CA" ... even though that is where we live. Presently we are in San Bernardino County which is known for being the armpit of So Cal. We live in a beautiful city (about 50,000) in the foothills of the mountains. As far as diversity, I have lived all over the world as my dad was in the Navy. Husband is former USAF and we are not strangers to adjusting to other cultures. We enjoy camping (real camping) not "glamping" and have gone off trail backpacking. I imagine just like in Tennessee there are "hoity toity" areas and then out in the sticks places. We are leaning more to the "out in the sticks" than city or urban. Neither of us likes the superficial fake attitude and are more about having a simple life. Additionally we live the Dave Ramsey budget lifestyle so Dollar Stores and Wal-Mart are right up my alley and where we shop now. Hopefully we will find a nice church and get plugged in there but I am really just looking for input on the various communities wanting to find a small area that may be off the beaten path... definitely not in the touristy areas. My husband has fished and farmed and hunted and we are no strangers to getting in the dirt and getting it done. We love to see the fruits of our labor and enjoy the limited life of having 19 chickens now (ordinances don't allow us to have much more)...
Thank you for putting the names again of the areas from the other post. modcutI am trying to due my research so we are able to dive into this well informed and open eyed. My family still lives back in VA and I am eager to get the next part of our lives over to that side of the country.
There are some "hoity toity" areas in the western suburbs of the Knoxville metro and around Nashville, but beyond that, east TN doesn't have those areas, and certainly none in the counties you listed. Not trying to be rude, but the fact that you think somewhere like Grainger County might even have a rich area shows you need to do a little more Googling on these counties.
Take a look at the link below from the NY Times. This map details quality of life based on various metrics throughout the country. Not going to run through all the details, but virtually all of the rural counties in east TN rank in the bottom 10%-20% of all counties in the country. Unless you've lived in rural Appalachia or some other poor part of the South, there is going to be quite a shock coming from a populated, metro area to one of these really rural, impoverished counties.
FWIW, I'm a mostly lifelong resident of east TN and just moved back from one of the top 15 counties on that map, and have lived in another of the top 75 counties. I don't live anywhere nearly as rural as you are wanting to be, have family here, didn't love the place I was, and it's still been a major adjustment for me coming back. It's hard for me to imagine the culture shock of not being familiar with the area at all and just dropping myself into some isolated county.
One thing I don't think was noted was how little there is between the Tri-Cities and Knoxville. Greeneville is a town of about 15,000 and Morristown is about twice that - beyond that, most towns are probably less than 5,000. I would also stay reasonably close to the interstates - some of these counties have no access to an interstate, so it's going to be harder to get back "to town," and those are probably going to lack more services and be more isolated than a place with more access to major roadways. Depending on where you are, cell service, cable, and internet access are likely unavailable or of very poor quality. You may be an hour from a family doctor or hospital, and at higher elevations or off of back roads, getting around in the winter may be a problem. There is a stretch of highway that's about an hour between the KY border and Rogersville on a US highway where there is virtually no cell reception.
I would look into the Knoxville craigslist for land. I saw some lists where the acreage/price would work. There is a self-sufficiency/preparedness forum for the off-grid stuff you may want to look into.
I'm not saying these really rural counties are bad places - there is a lot of pretty land that can be had fairly inexpensively for what you are wanting to do, but it's not Mayberry and these areas have a lot of problems. The drug problems are a shock for people not from the area. You'll probably get to know people who have drug problems or families who have been impacted by it. Those drug problems breed social problems - broken homes, high unemployment rates, people in rehab, people in jail, etc., that people do not think of when they think of country Tennessee.
Many of your neighbors, people at church, etc., are going to be quite poor, and there may be some tension once they know you are young retirees from California. You may be conservative, but these are areas where you need to be comfortable with the Confederate flag flying over business, homes, vehicles. Many locals are poor and won't be able to retire the way you did, if at all, and that kind of thing can breed some resentment. I know I've ran into some retirees here in the Tri-Cities from big, wealthy states, who say "but that's not the way it's done in <>!" or act like things should cater to them because they're bringing money in from outside the area. Not saying that's you, but it happens fairly often. Also, I'm guessing you don't have friends or family or any support system out here - if it were me, I'd want to associate with people who are probably a little more open to new friends, and that's likely closer to town, not some isolated county in the middle of nowhere.
You really need to come and stay for awhile and check it out. Don't just go looking at pretty property if you're in a rural county - pretty views only go so far. Go to the grocery stores, see if you can find a doctor's office, think of items you may need to buy and see if you can find them, etc. Try to do some of the things that you'd normally do, then see if it might be viable. I think you're going to be shocked and not in a good way once you get too far "out in the sticks" in rural east TN.
Most of these problems could be avoided by simply sticking closer to Knoxville.
Awesome! I hear you and completely understand where you are coming from. Perhaps I should not have stated that we are from "CA" ... even though that is where we live. Presently we are in San Bernardino County which is known for being the armpit of So Cal. We live in a beautiful city (about 50,000) in the foothills of the mountains. As far as diversity, I have lived all over the world as my dad was in the Navy. Husband is former USAF and we are not strangers to adjusting to other cultures. We enjoy camping (real camping) not "glamping" and have gone off trail backpacking. I imagine just like in Tennessee there are "hoity toity" areas and then out in the sticks places. We are leaning more to the "out in the sticks" than city or urban. Neither of us likes the superficial fake attitude and are more about having a simple life. Additionally we live the Dave Ramsey budget lifestyle so Dollar Stores and Wal-Mart are right up my alley and where we shop now. Hopefully we will find a nice church and get plugged in there but I am really just looking for input on the various communities wanting to find a small area that may be off the beaten path... definitely not in the touristy areas. My husband has fished and farmed and hunted and we are no strangers to getting in the dirt and getting it done. We love to see the fruits of our labor and enjoy the limited life of having 19 chickens now (ordinances don't allow us to have much more)...
Thank you for putting the names again of the areas from the other post. A moderator deleted it before I could save it since it was noted as duplicate.... I am trying to due my research so we are able to dive into this well informed and open eyed. My family still lives back in VA and I am eager to get the next part of our lives over to that side of the country.
I believe that all of the advice you've been given is spot on. Having said that, I'd like to present to you an alternate to your original plan.
I think you should also check out the northern fringes of the Cumberland Plateau area. I've found that the people in the rural part of Middle Tennessee aren't quite as insular as the mountain people in East Tennessee and are more welcoming of "outsiders." You can get cheap land with beautiful views in places like Clay County, Jackson County, Overton County, and Clay County. I know of several people in Jackson County who've done what you're wanting to do although to a larger scale. One family moved from Utah, one from Phoenix, one from SW Florida, one from Seattle, and they are happy as larks. Their kids go to local schools and love it, and they've not had any problems making friends. They drive in to Cookeville for medical care and entertainment, otherwise the local Dollar General and farmers co-op have pretty much everything they need for their daily needs. There's fishing and hunting galore and absolutely beautiful and inexpensive land.
To give you an example of what it's like, here's little Gainesboro (pop. 900), county seat of Jackson County (pic from city-data):
---
its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
There are some "hoity toity" areas in the western suburbs of the Knoxville metro and around Nashville, but beyond that, east TN doesn't have those areas, and certainly none in the counties you listed. Not trying to be rude, but the fact that you think somewhere like Grainger County might even have a rich area shows you need to do a little more Googling on these counties.
Take a look at the link below from the NY Times. This map details quality of life based on various metrics throughout the country. Not going to run through all the details, but virtually all of the rural counties in east TN rank in the bottom 10%-20% of all counties in the country. Unless you've lived in rural Appalachia or some other poor part of the South, there is going to be quite a shock coming from a populated, metro area to one of these really rural, impoverished counties.
FWIW, I'm a mostly lifelong resident of east TN and just moved back from one of the top 15 counties on that map, and have lived in another of the top 75 counties. I don't live anywhere nearly as rural as you are wanting to be, have family here, didn't love the place I was, and it's still been a major adjustment for me coming back. It's hard for me to imagine the culture shock of not being familiar with the area at all and just dropping myself into some isolated county.
One thing I don't think was noted was how little there is between the Tri-Cities and Knoxville. Greeneville is a town of about 15,000 and Morristown is about twice that - beyond that, most towns are probably less than 5,000. I would also stay reasonably close to the interstates - some of these counties have no access to an interstate, so it's going to be harder to get back "to town," and those are probably going to lack more services and be more isolated than a place with more access to major roadways. Depending on where you are, cell service, cable, and internet access are likely unavailable or of very poor quality. You may be an hour from a family doctor or hospital, and at higher elevations or off of back roads, getting around in the winter may be a problem. There is a stretch of highway that's about an hour between the KY border and Rogersville on a US highway where there is virtually no cell reception.
I would look into the Knoxville craigslist for land. I saw some lists where the acreage/price would work. There is a self-sufficiency/preparedness forum for the off-grid stuff you may want to look into.
I'm not saying these really rural counties are bad places - there is a lot of pretty land that can be had fairly inexpensively for what you are wanting to do, but it's not Mayberry and these areas have a lot of problems. The drug problems are a shock for people not from the area. You'll probably get to know people who have drug problems or families who have been impacted by it. Those drug problems breed social problems - broken homes, high unemployment rates, people in rehab, people in jail, etc., that people do not think of when they think of country Tennessee.
Many of your neighbors, people at church, etc., are going to be quite poor, and there may be some tension once they know you are young retirees from California. You may be conservative, but these are areas where you need to be comfortable with the Confederate flag flying over business, homes, vehicles. Many locals are poor and won't be able to retire the way you did, if at all, and that kind of thing can breed some resentment. I know I've ran into some retirees here in the Tri-Cities from big, wealthy states, who say "but that's not the way it's done in <>!" or act like things should cater to them because they're bringing money in from outside the area. Not saying that's you, but it happens fairly often. Also, I'm guessing you don't have friends or family or any support system out here - if it were me, I'd want to associate with people who are probably a little more open to new friends, and that's likely closer to town, not some isolated county in the middle of nowhere.
You really need to come and stay for awhile and check it out. Don't just go looking at pretty property if you're in a rural county - pretty views only go so far. Go to the grocery stores, see if you can find a doctor's office, think of items you may need to buy and see if you can find them, etc. Try to do some of the things that you'd normally do, then see if it might be viable. I think you're going to be shocked and not in a good way once you get too far "out in the sticks" in rural east TN.
Most of these problems could be avoided by simply sticking closer to Knoxville.
Thank you! I really appreciate you making the time to point out some of these very valid issues. We will be back east for several weeks starting this upcoming weekend and I will be sure to keep my eyes wide open. I do have friends and family back there.... I have reconnected with several that I have known since grade school that live in TN... several are in middle TN as you have suggested and a few are in the southern part between Chatanooga and Memphis. I also have an old family friend that lives in Gray that loves the area there... but is a SAHM and doesn't really know the areas I have been asking about.
No offense taken about the hoity toity comment.... I wasn't specifically referring to Grainger but moreso a generalized sense of previous posts from others pertaining to areas in/around Knoxville.
I greatly appreciate your candor and insight and will check out the NY Times article. I am very much an introvert and seriously am fine with not seeing people for days on end as long as I have books to read, my chickens and dogs to talk to and internet Hubby on the other hand would drive me a bit crazy if he didn't have more social interaction with some other living creature.... so perhaps we need to look at larger towns that have more than 5,000 but not as big as where we are now (50k)... Fortunately, it won't be a stretch to tell people I am from VA since that is true and I never got rid of my twang so at least I won't sound like a CA local... but I do understand the need to be sensitive to the appearance of being well off or the need to not "have to work"... Despite being able to retire earlier than normal, it would only be so because of a very frugal lifestyle we have adopted thanks to Dave Ramsey... so the appearance of the typical, stereotype CA people are not us Nevertheless, your post did make me think more deeply about the socio-economic impact from their perspective looking at us as outsiders. Guess we will know more in the next few weeks once we experience the area. Thanks again!
I believe that all of the advice you've been given is spot on. Having said that, I'd like to present to you an alternate to your original plan.
I think you should also check out the northern fringes of the Cumberland Plateau area. I've found that the people in the rural part of Middle Tennessee aren't quite as insular as the mountain people in East Tennessee and are more welcoming of "outsiders." You can get cheap land with beautiful views in places like Clay County, Jackson County, Overton County, and Clay County. I know of several people in Jackson County who've done what you're wanting to do although to a larger scale. One family moved from Utah, one from Phoenix, one from SW Florida, one from Seattle, and they are happy as larks. Their kids go to local schools and love it, and they've not had any problems making friends. They drive in to Cookeville for medical care and entertainment, otherwise the local Dollar General and farmers co-op have pretty much everything they need for their daily needs. There's fishing and hunting galore and absolutely beautiful and inexpensive land.
To give you an example of what it's like, here's little Gainesboro (pop. 900), county seat of Jackson County:
Thank you! I will definitely check it out... I do have long time friends that are in the middle TN areas and they love it. We just prefer to be closer to the mountains as we live in the foothills now but we are open to any and all suggestions so as to make the best informed decision. I will hit the internet and read more about the various counties you mentioned. Thank you!
Thank you! I really appreciate you making the time to point out some of these very valid issues. We will be back east for several weeks starting this upcoming weekend and I will be sure to keep my eyes wide open. I do have friends and family back there.... I have reconnected with several that I have known since grade school that live in TN... several are in middle TN as you have suggested and a few are in the southern part between Chatanooga and Memphis. I also have an old family friend that lives in Gray that loves the area there... but is a SAHM and doesn't really know the areas I have been asking about.
No offense taken about the hoity toity comment.... I wasn't specifically referring to Grainger but moreso a generalized sense of previous posts from others pertaining to areas in/around Knoxville.
I greatly appreciate your candor and insight and will check out the NY Times article. I am very much an introvert and seriously am fine with not seeing people for days on end as long as I have books to read, my chickens and dogs to talk to and internet Hubby on the other hand would drive me a bit crazy if he didn't have more social interaction with some other living creature.... so perhaps we need to look at larger towns that have more than 5,000 but not as big as where we are now (50k)... Fortunately, it won't be a stretch to tell people I am from VA since that is true and I never got rid of my twang so at least I won't sound like a CA local... but I do understand the need to be sensitive to the appearance of being well off or the need to not "have to work"... Despite being able to retire earlier than normal, it would only be so because of a very frugal lifestyle we have adopted thanks to Dave Ramsey... so the appearance of the typical, stereotype CA people are not us Nevertheless, your post did make me think more deeply about the socio-economic impact from their perspective looking at us as outsiders. Guess we will know more in the next few weeks once we experience the area. Thanks again!
I'd recommend Gray and that general area. It has improved in recent years and while the outskirts of Gray toward Jonesborough are out of town, it doesn't get that backward feeling of those rural counties. You can probably find land in your range if you go a little farther out toward Fall Branch or so. I think that would be a relatively easy move for a Californian, especially comparing to very isolated counties.
The reason they don't know about Hawkins and Grainger Counties is that there is virtually no reason to go there unless you have a specific destination or are driving roads through to somewhere else. Rogersville has a nice downtown and some nice festivals a few times a year, but that's it.
Hancock County is awesome! I grew up in California
will never go back.
Thanks! We just got back a week or so ago and really loved Unicoi County the best! We will consider also moving to the middle of TN but we will need to do more exploring. Loved Morristown and Rogersville (although a bit too far from a Home Depot or Lowe's for hubs).... Will have to investigate Hancock County too!... Really ready to leave good ol CA behind. Thanks for the encouragement
I think Unicoi County is by far the best option of these.
I can't see the Morristown area doing much of anything. It's had a lot of growth from illegal immigrants - remove them and the population is likely to flat to declining. It will have a little more in the way of services and stores than the surrounding towns, but is really too small to be viable on its own and still quite a trek to the Tri-Cities or Knoxville.
Rogersville is much the same way, but much smaller without the immigrants, and closer to Kingsport. If you follow the local newspapers and TV stations here, Hawkins County is the butt of a lot of jokes. I wouldn't want to live there.
Unicoi County is rural, but is easily the prettiest of these counties and it's also close to Johnson City, which is the nicest city east of Knoxville. I-26 from Unicoi County into North Carolina is a beautiful drive. Unicoi County is also within an hour of Asheville, NC and portions of it 90 minutes or so from Greenville, SC or Knoxville for bigger city things. I think you can get a lot of the feel you want in Unicoi County without the problems of being in an isolated area.
I second Unicoi County. It really is beautiful and in close proximity to all the amenities of Johnson City in addition to being close to Asheville (only 30-40 minutes from the southern end of the county). Erwin and the Town of Unicoi both have fairly progressive leadership for small TN towns and have a bright future. Google the Mountain Harvest Kitchen in Unicoi for an example of one of the exciting things happening. With the recent opening of Rocky Fork State Park and the potential designation of much of the National Forest land in the county as a National Recreation Area I can see the Unicoi County turning into an outdoor lover's paradise but still retaining its rural character.
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My husband has fished and farmed and hunted and we are no strangers to getting in the dirt and getting it done. We love to see the fruits of our labor and enjoy the limited life of having 19 chickens now (ordinances don't allow us to have much more)... 
