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Hi, as soon as my DS graduates from high school, I will be looking to move out of Illinois due to weather (first and foremost!) Traffic and ridiculous cost of living. I am hoping to continue to work from home for the same company so commute time isn't hugely relevant. I like Atlanta and it's northern suburbs but my price range, under $200k, keeps me out of walkable areas. I live in a suburb of Chicago right now and have to get in my car for Everything! So done with that! I want to be within walking distance of groceries, restaurants, a bookstore, coffee shops. College towns seem to be best but difficult to identify houses in walkable areas that aren't overrun with students or in unsafe areas and still in my price range. I have a long "short list" right now (ATL, Roswell, Athens, Greenville SC, Oxford MS, chattanooga-really love the looks of Chatt but worried about the crime). Would love everyone's thoughts on the above as well as any other suggestions. I'm open to renting but would prefer to buy a townhouse or small house, 1000-1300sf. Most important thing is a vibrant safe downtown (can be quite small) that I can walk to. Decent medical care and continuing education also important. Thanks in advance for your input!
Greenville has a wonderful downtown, even has a Publix right downtown. I don't know its residential neighborhoods but Roanoke has a safe feeling vibrant downtown. You could find a house in your budget immediately across the river from downtown Knoxville. Groceries are accessible by bus. Is Cookeville, TN too small? It has a great hospital.
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I second Greenville, SC but I also like Greeneville, TN.
Chatt is a bit too big, look into Cleveland, TN.
Rome (college town), or Cedartown, GA are close to Chatt, but very nice. So is Ringgold, GA (Very Close to Chatt, but very small) Rocky Face, GA is another option in striking distance to Chatt.
For the region, I like Jonesborough, Gray, and Kingsport, TN.
Nearby college town is Johnson City (which I don't find as nice, but it has some decent areas. )
NETN has better weather / less chance of tornadoes / mtns (cooler)
There is another way to think about the issue of walkability, and that is on a micro level. If your own particular neighborhood is walkable (has sidewalks, a supermarket and other places near near, etc.), then is doesn't much matter if the entire city or town is considered walkable.
For example, the greater Los Angeles area doesn't exactly spring to mind in association with the word "walkable". Yet there are many residential neighborhoods which exist in close proximity to commercial areas. Sixteen years ago I bought a town house without the conscious thought of walkability, but as it turned out I have the following within a one mile radius of my place, and much of it within a half-mile radius:
Several banks
A post office
A public library
A supermarket
Several barber shops
At least a dozen restaurants
A car dealership for the make of car I own
An Automobile Club office
A multi-plex cinema
A florist
Two opticians
At least one dental office
Two of the large chain type pharmacies
There is other stuff I don't use, such as jewlery stores.
Yet my own street is tree-lined and pleasant. The five main things which lie outside the one-mile radius, and which I actually use, are auto parts stores, Home Depot, Office Depot, a large bookstore, and places to get men's clothing. Even those are within five miles.
My point is if you choose a place with a reasonably good reputation for walkability you ought to be able to find more than one individual neighborhood along the lines of my own in the greater Los Angeles area.
Hi, as soon as my DS graduates from high school, I will be looking to move out of Illinois due to weather (first and foremost!) Traffic and ridiculous cost of living. I am hoping to continue to work from home for the same company so commute time isn't hugely relevant. I like Atlanta and it's northern suburbs but my price range, under $200k, keeps me out of walkable areas. I live in a suburb of Chicago right now and have to get in my car for Everything! So done with that! I want to be within walking distance of groceries, restaurants, a bookstore, coffee shops. College towns seem to be best but difficult to identify houses in walkable areas that aren't overrun with students or in unsafe areas and still in my price range. I have a long "short list" right now (ATL, Roswell, Athens, Greenville SC, Oxford MS, chattanooga-really love the looks of Chatt but worried about the crime). Would love everyone's thoughts on the above as well as any other suggestions. I'm open to renting but would prefer to buy a townhouse or small house, 1000-1300sf. Most important thing is a vibrant safe downtown (can be quite small) that I can walk to. Decent medical care and continuing education also important. Thanks in advance for your input!
You might want to look at some of the smaller towns south of Nashville. It has been a while since I have checked on the prices in that area.
Greenville has a wonderful downtown, even has a Publix right downtown. I don't know its residential neighborhoods but Roanoke has a safe feeling vibrant downtown. You could find a house in your budget immediately across the river from downtown Knoxville. Groceries are accessible by bus. Is Cookeville, TN too small? It has a great hospital.
I did not find Cookeville, TN walkable. The hospital took the walkable neighborhood where I was planning to live and the traffic and lack of sidewalks made walking, even to things that are close, unpleasant or impossible.
One of my children likes downtown Chattanooga since a revitalization project took place in the last few years. I think I would like a downtown loft/apt as long as it had an elevator.
Someone else mentioned Cookeville as well and I'm intrigued. I'm not able to find much for sale in the area. I don't think it is too small at all. Thank you!
You just described my perfect neighborhood! �� My problem has been researching places like that without actually going there. I don't find the map apps I've tried super helpful. Redfin is the only real estate app I've found that even rates walkability. You are right on, for sure, just a matter of finding that right neighborhood.
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