What areas/towns are best for retirement ?

[Jumeby]

Maybe the best city is no city ... live in the rural areas outside of a city but close enough to get the benefits of a city within a short 15-20 minute drive.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by patgrewn

So what? I am googling for information, not looking at thread dates.

Have you considered that after 8 years "The Best Towns" might not be the same towns?

[QUEMQUAHT]

I spent 20 years of my early life living in the Knoxville TN area in the 1960's. I really loved the climate, and being near the mountains, and took advantage of all the hiking clubs available in the area. I would love to move back to Tennessee for my retirement, and am researching the possibilities. The only things I would suggest that people wanting to move to Tennessee need to research before committing to a location are threefold:
(1) Tennessee is welcoming and protective to polluting industries, and some sites in closed valleys near these dirty industrial/chemical manufacturing plants will be unlivable to those with asthma and chemical allergies. If you like such a location try and reside up wind and as far away as you can get from the stinky factories. There are few emissions controls on the factories and the coal fired power plants due to no state enforcement for such controls. They provide most of the local jobs so no one complains.
(2) I would not choose any city or town with a chemical or nuclear waste disposal landfill. Tennessee is the only state left welcoming low level radioactive contaminated waste and allows that to be added to their Class I regular landfills for disposal, and the nuclear waste has been coming in from all over North America. There are 5 of these state legalized class I landfills now known to be legal in Tennessee: Chestnut Ridge Landfill, Heiskell (Anderson County, TN); North Shelby County; South Shelby County ( both near Memphis); the Carter Valley landfill in Hawkins County; and Middle Point Landfill in Murfreesboro, TN. (Rutherford County). Toxco Material Management Center and IMPACT Services Inc are disposing at Middle Point landfill, and the dump is being expanded.
Irwin TN and Oak Ridge have nuclear waste processing facilities run by Energy Solutions Co which has several other offices around the state, plus the dump sites. You don't want to locate near their processing or their dump sites.
(2) Another negative is the crime rate, which is one of the highest in the country due to police in certain areas being afraid to do their job due to a heavy influence of social engineering and political correctness on one hand, and in some cases having been corrupted themselves enough to overlook what their lawbreaking "accomplices" were doing under the table. Certain counties were always getting their police /sheriffs busted for all manner of drug graft and corruption when I lived there (1960's+ time period). However, there ARE a few places left in Tennessee where the law enforcement actually takes their job seriously and those have a lower crime rate, but these places will mostly be away from the large cities but in areas where people still have good jobs available. Crime was off the charts in Knoxville when I lived there, and it was such a relief to get away from there when I moved out of state.
During those times, you could not leave your vehicle at a remote mountain trail head for a backpack trip without it getting stripped during your absence. Hikers would have to leave their cars at a Ranger Station to ensure that they would stay safe. I don't know if this is a problem now, but with an ongoing economic stress that has affected everyone, it is another thing to consider. (If you live in a city you might need a garage).
Check out the County and City crime statistics before you settle on a final list of places that you think will suit your needs. The retirement communities built for retirees throughout Tennessee are really nice, for those that will be able to afford them. Tennessee is trying to attract the wealthy, and the retirement communities are priced for and aimed at retirees of that demographic. I have checked them out but as I cannot afford a high-end house on the lake with a lot of other escalating expenses due to all the community amenities that go up in cost yearly, those are going to be well beyond my possibilities.
The rest of us who are single and not millionaires will just have to do a lot of due diligence and research to find a suitable affordable and safe location!
Here's a link to the info on the BSFR (Bulk Survey for Release program) radioactive dump site locations currently known to have been legalized by the government without public permissions in Tennessee:

http://www.nirs.org/radwaste/llw/sen...tion032011.pdf

How did we end up with Middle Point Landfill? - The Murfreesboro Post

http://[domain blocked due to spam]/city/roge...SKHQ1D0DU8NPCG

[HomeIsWhere...]

Originally Posted by QUEMQUAHT

I would love to move back to Tennessee for my retirement, and am researching the possibilities. The only things I would suggest that people wanting to move to Tennessee need to research before committing to a location are threefold:

(1) Tennessee is welcoming and protective to polluting industries, and some sites in closed valleys near these dirty industrial/chemical manufacturing plants will be unlivable to those with asthma and chemical allergies. If you like such a location try and reside up wind and as far away as you can get from the stinky factories. There are few emissions controls on the factories and the coal fired power plants due to no state enforcement for such controls. They provide most of the local jobs so no one complains.

(2) I would not choose any city or town with a chemical or nuclear waste disposal landfill. Tennessee is the only state left welcoming low level radioactive contaminated waste and allows that to be added to their Class I regular landfills for disposal, and the nuclear waste has been coming in from all over North America. There are 5 of these state legalized class I landfills now known to be legal in Tennessee: Chestnut Ridge Landfill, Heiskell (Anderson County, TN); North Shelby County; South Shelby County ( both near Memphis); the Carter Valley landfill in Hawkins County; and Middle Point Landfill in Murfreesboro, TN. (Rutherford County). Toxco Material Management Center and IMPACT Services Inc are disposing at Middle Point landfill, and the dump is being expanded.

Irwin TN and Oak Ridge have nuclear waste processing facilities run by Energy Solutions Co which has several other offices around the state, plus the dump sites. You don't want to locate near their processing or their dump sites.

The rest of us who are single and not millionaires will just have to do a lot of due diligence and research to find a suitable affordable and safe location!

Great advice!

Concerned residents of Rutherford County, local SOCM members, and other allies are joining together to fight for real regulation of Middle Point Landfill – locals call it “Mt. Trashmore”.

Teamsters with the Solid Waste and Recycling Division, and Beth Roach, a community activist from Wayne County, Ga., attended Republic Services Inc.'s [NYSE: RSG] annual shareholders' meeting in Phoenix on Friday, decrying the company's serial mismanagement of its landfills and the lack of care and respect for affected communities.

"Republic Services management and the company's biggest shareholder, Bill Gates, are making money today by building up huge environmental liabilities and sowing discord. This is not sustainable behavior," said Chuck Stiles, Assistant Director of the Teamsters Solid Waste and Recycling Division.

https://socm.org/stopthestink/

[DaveinMtAiry]

I can't imagine having to leave my car at the ranger staion before heading on a hike. But that was 50 years ago, hard to say it it's still the case.

[meo92953]

Oh, darn it. I was so hoping to settle in the tri-state area but it sounds like a no-go.