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Old 10-18-2007, 09:24 AM
 
3 posts, read 47,527 times
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We currently live in St. Petersburg Florida and hate it more and more every day. We are in our early 40's and looking for a piece of land (5 acres or more), preferably with an old barn on it. We have a 30' travel trailer which we will use for temporary housing if the land does not have a trailer or home. We would like to pay cash, so we would like to stay under $100,000.00. My better half is a self employed mechanic and I do clerical and customer service work. We are looking for a community with a slow pace where neighbors help each other out and wave to each other. We want to grow old in peace! So, we need a small town that needs a great mechanic.
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Old 10-18-2007, 10:38 AM
 
13,336 posts, read 39,700,756 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Too Hot in FL View Post
We currently live in St. Petersburg Florida and hate it more and more every day. We are in our early 40's and looking for a piece of land (5 acres or more), preferably with an old barn on it. We have a 30' travel trailer which we will use for temporary housing if the land does not have a trailer or home. We would like to pay cash, so we would like to stay under $100,000.00. My better half is a self employed mechanic and I do clerical and customer service work. We are looking for a community with a slow pace where neighbors help each other out and wave to each other. We want to grow old in peace! So, we need a small town that needs a great mechanic.
If you don't mind a bit of a commute, you can probably find something in a county that borders another county with a university. I suggest that only so you can have an easier chance at getting a clerical job (universities always have openings for that, it seems). College towns also tend to have larger hospitals as well as more need for car mechanics.

So, you might want to check out some of the more rural counties near Johnson City in NE TN, such as Carter or Greene counties. Or you can check out some of the more rural counties near Cookeville on the Cumberland Plateau, such as Overton or White counties.

Good luck!
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Old 10-18-2007, 01:49 PM
 
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If you're interested in West Tennessee, you might look at Crockett County or Chester County, both of which border Madison County, where Jackson is located. There are usually jobs available in Jackson in the fields you mentioned. Both Crockett and Chester counties are rural and agricultural. I know plenty of very good, friendly, country folk in both places.
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Old 10-18-2007, 03:11 PM
 
31 posts, read 87,375 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Too Hot in FL View Post
We currently live in St. Petersburg Florida and hate it more and more every day. We are in our early 40's and looking for a piece of land (5 acres or more), preferably with an old barn on it. We have a 30' travel trailer which we will use for temporary housing if the land does not have a trailer or home. We would like to pay cash, so we would like to stay under $100,000.00. My better half is a self employed mechanic and I do clerical and customer service work. We are looking for a community with a slow pace where neighbors help each other out and wave to each other. We want to grow old in peace! So, we need a small town that needs a great mechanic.
You sound just like us!!! We live in Sarasota and have just had enough of the people, tax's and insurance and now the housing market!!! We also have a 32' travel trailer we plan to live in on land if we have to. My husband can transfer to Knoxville or Greeneville. So I have been looking all around the NE area. He dosen't care if he has to drive an hour or so and either do I!!! We just want out and to be debt free from Florida!!! I've been looking, Bean Station, Rogersville Morristown and 50 miles all around those towns. Some good deals, we are going on Thanksgiving weekend to check it out....
Good luck finding your new home!
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Old 10-19-2007, 02:36 PM
 
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Default Look in McMinn/Polk Counties - we just moved here

Hey a fellow Floridian! We moved to Etowah area about a year ago from Orlando, Florida. we too were fed up with the extremely high cost of property taxes as well as the skyrocketing cost of homeowner's insurance that kept doubling every year. Etowah is in McMinn County we are about 9 miles from Tennessee Wesleyan University in Athens, TN. We absolutely love the town and many people are moving here from Florida. The properties around are area are some of the least expensive you will find in the State. There is a revitilization going on of Etowah most of the historic homes are being renovated and the downtown area is also undergoing some changes. Granted you will be some ways away from major shopping but we go into either Chattanooga or Knoxville a couple times a month if we get that desire to be reminded why we moved away from the traffic. Our trip into Knoxville takes about 45 mins which is actually less time than my 11 mile commute into downtown Orlando. There is not a ton in the way of work but the University is very large and it seems there are always a need for mechanics anywhere you go. We are about 15 minutes from the Cherokee National Forest and it is beautiful, plus you have some nice mountain views in our area. Our electric and water bills are less than half of Orlando. The town is small and everyone pretty much knows everyone else. There are also good medical facilities within a reasonable distance. Property taxes are low but there is a fairly high sales tax and they tax groceries too which is different than Florida but you get used to it and it hasn't been a big problem for us budget wise. Good luck with your search and your efforts to get out of the Sunshine State!
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Old 10-19-2007, 03:59 PM
 
13,336 posts, read 39,700,756 times
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Originally Posted by brichter View Post
Hey a fellow Floridian! We moved to Etowah area about a year ago from Orlando, Florida. we too were fed up with the extremely high cost of property taxes as well as the skyrocketing cost of homeowner's insurance that kept doubling every year. Etowah is in McMinn County we are about 9 miles from Tennessee Wesleyan University in Athens, TN. We absolutely love the town and many people are moving here from Florida. The properties around are area are some of the least expensive you will find in the State. There is a revitilization going on of Etowah most of the historic homes are being renovated and the downtown area is also undergoing some changes. Granted you will be some ways away from major shopping but we go into either Chattanooga or Knoxville a couple times a month if we get that desire to be reminded why we moved away from the traffic. Our trip into Knoxville takes about 45 mins which is actually less time than my 11 mile commute into downtown Orlando. There is not a ton in the way of work but the University is very large and it seems there are always a need for mechanics anywhere you go. We are about 15 minutes from the Cherokee National Forest and it is beautiful, plus you have some nice mountain views in our area. Our electric and water bills are less than half of Orlando. The town is small and everyone pretty much knows everyone else. There are also good medical facilities within a reasonable distance. Property taxes are low but there is a fairly high sales tax and they tax groceries too which is different than Florida but you get used to it and it hasn't been a big problem for us budget wise. Good luck with your search and your efforts to get out of the Sunshine State!
I've driven US Hwy 411 through Etowah before and love to go camping in Polk County, and it really is beautiful. If you're not worried about finding a job close to home, then that would definitely be a part of the state worth checking out.
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Old 10-19-2007, 10:37 PM
 
Location: Somewhere over the rainbow in "OZ "
24,767 posts, read 28,345,333 times
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You will have too look at the population of each county too determine which is the most rural......... Moderator cut: link removed

Last edited by Yac; 10-31-2007 at 03:40 AM..
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Old 10-21-2007, 09:25 PM
 
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Savannah, TN is located in hardin county and is also the county seat, a small quaint city, with several car dealer ships that need good mechanics, there are also several medical centers, a hospital and such, the rural areas are very much unrestricted, taxes are low and the land is cheap. There are several small communities in and around Savannah...Crump, Saltillo, adamesville, Morris chapel that you may want to look into. Good Luck
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Old 10-22-2007, 11:31 AM
 
23,511 posts, read 69,899,087 times
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LOL! You are looking to do what we have done. The only difference is that we chose north Alabama (within a very few miles of the Tennessee border). We are in a 31 ft tt and have been since June, while we examined our land, chose a site, and made arrangements for septic, foundation, electric, bulldozing and all the other work required for site prep. We'll move into our home sometime in mid-November. (Not real interested in going through a winter here in a tt.)

You are wise to look for a place without restrictions. However, you must expect cost overruns in your plan. Little things like electric hookup can be anywhere from $400 to a few thousand dollars, depending on how far you site from the road. Concrete is roughly $100 per cubic yard, and you'll need it for footings. Crusher run is about the cheapest gravel you can get for a driveway, and that is $250 or more per truckload. The list goes on, and adds up quickly. We have a very neat 150' $3000 hole in the ground that was supposed to be a well.

The key is to sell your house, sell or store your stuff, and spend some time exploring areas of interest. We made a number of trips and looked at over 700 properties on-line, about 100 in drive-by viewings, and about 30 with realtors before finding what we wanted. If you can't make trips, renting in the area for a few months, or camping in a state park with your tt, are good ways to learn more and avoid making expensive mistakes.

The idea of a move like this sounds simple. In most cases, the reality is a lot more complex and ends up costing more than you expect. One other major point is that unless you have lived in rural areas before, be prepared for culture shock, and remember that relationships are far more important in a sparsely populated area than a city.
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Old 10-22-2007, 11:55 AM
 
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I appreciate all of your posts about rural unrestricted property. I realize it will be a lot of work and we're not scared of that at all. I have spent time in a hunt camp for months at a time with no electric and water! We used an outhouse in the woods, cooked with propane and took baths in the creek. Of course, this is in warm Florida. I have been in St. Petersburg Florida for 45 years (my entire life) and have seen it built up to the point that's it's actually UGLY!!!!! People are so rude and everyone is in such a hurry.

We actually planned on doing just what harry chikpea suggested and use our TT to camp and look for property. We are coming to Tennessee Nov 3rd to look for property. We are staying in Gatlinburg in a cabin and will spend our time traveling and looking for a county that we like first. We are not going to look at specific property, just an area. We will then come back and put our house on the market, use the time to pack and then after the sale of the house, we will use the auto repair shop for storage and hop in the TT and head to the area we like and start looking for property. We are not in a hurry to get out like most people are. I don't want to rush and make a mistake.
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