Good semi-rural/rural town between Texas and Indiana? (Memphis, Knoxville: houses, school districts)

[airmantoteacher]

Hey folks,

I'm currently trying to find a good area located between Texas/Indiana in Tennessee that my wife and I can settle down in after the Air Force. I want a rural/semi-rural area where a few acres are affordable, cost of living is lower than average, and the scenery is made up of hills or mountains. Any recommendations for a science teacher-to-be?

[mbmouse]

First welcome to the forum. Second, thanks for your service to our country.
Now, on to your questions. So far you have described many, many places in TN. Can you give us some more info on what specifics you are looking for in a new TN home town? I would say if you are planing to be traveling by car to either TX or IN you would want to be close proximity to both I-40 and I-75, that would put you closer to Knoxville. If you want to fly to those places for reasonable prices, that would put you closer to Nashville. However you said small town, which neither of those are. Maybe somewhere in between like Crossville or Cookville? Again I would say you would need to give us a bit more info as to what you are looking for to get better suggestions.
Hope that helps some.

[alleycat]

I'm going to beat JMT to a reply and suggest an area near Cookeville.

(Take that, JMT! ;-)

[airmantoteacher]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

First welcome to the forum. Second, thanks for your service to our country.
Now, on to your questions. So far you have described many, many places in TN. Can you give us some more info on what specifics you are looking for in a new TN home town? I would say if you are planing to be traveling by car to either TX or IN you would want to be close proximity to both I-40 and I-75, that would put you closer to Knoxville.

However you said small town, which neither of those are. Maybe somewhere in between like Crossville or Cookville? Again I would say you would need to give us a bit more info as to what you are looking for to get better suggestions.
Hope that helps some.

Wow, didn't expect a response so fast! I will be driving to both states due to family (and the fact I don't want to live in either of them!) Currently reside in an area where the drive to a good mall is about an hour and a half . We are ok with that. Decent school districts with job availability would be a plus.

I'm just now starting to look at Tennessee. We won't be out for another two years, but I figured you can't start researching too early! We really just want a great place to raise a family with some leg room/decent scenery on an income of around 60-80k a year. We're both from large cities (Dallas/Indianapolis) and we absolutely don't want to go back to that.

[knoxgarden]

Take a look at Rutledge, TN, the county seat for Grainger County.
Visitors Guide to Grainger County Tennessee
It's right on Hwy. 11W (the W is important) in the Clinch River valley. It's a small town but not too small. There's decent shopping and services, several doctors, a couple of small car dealerships, even a Hardees, all on Main Street. There's a big high school-Middle School-Elementary complex and a new comprehensive school being built near there.
Gorgeous scenery around there. It's nestled against a mountain and sort of on a ridge. Some wonderful older houses that have been restored and some that could use it.
I actually looked into moving out there but decided it was too far from Knoxville. It's about an hour drive to West Knoxville and the malls.
It's very military friendly. They've had parades for locals returning from Iraq, lots of yellow ribbons around and welcome home messages on signboards.
It's got a real nice small town feel to it. There's even an old guy who sits in front of the courthouse in good weather and waves to cars that drive by. He hadn't been there the last few times I drove through and I was worried about him. I was glad to see him back when I was out that way yesterday.

[hiknapster]

Yes, we are speedy!

The middle of Texas and Indiana is Memphis. Not hilly or mountainous.

Isn't there some air force base near Nashville? Is it Clarksville? Alleycat?

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by airmantoteacher

Wow, didn't expect a response so fast! I will be driving to both states due to family (and the fact I don't want to live in either of them!) Currently reside in an area where the drive to a good mall is about an hour and a half . We are ok with that. Decent school districts with job availability would be a plus.

I'm just now starting to look at Tennessee. We won't be out for another two years, but I figured you can't start researching too early! We really just want a great place to raise a family with some leg room/decent scenery on an income of around 60-80k a year. We're both from large cities (Dallas/Indianapolis) and we absolutely don't want to go back to that.

Were a happy helpful bunch here, quick too hahahahha.
Well, the only flag I see is the 60K to 80k a year. Are you saying as a combined, two income, one being as a teacher? That I believe is doable, but if you are looking for a new teacher starting out at 60K and being in a more rural area, that maybe a huge hurdle for you.
If you want a lot of info in one spot that is fun to read too, go through all the threads and posts here on the TN forum, LOTS of great info about many, many TN towns.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by airmantoteacher

Wow, didn't expect a response so fast! I will be driving to both states due to family (and the fact I don't want to live in either of them!) Currently reside in an area where the drive to a good mall is about an hour and a half . We are ok with that. Decent school districts with job availability would be a plus.

I'm just now starting to look at Tennessee. We won't be out for another two years, but I figured you can't start researching too early! We really just want a great place to raise a family with some leg room/decent scenery on an income of around 60-80k a year. We're both from large cities (Dallas/Indianapolis) and we absolutely don't want to go back to that.

Does alleycat know me well or what?

Anyway, airmantoteacher, I can definitely understand why you'd pick Tennessee. It is a beautiful state with some mighty nice people and a very favorable tax structure.

In the post above, you said you want decent school districts with job availability. Does that mean job availability in the school districts? Or will you be looking for non-school jobs and also want good schools for your kids? If that's the case, what kinds of jobs will you be looking for?

As mbmouse pointed out, wages in Tennessee tend to be lower than elsewhere, which is one of the reasons the cost of living is also so much lower. But there are nonetheless plenty of people in Tennessee, even in small towns, who make a very good living.

As hiknapster said, West Tennessee would certainly be more half-way to Indiana and Texas, but if you've been reading this forum for very long you'll see that hardly anyone in here is talking about moving to West Tennessee. There's nothing inherently wrong with West Tennessee, it just doesn't have the mountainous terrain of the eastern part of the state, and East Tennessee towns are the ones with stronger economies and, some would say, more pleasant weather (not nearly as hut and muggy and not nearly as many tornadoes).

As alleycat graciously pointed out, I'm a huge fan of Cookeville. It's only an hour from the Nashville airport (which has the cheapest air fares of any airport in Tennessee thanks to Southwest Airlines which has a hub there), it's a university town so it has excellent schools, and it's the hub of the 14-county Upper Cumberland region, meaning even though there are fewer than 30,000 in the city it has the shopping and restaurants of a town twice as big.

It's also in the middle of a region blessed with some amazing natural beauty: something like 7 state parks are within a half hour or so of Cookeville, as well as a half-dozen or so waterfalls, deep gorges, rolling hills, and three large lakes: Dale Hollow, Center Hill, and Cordell Hull.

There's also a large VA clinic in Cookeville if you need to be near something like that.

Good luck!

[airmantoteacher]

Originally Posted by knoxgarden

Take a look at Rutledge, TN, the county seat for Grainger County.

It's very military friendly. They've had parades for locals returning from Iraq, lots of yellow ribbons around and welcome home messages on signboards.
It's got a real nice small town feel to it. There's even an old guy who sits in front of the courthouse in good weather and waves to cars that drive by. He hadn't been there the last few times I drove through and I was worried about him. I was glad to see him back when I was out that way yesterday.

I'll check it! Military friendly and even an old guy out by the court house? That's great

Originally Posted by mbmouse

Were a happy helpful bunch here, quick too hahahahha.
Well, the only flag I see is the 60K to 80k a year. Are you saying as a combined, two income, one being as a teacher? That I believe is doable, but if you are looking for a new teacher starting out at 60K and being in a more rural area, that maybe a huge hurdle for you.

Yes, that would be a combined income. Sad as teacher's pay is in this country, it will be a nice jump up from what I'm getting paid now! I just hope the districts in TN don't mind a mid 20s, prior Air Force, Texan teaching middle school!

Originally Posted by mbmouse

If you want a lot of info in one spot that is fun to read too, go through all the threads and posts here on the TN forum, LOTS of great info about many, many TN towns.

I think I spent a good hour and a half going through threads the other day. Lots of great information!

Originally Posted by JMT

In the post above, you said you want decent school districts with job availability. Does that mean job availability in the school districts? Or will you be looking for non-school jobs and also want good schools for your kids? If that's the case, what kinds of jobs will you be looking for?

I meant job availability in the school districts. I'll be a qualified 5-9 science teacher.

Originally Posted by JMT

As mbmouse pointed out, wages in Tennessee tend to be lower than elsewhere, which is one of the reasons the cost of living is also so much lower. But there are nonetheless plenty of people in Tennessee, even in small towns, who make a very good living.

Low wages are fine. As long as I am happy where I am living and my job, that is all that matters. Right now, I hate my pay, job AND where I am.

Originally Posted by JMT

As alleycat graciously pointed out, I'm a huge fan of Cookeville. It's only an hour from the Nashville airport (which has the cheapest air fares of any airport in Tennessee thanks to Southwest Airlines which has a hub there), it's a university town so it has excellent schools, and it's the hub of the 14-county Upper Cumberland region, meaning even though there are fewer than 30,000 in the city it has the shopping and restaurants of a town twice as big.

It's also in the middle of a region blessed with some amazing natural beauty: something like 7 state parks are within a half hour or so of Cookeville, as well as a half-dozen or so waterfalls, deep gorges, rolling hills, and three large lakes: Dale Hollow, Center Hill, and Cordell Hull.

Wow, sounds pretty dang great! I'll add it to the list of places. I'd want to be a good distance away from the university, but in driving distance for the amenities offered there.