Looking To Relocate To Sevierville Area

[Suzanne1945]

We are looking for mountain and/or lake property (3-5 acres) in East TN. We are retired and just want to 'get away' from Florida and the hustle and bustle. We ride a Harley so want to be near a dealer hoping to meet people that way. No relatives or friends in TN. We would consider a modular home on the lower end of the mountain. Have just visited Cosby/Newport. Need just a little more shopping opportunity than offered in that area. Any ideas?

[mbmouse]

Have you thought about moving closer to Gatlinburg....still in Cosby, but close enough for Shopping.
There is also a bit further East in the Tri-Cities area. There are few Harley Dealers around here.
Just a thought.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

I know LauraC has been doing a lot of research on Oak Ridge and probably knows more about what is available in Oak Ridge than lots of people who live there!

I'm up on Oak Ridge but I don't know anything at all about Maryville to be able to compare them. My suggestion is if you have to work, try to find the job first or the place that offers the most jobs for whatever it is you do and then look for a nearby location that meets your most important criteria for living conditions. Make a list of what you like and don't like about where you live now and then compare the potential new town on those same factors with regard to better, worse or the same. But I do have one suggestion --- avoid having to get on I-40 to commute to work, wherever you live.

I will be retired and 55 when I move to TN so I picked Oak Ridge for 6 primary reasons: The quality of classes for retirees, Eastern TN leans conservative, fishing opportunities, population density (number of people per square miles of land), tolerable temps in the summer (least favorite season), and volunteer opportunities that will keep me busy. Secondary was 4 seasons, it's not a retirement town, cheaper than where I live now, suburban sprawl just like where I live now which I like, town events, nice regular people, it is a government/research/innovative/technology/science kind of town (I'm a nerd, a fed and currently in research and will feel comfortable being around people like me), green and pretty areas, and I can live and play in the same town with zero commuting to do the things I like to do the most.

Is that everybody's criteria for a good town to relocate to? People with families, people who have to work in a particular profession, single younger people looking for a night life, people with medical conditions, people who need to be near family, etc., and even other same aged retirees will have completely different criteria for what constitutes a "best" town for them.

I could tell you Oak Ridge will be a great place to live but what I'm really saying is Oak Ridge will be a great place for me to live.