Serious question - what would be your pick for place to live in TN? (Memphis: apartment, houses)

[Trump_Fan1]

We are in TN, seeking to relocate here due to the tax advantages.

We can live in any part of the state we want.

I'm looking for any advice from people on where THEY would pick, if they could live anywhere in TN.

Favorite city, favorite area? Ideal spot? Maybe a neighborhood suggestion?

---

I've spent the most time in Knoxville, but I don't like the city layout (dense downtown), and the rest of the city is very hilly and feels "run down". The city seems to lack good grocery stores, too. It's like you have to drive five miles just to find anything because everything feels spread out and poorly planned.

Been through Nashville a few times, but spent little time there. Other than that, the Smokies are wonderful. We like the Ocoee River basin in the far southeast part of the state, but there is little infrastructure out there. Never been to Chattanooga, but hear good things.

We prefer vibrancy and youth. Old, tired small towns with nothing "going on" aren't particularly appealing.

Thank you for any input. Sorry if it's such an open-ended question, just looking for YOUR personal favorite places.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by Trump_Fan1

We are in TN, seeking to relocate here due to the tax advantages.

Is there any particular reason, aside from taxes, that you have picked Tennessee? There are other states with tax advantages. I'm not necessarily asking "why not somewhere else", but rather, what attracted you to Tennessee? Just taxes? Or taxes and.....?

Originally Posted by Trump_Fan1

We can live in any part of the state we want.

Tennessee is a fairly diverse state in terms of topography. Based on the rest of your post, it seems like you would prefer city life. Knoxville is in a valley and not far from the mountains. Chattanooga isn't as close to big mountains, but has much more dramatic terrain within the city. Nashville has rolling hills and ridges in and around the city. Memphis is pretty flat. Do you have any topographical preferences?

Originally Posted by Trump_Fan1

I'm looking for any advice from people on where THEY would pick, if they could live anywhere in TN.

Favorite city, favorite area? Ideal spot? Maybe a neighborhood suggestion?

You will likely get a different answer based on where everyone lives. Yes, you might get a few "I would rather" posts, but this should really be about what you want, not what other people like.

What is favorite and ideal varies from person to person. Some people are looking for quaint. Some are looking for vibrant. Tennessee offers both, and lots in between.

Originally Posted by Trump_Fan1

I've spent the most time in Knoxville, but I don't like the city layout (dense downtown), and the rest of the city is very hilly and feels "run down". The city seems to lack good grocery stores, too. It's like you have to drive five miles just to find anything because everything feels spread out and poorly planned.

Knoxville has a dense downtown? Compared to....? Based on that alone, you would not be any better off in Chattanooga, and would definitely dislike Nashville's and Memphis's downtowns. Also, IMO, all of Tennessee's cities are spread out and poorly planned, though as a city goes, Memphis has the best urban structure.

I strongly disagree with the assessment that "the rest of Knoxville feels ... "run down"". There are plenty of very nice areas of Knoxville, especially to the west of town. And I would imagine residents of other areas of town would appreciate the term "run down" to describe their neighborhoods. I understand the gripe about layout....but run down seems very off base. You may have spent some time in Knoxville...but have you ever traveled out Kingston Pike?

As far as grocery stores, Publix is relatively new to Knoxville. If it has anything close to the same effect of their entry into the Nashville market, they should raise the bar for the other big chain there: Kroger.

Originally Posted by Trump_Fan1

Been through Nashville a few times, but spent little time there. Other than that, the Smokies are wonderful. We like the Ocoee River basin in the far southeast part of the state, but there is little infrastructure out there. Never been to Chattanooga, but hear good things.

The main thing with Nashville right now is that it is growing like gangbusters compared to the rest of the state. There is a huge amount of construction activity in multiple counties. Some of it may be to your liking amenities-wise, but with your "poorly planned comment", a word of warning would be that a lot of Nashville area growth is sprawly and the infrastructure is still having to play catch-up to accommodate the growth. I am still a little unsure if you would like the urban growth that is going on in Nashville. The central city is becoming more dense, with apartment blocks and towers under construction.

Chattanooga is seeing a bit of growth, but like the rest of the state, it as a whole is trudging along. It's noticeably smaller than Knoxville outside of downtown.

Originally Posted by Trump_Fan1

We prefer vibrancy and youth. Old, tired small towns with nothing "going on" aren't particularly appealing.

This is kind of what confuses me. You prefer vibrancy and youth, but you mention a city like Knoxville's downtown is dense, in a negative light (am I understanding you correctly), and don't like the poor layout (which would pretty much describe most suburban towns in this state, as well as the peripheries to all the major cities).

What exactly are you looking for, then? Well-planned, but not too dense would pretty much only describe historic street car suburbs (basically, in Tennessee, the inner city residential neighborhoods) of the larger cities in Tennessee. And based on your username and your preference for low taxes, that pretty much narrows it down to the old money conservative areas of these cities (as well as a handful of suburbs).

Originally Posted by Trump_Fan1

Thank you for any input. Sorry if it's such an open-ended question, just looking for YOUR personal favorite places.

Please do correct me if I am wrong about any of my assumptions above. From what I gather, there are very few places in Tennessee that will fit what you are looking for...and the most important consideration is going to be budget. You say you could live anywhere in the state....but is your budget fit for that? If so, I think the best fits for you would be West Knoxville/Bearden in the Knoxville area, Green Hills or Franklin in Nashville, Hixson or Northshore in Chattanooga, or Germantown in Memphis. These places may not fulfill everything you are looking for, but I'm not sure we have something that will fit perfectly.

[eastmemphisguy]

There is no Aspen in Tennessee. It sounds like that is what you're looking for. You can either accept that or pay Colorado taxes.

[creeksitter]

Favorite city, favorite area? Ideal spot? Maybe a neighborhood suggestion?

I love my neighborhood and city but you would consider my neighborhood run down (and hilly) and my downtown too dense. I love a dense downtown - it feels more urban and there is a lot going on. I love the hills. I don't mind run down houses if the occupants are nice like my neighbors. I'm looking at the natural scenery.

Like Nashvols says why ask other people what they like? Are you assuming everybody thinks alike ? I read about a town called Stepford but I don't think it is Tennessee.

We tend to be nonconformists here.

Oh, and my ideal spot is beside a creek in the smokies. I'll keep the exact location to myself.

[TNhomesteading]

I just moved to TN for the retirement tax breaks AND rural lifestyle. I am a newbie, but it seems like no matter where you live in the state (unless you're in a downtown area) you're going to have to drive a while to get anywhere. I'm used to living in large, urban city (Philly) where everything was so convenient. However, I really love it here. Might not be the right place for everyone, but living with NO zoning is heavenly freedom.

[GraniteStater]

For wooded areas, Cumberland Plateau, Cumberland County.
For pastoral areas by creek or brook with views of mountains, Greene County.

[jabogitlu]

Favorite city, favorite area? Ideal spot? Maybe a neighborhood suggestion?

Favorite city is Memphis. I like the youthful feel of midtown and downtown, the urban feeling of the city proper (a fairly strong street grid, several walkable neighborhoods), and the grit and grind mentality of the residents. Memphis has several great urban development projects recently completed and coming up that are dramatically increasing the livability of that city. (A very different flavor than Nashville though, which is booming on a national or perhaps even global scale.)

Favorite area (overall) is northeast Tennessee. You may want to check out Johnson City. It's not too dense (if you think Knoxville is dense ... whooo buddy LOL). It's also quite youthful feeling due to ETSU's influence.


Tennessee is a great state because it offers so much variety. Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga and Johnson City are about as different as you can get in the south. They all also have strategic advantages over each other, so it's a good idea to really understand why you're moving and which city would match your profile the best.

[songinthewind7]

I used to live in Knoxville on the west side and I enjoyed it but my husband and I decided we wanted a smaller area. We went to Maryville, just right outside Knoxville. It's been about 12 years since I've lived in Maryville but one of the things I liked about it was how close to the Smokies it is but yet, you have access to a lot of businesses in Maryville and if you can't find it in Maryville, Knoxville is about 20 minutes away.

If you're looking for a country, woodsy area, Cosby (near Gatlinburg) is nice. Close to Sevierville and Pigeon Forge.

[piedmont]

I would live in the Sequatchie Valley,near Dunlap, TN. Why? It's gorgeous, not too far from Chattanooga and fun to say!

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by Trump_Fan1

We are in TN, seeking to relocate here due to the tax advantages.

We can live in any part of the state we want.

I'm looking for any advice from people on where THEY would pick, if they could live anywhere in TN.

Favorite city, favorite area? Ideal spot? Maybe a neighborhood suggestion?

---

I've spent the most time in Knoxville, but I don't like the city layout (dense downtown), and the rest of the city is very hilly and feels "run down". The city seems to lack good grocery stores, too. It's like you have to drive five miles just to find anything because everything feels spread out and poorly planned.

Been through Nashville a few times, but spent little time there. Other than that, the Smokies are wonderful. We like the Ocoee River basin in the far southeast part of the state, but there is little infrastructure out there. Never been to Chattanooga, but hear good things.

We prefer vibrancy and youth. Old, tired small towns with nothing "going on" aren't particularly appealing.

Thank you for any input. Sorry if it's such an open-ended question, just looking for YOUR personal favorite places.

East TN in or near Knoxville. We took 3 years to narrow it down to here when planning to leave CA and having lived in various other States around the US. This area was best.