Moving from Michigan to Madisonville TN (Knoxville, Chattanooga: crime rate, loan, house)

[srinne3]

We are so excited about our upcoming move to TN. My daughter & I had gone down there on a house-hunting trip the week over Easter, with very specific ideas of what we were looking for, as we will be bringing down 4 huskies. Everybody that we talked to in Sweetwater (which is the town we originally picked to move to), were extremely friendly and helpful. In fact, the house that we are buying on a land contract was acquired through a friend of the loan officer at the bank we had gone to.
We had only checked out Sweetwater, and didn't find out that it was Madisonville that we were moving to until the day we left. I was just wondering if anybody had any thoughts, pros/cons, regarding Madisonville. The biggest pro we have found so far is the fact that our house sits on a hill and we can see the mountains in the distance. So any comments would be greatly appreciated.

[alleycat]

You'll still be in the same county as Sweetwater. In Tennessee that can sometimes be more important than which town you live in because many of the government services are run at the county level (such as the school system).

Welcome to Tennessee. Enjoy the views. ;-)

[Forest Breath]

I will be just 10-15 minutes south of you! Madisonville is about the same as Sweetwater, except you are a little closer to the mountains. Yates Cafe'/Diner is a good place to eat. The closest Mall is in Maryville and is the Foothills Mall. You are not far from the Smokey Mountains, Dollywood and Cades Cove. South of you is the Tellico, Hiwassee and Ocoee Rivers. There are tons of hiking trails, trout fishing, camping, etc. places. If you want to learn of the "secret" spots the tourists don't know about, let me know and I will hook you up. I use to work for the Forest Service.

For big shopping you really have to go to Knoxville or Chattanooga, which are both just an hour or less away. The folks in Monroe County are nice and even when you go to the backwoods of the county near Tellico and Coker Creek, it is a good place to be. If you do go to Tellico, and you will, you HAVE to stop by Tellico Grains Bakery. This young couple bought an old donut shop and have a brick oven. They started a bakery and live upstairs. They have a daughter about 3 years old. They have the BEST bread you will ever taste!

My futire in-laws are from Michigan. My fiance's is as well. He moved down here about 3 years ago. Now his Mother, Step Dad and Step Sister have all moved down here last Fall. Where in MI are you from?

Feel free to contact me for any more information.

[srinne3]

To Forest Breath
Many thanks for soooo much info. Once we get down there would certainly like to take you up on your offer, both my daughter & I love taking nature pix and hikes, would love to hook up with you so you could show us those "secret" spots. My family has always loved the whole camping thing, and just being able to see mountains from my back deck for me is the icing on the cake, am just waiting to snap some great sunset sunrise pix. We are moving from Pierson, which is about 40 min north of grand rapids, about 8 min south of Howard City.

[Forest Breath]

My fiance' and his family are all from Battle Creek.

Here is a link to some photos I have taken of the area. I will send you more information a little later.

BushwhackerJohn/Cherokee National Forest - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

and the link below has all of the trips we have made to places in this area, hiking, camping and such.

BushwhackerJohn/Road Trips - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

[srinne3]

I've chk'd out the pix Forest Breath, some really nice ones. Makes me want to get down there all the more sooner. Can't wait to start my own Tn photo albums....Counting the days (single digit midget!!)

[Cole cole]

I lived in Madisonville all my life and just recently moved to Florida. It is slightly smaller than Sweetwater. There are no movie theaters, malls or anything like that. It is mostly just country, very rural. The people are really friendly and everyone pretty much knows everyone. The crime rate is low and there are some gorgeous views of the mountains. Since you love camping Tellico is the place to go for that. It's right next door to Madisonville so it won't be a long drive. My mother is from Detroit and she loves it there.

[FLORIDA TO NIOTA 2010]

Cole Cole - Hello,
What made you decide to move to FL? If you don't mind me asking.