Want to move to East Tn from NM (Knoxville, Chattanooga: crime rate, houses)

[Justasmalltowngirl68]

Hello everyone!
We are hoping to move to Eastern Tennessee within the next year (hopefully sooner)! And by “we”, I mean myself, hubby, son and his wife and their 4yo daughter. We have been doing our research in finding a place that would be the right fit for us. It seems that we all agreed on the Athens area. It has all of the places we like to shop at and not far from Knoxville and Chattanooga for weekend adventures.

Anywho, we are not wanting to live in town, but would rather buy a home and acreage within a 20 mile radius of Athens. We have found several places around the $250k or less range that would be perfect. We are willing to put in a well if needed or maybe get lucky enough to find a place with spring water. We also want to build a very large shop on the property along with two homes, if there isn’t one house already. We need a minimum of ten acres, preferably with creeks and/or spring water, tons of trees and some pasture for a mini farm.

As for work, no we do not have jobs lined out nor do we want to. What we are wanting to do is open one, two or maybe even three businesses in Athens. We didn’t want to go in and try to take jobs from the locals, but to create employment opportunities. One would be in the food industry, one in the beauty industry and one in fabrication.

Now a little about us, we will be moving from the northwest corner of New Mexico where it is a mixture of mountains and a lot of desert. We are selling our business and our houses in order to relocate. We don’t known anyone in TN, nor have we ever been there! We do plan on taking a road trip in January to see the state in person. I have questioned everyone I know that has lived in TN that I know, but I need answers from people that live there now. We aren’t really religious or political, we pretty much just follow the “live and let live” rule. Our business here is very much rush, rush, rush and we are ready to slow down and enjoy a quiet life far from this town.

Okay, so now on with my questions and quit rambling:

I’ve read about the drug and property crimes in the rural areas, how bad are they in theses areas?
Are the schools in Athens decent?
In opening businesses, would the community embrace or shun?
Wildlife in the mountains, I’ve read deer and turkey on the property listings, what other types can we expect?

[Serious Conversation]

You need to have a backup plan in the event the small businesses do not work. Keep in mind that, especially in small towns, business tends to go to providers the locals already know and trust unless you are providing something not already available. I would not even attempt this without a job unless you have a minimum of a year's living expenses, plus whatever it might take to sell and get rid of the house.

There are also weird wrinkles someone outside the area may not expect. For instance, Johnson City and Kingsport are similarly sized cities about half an hour apart, but Johnson City has a much, much better dining scene. An "adventurous" dining choice could do well in Johnson City, and go belly up in Kingsport.

There is going to be significant shock coming from NM. TN is going to have way less open space. It's going to be more humid, and definitely more lush with vegetation. Overcast winter skies may get old. It's common for strangers to talk somewhere like a grocery store line. It's going to be much more religious. If you have allergies, expect those to get worse.

1) Drug abuse and property crimes are bad in rural areas. Most of the drug abuse and domestic crime are behind closed doors and contained among people who already know each other. Random violent crime is almost nonexistent in rural TN. As long as your property is secured and you're not involved in drugs, you shouldn't have many issues.

2) Not great. GreatSchools has all the K-12 schools from between 4/10 and 6/10 from what I can tell. County schools tend to be worse than city schools.

3) I don't live there. In general, it's harder to break into small towns and rural areas where social circles are tight knit and relatively closed.

4) Definitely bear, potentially bobcats. All sorts of small animals and birds.

[Justasmalltowngirl68]

Thanks for the information. We live in a tri city area in one of the largest counties of the state. Total population of all three cities is around 62k not including the people that live on the reservation that completely surrounds us.

The crime rate here is astronomical! Drugs, murders, rapes, violent crimes, etc. you DO NOT go to Walmart alone, ever! Cost of living is quite high as well. Our main industry here is oil and gas and our governor has pretty much shut that down, so I know how to budget very well.

The lush vegetation sounds amazing as it is dry, brown and ugly here. The mountains here are beautiful but I can’t afford the insane amounts they want for property.

Another question I have about the humidity is does it rust cars quickly? My husband restores classic cars and we were worried about that, which is one reason for the large shop.

Bears and bobcat? What are the laws of hunting on your own property, I may need a bear rug? Haha!

[Dave_n_Tenn]

Property in that price range would probably have most of the hardwood removed... it brings a good price.

I would suggest a stay in E. TN. Tennesseans talk to everyone and are friendly and warm. People "mostly" live and let live. The closer you are to the interstate (I 75) the pricier the property will be. McMinn county has opportunity, but is mostly rural.

Way too often folks think they can figure this all out from "afar"... nope, wouldn't be prudent, not at this juncture. Please do yourself a favor and visit. It's inexpensive this time of year. Fly into TYS for good deals.

NE Tn has better bargains and Johnson City will fill your needs nicely. Middle TN maybe a better choice overall, but I understand the draw of the mountains.

[Justasmalltowngirl68]

Dave, thanks for the response.

We plan on going in January, but will be driving.....1300 miles.....in a pick up pulling a camper....pray for my hubby for having to ride that far with me.

As for figuring things out from afar, I agree that it is difficult without seeing everything first hand. I have “what if” scenarios for everything. Like if we find an old farmhouse that needs renovation, would it be worth the cost or better to tear down and start from fresh? Is there an issue with lead or asbestos in the old farm houses? I definitely want lots of hardwood trees on the property as I wood work a lot, and just love trees.

We are all pretty friendly and hope to make friends. We will chat with anyone anywhere, I don’t care if we know you or not, I’m going to talk to you. We love to ride ATVs and side by sides, garden, go to car shows, antique shop, etc.

One of the reasons we chose NE TN is because of there seems little chance of a tornado. I drove through one once and didn’t really care for it.

[Dave_n_Tenn]

This confuses me....

One of the reasons we chose NE TN is because of there seems little chance of a tornado. I drove through one once and didn’t really care for it.

Not sure a drive through is a valid way to judge anything, but that's just me.

You won't find a lot of places with virgin hardwoods, trees yes. It's easier to just buy from a place. Lots of wood crafting in east TN. near me.... who I get my stuff from... https://captndave.com/#

I'm originally from Carlsbad NM (long time ago in my informative years) but live in Florida and spend spring and fall in E Tennessee. I have about a 850 mile drive from FL and I tow a lot (RV, boat, car haul trailer) so I understand the journey.

I'm in a little town called Townsend. Looking at Tennessee.... Think of buying shoes... you gotta try 'em on before you buy them. TN is a magical place where only our personal limits are the boundaries, but you have to spend time here, and not just vacation time.

Most folks would find middle TN better suited for property, animals, and arable land, not to mention it's less expensive. So don't get stuck thinking one place is the panacea you seek... Tennessee has treasures everywhere.

"Find what's best and create the rest".~ me

[1rebmem]

No one offered up anything on the classic car issue so I will give mine.
I am from New England, have lived in NC for the past 22 years and am moving to middle TN soon.
I have visited Tn a couple of times and am purchasing a house now, more middle TN. And I have two classic cars.
The car rust issue will be greater for you in humid TN. Definitely more so than West coast and much less than New England.
I don't see rusty cars in TN. Not often. But physics/chemistry does say the humidity will help to rust them quicker. In my opinion it is not a serious issue. I have friends in Knoxville TN and they tell us the car culture is huge compared to where I am in NC.
So I believe your husband could stay busy restoring cars. He is spoiled right now by West coast sheet metal.
We equally love our cars in the East.

[1rebmem]

On the tornado issue, I don't believe there is a serious concern if you stay East of Nashville. Some concern but I believe low.
There are some rugged rural areas in middle TN. So maybe consider middle TN as Dave suggests?

[OneDawg]

https://www.statedatalab.org/state_d...ail/new-mexico


https://www.statedatalab.org/state_d...tail/tennessee

[Justasmalltowngirl68]

We are looking at the Athens area. I found a few very affordable properties in the surrounding areas with a short commute for shopping and I like the idea of being between Knoxville and Chattanooga.
As for being able to go spend a lot of time there before we move, it’s going to be difficult as we are still trying to sell our business and house. We need to keep it running and as profitable as possible to attract buyers. We will be going for a couple of weeks in January. I know that’s not a lot of time, but it’s all I’ve got right now. After we sell, then we can drag our camper around and stay longer in the areas we are interested in before committing to one.

Dave, the deal on the tornadoes is that my son and I got caught in one on the way home from WI, the high winds and trying to find somewhere to hide the big tow truck I just bought from getting sucked into the tornado was a bit out of my comfort zone. After using a pry bar to remove the driver seat out of my behind, I decided I never want to see another tornado again.

1rebmem, thanks for the info on the classic car and rust question! We love our cars! I figure a large shop with a HVAC system in it would help a lot. Do they have car swap meets and parts swap meets in Knoxville? Car shows? Car clubs? Hubby is spoiled by the west sheet metal, and we will be traveling back to NM often to see our other kids so we can pick up more while here.

OneDawg, thanks for the links. Now you know why I want to get out of this state.