Where to Live In Tennessee (Memphis, Knoxville: low crime, house, teaching jobs) - (TN) - City-Data Forum

SgtAJC · 07-19-2008, 07:57 PM

I'm sure it has been asked a hundred times but I'm considering relocating to Tennessee as a young retiree that is still looking to work. Three kids ages 14, 11, and 4. Would like good schools and low crime rate. Could afford to pay about 400,000 for a home. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

JMT · 07-19-2008, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SgtAJC

I'm sure it has been asked a hundred times but I'm considering relocating to Tennessee as a young retiree that is still looking to work. Three kids ages 14, 11, and 4. Would like good schools and low crime rate. Could afford to pay about 400,000 for a home. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Tennessee is a pretty big state, 500 miles from end to end. What kind of place are you looking for? Big city? Small town? Mountains? Lake? Suburban? Rural? Access to a good airport? Are you looking to work at a Wal-Mart? Bank president?

I'm not trying to be snotty, but you need to give us a bit more information before we can give you some suggestions. And then, believe me, we'll have suggestions to give!

mrs1885 · 07-22-2008, 10:45 PM

JMT beat me to it.

I personally love where I live. Van Buren county schools are phenomenal in my opinion, but I have heard people say they are horrible. Crime is pretty non-existant in the very small town I'm in, but I've heard others say there is crime in others areas of the county. So, it's really also a person's perception.

Wordy · 07-23-2008, 09:20 AM

He is in law enforcement (I looked at his old posts). I think you might like Knoxville if you are looking for something not too rural. Maybe even Nashville? I don't think Memphis is what you're looking for since crime seems to be a big factor for you. Apparently Memphis is pretty crime-ridden. For $400K in Knoxville or Nashville, you'd be able to find a great home in a great area. I would think both areas would have law enforcement opportunities for you. If you wanted to get out of that field, then either place would be a good bet for decent employment opportunities. You might also consider Chattanooga, which is getting a new VW plant in the next few years, which will be a pretty big boost to their economy.

I live in Cookeville and it's wonderful but I can't really say much about the law enforcement employment opportunities around here. I seriously have NO idea. It's much smaller than any of the cities I mentioned. You could pretty much buy a palace for $400K here, though. My house was $155K (ish) in 2005 and with the last renovations we did, it's almost 4000 sf on 1.5 acres in the city limits. That's more than you would be able to find now unless you found a fixer--I guess ours was a fixer--but it gives you an idea. Property taxes are around $1200-1300 for my home.

Botts · 07-26-2008, 12:00 PM

Hello, SgtAJC!

Just to add my two cents worth! My wife and I are empty-nesters (altho' we raised a bunch of kids here in the Tennessee Valley). We live halfway between Knoxville and Chattanooga and we can commute to either place for work or shopping.

The nearest town is Athens, the county seat for McMinn County and Athens has a population of about 18,000 (maybe more if you count the cats and dogs). Athens has a small, private liberal arts college and decent schools in the K-12 bracket.

The next town south of us is Cleveland with about 45,000 people and Lee University is located there, as well as a 2-uear community college. Beyond that is Chattanooga, wioth the largest mall in the state.

In the other direction is Knoxville and in my opinion, this medioum-size metro area is the next generation Atlanta - it has all the ingredients! Right now, it still has a cozy, smaller city feeling to it but it's nice to know that it's growing and the whole region is still in the growth mode - not suffering like so many other places in the country. That's not to say there are no "issues" because every place has its "issues".

Anyway, we love the area: low cost of living, country life, good people; yet close to shopping and plays and airports. We also have the TVA which has a good base of nuclear power - they are now building a new power plant over on the river which will greatly expand the availability of electrical energy in this region.

I'll quit before this turns into a book!

JIM

michael carlin · 10-18-2010, 08:49 AM

What are the job opportunities for a young man with 2 masters degrees in ed and 1 in physical education ! Would love to relocate from nyc. have met friends that had great things to say about TN. need advice as to what place --- knoxville? good schools ? places to live?
mjc

DonCorleone · 10-19-2010, 12:17 PM

What's important to you other than schools? Do you have a price range? Are you looking for a city or rural area? Etc...

Sam530 · 10-21-2010, 01:42 AM

Actually many areas of Memphis have no higher crime rate than some rural areas of TN.

Certainly there are areas of Memphis that are not desireable but the entire county and city is not over run with crime as some would have you believe. If you do a search for Meth problems in TN, you will find it is a serious problem in the less populated areas.

2mares · 10-21-2010, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michael carlin

What are the job opportunities for a young man with 2 masters degrees in ed and 1 in physical education ! Would love to relocate from nyc. have met friends that had great things to say about TN. need advice as to what place --- knoxville? good schools ? places to live?
mjc

What is your job experience. Im not sure about all areas, but around Cookeville, teaching jobs are hard to come by and somewhat political.

JMT could probably answer your question about education positions in Knoxville.

tcs1366 · 10-22-2010, 08:09 PM

I've always wanted to move to TN. It is such a beautiful state. I think i'd like to live central to western -- though i'm sure eastern is just stunning, but more expensive??

I'm looking for acreage ... 10 - 50 acres probably. Ranch home with basement ... are basements common in TN?? Should be near shopping, 30 min give or take... rolling hill would be nice. Creek or pond a bonus.

Jobs are not a necessity as we are semi-retired ... but maybe 'something' to fill all my free time.

I'm sure soil is good... I love to garden ... anything 'rocky' would not be preferred.

no need for good schools as our kids are grown.

I think the Franklin area is really nice... stayed at a B&B back in the 90's... gorgeous area.

any input would be great.

OH, price range... up to 350k I think would be good, 400k max.
I'm gonna take a bath on my house in the Chicago area, so i dont wanna go over 400k... and probably 200k on the low end.

Thanks --