cookeville/crossville (Knoxville, Jackson, Franklin: condo, house, to buy)

[southernfried]

Yes,I,d like to know somemore of the same,JMT. Why is cookeville so much better than crossville? Thanks. Planing to come and see for myself soon OOO very soon!!!

[JMT]

Originally Posted by southernfried

Yes,I,d like to know somemore of the same,JMT. Why is cookeville so much better than crossville? Thanks. Planing to come and see for myself soon OOO very soon!!!

You might very well like Crossville more, and that's fine. For me, I could never live in a place like Crossville. FOR ME. Don't get me wrong, it has a lot going for it: nice weather, friendly people, low taxes, easy access to a major interstate, lots of golf courses. I've been known to recommend Crossville on here to people if I really thought it matched their criteria.

But I could never live in a town where education is such a low priority. Schools in Cumberland County have traditionally been mediocre at best, and this stupid argument going on between the school board and county commission just intensifies it.

I also couldn't live in a town where pretty much the only shopping possibilities are Wal-Mart and KMart and where there's not much in the way of good independent restaurants.

And I hope this doesn't open a new can of worms, but I absolutely despise racism, and Crossville is notorious for its history of racism although I'm sure it's better now than it was 30 years ago when a high-ranking public official in Crossville gleefully told my dad that they "run blacks out of town."

I like to travel, and the fact that Cookeville is so much closer to the Nashville airport than Crossville (cheapest air fares in the state--by far--are in Nashville) would be a huge benefit to me.

Being from Florida, I've witnessed the slow degeneration of towns which have placed their fortunes on luring retirees. Crossville is following the same pattern, and I absolutely do not want to live in a place like that. Its job growth is almost entirely low-paying service jobs, and even then Crossville has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state (just like retirement counties in Florida which are growing fast but don't have many jobs). And just like what's happened in many retirement ghettos in Florida, Cumberland County is becoming a county divided into the "haves" of Fairfield Glade and Lake Tansi and the "have-nots" everywhere else.

But those are just my impressions. I might be flamed for them, and I'm braced for it. When I made similar comments on here about McMinnville, someone from there called me a "bottom feeder." When I make disparaging remarks about Morristown, a real estate agent there jumps on here and calls me a liar. So I'm sure someone from Crossville will chime in and tell me how dumb I'm being.

The best thing for you is to go see for yourself. Obviously a lot of people like Crossville (or at least Fairfield Glade) or the place wouldn't be growing so quickly. You might prefer it over Cookeville, too. But for me, I want more out of the town where I live than what Crossville has to offer.

[tngayle]

Originally Posted by JMT

If the bozos who run Cumberland County don't get their act together, you won't be watching any high school football games or high school plays or high school anything in Crossville anytime soon.

I hate to be an I-told-you-so, but a couple of years ago in this forum I predicted that Cumberland County was going to become like many areas in Florida whose economies cater to retirees. Retirees move there because of the low taxes and low cost of living. Along with them come a few families with kids. The retirees vote a lot more than anyone else, and they vote for politicians who are anti-tax. However, as the population grows so do the needs of the local schools. The retirees refuse to pay more in property taxes to fund the schools. As a result, the schools become underfunded and in some cases overcrowded.

And this year, Cumberland County's commissioners are refusing to give the school board the money the school board says is needed to fund the schools. As a result, the schools in Cumberland County are closed indefinitely, a member of the school board has resigned in disgust, and the county mayor is suing the rest of the school board. It's becoming a 3-ring circus up there on the Plateau.

There are several reasons I would never live in Crossville; add this one to the list.

Hey Joe!
Thanks for the heads up on the Cumberland County school goat rope! We are recently retired but would definately want to help the situation. My husband is a former city councilman for 8 years, and Mayor Pro Tem from a large city in Texas. This is right up his alley. As I said, we plan to get actively involved in the community. We won't be content to sip tea and rock on our front porches. Sounds like a great opportunity. Taxes are the lifeblood of the area schools. We have grandchildren and know the importance of sports and school events at county level and how they greatly influence the lifestyle and spirit of the entire community.

We purposly did not move to FFG!

Originally Posted by tngayle

Hey Joe!
Thanks for the heads up on the Cumberland County school goat rope! We are recently retired but would definately want to help the situation. My husband is a former city councilman for 8 years, and Mayor Pro Tem from a large city in Texas. This is right up his alley. As I said, we plan to get actively involved in the community. We won't be content to sip tea and rock on our front porches. Sounds like a great opportunity. Taxes are the lifeblood of the area schools. We have grandchildren and know the importance of sports and school events at county level and how they greatly influence the lifestyle and spirit of the entire community.

Originally Posted by jguillot

A big CONGRATULATIONS to you! We'll be joining you, but not for another 6 years. Our retirement home will be in Cumberland Cove near Monterey.

[southernfried]

Well!!!!JMT,I didnt want to open a can of worms,I think that I will find more for myself&my family in Cookeville. Thanks for leting me know what is the (pros/cons)!!!!!

Thanks again!!!!!

[JMT]

Originally Posted by southernfried

Well!!!!JMT,I didnt want to open a can of worms,I think that I will find more for myself&my family in Cookeville. Thanks for leting me know what is the (pros/cons)!!!!!

Thanks again!!!!!

Just make sure you visit both places so you can see for yourself. You never know, you might like Crossville better!

[Kachina1]

Hi JMT! Thank you so much for your thoughtful and heartfelt reply. I think that the experiences of folks who have local information (and are willing to share the facts that can be controversial) are what makes this forum invaluable. Upon arrival in Crossville we were struck by the absence of diversity. We have more ethnic representation in Auburn, Maine!

We drove over to Cookeville twice and thought it was really nice. The new medical center is most impressive.

Our main reason for focusing on Crossville is its elevation. It seems from the stats that the heat and humidity is somewhat moderated there. Health issues compel consideration of this aspect of the Tennessee climate. I noted that you related in one of your posts that your doctor said that your allergies (or asthma?) would be less of a problem in almost any other state! And the air quality alerts which I have just begun tracking are alarming. We have air quality issues in Maine, but with less heat and humidity, the consequences are moderated somewhat.

If we do settle in Crossville, we would vote for every bond issue that came up to support education. It's too bad that folks don't consider the impact of low quality of education beyond the extra cents a year that they pay out to support something better.

We live in a rural area now and are in the habit of traveling a ways for dining and shopping. Crossville has the basics and more importantly a Tractor Supply that appears to stock the beet pulp and alfalfa cubes that are the staples of our geriatric horses' diets! The land is beautiful and there seem to be some very affordable housing options that would suit our need of modest home and barn/outbuildings and enough room for the equine gang.

I wonder if anyone knows if the air quality is any better up on the plateau (Crossville) than at the somewhat lower elevations (Cookeville)? Knoxville, Nashville and Chattanooga have it seems frequent air quality issues. I would guess that Cookeville and Crossville are just too small to be monitored. Does anyone know if there is any difference between the two as far as air quality goes? Ozone and/or particulates? And does anyone have an opinion on the heat and humidity differences? Significant, minor, non-existant?

Thanks so much for the invaluable input!

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Kachina1

Hi JMT! Thank you so much for your thoughtful and heartfelt reply. I think that the experiences of folks who have local information (and are willing to share the facts that can be controversial) are what makes this forum invaluable. Upon arrival in Crossville we were struck by the absence of diversity. We have more ethnic representation in Auburn, Maine!

I just stopped at an eating establishment in Crossville a couple of days ago en route to Nashville, and they had authentic Mexican food. I believe it was called Cancun Mexican. Crossville is getting a little more diverse. Crossville has built a lot more restaurants and motels/hotels since the last time I stopped through the Plateau.

[Bones]

Kachina1, welcome to the forums.
I live near Crossville and will not get into a debate here on the forums about the school issues and politics.....
Cookeville was 94° when I left the hospital this afternoon and Crossville had a high of 89.1° I'm a bit higher and typically it's 5-10°s cooler in the summer and 4-6°s warmer in the winter than downtown.....

[Tek_Freek]

Originally Posted by Plains10

I just stopped at an eating establishment in Crossville a couple of days ago en route to Nashville, and they had authentic Mexican food. I believe it was called Cancun Mexican. Crossville is getting a little more diverse. Crossville has built a lot more restaurants and motels/hotels since the last time I stopped through the Plateau.

If that's the one just off I-40 we ate there when we visited in 2006. Good food. We also found one next to a movie complex in a shopping center.

Really good food there! I mean really good!!

[Bones]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

If that's the one just off I-40 we ate there when we visited in 2006. Good food. We also found one next to a movie complex in a shopping center.

Really good food there! I mean really good!!

The Gondola on the other side of the movies is a great Italian place to eat....