Fairfield Glade (Knoxville, Crossville: condo, mortgage, new house)

[deeker1]

I am looking at Tenn. as a possible retirement spot from my home on Long Island.

I have seen info on Fairfield Glade. Does anyone have an info on it both pro and con?

[Beretta]

Originally Posted by deeker1

I am looking at Tenn. as a possible retirement spot from my home on Long Island.

I have seen info on Fairfield Glade. Does anyone have an info on it both pro and con?

Have you used the Advanced Search feature and looked at all of the previous posts? If you go to Search, Advanced Search, type in "Fairfield Glade" (for either threads or posts) and then select Tennessee (make sure the child forum box is checked) then it will pull all of them up. There have been quite a few discussions on FFG in the past.

I am moving this from the Knoxville forum to the Tennessee forum.

Good luck in your search!

[Tinman313]

Just their. The Over Look at Daddy's Creek

[Tek_Freek]

You can search the TN thread for posts by me also. I have a number posted for FG.

We bought a lot there in 2006 on Valarian Terrace, which you won't find on maps except as New Road. It's off Valarian Drive. There are pictures in some of my posts.

Obviously we like it.

Upside: Plenty to do. Golf, lakes, clubs, etc. We have been told by friends that live there and others we spoke to there that if you're not careful you will be so busy you won't have any free time. Great weather. Taxes in TN are lenient, low for the most part. Cheap electrical, but rate hikes seem to be common recently. Everyone we met in FG and Crossville were very nice. Good hospital, rec center, fire and police are local, assisted living being built. When we were there in '06 we were told they were going to build heliports for fast emergency transport. A huge, new mall is about 40-45 minutes away at the west end of Knoxville.

In a day you can drive to the Atlantic, the Gulf, gambling in Mississippi, etc.

Downside: Crossville is fairly small and lacks some things we would like. From things we've read on line it's changing, growing. A new library will be nice. The old one was pretty small. We've heard there are more restaurants opening. No hard liquor in stores. 30 minutes away, and the owner gives a discount to FG residents. We aren't ones to show up and start forcing change, though. If enough retirees show up it will happen on it's own.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by deeker1

I am looking at Tenn. as a possible retirement spot from my home on Long Island.

I have seen info on Fairfield Glade. Does anyone have an info on it both pro and con?

Where on Long Island do you live? Maybe I can compare some things for you? Unless you are from the eastern end of LI, it's much more isolated than what you are used to.

[Jeren]

Here's my story - - My husband and I will be retiring in about 5 to 6 years. We knew we didn't want to stay in New Jersey, so we decided that every year we would visit a a part of the US we'd never been to until we found some place that we would consider retiring. The first year we went to Hot Springs Village, Arkansas and it was great - but too hot. The next year we went to Tennessee. We first looked at the Tellico Lake area and then spent a day at Fairfield Glade. That was in 2005. When we were there an agent told us that a new section of housing was opening in 2006 - Hickory Ridge. The weekend it opened we flew there to pick a lot. Last month they started building our new house. We didn't expect to find somewhere we would really like for a few years, but Fairfield Glade was just what we wanted.

I don't know what you're looking for in an area, but I need things to do on a daily basis. People here think we're a little crazy to leave all the 'access to cultural events' (I live outside Philly, and DC & NYC are day trips for us). My answer is - that's what vacations are for. Besides, along with all those cities comes heavy traffic and a high cost of living. (won't miss that) - Fairfield Glade's got plenty to do. I even took up golf last year. I tell people I'm practicing for retirement.

Cost of living - - you can't get much higher than where I am now. We spoke with a financial counselor while in TN in 2005. We are building a more expensive home than we presently own. The monthly mortgage payment on the new home will be less because the taxes are much much less.

It's hard to give you pros and cons without knowing what you're looking for. If you like big city you're not going to like it. If you don't want big city, it's the place to be. Fairfiled Glade has an association that monitors the Glade, but I like that. I like that my neighbor will have to keep his house and yard looking nice. Some people find that intrusive. If you have specific questions, post them. I'm sure there's someone who will answer. I'll watch for them too.

There's plenty of sites that give demographics, cost of living, taxes, etc. Check out the website for the Fairfield Glade Community Club.

My advice, do some research then visit the area. Shop around and compare.

If you have specific questions, post them. I'm sure there's someone who will answer. I'll watch for them too.

[McMar]

Just drove up to FFG a few weeks ago from Crossville, as I often visit that area (excellent state park there), and have been curious about FFG. Very nice place, and growing like you wouldn't believe. New doctors buildings and pharmacies, big new Food City grocery store with everything from the vienna sausage end of the spectrum to gourmet deli & organic foods. Also a great farm stand, whose name escapes me at the moment. Very nice new community center. Commercial construction going on everywhere. Give it 2-3 years and I foresee movie theaters and upscale dining, boutiques, etc moving into FFG. I imagine there are tons of community activities, and of course lots of golf, and some lake activities. If you don't mind the 30 minute drive into Crossville (also growing like crazy), you do have access to a larger, excellent hospital, hiking, WPA & CCC history, shopping at the "big box" stores, the renowned Cumberland County Playhouse, some neat local stores, fun festivals, a new free concert series and more.

One problem that may arise with the rapid growth of Cumberland County, Crossville, and FFG is that a two lane highway runs from Crossville and dead-ends at FFG, and in many places along the route there isn't even a turn lane even though there are a lot of businesses along the route. Nice that there is no through-traffic, but as more folks move to the area, traffic will become more of an issue. It was a bit congested when I was there on a Monday afternoon. I do think FFG is a wonderful place to consider retiring to. The Cumberland plateau is beautiful, affordable, with a mild climate and friendly people. I did experience one funny thing (not strange, but ha-ha funny): at the self-checkout at the Food City, my boyfriend and I were watched like hawks by the attendant. We are in our 30's, and therefore were immediately recognized as being from outside of the area and suspected of being up to no good. Here are a couple of links you might find interesting:

Crossville Chronicle, Crossville, TN - Glade Sun

Crossville Chamber

[Tinman313]

Theirs a new bridge over I-40 being done at the I-40 Peavine exit on the west side of Peavine. That intersection is bad so watch your self in that area of Peavine ........

[Tek_Freek]

Originally Posted by McMar

. If you don't mind the 30 minute drive into Crossville

Wow! Has it gotten that busy?

When we drove from I-40/Peavine to our lot in 2006 it took us less then 10 minutes and we were driving slow because I was filming the drive.

We're not too far from the dam at the north end of Lake Dartmoor.

[Sparkman]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

Wow! Has it gotten that busy?

When we drove from I-40/Peavine to our lot in 2006 it took us less then 10 minutes and we were driving slow because I was filming the drive.

We're not too far from the dam at the north end of Lake Dartmoor.

Not a 30 minute drive, maybe 15 minutes into town, by Kroger. Have a FFG condo & am there alot. I don't ever see some of the things the McMar posted coming up to FFG, like a movie theatre, etc, but I do see some more development, especially in the area of the new Food City store. And, I have owned there 7 years, bought there when I was 42. While I'm definitely one of the younger ones there when there, (people aways assume we're timeshare visitors and no property owners), I really haven't felt out of place there.