Interesting conversation concerning Fairfield Glade (Knoxville: sale, mortgage broker, modular homes)

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

I've read these arguments before and discounted them. Mainly because the majority of the posters seemed to have an ulterior motive or I had noticed other threads with similar comments about any town but the one they live in.

I'm surprised no one has commented on this.

The majority of posters seemed to have an ulterior motive? Yikes!

What ulterior motive would I, or JMT, alleycat, Bones, SMG, etc. have? I am absolutely appalled at this. So when people are spending a good portion of their lives answering questions to be helpful, it is assumed that there is an ulterior motive?

Speaking for myself, it will not affect my life in anyway if you move to Fairfield Glade. Or not.

And not to be unkind, but to make a cautionary statement for others that may be pondering a relocation, I would not buy a piece of land and then find out that the local high-end restaurant is Ruby Tuesday's or that the nearest fresh seafood is 70 miles away, and that was by making a telephone call to the wrong number.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I'm surprised no one has commented on this.

The majority of posters seemed to have an ulterior motive? Yikes!

What ulterior motive would I, or JMT, alleycat, Bones, SMG, etc. have? I am absolutely appalled at this. So when people are spending a good portion of their lives answering questions to be helpful, it is assumed that there is an ulterior motive?

Speaking for myself, it will not affect my life in anyway if you move to Fairfield Glade. Or not.

And not to be unkind, but to make a cautionary statement for others that may be pondering a relocation, I would not buy a piece of land and then find out that the local high-end restaurant is Ruby Tuesday's or that the nearest fresh seafood is 70 miles away, and that was by making a telephone call to the wrong number.

Holy cow, how did I miss that?

Who in this forum has an ulterior motive when we don't recommend that people move to Fairfield Glade/Crossville/Cumberland County or wherever else? As far as I'm concerned, we're all in here giving opinions. I have no dog in this fight, I have nothing to gain or lose if people move to towns in Tennessee that I don't like (Crossville, Jackson, McMinnville, Morristown) or if they move to towns I do like (Cookeville, Knoxville, Maryville, Johnson City, and others). I want people to love Tennessee like I do, and that means--to me--avoiding certain places. But plenty of people disagree which is why it's so much fun to post and read posts in here. If all we read were positive posts about everything, and if everyone agreed on everything, how helpful would that be??

Besides, anyone who makes their decision to move or not to move to a place because of what they read in some anonymous internet forum is just asking for trouble. I read posts about people who buy land sight unseen and then are bitterly disappointed when they finally get there (hello Sequatchie Point or Crawford Mountain or whatever it's called).

[LauraC]

In Oak Ridge we have Rarity Ridge on the far west end of town. Oak Ridge is really big area wise. I tell people, if you want to live in Oak Ridge, Rarity Ridge is like living in another town because it's that far away from the town hub. Now, if you want to live in Rarity Ridge to be close to something you do in Kingston or if you work a short way up the road at the Horizon Center, for example, then it might be just the ticket for you.


I can't find the old posts about things to consider when moving here or retiring and moving but I can summarize some things from memory.

1. Just because you vacation someplace for years it's not the same as living there. You don't go to the supermarket, go to the doctor, look for a library books, deal with neighbors, put your kid in school, take your car to a mechanic, go to the post office, drive during rush hour, etc., when you are on vacation.

2. Retirees: Have a good idea of how you plan to fill your daytime hours (hours when you used to be working) before you move. Live near the things you do most often/like to do. If you like to go to the symphony/art gallery/hike in the mountains once a month but you fish or golf or clothes shop or bowl in a league or take classes a few times a week, for example, live in a place where there are more nearby fishing/golfing/mall/class/bowling opportunities. You don't have to live in the town where the concert hall/art gallery/mountains are located, you can just drive to them once or twice a month.

3. You can visit nearby pretty places/tourist places that excited you when you visited; you don't have to live there. Figure out, do you want to live in the mountains or just see them and/or have them close? Figure out if you want to deal, on a regular basis, with people passing thru, traffic, parking issues and probably more expensive purchases that come with living in a tourist town.

4. Read the local newspaper online or subscribe for months before you move to see future plans for the town, if the events match the kind of events you like to attend, to see what's reported about the schools and crime, and to look at the photos of events to see if the people in the town look like your kind of people whatever that may be (example: if you're a splashy dress up, designer brand, wine and cheese/cocktail art gallery event type type versus a Wal-Mart, jeans, tee shirt and beer baseball game barbecue event type).

5. If you are used to living in a town of 55,000 with a lot of service, restaurant, shopping choices will you really be happy in a town of 1,500 after the first few weeks of relaxation?

6. You are a planet in the solar system, the sun doesn't revolve around you. People in the town aren't stupid because they don't do things your way/like the things you like/do the things you do. You might be, however, for the expensive mistake of picking a place to live for which you were so poorly suited.

7. Gas is only around $3.49 now (9/26/08). What will it be next Memorial Day weekend? You might not mind a long commute to work but your wallet may go "Ouch."

Okay, that's all I remember from those other posts.

Tek Freek, you're doing the right things/thinking about the right things.

[Tek_Freek]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I deal with a lot of people at Fairfield Glade. A few hate it, several are indifferent but say they will probably look into other places, no one said they loved it or even liked it.

Living in a "retirement ghetto" is not for every one. Living in one far away from anything is not how I would want to spend my last years.

When we visited in 2006 we made a point of stopping and talking to everyone we met in the Glade and out of probably 20 people only one couple expressed unhappiness, and that was with the value loss on their property because of something that happened earlier. Everyone else liked it there.

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I'm surprised no one has commented on this.

The majority of posters seemed to have an ulterior motive? Yikes!

What ulterior motive would I, or JMT, alleycat, Bones, SMG, etc. have? I am absolutely appalled at this. So when people are spending a good portion of their lives answering questions to be helpful, it is assumed that there is an ulterior motive?

Speaking for myself, it will not affect my life in anyway if you move to Fairfield Glade. Or not.

And not to be unkind, but to make a cautionary statement for others that may be pondering a relocation, I would not buy a piece of land and then find out that the local high-end restaurant is Ruby Tuesday's or that the nearest fresh seafood is 70 miles away, and that was by making a telephone call to the wrong number.

Oh I saw it, I believe many on here did. I just didn't feel right saying "We told you so". I can not count how many times folks on here warned about any of these "super developments" who advertise only to out of state people with higher demographics. Have TV adds with old celebrities, offer to pay you come look at their property and so forth. We did warn about all these red flags and how the properties were out in the middle of nowhere. However, people need to make their own decisions based on their own needs. If they feel we post these red flags with the belief that we all have some kind of alterer motive, that is their right to believe that. Not true, but I can see how others would perceive that because a lot of us are very adamant about staying away from them. hahahahaha
I am not picking on Tek_freek here, I am hoping that this thread and explanation will help other who are looking at these type of developments to look harder at them. Talk to more people who do not have a horse in the race(like us here) and to really decide what is important to them when looking at a new place to live, not just the sales pitch.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

Oh I saw it, I believe many on here did. I just didn't feel right saying "We told you so". I can not count how many times folks on here warned about any of these "super developments" who advertise only to out of state people with higher demographics. Have TV adds with old celebrities, offer to pay you come look at their property and so forth. We did warn about all these red flags and how the properties were out in the middle of nowhere. However, people need to make their own decisions based on their own needs. If they feel we post these red flags with the belief that we all have some kind of alterer motive, that is their right to believe that. Not true, but I can see how others would perceive that because a lot of us are very adamant about staying away from them. hahahahaha
I am not picking on Tek_freek here, I am hoping that this thread and explanation will help other who are looking at these type of developments to look harder at them. Talk to more people who do not have a horse in the race(like us here) and to really decide what is important to them when looking at a new place to live, not just the sales pitch.

Well, you can count on me to open my big mouth.

Yep. There is a core group of us that have really warned about these developments, including you.

In fact, when I was thinking about ulterior motives, do you know what I thought? "Well, the only people that seemed to have ulterior motives were those people that would pose as recent homeowners and gush about a development, but actually be the developer."

It became sort of a joke around here.

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Well, you can count on me to open my big mouth.

Yep. There is a core group of us that have really warned about these developments, including you.

In fact, when I was thinking about ulterior motives, do you know what I thought? "Well, the only people that seemed to have ulterior motives were those people that would pose as recent homeowners and gush about a development, but actually be the developer."

It became sort of a joke around here.

Well, I can see how people would have a hard time accepting what I say when I am talking about the pro's of areas because just about everyone here knows I am a mortgage broker. I can accept that perception. But as most of you know, I call it like I see it and it has nothing to do with my job. There are several Realtors on here who post the same. Then again there are some who are all about "the job" so yea, I can see how it would be hard for some to believe what is being posted from some. I am just glad that through it all, Tek-feek found out for himself the truth BEFORE he built, that in the end is the important part. Now lets just hope he can break even on the lot.

[Wordy]

I like Crossville OK but living in Cookeville, I don't spend a ton of time there. I'm at least a few decades away from retirement so I can't really relate to those concerns on anything other than a casual observer basis. It bugs the stuffing out of me that even Cookeville has no Target, but honestly--it's not the end of the world. It's probably actually a good thing for my family in terms of our budget and overspending, since to me Target represents one big shimmering oasis of impulse spending. I definitely do not have that problem at Wal-Mart (I try to limit my Wal-Mart excursions to once per season and only if absolutely necessary).

I'm with JMT on the school system in Cumberland County. It's rather distressing even living one county over to see how things have been going there. I have a colleague with children in that system and all she wants to do is sell her house and move somewhere else. It's a bad situation there, and still not completely resolved.

[Tek_Freek]

I have to apologize. The "ulterior motive" comment was unnecessary and rude.

I can't believe I actually put that in a post. With all the help I've received in this forum the notion that any of you would steer me away from or towards a particular area for personal gain is simply ridiculous.

I don't know what I was thinking when that came out of my brain, though my fingers, onto the keyboard and into that post.

My bad.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

I have to apologize. The "ulterior motive" comment was unnecessary and rude.

I can't believe I actually put that in a post. With all the help I've received in this forum the notion that any of you would steer me away from or towards a particular area is simply ridiculous.

I don't know what I was thinking when that came out of my brain, though my fingers, onto the keyboard and into that post.

My bad.

It's ok. I'm sure you were just really, really frustrated and disappointed. I know I've written things in this forum before that I shouldn't have written because I was too emotional at the time. So thanks for the apology, Tek Freek! I really do appreciate it.

And Wordy, I'm with you on the Target situation in Cookeville. I swear I don't understand why Target isn't there. I mean I know what Target's policy is (they won't build in non-metropolitan areas) but it still doesnt' make sense to me. But on the other hand, in the grand scheme of things it's soooo unimportant. Living in a town with excellent schools, lots of cultural things for kids and adults, good restaurants, low crime, beautiful scenery; THAT is much more important to me than having a Target nearby.