Townsend?....or something better? (Jackson, Johnson City: low crime, homes, to buy)

[MyCitySearchName]

I've spent several months looking at places to move and finally picked one
.....but I have a few concerns about it and I am just snooping around for other areas to compare it to.

I chose Floyd, VA.....but the taxes and government intrusion there scare me a little,
otherwise it meets all of my requirements. I don't know much about Tennessee, but Townsend sounds kinda nice.
Anyone on these forums familiar with it?

looking for:
*low cost of living
*small government, mostly conservative.....with LOW TAXES. I'm wanting to make my next move permanent.
*low crime rate
*gun friendly
*pet friendly
*pretty scenery, with low cost acreage available near near water...MILD climate....not extreme either way
.....I do like to play in snow occasionally and prefer rolling foothills near mountains.
I also like hunting, kayaking and rock climbing.
*rural, yet vibrant community with artists, artisans, self-reliant homesteader types and musicians
....within a 30 min. drive of a larger community (30k to 150k people) for business/shopping purposes
*access to organic produce, meat and raw goat's milk
*no big box stores or blacktop jungles. I like a town with some character, slow pace of life and interesting architecture.
*a decent hardware store and a nice restaurant or two.
*NOT a dry county, I like wine with dinner.

Choices so far have been:
#1 Floyd or Boones Mill, VA
#2 Townsend, Tullahoma, or Johnson City area, TN
#3 Mountain Home or outskirts of Fort Smith or Fayetteville, AR
#4 Corvallis, Coos Bay, Roseburg, Astoria, Seaside or La Pine, OR
#5 Florence, Rock City, Gadsden or Mentone, Alabama
#6 Coeur D'Alene, Idaho
#6 Poteau, OK

Any other recommendations would be welcome.

Not sure of all that Townsend offers, but it sounds nice.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by MyCitySearchName

I've spent several months looking at places to move and finally picked one
.....but I have a few concerns about it and I am just snooping around for other areas to compare it to.

I chose Floyd, VA.....but the taxes and government intrusion there scare me a little,
otherwise it meets all of my requirements. I don't know much about Tennessee, but Townsend sounds kinda nice.
Anyone on these forums familiar with it?

looking for:
*low cost of living
*small government, mostly conservative.....with LOW TAXES. I'm wanting to make my next move permanent.
*low crime rate
*gun friendly
*pet friendly
*pretty scenery, with low cost acreage available near near water...MILD climate....not extreme either way
.....I do like to play in snow occasionally and prefer rolling foothills near mountains.
I also like hunting, kayaking and rock climbing.
*rural, yet vibrant community with artists, artisans, self-reliant homesteader types and musicians
....within a 30 min. drive of a larger community (30k to 150k people) for business/shopping purposes
*access to organic produce, meat and raw goat's milk
*no big box stores or blacktop jungles. I like a town with some character, slow pace of life and interesting architecture.
*a decent hardware store and a nice restaurant or two.
*NOT a dry county, I like wine with dinner.

Choices so far have been:
#1 Floyd or Boones Mill, VA
#2 Townsend, Tullahoma, or Johnson City area, TN
#3 Mountain Home or outskirts of Fort Smith or Fayetteville, AR
#4 Corvallis, Coos Bay, Roseburg, Astoria, Seaside or La Pine, OR
#5 Florence, Rock City, Gadsden or Mentone, Alabama
#6 Coeur D'Alene, Idaho
#6 Poteau, OK

Any other recommendations would be welcome.

Not sure of all that Townsend offers, but it sounds nice.

How about Gainesboro, Tennessee? It meets all of your requirements, plus it's in a wet county (Jackson) with a few package stores set up right on the Putnam County line.

[MyCitySearchName]

I'll check that out.....thanks...*heads to google*

[JMT]

There are some nice pics of Gainesboro at the city-data page.

[MyCitySearchName]

do you have any good links about it?....I'm not finding much on google.

[Joe P]

Townsend is pretty much my favorite place in Tennessee, second only to Wears Valley which is adjacent, but you better have your pennies saved if you want to buy land in either. Both of them are very close to Tourism-Central (ie; Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg) and popular vacation towns.

By your criteria I'd say the tri-city region might be worth looking at...but I'm partial.

Joe

[JMT]

Originally Posted by MyCitySearchName

do you have any good links about it?....I'm not finding much on google.

Did you check out the city-data.com page for Gainesboro?

I did a quick Google search and found the Jackson County official web site.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Gainesboro-Tennessee.html
http://www.jacksonco.com

[JMT]

Gainesboro really is a cute little town, very scenic. There are a lot of "hippy" types there in Jackson County, organic farms, artists, etc. It's only 15 or so miles from Cookeville for stuff like shopping and movies and the symphony.

[phyll]

Originally Posted by JMT

There are some nice pics of Gainesboro at the city-data page.

It seems you are very informed on towns in East tn
I know you have answered my questions before, but do you have a list of towns that would fit my needs?
1.we are looking for a smaller type town
2. possibly mnt views
3. Good place for raising a small child
4.places to work.
Thanks so much for your help, I always appreciate the help!

[KC38506]

A town like Cookeville, Maryville, Oak Ridge, Morristown would fit your bill. All have populations around 30,000 (give or take a few), are known for good schools, are close to a larger city, and have great family values. It's not been talked about much on this forum, but I really like Morristown. I live in Cookeville and never want to leave , but I always said if I did, I'd want to live in Morristown. Good Republicans, lots of Baptists!