Best retirement towns - Central & East TN (Knoxville, Chattanooga: living in, restaurants)

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by jguillot

Mbmouse, thanks for your reply. I assume that the tri-cities area you refer to is the triangle area between Nashville, Chattanoga, and Knoxville. I have not ruled out this area and I am open to any suggestions you might have. I will definitely check out the information on Kingsport. Thanks for your help and have a great day!

Oops, sorry, I guess I should have clarified that one. No the "Tri-Cites" are Johnson City, Kingsport and Bristol TN. It is in the North East part of TN, it the very east tip of the state. East of Knoxville, North of Western NC (and the Smokie mountains), South of VA. Our main Interstate Hwy is I-81 which runs from The St Lawrence River by Lake Ontario Canada to Jefferson County TN. Then it just becomes I-40 that goes either west to CA or South East to Wilmington NC. That is the main reason why folks that have relatives in other parts of the country and/or like to travel by car like this area. It is easy access to many different states and parts of the country.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by jguillot

Mbmouse, thanks for your reply. I assume that the tri-cities area you refer to is the triangle area between Nashville, Chattanoga, and Knoxville. I have not ruled out this area and I am open to any suggestions you might have. I will definitely check out the information on Kingsport. Thanks for your help and have a great day!

The Tri Cities is in northeast TN right where TN, VA, KY, and NC meet. It's about 100+ miles northeast of Knoxville. The three cities are Bristol, Johnson City, and Kingsport. It's a beautiful area with about a half-million people, but the largest city (Johnson City) has only about 60,000. So it's still fairly rural even though it has more people than metro Chattanooga.

The only drawback for me to living there is its isolation, and by that I mean it costs a fortune to fly in/out of the Tri Cities airport. I like to travel. On my last trip out to Utah, for example, it cost $198 out of Nashville, but it would've cost about $400 out of Knoxville and it was over $500 out of the Tri Cities.

[mbmouse]

That is true about the airport access JMT. If someone prefers to fly verses drive, The Tri-Cities is not the best place.
I have found that it is cheaper for me to drive to Charlotte or Nashville the day before I fly, but this means two extra days for a trip.
However, if you are looking to Fly back and forth to Fl, the Tri-Cities airport just announced it will have direct flights to Orlando for $59.00 per person.
Not sure about the details though. I really don't understand the Tri-Cities airport. It made the runways large and long enough for the Concord and most all military planes to land and take off there but it is still just a regional airport with only a few commercial flights a day. It is know for having one of the longest runways. Makes no sense.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

That is true about the airport access JMT. If someone prefers to fly verses drive, The Tri-Cities is not the best place.
I have found that it is cheaper for me to drive to Charlotte or Nashville the day before I fly, but this means two extra days for a trip.
However, if you are looking to Fly back and forth to Fl, the Tri-Cities airport just announced it will have direct flights to Orlando for $59.00 per person.
Not sure about the details though. I really don't understand the Tri-Cities airport. It made the runways large and long enough for the Concord and most all military planes to land and take off there but it is still just a regional airport with only a few commercial flights a day. It is know for having one of the longest runways. Makes no sense.

That's Allegiant Air. Technically, they don't fly to Orlando, they fly to Sanford. Same with Tampa. They say they fly to Tampa, but it's actually Saint Petersburg. But it's about time the TRI airport has a low-cost carrier. Hopefully, it will mean lower air fares to more places than just Orlando.

The TRI airport is nice, it's not crowded at all, there's never any waiting in line. It's just too bad it's so expensive. And you're right about that runway! Was it maybe a military base in a previous life?

[mbmouse]

No it was built as a public airport and when all the hoopla about the Concord was buzzing, they spent all this money to insure it could land here but nothing ever paned out and now there is no more concord! Go figure.

[jguillot]

mbmouse and JMT, thank you. I'll be looking at my map of Tennessee and also mapquest.com when I get home from work tonight to get a better picture of where the tri-cities area is located. Your replies are appreciated.

[mrradio]

Jguillot:

I have sent you a private message.

mrradio

[DeLaSalle]

Originally Posted by jguillot

For our retirement years, my wife and I are looking for a change from what we are experiencing in California. Here is what we are looking for:

1. Friendly people who will welcome and accept newcomers
2. Slower paced lifestyles.
3. Lower cost of living
4. People with more conservative values
5. A less populated state
6. Small town atmosphere
7. An area where boating, fishing, and hiking are possible
8. 2 to 5 acres of land where we can build our home
9. An area within 30 to 60 minutes of Knoxville, Nashville, or Chattanoga
10. An area that provides opportunities for shopping without having to drive to one of the large cities.
11. An area where good health care is available.

I am originally from Louisiana and I would like to return to the south. We visited Tennessee a few years ago and like the state. We will be visiting Tennessee again for a few days in August, so we will be looking at different places. I've read articles on places such as Norris, Maryville, Lenoir City, Crossville, Cookeville, Franklin, and Paris, TN. All of these places were rated as great retirement communities. If anyone would like to comment on any of these places or any other places I should consider, please do so. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you to JMT, alleycat, and LauraC for your comments.

Hello, guillot?? Who'd ever believe you were born in "The Great State of Louisiana...
Well I love the old louisiana, but it ain't there no more...
I've lived in CA and know what you mean. I'm looking at TN as well.
Wish you the best of Luck

Let me know where you land,
Best Regards, DLS

[jguillot]

Hi DeLaSalle,

Yes, I was born in central Louisiana, but my last 14 years there were in a suburb of New Orleans. I still have relatives there, some of which were affected by Hurricane Katrina. I have no desire to return to Louisiana, except to visit relatives. I will visit Tennessee in August to look at different areas and may even buy property while I'm there. The posts provided by readers here will definitely help to narrow down my list of places to check out. Tennessee sounds great!

Thank you for your post on this site. Best wishes to you and your family.

Johnny

[Breucklyn]

Originally Posted by jguillot

Mbmouse, thanks for your reply. I assume that the tri-cities area you refer to is the triangle area between Nashville, Chattanoga, and Knoxville. I have not ruled out this area and I am open to any suggestions you might have. I will definitely check out the information on Kingsport. Thanks for your help and have a great day!

I think what mbmouse was referring to were the tricities of Johnson City, Bristol and Kingsport. That is the area that my husband and I have decided to focus on. I just read your list and it looks like we are looking for the same type of lifestyle now. :>)