Altamont or Pikeville TN? (Jackson, Cookeville: relocation, house, rent)

[slt3]

My husband and I are getting ready to purchase property and before driving up to start searching we would like to narrow it down. We are looking for property with a view. Preferabley, 5+ acres. I understand that Pikeville is located in a valley with mountain views all around. What about Altamont? Looking at a map it looks as if it is located at the bottom of the Cumberland Plateau. How accurate is this? Any other city/town anyone can recommend within that area would be most helpful.

[mbmouse]

If you are looking for just views of the mountains that opens up just about all of East TN. There are views in a lot of areas. What else are you looking for in a town? That might help us give you some better answerers that will be helpful to you. Have you read through these TN threads yet? there a re many pages of great info there too and some pictures of different areas.
Hope that helps.

[firepower]

Originally Posted by slt3

My husband and I are getting ready to purchase property and before driving up to start searching we would like to narrow it down. We are looking for property with a view. Preferabley, 5+ acres. I understand that Pikeville is located in a valley with mountain views all around. What about Altamont? Looking at a map it looks as if it is located at the bottom of the Cumberland Plateau. How accurate is this? Any other city/town anyone can recommend within that area would be most helpful.

Altamont is I guess what you would call on the southern tip of the Cumberland Plateau...My personal preference of the two would definitely be Pikeville.There's something about the Sequatchie Valley that I just love!

firepower

[JMT]

Originally Posted by firepower

Altamont is I guess what you would call on the southern tip of the Cumberland Plateau...My personal preference of the two would definitely be Pikeville.There's something about the Sequatchie Valley that I just love!

firepower

I like the Sequatchie Valley, too. And Pikeville is closer to Fall Creek Falls, which is where I want my ashes spread after I die.

One of the things I don't like about Altamont: DRUGS. Grundy County is notorious for meth labs. It's got the highest concentration of meth felons in the state. Before meth was around, Grundy County was infamous for its marijuana industry. It's a very mountainous county with very few good roads, so it's easy to get lost in Grundy County and engage in illegal activities.

[firepower]

Originally Posted by JMT

I like the Sequatchie Valley, too. And Pikeville is closer to Fall Creek Falls, which is where I want my ashes spread after I die.

One of the things I don't like about Altamont: DRUGS. Grundy County is notorious for meth labs. It's got the highest concentration of meth felons in the state. Before meth was around, Grundy County was infamous for its marijuana industry. It's a very mountainous county with very few good roads, so it's easy to get lost in Grundy County and engage in illegal activities.

Definitely has that reputation! Just drive through both these places & you can see the difference...
I took off driving one day last summer & ended up taking hwy 56 from Silver Point all the way to I-24 & beyond(through Grundy County/Altamont,Tracy City).I won't say anything else other than you need to see it for yourself.Now,Monteagle & Sewanee were nice,especially the University.I drove as far as down the mountain to Cowan which was a neat little town as well.No offense,I know there are some good people there but Grundy County just had sort of a "deliverance" feel to it...I go to Jackson County pretty regularly & it used to have a "backwoods" reputation but it ain't got nothin' on Grundy!

firepower

[DaisyMay]

Nothing beats Grundy Co. if you are looking for unspoiled beauty. I do agree that drugs are a problem, mainly because no jobs are available. No jobs, worth having, that is. If you live in Grundy and have a decent job you are driving many miles. Our area has really been hit hard with the loss of manufacturing jobs for the past several years.

[OneKEighty]

Grundy County - the car-stripping capitol of Tennessee!

[slt3]

I'm a newbe to this site and I find it quite helpful. I like getting info from the locals - nothing sugar coated! Is anyone familiar with the Altamont Land Co.? They have quite a bit of land in large parcels for sale. They have just opened up a third phase in a development called Hunter's Ridge located of of Gap Road. From what I'm reading this area must be the worst place in Tennessee to live. I presently live in Orlando and my husband works in law enforcement and considering what it's like down here (and believe me it's getting bad) it can't be any worse unless every other household is a meth lab. If this is such a "bad county" why so much relocation to that area?

[JMT]

Originally Posted by slt3

If this is such a "bad county" why so much relocation to that area?

I'm not sure why you say there's so much relocation to the Altamont area. According to the US Census, all of Grundy County grew by a total of fewer than 170 people in the last 7 years. That part of Tennessee is not growing very fast at all. It is a breathtakingly beautiful part of the country, but not many people are moving there. I suppose a few people have weekend getaways in Grundy County, but they don't live there full-time.

But if your husband is in law enforcement, he probably wouldn't have any problems getting a job around there, if that's what he wants. I have a friend who was a police detective in Fort Lauderdale and couldn't stand it anymore, he had to get his family out of there. He took an early retirement and moved his family to White County (between Sparta and Cookeville) and became a gentleman farmer. It was the best thing they ever did.

[connieD]

I think that all these rural areas in Tennessee are just now getting attention from savvy developers and will boom in a couple of years. Just a few years back you couldn't give mountain land away...but now..Some of Sewanee's bluff view land is right up there with beach front properties. You can drive from Monteagle and Sewanee and be in Altamont in 15 minutes or less. I'm seeing 5 and 6 new multi phase developments appearing all over this mountain. Somebody smarter than me knows something that I don't.
I don't know anything about the Altamont Land Company, but I do know that it will be VERY restricted.