[TRex2]

Originally Posted by I Luv Chins

I'd look elsewhere in TN before moving to Arkansas. I lived there while young, spent a big chunk of my life in North Carolina, and moved to eastern Tennessee so I could "keep" NC but live a more affordable life.

There are people who love Arkansas, but it doesn't have the mountains like TN/NC. The lakes in Arkansas draw people from surrounding states, it is hot - whoa-bad hot, there. I'd look at more northeastern Tennessee (Jonesborough), some of the towns between Nashville and Knoxville, or even southwest Virginia.

I love Arkansas,
but this does make a lot of sense.

[creeksitter]

I wanna get out of Knoxville because there's too many tourists here.

The out of state license plates you see are not tourists - they are people looking to relocate. I imagine you'd find the same in Fayetteville. My advice is to look at the small towns halfway between Knoxville and Chattanooga - that way you have the Cherehala skyway for an uncrowded mountain experience. Or further north in E TN. Greeneville, perhaps.

Another option is NW SC. There are some beautiful lakes there.

[AnthonyJ34]

In terms of climate, how does eastern Tennessee (namely, Johnson City/Kingsport/Pigeon Forge) area compare to northwest Arkansas (Fayetteville/Bentonville)? I’m one who is looking to relocate and both NWA and eastern Tennessee seem like promising options. However, I’m not a big fan of extended periods of heat and humidity, so I’d love to find a location that is not overly hot and humid for too many months at a time — but I do realize that pretty much comes with the territory anywhere in the South.

I used to spend every summer as a teenager with family near Fort Smith, Arkansas, and the heat and humidity were awful — but especially at night when things remained warm and sweltering. (I’m from coastal Southern California, by the way, so I’m used to a very mild climate.) However, I do not expect or even want that mild but very boring So. Cal coastal climate: I would like to find more seasonal variety without going too extreme. And looking at climate data for NWA and eastern Tennessee, it appears that those areas have some of the more mild summers anywhere in the South (except for maybe the Asheville, North Carolina area).

Anyways, I have no definite plans yet; I’m still in the exploratory stage. Actually, I left So. Cal a few months back and am currently living (at lest temporarily) in Kelso, Washington, which is about 50 miles north of Portland, Oregon. And this is a very nice, scenic place, but I’m not so sure that I would like to live here permanently. The towns around here are a bit run down and shabby (many logging towns and mill towns that have seen better days) and many of the local residents are a bit rough around the edges. And drug/meth use is rampant in these rural Washington areas. Plus, although real estate prices here are considerably cheaper than they are in Southern California, they are still not all that cheap — and they are going up as more and more Portlanders look north for cheaper housing.

So, I’m seriously thinking about possibly relocating to either Arkansas or Tennessee. I know the cost of living would be much cheaper than it is in both California and Washington, and real estate prices would be much less. I’m no longer interested in living in ultra expensive metropolitan areas like Southern California. But where to go is the question. Washington state is pretty, but I’m not sold on it.

[I Luv Chins]

Originally Posted by AnthonyJ34

The towns around here are a bit run down and shabby (many logging towns and mill towns that have seen better days) and many of the local residents are a bit rough around the edges. And drug/meth use is rampant in these rural Washington areas.

It's rather the same with areas in eastern TN, only change the industry to coal. Drugs are a problem as well. There is a large, undereducated class of people who are drawn to drugs because life seems hopeless for them.

Climate-wise - you get hot summers; not as hot and humid as Arkansas; though there is the saving grace of being able to escape to higher altitudes for cooler temps.

Pigeon Forge is a tourist town. If you want the din of traffic and hordes of people, that would be the place to find it. We checked out Kingsport and Johnson City. Those are nice places. We might have chosen either one, or Jonesborough, but wanted to be a bit farther west. It might not be a concern, but eastern TN has high levels of radon.

My grandparents lived in NW Arkansas for several decades. I spent summers there, then lived with them for several years. No way would I return to Arkansas, not after living in North Carolina and now, eastern TN. It is simply a more scenic and rustic place to live.

[drinkthekoolaid]

Originally Posted by AnthonyJ34

In terms of climate, how does eastern Tennessee (namely, Johnson City/Kingsport/Pigeon Forge) area compare to northwest Arkansas (Fayetteville/Bentonville)? I’m one who is looking to relocate and both NWA and eastern Tennessee seem like promising options. However, I’m not a big fan of extended periods of heat and humidity, so I’d love to find a location that is not overly hot and humid for too many months at a time — but I do realize that pretty much comes with the territory anywhere in the South.

I used to spend every summer as a teenager with family near Fort Smith, Arkansas, and the heat and humidity were awful — but especially at night when things remained warm and sweltering. (I’m from coastal Southern California, by the way, so I’m used to a very mild climate.) However, I do not expect or even want that mild but very boring So. Cal coastal climate: I would like to find more seasonal variety without going too extreme. And looking at climate data for NWA and eastern Tennessee, it appears that those areas have some of the more mild summers anywhere in the South (except for maybe the Asheville, North Carolina area).

Anyways, I have no definite plans yet; I’m still in the exploratory stage. Actually, I left So. Cal a few months back and am currently living (at lest temporarily) in Kelso, Washington, which is about 50 miles north of Portland, Oregon. And this is a very nice, scenic place, but I’m not so sure that I would like to live here permanently. The towns around here are a bit run down and shabby (many logging towns and mill towns that have seen better days) and many of the local residents are a bit rough around the edges. And drug/meth use is rampant in these rural Washington areas. Plus, although real estate prices here are considerably cheaper than they are in Southern California, they are still not all that cheap — and they are going up as more and more Portlanders look north for cheaper housing.

So, I’m seriously thinking about possibly relocating to either Arkansas or Tennessee. I know the cost of living would be much cheaper than it is in both California and Washington, and real estate prices would be much less. I’m no longer interested in living in ultra expensive metropolitan areas like Southern California. But where to go is the question. Washington state is pretty, but I’m not sold on it.

Feel free to not public reply if you don't want and PM instead but I can't help but be curious if you are choosing east TN and NW AR specifically because of the ongoing political/preparedness/self sufficiency migration going on. Both these specific regions are very appealing to those in the east as relocation options to be around others with similar viewpoints. I'm just wondering if this is a part of your decision criteria.

I would personally be interested in NW AR And I still try to learn and keep tabs on it but it's probably realistically too far for me. I think I need to stay on the east coast and TN or perhaps NC/SC/KY. East TN is really nice. I just drove through Johnson city, Erwin and jonesborough last month.

[castlelake]

Originally Posted by CraigCreek

Weekends will see the heaviest use by tourists, as is true anywhere. That said, Arkansas tourism doesn't compare in numbers to the extremely heavy tourism found in and near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and that's a good thing in my personal view. Beautiful scenery, smaller crowds.

This! Last May (when the weather is very nice) I visited Smoky Mountains area and right after that headed to Arkansas, to the tourist areas around Hot Springs and later to Eureka Springs. I think one can't really compare the busyness of Eastern Tennessee - which is accompanied by the busyness of major East Coast highway and higher population density - to much more peaceful and slow-paced Arkansas. There weren't too many people in AR. Actually I was driving around both national forests finding hardly any cars sharing the road with me, enjoyed completely empty rest stops in the forest.

Central Arkansas (Ouachita mountains) is one of the most beautiful places out there, I like the nature there more than one in Eastern TN - and even though Smoky Mountains park is quite scenic, it is overrun by the tourists. I hiked in Hot Springs National Park in AR enjoying having trails to myself. One drawback in AR, though, is that there're a lot more ticks there...and they carry bad diseases, unlike in East TN.

I had lived in really touristy areas before (think Lake Tahoe in NorthCal), where tourists car jams can last miles...AR tourism load is nothing compared to that.