What Has Changed In Cookeville? (Jackson, Algood: sales, apartments, mortgage)

[bdj5773]

OK. As mentioned in a previous post, the last time I was in Cookeville was in 2004. What has changed since then; what is new? I don't believe there was a Sam's Club then and some new restaurants have been built. Just trying to get a feel of just how much Cookeville has grown in the last 10 years.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by bdj5773

OK. As mentioned in a previous post, the last time I was in Cookeville was in 2004. What has changed since then; what is new? I don't believe there was a Sam's Club then and some new restaurants have been built. Just trying to get a feel of just how much Cookeville has grown in the last 10 years.

I don't think the 2nd Walmart was there back then, either. It's technically not in Cookeville (Algood) but I still count it. Tons of new restaurants since 2004: Olive Garden, Ruby Tuesday, Cheddar's, Buffalo Wild Wings, some fast food joints, and some wonderful places downtown. Lots of new banks, too. Oh, and there's liquor sales now in Cookeville so there are some liquor stores around town. A couple of additional car dealerships on Interstate Drive. The mall is no longer empty; part of it is a flea market (what used to be Peebles) and the rest of it is now full of locally owned stores and restaurants (no chains). Most of the stores that used to be in the mall (Peebles--now called Goody's, GNC, some others) are now off West Jackson across the street from the Sears/Belk mall. The old mall is actually pretty nice now even though JCPenney still won't open their doors that lead into the mall (jerks). Lots of large new homes on the eastern side of town, other new subdivisions all over the place, a ton of new apartments near Tech. A new K-8 school south of the interstate and an expanded K-8 school in Algood.

But one thing that will hopefully never change: Ralph's doughnuts! It's still in the same location downtown, and they're still making the best doughnuts on the planet.

[bdj5773]

Originally Posted by JMT

I don't think the 2nd Walmart was there back then, either. It's technically not in Cookeville (Algood) but I still count it. Tons of new restaurants since 2004: Olive Garden, Ruby Tuesday, Cheddar's, Buffalo Wild Wings, some fast food joints, and some wonderful places downtown. Lots of new banks, too. Oh, and there's liquor sales now in Cookeville so there are some liquor stores around town. A couple of additional car dealerships on Interstate Drive. The mall is no longer empty; part of it is a flea market (what used to be Peebles) and the rest of it is now full of locally owned stores and restaurants (no chains). Most of the stores that used to be in the mall (Peebles--now called Goody's, GNC, some others) are now off West Jackson across the street from the Sears/Belk mall. The old mall is actually pretty nice now even though JCPenney still won't open their doors that lead into the mall (jerks). Lots of large new homes on the eastern side of town, other new subdivisions all over the place, a ton of new apartments near Tech. A new K-8 school south of the interstate and an expanded K-8 school in Algood.

But one thing that will hopefully never change: Ralph's doughnuts! It's still in the same location downtown, and they're still making the best doughnuts on the planet.

I've read a lot about Ralph's doughnuts. I will definitely have to try it out next down down. Thanks for the run-down. Can't wait to pay a visit. Of course, what attracts me the most is the natural beauty that is everywhere and the people. Even though Cookeville and the upper Cumberland area are farther south than where I currently live in MO, it is considerably cooler in the summer. Summers can be a real beast here in St. Louis.

What about a Home Depot?
What about Costco?
Who are major employers in the area?

[JMT]

Originally Posted by bdj5773

I've read a lot about Ralph's doughnuts. I will definitely have to try it out next down down. Thanks for the run-down. Can't wait to pay a visit. Of course, what attracts me the most is the natural beauty that is everywhere and the people. Even though Cookeville and the upper Cumberland area are farther south than where I currently live in MO, it is considerably cooler in the summer. Summers can be a real beast here in St. Louis.

What about a Home Depot?
What about Costco?
Who are major employers in the area?

No Home Depot which is surprising. There's already a Sam's Club so I doubt Costco will come to town. The largest employers in town are the university (2,400), the hospital (1,600), and the school system (1,200). There's not nearly as much manufacturing around there as there used to be. The largest manufacturing plant is Cummins (600) followed by Oreck vacuum cleaners (400). Averitt Express employs about 700 at its Cookeville HQ. There are about 2,000 government workers in Cookeville (federal, state, county, and city) not including TTU, the schools, and the hospital (which is owned by the city). There are another 1,000 or so at area banks. SunTrust Bank and Oreck also have call centers in Cookeville.

I think about 20 years ago Cookeville would've been considered a very blue collar industrial town, but it's become much more white collar since then.

[bdj5773]

JMT, you're just full of intimate knowledge. Thanks again. You mean there is no Home Depot with a population of 30,000??? That does seem a little strange. I would suspect that Home Depot will eventually put down roots in Cookeville. Anyway, there is Lowes.

What are the chances of my wife finding a job in Cookeville. She has been in the accounting/book keeping/payroll/taxes, etc. field for several years now. She is excellent at what she does and will be getting her EA very soon. Any knowledge about this?

I'm currently a mortgage loan officer. It may be tough for me to stay in this field moving to a new area, especially a small town when compared to St. Louis metro. I figure most loan officers in the Cookeville area already have the referral partners all wrapped up. I would have to establish myself all over again, and in this industry, can be very hard to do. It takes a year or two to really get established good.

Anyway, all I can do is dream and hope at this point.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by bdj5773

JMT, you're just full of intimate knowledge. Thanks again. You mean there is no Home Depot with a population of 30,000??? That does seem a little strange. I would suspect that Home Depot will eventually put down roots in Cookeville. Anyway, there is Lowes.

What are the chances of my wife finding a job in Cookeville. She has been in the accounting/book keeping/payroll/taxes, etc. field for several years now. She is excellent at what she does and will be getting her EA very soon. Any knowledge about this?

I'm currently a mortgage loan officer. It may be tough for me to stay in this field moving to a new area, especially a small town when compared to St. Louis metro. I figure most loan officers in the Cookeville area already have the referral partners all wrapped up. I would have to establish myself all over again, and in this industry, can be very hard to do. It takes a year or two to really get established good.

Anyway, all I can do is dream and hope at this point.

Therein lies the rub. The unemployment rate for TN is still fairly high (8.5%) and Putnam County's rate is just slightly below that, 8.4%. It's quite the Catch-22 situation: you can't get a job until you move there, but you can't move there until you get a job. Your wife could maybe get something at the hospital (which seems to always be hiring). She could try working with a headhunter, too. Keep in mind that with all those college students in town, wages tend to be lower.

And you're probably right that breaking into the mortgage business in Cookeville will be tough. However, homes are still selling there fairly briskly; as a personal anecdote, a realtor friend of mine in Cookeville has personally fielded a surge of queries from out of town people wanting to buy a home in the Cookeville area in the last couple of months; she sold 7 homes just last month. So who knows, you might actually have an easier chance at getting a job than your wife! I know that the mortgage lender I used to buy my home in Putnam County said that they've been getting a lot busier these last couple of months, too.

A lot of people move to the area, particularly western Putnam County, and commute to Nashville for jobs.

[bdj5773]

Originally Posted by JMT

Therein lies the rub. The unemployment rate for TN is still fairly high (8.5%) and Putnam County's rate is just slightly below that, 8.4%. It's quite the Catch-22 situation: you can't get a job until you move there, but you can't move there until you get a job. Your wife could maybe get something at the hospital (which seems to always be hiring). She could try working with a headhunter, too. Keep in mind that with all those college students in town, wages tend to be lower.

And you're probably right that breaking into the mortgage business in Cookeville will be tough. However, homes are still selling there fairly briskly; as a personal anecdote, a realtor friend of mine in Cookeville has personally fielded a surge of queries from out of town people wanting to buy a home in the Cookeville area in the last couple of months; she sold 7 homes just last month. So who knows, you might actually have an easier chance at getting a job than your wife! I know that the mortgage lender I used to buy my home in Putnam County said that they've been getting a lot busier these last couple of months, too.

A lot of people move to the area, particularly western Putnam County, and commute to Nashville for jobs.

Well, we still have a ways to go before moving. A lot of things have to be in order first, like everyone else who wants to move to the area. Again, appreciate your perspective on things. I will continue to follow this forum very closely and am certain will have more questions and observations to come. Hope we outsiders don't wear you out too much. But, I get the feeling you enjoy talking about your beloved Cookeville.

[flower54]

Traffic in town has gotten awful in the last 9 yrs. Also a lot more apartment buildings have been constructed. I've been here since Nov 2004 and those are the things that have changed a lot.

[bdj5773]

Originally Posted by flower54

Traffic in town has gotten awful in the last 9 yrs. Also a lot more apartment buildings have been constructed. I've been here since Nov 2004 and those are the things that have changed a lot.

I certainly don't care for the traffic (who does??). But, I'm sure the rest of Cookeville and surrounding area by far makes up for it. Try taking on St. Louis rush hour traffic. Not fun at all!!

[Sparkman]

If you are coming from St Louis, you won't even think this is traffic. Willow Av is very poorly constructed and the intersection with Jackson is a compete cluster****. Other than that, the major traffic problem here is the poor drivers. worst I've ever seen. Bad driving habits make traffic worse. Too bad that drivers education is barely a thought here and you have bad drivers teaching their kids and grandkids and making more bad drivers.