SMITHVILLE need information! (Knoxville, Cookeville, Lebanon: low crime, home, high school)

[poety]

Hi Everyone,

I'm considering a position in Smithville TN (if you saw my previous posts you'd see I was considering just TN at first) Whats interesting is that I've seen some people complain about the weather there - which I can't imagine to be worst than the weather up here in the far Northeast.

Can you please tell me what your experiences are with the town? Is there a large horse community? How is the crime in that area (I live in the least crime area in all of NH LOL - literally NOTHING goes on here, which is good) I have a young daughter so are drugs an issue?

On the other side, how are the property taxes? Cost of living? I want to settle for GOOD - I don't want to move my farm and family again so if I choose here - this is IT - we are DONE.

And lastly - the weather, is it very muggy in the summer? Is there a significant difference from the further eastern TN climate? Is it cloudy a lot? I ask because thats one reason for me to try and escape NH - the cloud cover!

Thanks for your help!

[Edgefield D]

Hello

I grew up in Smithville...at least from 8th grade through high school (I'm 47 now). We lived by Center Hill Lake...so I spent a lot of time there during the summers. Smithville is a very smaaallll town. I assume you know that. Have you visited it yet? That's the first thing I would do. We moved to Smithville from Michigan. People are friendly there. I liked being there during high school because I met my closest friends (to this day) there. Most of us now live in Nashville and are still close. I've heard that there is a drug problem there...but I think it would depend more on your child as to whether it's a problem for you. Small country towns tend to have that issue.

Crime was never an issue when I lived there. I still have friends (and a relative or two) that live there and I haven't heard of any major problems.

It's the south...so it's hot and muggy even over in Smithville. It probably does have a similar climate to parts of east TN. It's a higher elevation than Nashville. Keep in mind though....unless you are really high up in the mountains...it's hot and muggy in TN...some parts may be worse than others...but don't expect NH temps.

Cost of living should be fairly cheap. I know that property taxes there are pretty low....based on what my relatives pay.

If you have any interest in living near a lake...Center Hill is really pretty. Smithville is also reasonably close to Nashville and the airport. We tended to go to Cookeville a lot for eating out and shopping (since we lived near 40...on the north side of Smithville).

Good Luck with your research....I still go to Smithville now and then...but I'm not in the loop as much as I once was. I still HIGHLY recommend visiting to see if it might work for you.

[poety]

Thank you so much for this information - I've been reading about the area and I'm getting a little nervous LOL - I was hoping to go someplace a bit warmer than here but with a great cost of living and low crime, etc - it seems there is a huge meth problem or maybe its just the people posting on the [domain blocked due to spam] board making it out to be that way.

I will definitely be visiting first but I've learned in my multitude of moves that you just don't know a place until you live there and then you're committed. I'm trying to avoid as much of that as possible since this will be a HUGE move for all of us.

Thank you for your information!!! I'll definitely think about it

[nashvols]

Edgefield covered a good bit of ground with his post. I can't comment about living there, and I've only been through there a handful of times (taking the scenic route to Knoxville on US 70 or going to the antique malls in Sparta).

I'm a little bit curious that you are considering a position in Smithville...it's a very small town, though admittedly, I'm not acquainted on what employers are located there. With the current state of the economy in many rural areas in TN (and nationwide, to an extent), to see someone consider a long range relo to a small town is definitely a PING on the radar. Almost all job relocations are happening in or around major metropolitan areas. But I digress.

What I would add to what Edgefield said is that if the job is an attractive offer, then you should explore not only Smithville, but surrounding communities to scout for places to live. The area around Smithville (especially near Center Hill Lake) is beautiful, but you may find it lacking in terms of amenities. Cookeville is a half hour away, and a decent sized town (30,000+) with plenty of town amenities. Lebanon (an exurb of Nashville, nearly the size of Cookeville) is about 45 minutes away. You might check out Watertown (a very small town in between Lebanon and Smithville). That's not to discourage you from Smithville itself -- just some thoughts if you find Smithville to be a bit isolated.

As for the drug problems -- it is true that a lot of small towns have drug problems. However, it can be argued that drugs can be found in every city and town across America. Some places are worse than others -- and I don't know how Smithville ranks -- but without giving too much parental advice (I am not a parent), keeping tabs on what your kids do (without being overly intrusive) and keeping tabs on who your kids hang out with goes a long way. From my experience, it's the parents with a distant/detached relationship with their children that need to worry the most.

Weather? You'll be praying for cloud cover from June-August. Hot as hell and humid. Winters are usually mild, but sometimes a bit cold (like this year). Little snow to speak of -- 2 inches brings lots of problems -- but it's not overly common. Spring and Fall are generally very pleasant in terms of temps, but can bring strong storms (especially Spring).

[Edgefield D]

I understand your fear poety. I wish I could tell you that it will be a smooth transition. Back in 1981 it was fine for me. I will say that I have several friends that have school age kids there right now and they seem to be doing fine. I like Nashvols suggestion about being closer to Cookeville. I wouldn't consider Watertown a step up from Smithville (that's just me). Nashvols, there have always been a few large auto suppliers there. Some have changed names over the years but have been there at least since the late 70s. There are also a few big nurseries.

[TN Tin Man]

FYI: Smithville DeKalb County, Smithville, Tennessee - Home of Center Hill Lake

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