Retiring to TN

[hiknapster]

I'd recommend Maryville but it is near the mountains. Not substantially hilly, though. Meets all of the criteria, other than that, I suppose. The OP needs to visit, though. Some northeast retirees love it there and others, not so much. The South is certainly a different vibe than New Jersey. I think it is a great thing but others may not. They don't have that many tornadoes, either. I mean, anywhere can see a tornado. A couple of years ago my mom from Mass. got just done telling me that they never have tornadoes near her home - not true but her memory isn't what it use to be - when her town was hit with a massive tornado.

[J&Em]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I'd recommend Maryville but it is near the mountains. Not substantially hilly, though. Meets all of the criteria, other than that, I suppose. The OP needs to visit, though. Some northeast retirees love it there and others, not so much. The South is certainly a different vibe than New Jersey. I think it is a great thing but others may not. They don't have that many tornadoes, either. I mean, anywhere can see a tornado. A couple of years ago my mom from Mass. got just done telling me that they never have tornadoes near her home - not true but her memory isn't what it use to be - when her town was hit with a massive tornado.

LOL Count us as among those transplants that are happy. Most of the transplants I have met from all over the USA seem pretty happy as well. Maryville may fit some of the needs of the OP because most of the housing in his/her description is within easy driving to medical facilities, professional offices and even the big UT medical center. While we certainly have found everything we need here, Maryville didn't strike me as the thing the OP was looking for. In the city center there are some hummdinger hills and it is in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains so, while a majority of the main roads are fairly level, it does get quite hilly in several places all around town. We happen to love it because it gives you a chance to see our beloved mountains and have wonderful views out across swaths of the area, especially as you get back to the more rural areas outside of downtown Maryville.

Downtown Maryville has a great deal of promise but unfortunately, just as it was really beginning to renew and revitalize the area, the economic downturn hit. It will be great one of these days since there is a great deal of pride and planning on the part of the town and the county library is certainly a bright spot (visually and also by content) but right now it is not filled with the little stores and dining spots it should be. There are some wonderful little places but I have the feeling the OP was looking for more than we have right now.

Tornadoes can and do happen just about anywhere, including back in NY where we lived, but the mountains offer some protection from some of the more extreme weather patterns which makes living close to them a plus. If you check out the following site you will be able to see all the tornadoes for the last 50 odd years on a map of the USA (the interactive or time lapse versions are really interesting to watch). Note the dark area that begins more or less south of Knoxville and extends into southern VA and WV that is where the mountains seem to exert their effect the most.
UXBlog | IDV Solutions' User Experience: Tornado Tracks or here Interactive Tornado Map

[eastmemphisguy]

If you'retrying to avoid hills, West TN is your best bet. Collierville has a cute town square. It also has Target and all the other chains off the square should you need them. 20 minutes to Memphis should you need a big city amenity, but Collierville also has their own hospital and outdoor mall.

[NY Annie]

Originally Posted by SunnyGolden

Thanks to all you for the information. It is appreciated very much. We are currently living in a township of over 100,000. There is a very nice town of about 10,000 about 2 miles away that has about a 10 block downtown business district with businesses, restaurants, and shops.

One thing that concers us about TN is that City-Data states that the chance for tornadoes in selected areas in quite a bit higher than the national average. We are less than an hour away from areas that had significant damage from hurricane Sandy. We lost power for 41 hours.

We are looking for a nice friendly pretty place to retire with:

single family home
1/2 acre lot
City water & sewer
Not to hilly
Within a half hour of decent medical facilities
Half a nice downtown with local merchants within a few miles
Be within an hour of cultural activities and events
Not have to go a super highway every time you go anyplace
Not have to worry about bad storms

I hope that we are not dreaming about a place that doesn't exist.

Originally Posted by eastmemphisguy

If you'retrying to avoid hills, West TN is your best bet. Collierville has a cute town square. It also has Target and all the other chains off the square should you need them. 20 minutes to Memphis should you need a big city amenity, but Collierville also has their own hospital and outdoor mall.

I'm a Jersey Girl - from Kearny and Highlands - and we just moved to western TN - extremely rural and definitely not for everyone. In fact, where we are does not meet most of your criteria. I did attend college in northeast TN (45 years ago though) and I don't think that's where you want to live, although it's quite beautiful. You've still not given any kind of price range what you're looking for - and that will matter. Homes/property costs decreases as you move west (in general) wioth a few high points like Franklin in the middle. Knowing somewhat what you are moving from, much of central TN will be closer to what you think you want, but that's still closer to mountains than just hills from a perspective of a south Jerseyite.

Super highways - everywhere is a highway here except in the towns/cities themselves. But super highway, like the GSP or Tpke, only the interstates would qualify, IMO. The big difference is that down here, in between one town and another is a lot of neither one town or the other and you definitely want a highway to get you to a town.

We live outside of a town - in the county - so there's nothing right here, but the county seat is a wonderful little town with much of what you might be looking for although I am sure it is too small for you. You might even be looking at one of the small cities for your small town atmosphere. Jackson has a lot of what you seek, except that it had a nasty tornado within the last 10 years.

Pick a few places in the 4 different areas: Northeast, east, center, and west and take a driving vacation. You might love Greeneville as I did back in college (Maryville is not far). I have other friends who lived in Crossville until a job transfer took him back out of state; and a friend from kindergarten through high school who lives in Franklin. Each of us found something really special about our area of TN - the state as a whole has a lot to offer. You can find somewhere that will suit you.

Good luck in your search and consider modifying your needs/wants a bit. There just is nowhere else in this country anything like the NJ area.

[dougb256]

I'd say that Lawrenceburg fits your request. Quaint downtown square, nice hospital, one hour south of Nashville. It also has a fairly big Amish community.