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Old 09-16-2014, 07:54 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,622 times
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Hello everyone! I am new to the forum. My family and I are strongly considering moving from to TN from NC. We are hoping to find an area that we will fall in love with so we can buy a house and finally settle down. I am looking for an area that is great for young families, decent housing (Looking to buy a house around 150k), we are very active as a family so plenty of outdoor activities like hiking, camping, ect, good schools are very important, (museums, zoos, amusement parks, water parks hopefully within an hour or so drive), near a lake or river to go boating and swimming, country setting not too far from a decent size city that has some shopping, a WalMart (simple really, don't need a huge city) and variety of restaurants, outdoor festivals, parades ect (child activities). I am a nurse so I am hoping to find a new job opportunity where I can make good money. My husband is currently a state prison guard and makes ok money. NC taxes are just too high, as well as our utility costs (eastern NC). As much as we have enjoyed living here, NC is just overall too expensive. I really appreciate any help, pros/cons to TN and different cities in NC. Thanks in advance!
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Old 09-17-2014, 08:48 AM
 
Location: Sango, TN
24,869 posts, read 24,342,306 times
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Clarksville Tennessee could fit some of those bills. The Amusement park could be an issue, the closest to us is Santa Clause Indiana. We have several water parks in the area, Bowling Green, Nashville, and Eddyville. Zoo is in Nashville, museums in town and in Nashville.

Lots of hiking, boating, fishing in the area. Kentucky Lake area is awesome, about a 30 minute drive from the east side of town to Dover, TN with hiking, fishing, boating, camping, etc in the area.

Our cost of living isn't as high as some of the larger metropolitan areas. We are the 5th largest city in the state, so we have all of the shopping options and many food options that you'll find in bigger towns, and if you live on the south side of town as I do, Nashville is a quick 30 to 40 minute drive away, and downtown Nashville is awesome.

Schools here are great in the more affluent areas. I have a 3000 sq ft house that I paid 212K for, which is a steal and in any of the other big 4 towns would be over 300K easy.
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Old 09-17-2014, 11:34 AM
 
Location: Seattle
7,528 posts, read 17,166,459 times
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Knoxville

Proximity to water/amusement parks: Within an hour Dollywood/Dolly's Splash Country
Outdoorsy/camping/boating: Tons of boating activity in Knoxville, within an hour to Smokey Mountains, Ijams Nature Center
Good schools: Check
Decent shopping: Trader Joe's, Walmart, Publix, Target, West Town Mall and Turkey Creek Outdoor Mall (Belk, JCPenney, Apple Store, Sephora, all that stuff)
Variety of restaurants/outdoor festivals: Downtown has a variety of independent restaurants, Bearden/West Town & Turkey Creek areas also have literally hundreds of restaurants. Lots of outdoor festivals - Boomsday, Dogwood Festival, Biscuit Festival
Cultural amenities: TN's flagship state university so lots of cultural options there - live theatre, art shows, etc. Also check out the calendars for Bijou Theater & Tennessee Theater.

Just a quick stream of consciousness post about Knoxville. I think it would fit your bill quite nicely.

Hard to talk about pros/cons of two states. For every pro there is a con, and vice versa. One difference is that taxes in general will be lower in Tennessee. With that comes fewer amenities - especially with regard to state highways and that kind of stuff. A little more stripped down, not paved/striped as often, less landscaping, etc. Most people are fine with that. Not sure what utility costs are for you vs. Knoxville but it's something to look into. You'll be farther away from the coast, but closer to mountains.

Also, don't move here without at least one job. Tennessee is holding its own in this economy but there are a lot of people in TN looking for work.
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Old 09-17-2014, 02:44 PM
 
Location: Sango, TN
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The Nashville vs. Knoxville debate has gone back and forth. I prefer Nashville, for various reasons. The weather in Knoxville doesn't suit me for one. Nashville is milder, from my experience.

Dollywood is much closer to Knoxville, if going to an amusement park, that often, is that important to you.
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Old 09-17-2014, 02:52 PM
 
Location: Seattle
7,528 posts, read 17,166,459 times
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It's kind of a wash. Nashville has a greater variety of cultural amenities, due to its size. Knoxville has Dollywood and the Smokeys (sounded important to the OP). My own gut feeling is that if you're looking to live a pretty simple low-key existence and save a little money, Knoxville is a good value. If you're looking for a broader sampling of restaurants, better shopping, more concerts, or more traditional city life (semi-urban neighborhoods and such), then Nashville is a better option.

Hard to go wrong with either.
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Old 09-17-2014, 03:12 PM
 
Location: TN/NC
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The housing budget will go much farther in Knoxville than in Nashville.
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Old 09-17-2014, 03:34 PM
 
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Try ethridge tennessee
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Old 09-17-2014, 05:10 PM
 
Location: Sango, TN
24,869 posts, read 24,342,306 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jabogitlu View Post
It's kind of a wash. Nashville has a greater variety of cultural amenities, due to its size. Knoxville has Dollywood and the Smokeys (sounded important to the OP). My own gut feeling is that if you're looking to live a pretty simple low-key existence and save a little money, Knoxville is a good value. If you're looking for a broader sampling of restaurants, better shopping, more concerts, or more traditional city life (semi-urban neighborhoods and such), then Nashville is a better option.

Hard to go wrong with either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Emigrations View Post
The housing budget will go much farther in Knoxville than in Nashville.
And both of those reasons are why I would suggest Springfield, Clarksville, Ashland city, etc.

I went with Clarksville because, we have most of the "everyday" amenities that the OP was asking for, and we are 30 minutes from Nashville, which, as you said, have many of the other cultural events asked for by the OP.

The housing values are much cheaper to the cities in the north, and the school districts in Clarksville are very good. Unless the OP plans on going to Dollywood every weekend, it really doesn't make tremendous sense to live closer, unless the mountains appeal to them more then the hills and valley systems of the mid tennessee region, where we have just as many outdoor activities as the eastern part of the state.
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Old 09-17-2014, 06:36 PM
 
13,341 posts, read 39,831,776 times
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OK so I'll recommend Cookeville:
  • 1 hour east of the Nashville airport
  • 1.5 hours west of Knoxville
  • 1.5 hours north of Chattanooga
  • surrounded by waterfalls, lakes, several state parks, gorges
  • excellent schools--and, unlike in most cities, it's an open enrollment system meaning you can live anywhere you want in the entire county and send your kids to any school you want (i.e., you don't have to live in an "affluent" area to be in a "good" school zone)
  • a children's museum
  • children's theater
  • gobs of shopping and restaurants
  • definitely in the OP's price range

Check out the Cookeville picture thread to see what I'm talking about.

And here are some YouTube videos to show the area around Cookeville:

Burgess Falls, a nice little hike just a couple of miles outside of town:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU9QFHhTGX4


Cummins Falls, another nice little hike that leads to one of the country's best swimming holes, a couple of miles outside of town:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n_qvl2ZMlc


Virgin Falls, about 20 miles south of Cookeville:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0xNYwF-qfE


Center Hill Lake, about 20 miles SW of Cookeville:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dfTQUlPgbE


Dogwood Park in downtown Cookeville:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H4nzCnAccA


Dogwood Park at night:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ-swv67WQ8


Cookeville Depot Museum:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VhQNiRQycI
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Old 09-18-2014, 09:19 AM
 
5,113 posts, read 5,958,224 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JMT View Post
OK so I'll recommend Cookeville:
  • 1 hour east of the Nashville airport
  • 1.5 hours west of Knoxville
  • 1.5 hours north of Chattanooga
  • surrounded by waterfalls, lakes, several state parks, gorges
  • excellent schools--and, unlike in most cities, it's an open enrollment system meaning you can live anywhere you want in the entire county and send your kids to any school you want (i.e., you don't have to live in an "affluent" area to be in a "good" school zone)
  • a children's museum
  • children's theater
  • gobs of shopping and restaurants
  • definitely in the OP's price range
And Cookeville has a decent size hospital and many other medical related businesses
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