Anyone move from Pittsburgh to east TN? (Bristol, Cookeville: income, property tax rates)

[jak860]

Recently the wife and I had some opportunities to visit east Tennessee for a week at a time. The first time was in mid June at Cherokee Lake and the weather was wonderful. The second time I interviewed for a position in Cookeville just before Thanksgiving and well...it rained all the time and was fairly cold. We were originally from the Pittsburgh PA area and moved to northern AZ (Flagstaff) a few years ago. The wife is concerned about excessive humidity and bugs if we move back to TN. Seriously, can it be much worse than in PGH? We're contemplating an extended summer visit the same areas with intention of settling down. The wife wasn't ready to make the jump back last year due to the low wages she was being offered but she might be coming around now. I do wish had accepted the position my company was offering at the time.

[Serious Conversation]

Cherokee Lake is a beautiful area. June is about peak season where it's warm, but before the worst of the summer heat and humidity.

While east TN can be hot and humid, especially in July, August, and sometimes September, it is nothing like the Deep South or even west TN. Bugs are not a huge issue as long as you spray around your home.

Summer will likely be hotter and more humid than Pittsburgh. The trade-off is a much shorter and milder winter season. Here in Bristol, Wunderground has the high at 65 for today, and it is 62 now. This is abnormal, but does happen sometimes. I have my windows open. While we do get the overcast skies, we do get breaks into the 50s and even 60s during the winter. By March, things are starting to green up again and mowing usually begins in April.

Pay and job availability are concerns coming from the northeast. I'm from here and work in IT, but lived in Indianapolis and Des Moines for about five years total before moving back, and pay is generally much lower here. The biggest difference between east TN and a lot of other areas are lower housing prices, lower property tax rates, and no state income tax - otherwise, the cost of everything is about the same as it is in other noncoastal places. You definitely want to get offers in writing before moving - professional jobs that pay well can take a long time to turn up.

[Normashirley]

Originally Posted by jak860

Seriously, can it be much worse than in PGH?.

Having retired to southern Middle Tennessee ( not on the plateau) from the rurals of the Shenango Valley, yes the humidity is worse in the summer.

While ticks and fleas can be an annoyance, even though we have horses and are surrounded by beef cattle, we have minimal issues. Our Purple Martins and Barn Swallows do a stellar job controlling flying insects and my neighbor’s handful of chickens do great at ground control.

The trade-off of Western PA vs. Tennessee is that you will experience a lot more sunshine. Years ago, one of my engineers did his own sunshine study and discovered our area of PA only saw 33% days of pure sunshine, annually - he was tough to work for, after that, lollol

We have been here 16 years, the summer humidity has become more “Louisiana Style” with each passing year but of course we all know Global Warming does not exist

To reiterate, I live below the Plateau - it may be different up there but you will also see more snow up there