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My wife and I will be taking a vacation in TN in August and we hope to get an idea of a good place to buy a home and raise a family. I work for a big company and I hope to transfer with them, but if nothing opens up within the next year or so then we are prepared to move anyway. My company has a location in the following towns: Blountville, Brentwood, Cookeville, Knoxville, Louisville, Morristown, Murphreesboro, Nashville, and Oak Ridge.
Anyway, I'm trying to plan an itinerary for our trip and was wondering if the good people on this site had any input or suggestions. I guess I'd like to be near a town which could offer other employment if necessary (see above), though my current job is not technical nor does it require too much education: only a good driving record and to be good with customers! We will be scouting out pleasant neighborhoods in which we might purchase a 3br/2ba home in the $150k range, about 1500+ sq. ft.
If anyone is familiar with the towns named above and their surrounding areas please let me know. I'd love to hear about your town and neighborhood. I am particularly interested in making acquaintences with realtors and builders in these areas, and touring some models: Is there a realtor or builder whom you can whole-hearted recommend? We will have just one week there and we'd like to make the best use of our time. Hopefully it wont be all business though; we're looking forward to some good food and nightlife during our visit as well.
I also wonder if there are production builders in these areas who incorporate solar into their designs? Does TN offer tax rebates or incentives for going solar? Although the up-front costs may seem prohibitive, I've heard it can pay for itself in a short time: for instance a $30,000 investment minus the rebate (in CA) may add another $100 to a mortgage, but could instantly be offset by the $100 savings on your energy bill.
My wife and I will be taking a vacation in TN in August and we hope to get an idea of a good place to buy a home and raise a family. I work for a big company and I hope to transfer with them, but if nothing opens up within the next year or so then we are prepared to move anyway. My company has a location in the following towns: Blountville, Brentwood, Cookeville, Knoxville, Louisville, Morristown, Murphreesboro, Nashville, and Oak Ridge.
Anyway, I'm trying to plan an itinerary for our trip and was wondering if the good people on this site had any input or suggestions. I guess I'd like to be near a town which could offer other employment if necessary (see above), though my current job is not technical nor does it require too much education: only a good driving record and to be good with customers! We will be scouting out pleasant neighborhoods in which we might purchase a 3br/2ba home in the $150k range, about 1500+ sq. ft.
If anyone is familiar with the towns named above and their surrounding areas please let me know. I'd love to hear about your town and neighborhood. I am particularly interested in making acquaintences with realtors and builders in these areas, and touring some models: Is there a realtor or builder whom you can whole-hearted recommend? We will have just one week there and we'd like to make the best use of our time. Hopefully it wont be all business though; we're looking forward to some good food and nightlife during our visit as well.
I also wonder if there are production builders in these areas who incorporate solar into their designs? Does TN offer tax rebates or incentives for going solar? Although the up-front costs may seem prohibitive, I've heard it can pay for itself in a short time: for instance a $30,000 investment minus the rebate (in CA) may add another $100 to a mortgage, but could instantly be offset by the $100 savings on your energy bill.
Thanks for reading.
Jeff & Carol
You've come to the right place!
You might want to start by doing a forum search for the towns you listed and see what others have had to say. Several of those places are quite popular. For Blountville, check under the Tri Cities (Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol) subforum since Blountville is in the middle of that region. Also, go to the city-data.com pages for each of those cities and look at the pictures.
If you want people in the forum to give you advice on the towns, you should probably tell us a little bit more about what you're looking for other than housing costs. Do you need to be near good schools, or do you home school your kids? What kinds of things do you do for entertainment? Do you want to be near mountains? Lakes? Churches? Do you want to be in a more urban environment? Small town? Country? How about being near an airport?
But I'll go ahead and give you my impressions of the towns you listed in the order you listed them:
Blountville - neat little town, old historic downtown, beautiful countryside, decent schools, in the middle of a metro area of 500,000 (Tri Cities), also adjacent to the Tri Cities airport and close to the Bristol speedway. You can definitely find something in your price range there.
Brentwood - wealthy suburb of Nashville. Great schools, but living there or anywhere near there isn't cheap.
Cookeville - my personal favorite. University town, excellent schools, beautiful countryside, only an hour from the Nashville airport (half the cost of flying out of Knoxville or Tri Cities). You can definitely find something in your price range there.
Knoxville - a little big city. Or a big little city. OK schools. Lots of traffic.
Louisville - I assume this is Louisville the suburb of Knoxville and not Louisville KY. (BTW in Tennessee it's pronounced "Lewisville") Very rural, beautiful countryside, adjacent to the Knoxville airport, near a big lake.
Morristown - my least favorite of the towns in your list. It's in a beautiful setting, but the town is being overrun with illegal immigrants. Something like 15% of the town is Hispanic, up from 0% 15 years ago, and that's just the legal part. Schools are ok but not great.
Murfreesboro - boomtown suburb of Nashville, growing like wildfire. Pretty affordable. Schools are generally good. It has Tennessee's 2nd largest university.
Nashville - awesome big city. Some schools are excellent, most are mediocre. It'll be hard to find something in your price range in a decent part of the city.
Oak Ridge - federally built suburb of Knoxville, lots of really smart people live there, probably the best schools in the state. Also among the highest property taxes in the state. Oak Ridge is famous for developing the atomic bomb during WW2 and thousands of people work in the nuclear labs there, although more and more of them tend to live in Knoxville instead of Oak Ridge these days.
My wife and I will be taking a vacation in TN in August and we hope to get an idea of a good place to buy a home and raise a family. I work for a big company and I hope to transfer with them, but if nothing opens up within the next year or so then we are prepared to move anyway. My company has a location in the following towns: Blountville, Brentwood, Cookeville, Knoxville, Louisville, Morristown, Murphreesboro, Nashville, and Oak Ridge.
If anyone is familiar with the towns named above and their surrounding areas please let me know. I'd love to hear about your town and neighborhood. Jeff & Carol
This is strictly an observation. Oak Ridge is good for:
1. Families where at least one member of the family works in Oak Ridge. My observation is the workforce here (contractors/government workers on the reservation) gets home early. Nice for families.
2. People with an interest in science/technology of any age. Plenty of opportunity to meet like-minded people and attend events, hear speakers, take classes in this area even if you are retired.
3. Children, especially those with a science/math aptitude but all children, in general. Children are held in very high regard here. Academic accomplishments in any area are encouraged, publicized and celebrated. Activities/Events for children are numerous for a town of this population size.
4. Middle income educated retirees and/or retirees who have no interest in keeping up with the Jones' but are still interested in learning pursuits and related activities.
5. Nerds of any age. Plenty of activities, organizations, events to keep a nerd (such as myself) happy.
Oak Ridge is not good for (still strictly an observation):
1. Young single adults
2. Young childless couples.
3. Flashy well-to-do people of any age. How you look, what you have seems to be ignored here. If you like chi-chi things, dressing up, jewelry and showing off your stuff, Oak Ridge is not for you. You just won't get any attention...except maybe from people who might rob you.
There are obvious outdoor pursuits but I think that's true for Tennessee as a whole so no matter where you live, you are not far away from them.
Can't tell you anything about home building but, you know it's really hot and humid here in August. That would not be my choice of a month to be outdoors around the clock.
Thanks a bunch JMT for the thorough response! You're right, a few more details about my needs would be helpful.
We don't have children yet, so school ratings are not a big concern right away (i guess at least for the first few years).
I don't mind a 30 minute commute, but no more than that. My wife and I enjoy nature, hiking, and biking. An area with a pleasant view is welcome, not necessarily of lakes and mountains though. A quiet street with a lot of trees is fine, with some parks and trails a short drive away. I think most places in TN would fill this requirement. We do look forward to becoming active in our community, and volunteering, etc. However we prefer an area with a little space between neighbors... After years of apartment living I just don't want to be bothered with smoking & loud music at all hours anymore. Not looking for a lot of land, just enough to enjoy a little privacy where the houses are not stacked side by side. Plus we have a dog now, and will probably have more when we have the space.
Churches are no concern. Also I am white, my wife is Hispanic; we currently live in a town that is "overrun with illegal immigrants", which is pretty normal out here, although my wife is here legally by marriage. Personally I think illegal immigration is a serious problem, but it needs to be addressed first at the ultimate cause (NAFTA, Fair Trade that recognizes human rights for all) rather than at the proximate cause (building fences). Improving working conditions in Mexico and South America will make immigrants WANT to remain in their home countries. Sorry to get political here, but building fences is a big government solution while addressing trade is a small government solution. I'm not sure if a lot of people realize that. But anyway, my wife has befriended a number of illegal immigrants here and I've come to view them a little differently than before. I am concerned about racism issues regarding my wife, but a lot of messages on this site from people indicate that it's not a big problem as long as outsiders try to assimilate...and well, that's why we're coming for a visit too.
So I hope this fills in the major gaps in my request. I am taking your advice and searching this site for other posts regarding the towns in my list. Thank you much, and to all who contribute.
This is strictly an observation. Oak Ridge is good for:
1. Families where at least one member of the family works in Oak Ridge. My observation is the workforce here (contractors/government workers on the reservation) gets home early. Nice for families.
2. People with an interest in science/technology of any age. Plenty of opportunity to meet like-minded people and attend events, hear speakers, take classes in this area even if you are retired.
3. Children, especially those with a science/math aptitude but all children, in general. Children are held in very high regard here. Academic accomplishments in any area are encouraged, publicized and celebrated. Activities/Events for children are numerous for a town of this population size.
4. Middle income educated retirees and/or retirees who have no interest in keeping up with the Jones' but are still interested in learning pursuits and related activities.
5. Nerds of any age. Plenty of activities, organizations, events to keep a nerd (such as myself) happy.
Actually I have a background in Computer Science (i studied it in college but didn't finish the degree) and I'm working on building a website and running a business from my home for extra income. In fact I might need to hire one of the locals for an occasional consultation. I'm kind of an arm-chair academic, a nerd at heart. I enjoy reading all sorts of materials during my spare time and hearing talks, and expanding my learning. Maybe I would fit in well; I guess I'll have to see how my wife likes it. Thanks.
Actually I have a background in Computer Science (i studied it in college but didn't finish the degree) and I'm working on building a website and running a business from my home for extra income. In fact I might need to hire one of the locals for an occasional consultation. I'm kind of an arm-chair academic, a nerd at heart. I enjoy reading all sorts of materials during my spare time and hearing talks, and expanding my learning. Maybe I would fit in well; I guess I'll have to see how my wife likes it. Thanks.
jeff
You have an unusual combination of places on your list. Lifestyle-speaking, do you know if you want to live in a city, suburbia or a small town? I honestly don't think Oak Ridge would be a good fit for a young childless couple. I live here now and it's a good fit for me at 56 but I would not choose to live here if I was in my 20s with no kids and had the opportunity to live anywhere. The activities here are plentiful but they are geared to families and retirees.
Pretty thorough reply from JMT. The only thing I would add pertains to Nashville. I have family north of there, and although the commute into downtown Nashville is never fun, the area around Ridgetop, Springfield, Goodlettsville, Greenbrier is nice and fairly affordable.
Hey jeffb415, Congrats on your chosing to move in one of the mentioned towns. First, I confess, that because I live in Knox county, well I might seem to be a little partial, but live here for many reasons. Knox is so spread out, with all the suburbs, and towns, we have much to offer. All the towns you mentioned are great, as I have spent 30 plus years traveling in all, and all are unique in there own ways. Many places will offer you what you want in that price range, but the solar power, will not make it affordable in that range. You need to hook up with a good realtor, and they can tour you around all the areas, and see what feels right for you. Good luck.
Spring Hill may be the place you're looking for. I live in a neighborhood where the houses meet your size needs, they all have at least an acre, and there is a neighborhood lake. You should check it out. The schools are good and it is the 14th fastest growing city in the U.S. There are many new businesses opening weekly but we are a few miles out of the city. It's also pretty close to Brentwood. Chances of finding a home in that price range in Brentwood are let's just say... it ain't happening. There are many neighborhoods and in and around Spring Hill that would welcome you with open arms. It's a beautiful town and a fun place to live. There are still lots of trees and beautiful views.
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Making a home in Middle Tennessee
