Are there any towns in southern or eastern TN comparable to Franklin TN? (Knoxville: section 8, apartments)

[GACLT]

Are there other smaller vibrant towns with restaurants, coffee shops, quality grocery stores, shopping, etc., that have a main street and the open green space look and feel of Franklin TN? Good schools are a must as well.

Many of the towns in the southeast we've visited that offer the same conveniences as Franklin, are full of busy multilane highways and do have the same feel as Franklin.

Towns seem to either be too small with poorly rated schools and don't offer the same 'conveniences' as Franklin, or have all the conveniences along with highly rated schools but are high stress and very busy areas with residences and businesses just off busy roads.

Any suggestions?

[creeksitter]

Franklin is very high income thus supports businesses you won't find elsewhere.

Towns with a similar downtown architecture are Cleveland, Greeneville, and Bristol. Greeneville has good schools but is said to be insular. Maryville has excellent schools but downtown has a number of gaps. None of these towns have the quantity or quality of businesses you find in Franklin. Not even close.

Jonesboro is upscale and very cute but it is smaller and the downtown is mostly a few linear blocks.

[Igor Blevin]

Franklin gets its uniqueness by being an upscale suburb of Nashville. There is nothing like it near Knoxville or Chattanooga or the tri-cities. Franklin is clean, safe, and amenity rich because of all the Nashville money parked there. It is unique.

I am not sure you can find many equivalents anywhere in the USA that combine its unique positives.

I mean, Farragut near Knoxville is not even close.

[creeksitter]

Farragut is upscale end amenity rich but it literally does not have a downtown. At all. Though there are and have been plans to build one. There's a tiny downtown in the Concord neighborhood. It has an art gallery and a gym.

[GACLT]

Thanks for the responses. I was hoping Farragut was similar, I guess not. We've never been there, but from the little research I've done I thought it may be a similar alternative.

For convenience purposes, we were hoping to not end up as far Northwest as Franklin based on where our family is located. Our goal was to stay in the GA/SC/NC (or southern/eastern TN) area. We made the "mistake" of visiting Franklin, now we find ourselves comparing all other towns to that area, and we haven't found an area that competes yet.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by GACLT

Are there other smaller vibrant towns with restaurants, coffee shops, quality grocery stores, shopping, etc., that have a main street and the open green space look and feel of Franklin TN? Good schools are a must as well.

Many of the towns in the southeast we've visited that offer the same conveniences as Franklin, are full of busy multilane highways and do have the same feel as Franklin.

Towns seem to either be too small with poorly rated schools and don't offer the same 'conveniences' as Franklin, or have all the conveniences along with highly rated schools but are high stress and very busy areas with residences and businesses just off busy roads.

Any suggestions?

Why are you leaving where you live now and why are you only asking about Tennessee? It would help with suggestions.

[GACLT]

Originally Posted by LauraC

Why are you leaving where you live now and why are you only asking about Tennessee? It would help with suggestions.

Several reasons - in short, the quality of life in our current area isn't the best for many reasons (e.g., poorly rated schools, no outdoor activities, lacking in decent parks/recreation, very little quality shopping, higher than average poverty rate...). Due to working remote we have freedom to move.

Our goal was to stay in the GA/SC/NC or southern/eastern TN area. Franklin checked nearly all our boxes, except it's farther away from family than we'd like.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by GACLT

Several reasons - in short, the quality of life in our current area isn't the best for many reasons (e.g., poorly rated schools, no outdoor activities, lacking in decent parks/recreation, very little quality shopping, higher than average poverty rate...). Due to working remote we have freedom to move.

Our goal was to stay in the GA/SC/NC or southern/eastern TN area. Franklin checked nearly all our boxes, except it's farther away from family than we'd like.

You're going to encounter the same problems with lack of shopping, bad schools, and poverty most everywhere north and east of Knoxville aside from Johnson City, Jonesborough, and possibly Bristol. Kingsport city schools are pretty good, but the rest of the city is really lacking. Most of the bigger cities have essentials (Walmart, regional grocer, Lowe's/Home Depot, etc.), but anything upper middle class or above is hard to find outside of Johnson City. With that said, the outdoor access is generally very good.

Once you start getting farther from Knoxville, you not only start losing nicer things, but they become more inaccessible. I live in Bristol. The Turkey Creek shopping center in Knoxville with the Costco, higher end retail, etc., is nearly two hours from me. It's basically a weekend trip.

The Tri-Cities used to be a good bit cheaper than Knoxville, but I don't think that is the case now, especially if you compare the nicer parts of Washington County, TN to most of metro Knoxville. West Knoxville/Farragut may be more expensive still, but that gap has certainly narrowed over the last five years or so.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by GACLT

Several reasons - in short, the quality of life in our current area isn't the best for many reasons (e.g., poorly rated schools, no outdoor activities, lacking in decent parks/recreation, very little quality shopping, higher than average poverty rate...). Due to working remote we have freedom to move.

Our goal was to stay in the GA/SC/NC or southern/eastern TN area. Franklin checked nearly all our boxes, except it's farther away from family than we'd like.

I hesitated to post my recommendation since I don't know if it would be as upscale as you're looking for. But considering some of the other cities that are being thrown in the mix, Cookeville definitely should be in there.

https://visitcookevilletn.com/live-here

Where Cookeville really shines is in its independent stores and restaurants downtown. It does have many of the big name chains, but downtown Cookeville is filled with wonderful eateries, shops, galleries, and boutiques that rival what you'd find in Franklin. In fact, some of them are run by people who used to live in Franklin and escaped, saying Cookeville is what Franklin used to be like before being taken over by large multinational corporations who've set up regional HQ in the many manicured office parks along I-65.

Downtown Cookeville is absolutely charming, thriving, and intensely walkable. It's a work in progress with lots of exciting projects in the pipeline. I've lived in some of the world's greatest cities (Brussels, Strasbourg, Hong Kong, Manila) and honestly I'm happy as a lark with the food scene in downtown Cookeville, including a bakery run by a Michigan ceramics artist who, after moving to Cookeville, figured out how to make wood-fired ceramic bread ovens and imports butter and flour for the best croissants, chewy baguettes and hardy pain de campagne I've had outside of France. Even Franklin doesn't have that.

https://www.megsbreadtn.com/

Many families have moved to Cookeville's very leafy and historic central core to take advantage of all that's available downtown in addition to all the restaurants and coffee shops: children's library, museums, free concerts, an award-winning children's theater, and all kinds of festivals and other family-friendly events. The recent art crawl showcased over 80 local artists in over 30 galleries/restaurants/bookstores downtown including many kid-friendly demonstrations and shows.

Putnam County is one of the few school districts in Tennessee to have the International Baccalaureate Program at both the middle and high school levels. One middle school is entirely IB, while the high school offers IB as an option. And since the school system is entirely open, you can live anywhere in the county and send your kids to any school of your choice, IB or not.

Working from home means internet speed should be considered, and we're fortunate to have 10 gig internet here which is the fastest available in the world. Chattanooga also has 10 gig internet, the only other city in Tennessee to have it. What's unusual here is that it's available even way out in the boonies and not just in town. I live 20 miles outside of town in the middle of nowhere and have 10 gig internet at my house. This area has become very popular with the work-from-home crowd looking for a better place to raise families with an exceptional quality of life: great schools, gobs of outdoor recreational opportunities, family friendly, safe, and a town where people really do try to just get along and respect each other. One family at my church moved here from L.A. via a 3-year stint in Franklin, and the father, a free-lance music composer, said that Cookeville is like living in a Norman Rockwell painting.

I left Knoxville around 9 years ago to move here, and it was the best move I've ever made. I'm still not sure if it meets what you're looking for. But with some of the other towns mentioned in this thread, Cookeville should absolutely be considered. Many are surprised by what it offers. Be warned that it's a real and free-standing town, meaning it's not a wealthy enclave of a larger city. So it has its beautiful and moneyed neighborhoods as well as very blue collar areas. It has golf courses and neighborhoods of million-dollar mansions but also Section 8 apartments and public housing. It has factories as well as wealth management offices; upscale galleries and boutiques as well as Dollar Generals and thrift stores. If you're looking for a town where everyone is rich, then this isn't it. But if you're looking for a town with a healthy mix of all incomes (and a fast-growing upper middle class segment) then I think you should give Cookeville a look.

[GWoodle]

Originally Posted by GACLT

Are there other smaller vibrant towns with restaurants, coffee shops, quality grocery stores, shopping, etc., that have a main street and the open green space look and feel of Franklin TN? Good schools are a must as well.

Many of the towns in the southeast we've visited that offer the same conveniences as Franklin, are full of busy multilane highways and do have the same feel as Franklin.

Towns seem to either be too small with poorly rated schools and don't offer the same 'conveniences' as Franklin, or have all the conveniences along with highly rated schools but are high stress and very busy areas with residences and businesses just off busy roads.

Any suggestions?

Nothing will have the history of Franklin. Nothing connected to Nashville with the development of shopping & corporate offices. Maybe Lebanon can become a town similar to Franklin.

For a vibrant small city maybe Clarkesville with it's development downtown along the Cumberland.

As a thin narrow state may be difficult to find "southern" TN towns. Most of the time you have to think of "East Tennessee". "Middle Tennessee", "West Tennessee". In each section there may be smaller old towns with a courthouse square & some business around it. Probably find a Dollar General & or a WalMart. You would have to hunt & find the local diner.