Relocating (Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga: home, movies, university)

[kcholly]

I will be visiting East TN in Aug. I would like to retire to this area and maybe work a few days a week. I don't want to be isolated, maybe a gated community etc. Shopping.. mall movies etc BUT not with a zillion cars. Any comments would help.

[jguillot]

Originally Posted by kcholly

I will be visiting East TN in Aug. I would like to retire to this area and maybe work a few days a week. I don't want to be isolated, maybe a gated community etc. Shopping.. mall movies etc BUT not with a zillion cars. Any comments would help.

You might consider Crossville or Cookeville, TN. Both offer all of the goods and services you will ever need, but you normally should never find traffic jams in either city. Click on the link below to see a video done by the mayor of Crossville.


YouTube - Crossville - We're Ready

I plan to retire halfway between Crossville and Cookeville in about 6 years. I hope this helps.

[Botts]

Hello!

You didn't provide much information regarding your interests or needs and I was also wondering what part of the country you are coming from and whether you now live in an urban or rural area. These considerations all weigh heavily on any decision you make relative to a future home here in Tennessee. My wife and I are empty nesters and have lived here in this area - halfway between Chattanooga & Knoxville for about 20 years. We absolutely love it and even prefer it to other "hot" spots in the state for any of several reasons. We presently live in the country on sbout 7 acres (cows across the street, horses next door, open pastureland, and frontage on a 20-foot wide creek). Yet, a Super Wal-Mart is just 15 minutes up the road. The largest mall in Tennessee (at least it used to be) is about 35 minutes down toward Chattanooga and another large mall as well as new shopping areas are in the West Knoxville area - about 45 minutes in the other direction. We also live only about 2 1/2 hours from Atlanta, if you want to visit the really big city!

I'd be happy to try and answer any questions about this little corner of the world, if you're interested.

[kcholly]

I'm from Middletown NY (but born and lived for 38 years in Brooklyn NY)which is about 80 from NYC. I retired from NYPD serving 25 Years. I've considered moving to Florida, but I and my wife love mountains and the four seasons. I live across from a dairy farm (the cows etc still roam almost free). My wife and I enjoy plays, movies shopping and going out to eat. I know when I move to whatever area my family (son and daughters) would follow at some point as well as two neighbors (we do cruises together). In fact my neighbor is also joining us in Aug to scout out the area. I will post again. I hope this addional info helps.

PS My cousin just relocated to Barlett (her job) in April and loves it.......

[JMT]

Originally Posted by kcholly

I'm from Middletown NY (but born and lived for 38 years in Brooklyn NY)which is about 80 from NYC. I retired from NYPD serving 25 Years. I've considered moving to Florida, but I and my wife love mountains and the four seasons. I live across from a dairy farm (the cows etc still roam almost free). My wife and I enjoy plays, movies shopping and going out to eat. I know when I move to whatever area my family (son and daughters) would follow at some point as well as two neighbors (we do cruises together). In fact my neighbor is also joining us in Aug to scout out the area. I will post again. I hope this addional info helps.

PS My cousin just relocated to Barlett (her job) in April and loves it.......

I assume you mean Bartlett? That's a fast-growing suburb of Memphis, and trust me Memphis is unlike anywhere else in Tennessee. I happen to love Memphis, but if you want mountains and four seasons, avoid Memphis. It's FLAT. And as some people in Memphis like to say, Memphis has two seasons: summer and Christmas.

Since you like to travel so much, does that mean you need to be relatively close to an airport? If that's the case, then I'm afraid East Tennessee might be a disappointment. All 3 airports in E TN are small and VERY expensive: Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Tri Cities.

Nashville, on the other hand, has a much larger airport and is a hub for Southwest Airlines meaning it's got cheap flights to all over the country.

As jguillot mentioned, the Cumberland Plateau might be a place for you to consider. It's roughly half way between Nashville and Knoxville and has deep gorges, lakes, waterfalls (including the tallest east of the Rockies), and it's a very popular retirement area. Cookeville and Crossville are the two largest towns, Cookeville being by far the largest, but Crossville has several large retirement communities such as Fairfield Glade and Lake Tansi and is the self-proclaimed "golf capital of Tennessee."

Cookeville is a university town and has more restaurants, shopping and entertainment and is closer to Nashville (1 hour east of the Nashville airport). But Crossville is the more popular retirement area, although both towns are among the 9 communities the state is promoting to retirees. Retire Tennessee

Because of the plateau's higher elevation, the temperatures are generally several degrees cooler than in either Nashville or Knoxville and with lower humidity.

And what the heck, here are some pics of scenes from the Cumberland Plateau:

Fall Creek Falls (tallest waterfall east of the Rockies)



Burgess Falls (just outside of Cookeville)

http://www.wadih-ghsoubi.com/Nature/1/original/Burgess%20Falls%20in%20Early%20Spring,%20Tennessee .jpg (broken link)

Center Hill Lake (near Cookeville)



Big South Fork National Recreation Area (north of Crossville)



Standing Stone State Park (north of Cookeville)



Fairfield Glade (near Crossville)



Cumberland Cove (a development between Cookeville and Crossville where jguillot and wife purchased property for their retirement)



White Plains (development next to Cookeville)



Crossville







Cookeville

[fntintn]

all over this forum, your pictures are making me so eager to be in cookeville! the city should really hire you for public relations!

[JMT]

Originally Posted by fntintn

all over this forum, your pictures are making me so eager to be in cookeville! the city should really hire you for public relations!

haha thanks! I sure wish I could help you move to Cookeville and help your husband get a job! I love the Cumberland Plateau region of Tennessee and think Cookeville is a true gem.

Oh, and I forgot to add (for copyright purposes) that those pics in my previous post were found on Google Images, and I admit that I took some of those pics...

[jguillot]

JMT,

I think fntintn is right. The city of Cookeville should hire you for public relations. You do a great job in letting readers know all about the great things to be found all over the Cumberland Plateau. It might be worth looking into when you retire and move to Cookeville. Thanks for sharing the pictures. I always enjoy seeing them.

[Watertown Gal]

I agree....those pictures are great, JMT! I've been to all those areas though and it is even more beautiful than the pictures.