Looking to retire to a nice Mountain Town ? (Chattanooga, Johnson City: how much, houses)

[DADDYO49]

...........After working for 30 years in New York City; I expect to retire within the nex 12-18 months & would like to explore the possibility of moving from Long Island, New York to a nice Mountain Town in either Tennessee or Kentucky where I could fish in a small pond surrounded by spectacular Green Forests.......Do such towns really exist ??? If so, where ???...I would love to move & my wife loves the Mountains as long as its not too far from a Supermarket or Mall......Any suggestions in Tennesse or Kentucky ??

[lexiesmemere]

After 35 years in New Orleans, my husband and I followed our families to middle Tennessee. We absolutely love it! For the first ten years, we were in McMinnville (a thriving metropolis compared to Pelham, where we are now). In 1985, I think they had a Mr. Gatti's Pizza and maybe a Burger King in the fast food markets, but little else. Now they've been discovered by Wal-Mart Supercenter, Lowe's and (wow!) even Applebee's. Just north of there, in Smithville, is Center Hill Lake. It's a beautiful area, with lots of lakes and state parks (e.g., Tims Ford, Savage Gulf, Fall Creek Falls closer to McMinnville). Just recently we've bought 45 acres on the side of a mountain in Pelham (just north of Monteagle, in case you can't locate it on a map!). We're putting in a road and then building a log cabin a little more than halfway up. I was working in Atlanta and coming home on weekends (shows how much I missed TN), but I've given that up. As I would start the climb up the mountains north of Chattanooga, I'd realize how homesick I was.

There are a lot of exclusive gated communities going up in this area, but there are still a lot of secluded areas, also. I was just looking at one in Altamont, TN with 137 acres and its own little lake (for a mere $1.5 million!). However, you can find much more reasonable houses as well as land. Check out Google Earth - type in Pelham, TN, or Monteagle, Altamont, Coalmont - all in this area. Even more to the east there are beautiful areas, but don't get too close to Gatlingburg.

I guess you can tell I'm a fan of Tennessee. Post again if you decide to join us!

[hjlacey]

Also from NY (Orange Co.) bought property in Rogersville area last year and will be moving down next year to build. Many lakes and the Holston River to fish on. It would be worth going down and just driving around to find what you are looking for. We did! Can't wait! good luck in your search

[Happy Trails]

As you probably already know, there are bigger mountains in the blue ridge and in North Carolina but for me, the Cumberland Plateau has it all without all the New York and Florida plates bumper to bumper. That wont last long. Just about everything worth discovering has been discovered. Chattanooga is the perfect sized town (besides Asheville NC) and surrounded by all kinds of mountains and ridges and great fishing water, large and small nickajack, watts bar, Ocoee River and rivers abound here in the valleys and around the moutnains. I just bought a home with a 3 acre park-like forest that has another mountain crest view in the winter. It is 15 miles to Dunlap and about four other valley towns with canoeing and kyaking and the Ocoee is only an hour away for whitewater.Then, lets not forget all the history everywhere as Chattanooga was a strategic civil war town and home to Cherokee and Creek indians! Spelunkin, hang-glding, skydiving, rock climbing, hiking....you name it...this is a great place to do it in your back yard. You need more ammo? ---- I will be happy to mail you stuff and I am not the Chamber of Commerce. I just grew up here and my wife and I just came back. We lived in Florida.......and I don't know if you buy into global warming but I do and Long Island and coastal Florida will not be the primo beach front it has been in the past in the next ten years. My motto is
GET HIGH (ON THE MOUTNAIN) AND ENJOY THE VIEW! check out www.sigmtn.com HAPPY TRAILS

[DADDYO49]

[quote=lexiesmemere]After 35 years in New Orleans, my husband and I followed our families to middle Tennessee. We absolutely love it! For the first ten years, we were in McMinnville (a thriving metropolis compared to Pelham, where we are now). In 1985, I think they had a Mr. Gatti's Pizza and maybe a Burger King in the fast food markets, but little else. Now they've been discovered by Wal-Mart Supercenter, Lowe's and (wow!) even Applebee's. Just north of there, in Smithville, is Center Hill Lake. It's a beautiful area, with lots of lakes and state parks (e.g., Tims Ford, Savage Gulf, Fall Creek Falls closer to McMinnville). Just recently we've bought 45 acres on the side of a mountain in Pelham (just north of Monteagle, in case you can't locate it on a map!). We're putting in a road and then building a log cabin a little more than halfway up. I was working in Atlanta and coming home on weekends (shows how much I missed TN), but I've given that up. As I would start the climb up the mountains north of Chattanooga, I'd realize how homesick I was.--------Thanks for all of the information !!!.....I was pleasantly surprised at your " Post " because although I had gravitated toward Kentucky......One of the reirement Communities that I was seriously considering was McMinnville, TN. My " Bible " has been a Book entitled " The 50 Best Small Southern Towns " which recommended McMinnville both as a Retirement Town & a Mountain Town. I am also looking for a Town with Good Hospital(s) & I understand that McMinnville does have a pretty decent size Hospital. Your cabin+ mountain sound very nice; however, ...I do not need to actually live on a Mountain or lake; nor am I a Golfer nor do I want large property ( in NY I had a corner lot 1/3 acre which was considered large )......I would just like to find a nice Town to retire to in either Tennessee or Kentucky which has a view of nice Green Mountains surrounding it + a small lake or even pond that I could drive to & go fishing if I want to....I don't want a gated community; just a friendly community that would accept retirees & has a Wal-Mart + Supermarket within 10 miles........Lastly; I hear that College Towns are a plus...All suggestions are appreciated ??........Don

[danielz]

Originally Posted by MRDOOWOP

...........After working for 30 years in New York City; I expect to retire within the nex 12-18 months & would like to explore the possibility of moving from Long Island, New York to a nice Mountain Town in either Tennessee or Kentucky where I could fish in a small pond surrounded by spectacular Green Forests.......Do such towns really exist ??? If so, where ???...I would love to move & my wife loves the Mountains as long as its not too far from a Supermarket or Mall......Any suggestions in Tennesse or Kentucky ??

You might look into the area around Kingsport, TN, expecially Church Hill, Mt Carmel, Fall Branch or the other towns west and southwest of the city. Lots of green mountains, lots of properties with ponds. And if you don't get your own pond, you can join the Cherokee Rod & Gun Club, which has a large stocked pond on their mountain property. Adult members can catch-and-release anytime. Kids can catch and keep up to four a day.

-dan z-

[danielz]

Originally Posted by MRDOOWOP

...........After working for 30 years in New York City; I expect to retire within the nex 12-18 months & would like to explore the possibility of moving from Long Island, New York to a nice Mountain Town in either Tennessee or Kentucky where I could fish in a small pond surrounded by spectacular Green Forests.......Do such towns really exist ??? If so, where ???...I would love to move & my wife loves the Mountains as long as its not too far from a Supermarket or Mall......Any suggestions in Tennesse or Kentucky ??

You might look into the area around Kingsport, TN, especially Church Hill, Mt Carmel, Fall Branch or the other towns west and southwest of the city. Lots of green mountains, lots of properties with ponds. And if you don't get your own pond, you can join the Cherokee Rod & Gun Club, which has a large stocked pond on their mountain property. Adult members can catch-and-release anytime. Kids can catch and keep up to four a day.

Kingsport and Johnson City (about 10-20 minutes to there) have lots of shopping available.

-dan z-

[DADDYO49]

Originally Posted by lexiesmemere

After 35 years in New Orleans, my husband and I followed our families to middle Tennessee. We absolutely love it! For the first ten years, we were in McMinnville (a thriving metropolis compared to Pelham, where we are now). In 1985, I think they had a Mr. Gatti's Pizza and maybe a Burger King in the fast food markets, but little else. Now they've been discovered by Wal-Mart Supercenter, Lowe's and (wow!) even Applebee's. Just north of there, in Smithville, is Center Hill Lake. It's a beautiful area, with lots of lakes and state parks (e.g., Tims Ford, Savage Gulf, Fall Creek Falls closer to McMinnville). Just recently we've bought 45 acres on the side of a mountain in Pelham (just north of Monteagle, in case you can't locate it on a map!). We're putting in a road and then building a log cabin a little more than halfway up. I was working in Atlanta and coming home on weekends (shows how much I missed TN), but I've given that up. As I would start the climb up the mountains north of Chattanooga, I'd realize how homesick I was.

There are a lot of exclusive gated communities going up in this area, but there are still a lot of secluded areas, also. I was just looking at one in Altamont, TN with 137 acres and its own little lake (for a mere $1.5 million!). However, you can find much more reasonable houses as well as land. Check out Google Earth - type in Pelham, TN, or Monteagle, Altamont, Coalmont - all in this area. Even more to the east there are beautiful areas, but don't get too close to Gatlingburg.

I guess you can tell I'm a fan of Tennessee. Post again if you decide to join us!

........Thanks for all of the info.---My wife & I are still trying to decide between Kentucky & Tennessee for retirement ??......Both my wife & I like Mountain scenery ( don't want to live on one though ) & don't want a lot of property. In NY we had 1/3 acre ( corner lot ) & that was considered large property. My wife is leaning toward Kentucky " Horse Country " ( Berea, Murray & Versailles )but we both were also considering Greeneville, TN & McMinnville, TN until the Greeneville native posted a bad review of Greeneville......so; we would like to hear more about McMinnville, TN and Franlin, TN ???

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by MRDOOWOP

...........After working for 30 years in New York City; I expect to retire within the nex 12-18 months & would like to explore the possibility of moving from Long Island, New York to a nice Mountain Town in either Tennessee or Kentucky where I could fish in a small pond surrounded by spectacular Green Forests.......Do such towns really exist ???

I used to live on Long Island and have lived in Maryland for the last 11 years. I also like to fish. I expect to retire at the end of 2007. I checked out Asheville, NC this past Spring as a potential retirement destination and was scared to death by the size of it (population of 72,000 and 1,668 people per square mile), so much traffic and no place to park. Asheville, however, is full of people who retired from big cities like NYC (not kidding, you'd be hard pressed to find a local accent) who probably feel that 72,000 people are small potatoes. I'm used to living in places of 30,000 or less. I like Wal-Mart, I like malls, I prefer parking lots to massive parking garages, I like to fish. I'd rather be near a lake than some chi-chi restaurants, a lot of art galleries and a couple of wine and cheese stores. Yes, the mountains are beautiful but how much of my day-to-day activity would have involved them? Asheville was just not for me.

So, I decided to check out the other side of the Smokies - Eastern Tennessee. Sight unseen, I'm plugging it.

My primary driver is finding a good a good retirement location that also offers a good continuing education program for retirees. By "good" I mean the course offerings don't contain a lot of what I like to call "The Zen of Being Me" and "Finding Your Inner Baby Boomer Child" type of classes. I think I've hit paydirt with the Oak Ridge area of Tennessee. I also don't want to just audit classes at some college/university. I want to be involved with more like minded retirees. From my Internet research it appears the town of Oak Ridge is a heavy duty science/research town (I work in a non-science government research department). The school, The Oak Ridge Institute of Continued Learning, knocked my socks off with its Summer 2006 course offerings like The Quest For Fusion Energy, Critical Issues and Choices, The Russian Revolution, etc. They have a non-fiction book group! Non-fiction? Be still my heart.

My second driver is fishing. The area is loaded with lakes, reservoirs, rolling hills.

And Tennessee won't tax my pension, the temperatures are comparable to where I live now, the rents are less than what I was paying in the 1980's, the cost of living is so good it's unbelievable. A government retiree could live well there. They've got plenty of doctors. There seems to be a number of volunteer opportunities. Their voting info indicates we're like-minded.

Now I've just got to visit the place (October) to see if the reality matches the research. I don't know if Asheville, NC just has a good PR machine or if I wanted it too badly to be THE PLACE that I missed some of the obvious incompatibility signs when I was researching it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, how else do you (and your spouse) intend to spend your retirement time? You're not going to fish every day. Is a guy from NYC really going to be happy living in a small mountain town or would you be more happy in a small city but within a short drive of the mountains and that perfect small fishing pond? What is it about NYC that you like? What is it about NYC you want to get away from? Don't be the guy who moves to the new place and pines for the things he thought he wanted to get away from. My suggestion is to try to find a smaller version of where you live now but one that is physically close enough to the things you dream of doing.

[nanano1]

hello,so your looking to move to the mountains,well you could check out pikeville,ky its definitly in the mountains and a growing commuinty,also you might check out chattanooga tn,its part of the great smokie mountains. GOOD LUCK !