Chicago to Eastern Tennessee . . . Please Help Me Find a Mountainous City of around 10K to 20K (Knoxville: crime rate)

[addsubtract]

I'm trying to relocate myself and 4 year-old twins to Eastern Tennessee. We have a wonderful opportunity to buy a home, but the loan is limited to more rural areas. (I'm looking for a home around $100 to $150,000). I believe towns up to 10,000 to 20,000 qualify, and I'd hope to find something around that size.

I would like the town to have a YMCA (or comparable facility), a Wal-Mart or comparable general store, a grocery store, and hopefully a library. A low-crime rate and lack of huge meth labs, etc., is necessary, too.
I would love if it was in the mountains or very, very close to the mountains (like 30 minutes).

I would like the town to be in reasonable proximity (up to 2 hours or so) from some major cities with more cultural offerings, such as museums, music, etc. Outdoor activities, such as biking and hiking, are very nice.

I plan on homeschooling, but still would like to be in a good, solid school district.

Can anyone suggest any towns that I might especially want to consider?

Thank you!

[JMT]

Check out Greeneville and Athens. Both of those meet your criteria. My personal preference is for Greeneville since it's a much more historic town and is right smack against the mountains. However, Athens is probably a bit less isolated since it's between Knoxville and Chattanooga and is only about 150 miles from Atlanta.

[hiknapster]

Are you talking about a USDA rural mortgage? There are specific areas around here that qualify, if that is what you are looking for. There is a map that you can go by.

[addsubtract]

I just finished doing some research on Athens and Greeneville. WOW!!!! They both look spectacular. I'll be going to Tennessee within a week or two to visit and scope out the area.

I was very pleased to learn that both have no problems with Superfund sites and pretty reasonable air quality. Greeneville does seem to have better water quality (94 out of 100).

I am applying for a USDA Direct Loan. (I'm pretty confident I meet the eligibility requirements). I doublechecked and both cities are eligible for a USDA loan.

Thank you again!

[jabogitlu]

Greeneville sounds like a great fit. I grew up there. It's about an hour and a half to Knoxville and 30-45 minutes to Johnson City, a smaller TN metro, as well as an hour and a half to Asheville NC. It's equidistant between Nashville and Charlotte at ~4 hours and ~4.5 to Atlanta. Note that you'll probably definitely want to send your kids to Greeneville City Schools there. That's one big drawback to smaller Tennessee towns like Greeneville.

Have you looked at Oak Ridge? Its population is a bit larger (27k) but it has great schools and may fit you in other ways. The population is older, though. Some other small towns out west on Knoxville (Kingston, Rockwood) have slightly smaller populations at 5k, but may be worth checking out.

Cities between Chattanooga and Knoxville on 75 have the advantage of being closer to Atlanta.

[hiknapster]

A lot of areas in East Tennessee will qualify for that loan. A good portion of Knox County qualifies. Even though this is a city, it is pretty townish, and about five to 10 minutes out of the downtown area and you can be very much in the country.
http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/...e=tn1&cnty=093

[jabogitlu]

Also- have you looked at Jonesborough?