Anybody here from Tennessee? I retired from a city pd here in New Jersey and want to move to someplace a little cheaper and with a lot less people. Jersey sucks...I been looking a eastern Tn. because I have a friend who lives in Dandridge but I really want a good hunting/fishing area. I want a little land and NO NEIGHBORS!!! If any of you know of an area please let me know.

My daughter has lived in Nashville for 5 years---great place.

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jj

Absoluteevil,I live in Cheatham County,about twenty five miles west of Nashville.Most anywhere in Tennessee is a great place to live.We have (as of now) no state income tax.The deer and turkey hunting is excellent around here.There are many lakes (Kentucky,Barkley,Old Hickory,Percy Priest,Dale Hollow) and more within about a seventy five mile radius of Nashville.It is easy to get a concealed carry permit.Don't know to much about property prices in rural areas where you be able to get the amount of land you want to have.Hope this is of some help to you.I don't think you can go wrong moving to Tennessee.(Been here sixty one years)

Most states will seem like paradise after New Jersey - especially northern new Jersey. Take your time and figure out what you really want, some of those states closer to you, like Virginia, have good parts if you want to stay near family.

We live SW of Knoxville. I refer to the area as Hillbilly Orlando. Smokers, spitters and litter bugs rule here. Pigeon Forge, Sevierville and Gatlinburg bring in huge amounts of money to the state resulting in out of control development, no safety codes (our fire departments publicly state that some areas won't get fire protection because trucks cannot navigate steep narrow roads) and contaminated well water. All of the local streams outside of the GSMNP test positive for e-coli or poop. No wine is sold in grocery stores and the liquor mafia rules the liquor stores, so we buy all of our alcohol (probably $1,000/yr) out of state where their gov'ts appreciate offering convenience to their taxpayers.

There are some beautiful areas in east Tennessee. Unicoi county is beautiful and fairly remote. I recommend taking a couple of week vacation and meet with realtors to see if you can find what you're looking for.

As far as affordability - Tenn has a lower cost of living but, sales tax is almost 10% and you'll pay that on groceries, too. There is a Halls tax that taxes out of state earnings that the government doesn't brag about. We pay several thousand dollars per year in Halls tax.

Despite some pretty big negatives in Sevier County, we do love the mountains and enjoy spending our money outside of Sevier County in Knoxville.

Good luck in your search.

Hey thanks...this is the kind of stuff I was looking for. Jersey is just to populated, I pay 6k in property tax for a small single family home, car insurance is off the charts, no place to go hunting anymore without having 10 other people walking around you. I can't even drive the normal 1/2 hr drive to go surf fishing in the ocean because of shore traffic it now takes hours. Does the Halls tax include State retirement benefits?

I think you would like it in Tn. I live in Murfreesboro which is 30 miles east of Nashville. I used to live in Woodbury which is 15 miles east of Murfreesboro. You would like it. It's all country with plenty of deer and turkey and land is cheaper. Yet you are only 20 min. from the big city. Wish I still lived their. Don

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"Don't worry be happy"

Have you looked into Detroit Michigan? I hear it's really nice this time of year.

Just a quick plug for the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky. Gun friendly and there's still a lot of very rural areas. Actually, I like TN also.

Hi:
I live in Southeastern Tennessee (Vonore). Small Town, Great People. Great fishing (Lake Tellico) and Hunting. 20 to 30 minutes from Smoky Mountains. Great place to retire to. Great deals in Real Estate due to the Economy.
Jimmy (Retired LEO from Florida)

I'll second the South Central Kentucky area around Bowling Green. No mountains just rolling hills.

People in New York think New Jersey is out west. People in New Jersey think Ohio is too far west to be civilized. People in Oklahoma think Ohio is in the East. People in Ohio know that Tennessee is south. As best as I can figure, eastern Tennessee would put you right in the West, East, and South. What a place!

Another plug for KY. The eastern and southern border part are much like eastern TN. You can find low land cost, no neighbors and be not that far from a larger city.

Tennessee is a great state i live about 10 miles from the nc/tn line in nc. i have considered buying land in TN just to have a place to camp out and get off the grid. the drive to pigeon forge is wonderful and fairly short until the rock slide on I-40. get ready for the culture shock from the big city and a lot of good people from what i've met.

Clearly you didn't get the memo. As of a couple of years ago encouraging Yankees to move to KY is against state law.

Seriously, there are lots of great places to live in both TN and KY. You just have to do some looking.

In general eastern Tennessee is more mountainous, middle is hilly and western is mostly flat. I can't say much good about west Tennessee scenery. You may want to google Estill Springs, Tullahoma, Monteagle, Winchester, Decherd. They are in southern middle TN. Normandy Lake and Tims Ford Lake are in the vicinity and I think you can still get land right on the water. I imagine moving there from New Jersey will be a huge change. Things move at about half of the speed you are probably used to. (Which is what I'm looking for too when I retire). Good luck.

Kentucky is on my radar also...10 or more acres of land to fiddle around in, do a little hunting, cut a little fire wood, stuff like that. It would cost me a million bucks for that here in Jersey. Places to hunt around here are almost impossible to find anymore unless you want to hunt State land and thats a joke. A small town close by would be fine with me. Were going to do some exploring this spring.

I have lived in western NC and the blue ridge of Va... been thry Ky and Tn quite a bit.
Friend of mine lives in NE Tn... beautiful area.
I would pick a place in the mountains... nice part of the US to live in.


Jim

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Big bullets leave big holes

Kentucky has a state income tax, while Tennessee has a higher sales tax. Property taxes are about equivilent.

I lived in Tullahoma (mid south) Tn and in Bowling Green, Ky. Car insurance was double in B.G. vs Tullahoma. I thought property taxes were outrageous in Tullahoma, but no state income tax. Both were great places to live with hunting, fishing, and quite places in general were easy to find.


North Alabama is Home.

I have fished at Douglas lake which is located at Dandridge Tenn many times . It is a very good fishing lake but I don't hunt so I do not know about hunting there. I live in east Ky in the mountains which I love but if I left Ky. Dandridge Tenn. would be high on my list to move to.

As a native of Tennessee, I think you have made a good choice. If you really are looking for remoteness, try the Cumberland Plateau. As long as you are north of I-40 (Fentress, Scott, Morgan counties), or south of Cumberland County (Bledsoe, Van Buren, or Grundy counties) you will probably have all the "remoteness" you can stand.

I don't know, at this point of my life I could handle a good deal of remoteness....Outside of some small town I could handle that. My buddy in Dandridge said he lived further west and it was so remote he din't get Saturday Night Live until Sunday morning.

We have some land on lake Douglas in Dandridge... plan to build our retirement home there soon... it is a great area... lots to recommend it.. I'd say give it a good look

Chuck

Food's good here. Ain't that right Penny?

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Misty

Lets not talk too much about our beautiful Tennessee, we want to keep it nice and quiet; we want small towns to stay small, fishing and hunting great, hills and mountains resort-like, and our back-yard flower and vegetable gardens healthy and inviting... get the idea? Y'all come, ya hear?

Pete

Yeah, Southeast TN is pretty hard to beat. Very little local government intervention in my life and I like it that way.
oldogy

I like living in southern Indiana. We have income tax but our property tax is capped at 1% appraised value. Sales tax is 7% and not on food or services. Land is comparatively cheap and tax on farm land is dirt cheap. If I moved I'd look at the n Georgia mtns pretty hard but, since I'm a Somerset Kentucky native and like that south central part of Ky about as good as any place I've ever been, I'd probably end up somewhere between Corbin and Cave City.

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God spelled backwards is dog.

Well I bet anyplace else will be cheaper then here. Were gonna look east Tn first then areas around that like Ky or West Virginia. I'm lucky, my wife hates the malls, hates shopping. Heck she has her own guns and loves hunting and fishing too. She grew up on a dairy farm and her parents live full time in a motorhome. They travel the US working for the forrest service so my wife has no ties here. It's just time for us to get out of here.

I grew up in Jefferson County, which is where Dandridge is located. Dandridge, named for Martha Dandridge Washington, has grown considerably in recent years. It used to be a poor relation to Jefferson City, which is 8-10 miles away, but now dandridge and the surrounding area have probably outgrown JC. Nice area, I'd probably move back there if I had the opportunity.

I don't live in Tennesee but have spent a lot of vacation time there. Stay away from the big towns and you will like it.

"...some of those states closer to you, like Virginia, have good parts if you want to stay near family."

No, there ain't no place in Virginia that a person from New Jersey would like.

"Clearly you didn't get the memo. As of a couple of years ago encouraging Yankees to move to KY is against state law."

We have the same law here in Virginia.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

The Halls tax only taxes investment income, such as dividends. It does not tax state or federal retirements. Interestingly, if you have a CD from a Tennessee bank, that interest is not taxed. If it is from an out of state bank, it is taxable. Interest from out of state municipal bonds is also taxable.

Tennexplorer is correct. The Hall Tax (not Halls) is on out of state dividends and interest. It runs 6% of the taxable income, and there are exemptions for your total income, and a portion of the taxable income as well.

Not a very well-known fact that Tennessee does indeed have an income tax, and has had it since 1929 when Senator Hall proposed the legislation that created it.


The Highlander

Johnson City in northeast TN has everything you'd want:
Excellent university - East Tennessee State University (ETSU)
Excellent medical care and ETSU has a medical school
Scads of National Forests, trails, hunting, fishing, woodlands, farms, lakes, and mountains
NASCAR - Bristol Motor Speedway
Moonshine, bounce, hootch, and buck
Very good fire and police protection
Open carry handgun permits
Good roads and Interstates
Close to larger cities but not too close
Most excellent food - the BBQ is a religious experience
Low taxes
Pretty girls
Bluegrass and Country music - home of the Carter family
Moderate weather
And so on...

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You are what you learn.

Pretty girls and moonshine..good BBQ...thats it i'm moving there!!!!!!

One piece of unsolicited advice: If you want to get along as an outsider, never say "Well, back in NJ we did it this way." Nothing will turn good people against you more quickly. Country folk get real tired of people moving from the city, then complaining about the smell of manure or having to follow a tractor for a couple of miles. I'm not saying you'd do any of that; just sayin' some folks do.

I travel 48 states. If I had to chose one other than my native Oklahoma, TN would certainly be in the top 10. I hope you enjoy it!

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Insert short witty words here

Yea I understand, but I don't think I'll cause any problems. I grew up and worked in the biggest ****-hole you could imagine. But I live out of town in a pretty good place it's just to expensive here. Let's see if I'm country enough...I dip Copenhagen, my wife grew up on a dairy farm and she has her own guns and likes hunting, I have four hound dogs for rabbit hunting, I burn trash in a pit in my back yard(my neighbors don't much talk to me..wonder why..and I don't care), I drive a diesel pickup truck, heck my wife drives a 3/4 truck to, shoot she works in Walmart in the Tire Lube department, I got long hair in a ponytail now since I retired, I don't own a tie, I have more camo shirts then regular shirts, I might be able to fit a few more tattoos on my arms if I really try, I could go on forever. Naw manure smell or a slow tractor won't bother me. I live in Jersey cuz I was born here, I don't belong here.

East TN is a great place to live.

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Proverbs 14:7

"I live in Jersey cuz I was born here, I don't belong here."

Well, disregard my earlier post. We'll make an exception and let you in to Dixie.

One of my former partners at the PD in Alabama was born in NJ, then raised in Chicago. Two strikes against him. I tried and tried to teach him to speak Southern.

Start with this: Gu-ritz (grits).

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

All the things you just mentioned are not Southern traits, but rather what you imagine the South to be. For example, we don't burn trash in a pit in the back yard. That's called a pig pickin. We don't chew Copenhagen, we eat boiled peanuts and hound dogs aren't for rabbits they are for coons. Ya'll need to get it right, boy.

Darn, I never thought of it that way..Now I'm not sure where I belong.

absolutevil, you will do very well in Tennessee. Appears you are well qualified.

i moved from a western suburb of CHITOWN to the MEMPHIS area in 76 and thought i died and went to heaven.

Furthermore, this part of Tn sucks compared to the majority of the state. imo the farther east you go the mo better it gets

Moved 30 miles outside Nashville 5 years ago for the reasons above. People ask if I have any regrets and I say yes, "wish I would have sooner".

I deleted part of my earlier post because I didn't want to offend people that didn't need it. Seems someone else went ahead and gave you the advice, so here is what I wrote earlier.

Don't move here and start telling us how you did it up North, we honestly couldn't care less. If wherever you came from was so great, why did you move? Don't move to heaven, then try to change it back to Heck.

NOTHING will get you disliked quicker!

Sounds like you may fit in pretty well, once we learn to understand each others languages. That may be the toughest part.

Areas I know from experience that you might want to look at:
1) Grundy County (Monteagle, TN) - Middle TN (mountains, rural).
2) Perry County (Linden, TN) - Middle TN (rolling hills, rural).
3) Campbell County (Jellico, Tn) - East TN (mountains, rural).

Lots of northeasterners have moved into the Perry Co. area and rave about it. The locals seem to be learning to deal with the influx of, forbid the reference, "Yankees." (For myself, I like some of those Yankees - in fact, I married one!) Jellico is extremely mountainous & right on the KY border. All 3 towns listed are very small.

Good luck, & I hope you find some peaceful acres.

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Southern Conservative

Sounds like east Tennessee would be just right for someone migrating from New Jersey. Hope you enjoy it there . . .

. . . you would not like it in the Arkansas Ozarks. Too much fresh air and clean water, fishing and hunting, and the remoteness and solitude would be intolerable. Besides, our annual allocation of Yankee import permits have been exhausted already for 2010.

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- Change it back -

Tennessee is a nice place to visit. Kentucky is a nice place to live.

Before you make that big move, check out Russelville Arkansas just a few miles from Fort Smith along I-40. Its a college town with colegit football and hoops, its within driving distance of University Hospitals and health care. It is the best kept secret in the South. The Ozark Mts, clear streams, deep lakes and cheap, cheap, cheap place to live. Hunting and fishing is abundant and you can even look for diamonds on weekends. You can get so far back in the mountains that your breath smells like cordwood where you can set up your own range. Its a gun friendly state. To the south is world class duck hunting in the rice fields.