Making a move to Tenn.

Hi fellow inmates. We are looking to move from our house in Maine to Tenn. It seems like such a great spot to ride and live. We have grown tired of life in Maine. The politics, high cost of living, weather and lack of much to do have pushed us to venture south. I am a stainless welder fabricator by trade and I am also proficient in Autocad. Just looking to get some input about the places that have a lot to offer in tenn. We are looking for a more rural location, but not too far out. We are also concerned about schools as our daughter is 8. Thanks.
Carl.

The eastern part of TN has more good riding. I've been here for many years and still love it. Largest industrial employer in the state is Eastman Chemical Co... they employ lots of welders!

Great! Thanks for the input.

Come on down!

Lot of good riding here, and just a short ride to S.W. Va. and Western Nc. Mountains.

Nice.

Anyone know about the town Big Sandy? My wife has found a home with property there, but we have no idea on the location. Any help with info on economy, jobs, and schools would be appreciated.

West of Nashville. Don't know anything about it other than it's pretty flat out there. It's certainly not the only consideration but the riding is, IMHO, much better on the eastern, mountainous end of the state.

You mentioned ME politics in your original post. Might not matter to you but FWIW, east TN is traditionally "red" whereas west TN becomes more "blue" the closer one gets to Memphis. I'm sure you know TN is 550 miles from Bristol to Memphis with the Appalachians on the eastern end the Mississippi river on the west and the Cumberland Plateau in the middle. The welcome signs used to say "Welcome to the Three States of Tennessee" but those were replaced a few years ago. Yeah, it really is that different.

That is exactly what we needed to know, thanks. We are looking for less blue and more red for sure. Property values in the east seem to be much higher.

Middle TN is a great area, 1/2 to a days ride to some of the best riding in the country with the local riding not too shabby.

Still looking to find out about big sandy.

I can't help with specifics about Big Sandy, but looking at where it is, it is a very rural area, the closest jobs are going to be New Johnsonville, I think there is a Dupont ?? Plant there, Paris is a midsize town, or you're going to spend your day communting.

You may get lucky and find a small fab shop or manufacturer closer.
TN is also very big in the automotive industries, for welding look at Johnson Controls, they have quite a few seat plants that i know of. VW is looking to add to their Chattanooga plant and Nissan has a couple plants, plus all the suppliers, I know of 8-10 in the larger Knoxville area.

IMHO coming from Maine you would be happier in East TN, the Mountains temper the summer heat dramaticly compared to Middle TN. In Middle TN (dickson, and Pulaski) the overnight temps might drop to the high 70's, in East TN (Maryville) overnights are in the high 60's to low 70's.

There is alot of East TN that is still very inexpensive to live, just stay away from lakes, city's and the Tourist places (Sevier county in particular)

THump! mentioned the 3 zones of TN, But I also think East Tn changes alot from the Tricitys (bristol, Johnson City, Kingsport) in the Northeast to Chattanooga in the South east.

Either come down and visit, explore, and figure out where jobs might be, and then look for a place to live.


Good Luck

All we need is some more damn Yankees down here

This is all very helpful.
I have a feeling you might like a family of yankees like us. We don't seem to fit in up here.......

How bout smack ass in the middle! We're in Murfreesboro which is full of great schools for your daughter. Nissan is just 7 miles from me and always looking for new talent. Ton's of opportunity for your trade. One thing the South has, is a real respect for is a man with a skill. As far as riding goes, there's some good curves in the hills all around us and great dualsport adventures close by. Sequatchie Valley and Prentice Cooper WMA should satisfy every bit of offroad need you'll ever have. East TN (Dragon, Skyway, Hellbender, forest roads, the powerline, etc) are exactly 190 miles east. My wife is office manager for a large real estate firm, if you want more info shoot me a pm and I'm sure she can answer your questions. Good luck with you search!

Look up Philp38. He did the same move a few years ago.

This

I am from South Portland and my wife is from Winthrop orig. We moved down 5 years ago and LOVE it. Plenty of work here in my area. I am about midway on 75 from Chattanooga and Knoxville. Come on down..You'll never go back.

All this positive input is reassuring.

I lived in Maine (Bath) from 97-01 then moved to Alabama for a year then Georgia. I enjoyed Maine but the riding is better down here and of course it's warmer down here. The Eastern part of TN is beautiful and has great riding. Come on down. You'll be surprised at how many of us damn Yankees are down here.

Big Sandy is a small town in West Tennessee, just on the west side of the Tennessee River. The area around the river is NOT flat, in fact there is some good riding there - but the further west you go the flatter to becomes. Big Sandy does not have a lot to offer as far as jobs go, it's more like a place where people go to escape the rat race. You would probably have to drive a ways to find a job. That is often the price of rural living.

You might also check out Leiper's Fork in Williamson County (just south of Nashville). Williamson is one of the most affluent counties in the nation, so they can afford to spend some $$$ on their schools. LF is just off the Natchez Trace Parkway. It attracts motorcyclists and bicyclists like crazy. It's a very eclectic community, lots of artists of all stripes in the area. There are plenty of jobs in Nashville and Franklin areas. Oh, and the roads are great! lots of good riding, and just a few hours from the Smokies.

I live in Columbia (just south of Franklin) and put my daughter thru Columbia Academy. It's a private school, but not terribly expensive. She did k-12 there, and I am so thankful we made the sacrifices necessary to put her thru school there. She's a sophomore in college now, and has been on the Dean's list every semester.

I live in Crossville on the plateau. Good roads low cost of living schools are fair to suck depending on the county. Good paying jobs are on the low side , lots of retirement from the great white north.
+1 on the Franklin area , housing cost are on the high side but quality of schools ,jobs ect are great. Fastest growing area close to good riding ,schools and higher paying jobs is in the southeast corner of Tn. VW and related suppliers are expanding but you can go 30 min. out and be in the countryside.