Reasons to Live in East Tennessee

People always ask, “Why did you pick Tennessee as your home?”   My answer is, “I didn’t, it is where my husband wanted to live.”  When we talked about moving south I wanted to live near the coast in North or South Carolina, while he wanted the mountains of East Tennessee.  I’ve grown accustomed to the mountains over the last 14 years, but I do miss the ocean!

A person I’ve never met, yet who I’ve known online since around 2008, started questioning me about my neck of the woods.  It turned out he and his family are ready to move out of the congested north to the warmer weather and beautiful scenery of East Tennessee.  

I will be pre-checking some potential homes for them with their realtor until they can get down here in a few weeks. I am glad they want to move down to my neck of the woods, I wonder if they are doing it for any of the following reasons:

It looked beautiful but didn't last very long!

The Weather -

Winter:  While we do have a ‘winter’ we don’t have to own snow blowers or other snow removal equipment.  Sure, one or two winters a decade we might get a few inches in one shot, but not a big deal.

Spring, Summer, Fall:  On the other hand we have warm weather early and it stays warm longer.  We can plant crops in our gardens at least three times in one season.  If you are a pool person you can get your money’s worth at least 5 months out of the year. Some years we opened the pool in April and didn’t close it until mid-October.

The Smoky Mountains

The Mountains –

All the beauty you could ever want to see is right here in East Tennessee/Tennessee River Valley.  While you might have to pay to go to some National Parks, you don’t have to pay to enter the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Watts Bar Lake

The Water –

Whether you enjoy fishing or boating on one of our many lakes or white water rafting on the Ocoee River, there is no better place to satisfy your urge to be on or in the water!

The Location –

From my neck of the woods in an hour I can be in Knoxville or head south to Chattanooga.  If I get a ‘hankering’ for the real big city life Nashville is a good choice for a long weekend!

The Food –

If you love BBQ this is the place for you!  There are more BBQ joints than there are fast food burgers!  From Boston Butt to Spare Ribs and even smoked Prime Rib you can fill your tummy with Tennessee BBQ.

The Taxes –

Tennessee does not have a State Income tax.  Our real estate taxes are always a shock to northerners moving here.   If you like paying thousands and thousands of dollars in real estate taxes you might as well not move to Tennessee.

The Shopping –

There are outlet malls over all the USA, but we have more than just outlet malls.  We still have mom and pop shops where you can buy a unique gift and not pay a fortune.

So, welcome to my neck of the woods!  Can you think of more reasons to move here?

Photos belong to AbbyG