I know this is off topic but, my company is looking to buy an existing factory in Louden County I guess about an hour east of Knoxville, and I may have a chance to go and run things. I live in a very rural part of NY and it's a realitively poor area of the country. The average home sells for under 100K and the town I live in has only 550 people in it. There is no traffic and for the most part I love it except for the weather and high taxes of NY. As my wife and I started dreaming about living in the smokies ( we take our vacation on the bike in that area) we looked at home prices on the internet. Holy cow all the homes listed seem to be starting at 250K and go up, hell land was advertised at 50K for a lot. Is it really so expensive or are there real afforadable places. We are 6 years from retirement so I don't want to be in debt for some huge house on a lot that looks like every other house on the block, we were wondering if it's out of the question to have 5 or 6 acres and a small older home and a barn for the stuff. Do they exist and can someone that knows what is going on down there give me a shout with the real scoop. Thanks Jon.
With the housing market on the edge of total colapse, I would SERIOUSLY reccomend avoiding a $250k purchase in Tennessee. I'm no financial advisor, but it would be worth talking to one... Invest $$$ from the sale of your current home, and rent a place in TN for $600-700 a month while you wait for the bubble to burst, and shop around [at your leisure] for a deal. That area of TN is one of the most beautifull places in the country, and would make a wonderfull retirement homestead. It's also a great location to travel from,,, 7 hours to Indy, 5 to Louisville, 4 to Atlanta, and about 11 hours to warm sandy beaches in FL. BTW, I drove from Corbin KY to Kingsport TN last week along Hwys 25 and 11, and was AMAZED at the ammount of classic iron "sitting in the weeds" out there,,, an un-discovered GOLD MINE I tell 'ya!
Thanks for the information, and I agree I am not looking to buy some development house that was built on speculation, just would like to get to know what the real world is like down there. If anyone has a notion to speak up send me a PM if you want I'd appreciate it. I am on my way to the airport this afternoon for my first look around so I will not be able to get back to you right away. Thanks again.
As you know, there are many "high rent districts" near the lakes & in the mountains. It does seem to be a buyers market though. Everything is for sale. Find a realtor & tell them what you're hunting. I'd think this would be a GOOD time to buy. JH
That side of METRO Knoxville is sorta kinda pricey. I lived in Powell which is a suburb north of K-town. 3-2-and 2 car garage was 75K in 2000. You probably could find what you are looking for but you might be better off renting for 6-9 months and get a feel for what you and the misses like. I did hear of a home down in Kodiak near Sevierville for around 50K that was on an acre lot. I am 39 and would like to retire near Knoxville myself. When you get there and get settled pm or email me and I will drive out and show you some of the hot rod spots and decent places to live. I am up for any excuse to drive back east. Nashville is nice but Ktown is heaven.
What size building is your company lookin for? I know this isn't exactly where you mentioned, but I know some people here in Crossville. There is currently a 50,000 sq ft building for lease that I know of and there's others. Crossville is very centrally located and is right on I-40. Let me know. Dennis
O/T, but I was fortunate enough to make the drive from K-ville to Ashville NC this past fall..... WOW!!! IMHO, that strech of hwy should be on the 10 most beautifull drives in the USA.
I lived in that area for a long time.It is really nice. In the area surrounding Loudon there is reasonable real estate to be had.Lots of country around there.Contact some realtors and tell them your budget. Tn. has no income tax (it has hellacious sales tax though). You probably won't want to leave.
I went down to Sweetwater today to check a couple junkyards and noticed a new sub division going in that had prices in the $125,000 range. If you look around you should be able to find something affordable. There are alot of folks moving in around here tho, have some new neighbors up next to the farm in Sevier Co. that are from Chicago. There was part of a farm about a half mile down the valley sold and there have been about 8 or 10 new homes built in the last year. It's gotten to be a joke that you can't make any money planting crops on the farm anymore so everyone is planting Damn Yankee's.
I live in blount county witch is next to loudoun county I live like 3 miles from the county line, its a great place to live they are always something going on around here the housing market is pretty good if your buying now things have slowed down alot from a couple of years ago.you sure be able to buy something in the 150,000 range that is nice . I live on 2.5 acres and is out in the country I love it. PM me and I will do what I can to help. good luck on the move. I know this area pretty good so if you find something maybe I can tell you if its in a good area or not
Hey guys just got back and went through Maryville, Tn on the way to the factory, it was about 10 miles from there, very nice area but colder than NY at least Wed. ond Thursday of this week. I got to take a ride and agree it's a nice area. For those that sked about the factory it is an existing screw machine shop running about 50 escomatics with a few Star CNC machine. My company's goal is to double the Escomatics and maybe move 40 CNC swiss screw machines in as well. Thanks for the reply's I knew I could count on some HAMB folks to head me in the right direction. Now comes the waiting and politics to convice the company they will make money so I can get them to move me down. Thanks for all your help, and if/when I get back down it will be a longer trip I will take a couple of you up on the offer to have a beer and show me around. Thanks again
Maryville? ...that's Greazy Hubcaps territory! Gotta watch out for those guys..... Your company probably already knows that TN gov entities can usually be wrangled out of tax incentives/etc---they tend to want to bend over backwards for big companies Another plus is the labor pool. We're not ALL dumb drunk hillbillies Hope you guys can make the move--you'll like it down here. Wednesday and Thursday's weather aren't the norm---but it does happen a few times every winter.
Damn, your right I looked all day and couldn't find a hillbilly anywhere, where were they all hiding Didn't even find a still either I was kind of dissapointed by that. Maybe next trip........
I'm partial to Campbell County, personally...and whoever said you would never want to leave is absolutely right. I had to move back to AR in 2004, and have been wanting to go back to E TN ever since. I really hope i can get back out there before retirement age. Ohhhh...and the hillbilly thing? I know they're just hiding, like here in AR. Their existence is proven to me every year when we do our "hee haw" show...one guy who is in the band (his family is from up by cumberland gap) that plays brings quarts of the hills' finest quality fire water, it's not ALL stage props!
Alright, I do a little picken on a six string, not very good at it but I try every day and I have had some that clear jet fuel from the mason jars, so maybe with a little help I'll find a new home, sure would like to, wouldn't mind being able to take a spin in the winter months without getting salt all over the A.
You might want to check out Cocke county"Moonshine Capitol of the World" Newport-Cosby, there were several listings on Yahoo for $100-125K with homes and land.
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