Where to live?

[superbenk]

As a lake/river boater, I've been thinking a lot about where I'd like to end up someday when I can afford to get a house on the water. The question that comes up constantly is where would we want to end up? I grew up on Canandaigua lake in the Finger Lakes in NY & loved it there, but it gets cold up there. Right now we're near Philly & the Delaware, but again, the season is short & the Delaware doesn't really excite us much. We've looked at Maine, but again, short season. What are the best places to live on the water in this country? Ideally it'd be a place where we could access dining on the water & maybe holiday fireworks. It'd be nice if it were fresh water. It'd be nice if the season was longer but not have insane humidity or bugs. Any ideas? Any unexpected/secret locations that maybe we haven't thought about?

 

[redneck joe]

tennessee



rj

 

[southkogs]

Joe beat me to it ... Look at the Tennessee River particularly. You can be close to Chattanooga, Nashville or Knoxville and still have some nice boating.

 

[superbenk]

Reminded me of a couple other "requirements"... Wife wants the convenience of civilization, but we also both want some property & space to ourselves (ie, not be right on top of neighbors - maybe have a few acres of land). We prefer living more rural but not be far from some kind of town life (not city). We're not wealthy so cost of living would have to be reasonable. We'd want to be right on the water with our own dock/waterfront. Tennessee has crossed my mind, but I'm not that familiar. How is it with storms & tornados?

 

[redneck joe]

we get storms/tornadoes but less than when I lived in MO but we can boat year round, if you like some cold otherwise 8-9 months is comfortable for me.

TN has no state income tax if you are still working. AL has good tax rates (none?) for retirees.


TN has lots of TVA lakes and as southkogs said the TN river is dammed up into lakes everywhere.. I live in Manchester TN about an hour south of Nashville and there are two lakes very close that have waterfront, Tim's Ford and Normandy but you will have neighbors. Tims has two towns (not cities - Winchester, Estill springs) all around it. For less neighbors, the TN river down by Chattanooga up to Knoxville. Those two cities are about 2 hours apart if I remember correctly.

AL has the TN river in Lake Guntersville - we had a big boat moored there for five years. Great place, good people and good river with more coves than most lakes on the TN river. Will have fairly close neighbors but both Guntersville (small town) and next up Albertville (small but bigger) have pretty much everything one could need.


That is what I have experience with.


rj

 

[southkogs]

... How is it with storms & tornados?

My first week in Nashville, the Admiral and I experienced our first SE Thunderstorm. I was a new definition of "thunderstorm" for us, and we thought, "where the heck have we moved to?!?!?" Now, we sit on the front porch and watch 'em roll in

More common than up North, but nothing to be afraid of.

If you wanna' take a trip down here sometime Ben, send me a PM and I can give ya' some pointers. I'd be glad to hook up with you here in Nashville if you come down. I haven't personally boated all over the state, but I'm familiar with much of it from Nashville to Knoxville.

 

[redneck joe]

and I've got the south end of the state covered for you...

 

[jc55]

This is a good post. I live 25 minutes west of the Ohio River in farm country and love the river...I think, over open water. However, there are zero amenities. No fuel, dining, some element of shadiness, etc, etc. I do like the freedom of no fees, low taxes, no enforced rules, hardly any cops, ever changing conditions and being able to explore.

I called on a boat in Tennessee once and it was in a retirement community marina. The owner was an incredible human being and talked with me for almost an hour about how great Tennessee was, how inexpensive, and how many like minded individuals have moved to that area to relax, hang out together, and enjoy day trips with so much to do. We went to Chattanooga once and loved it...Lived in Memphis for 6 months...did not love that.

I too, am getting an itch. As life goes on and people are burying themselves in homes they will never be able to move from, I find myself doing the opposite and wondering where I could land. I'm leaning towards salt water, but southern folk are way easier to be around. People make the difference sometimes.

 

[superbenk]

Southkargs & redneck, thanks! I see some conversations in our futures & maybe meeting up sometime! Seems like TN is a hands down winner so far. Surprised to see the unanimous feedback on that. Thanks for the good info, guys & keep it coming!

 

[nickcunn]

Ben, I live in the mountains of the corner of north west ga. I live 30 min from nickajack lake on tn and also lake Guntersville. I can actually have my boat in the water within the half hour of leaving the house. Yes we have a state taxes but also a lot cheaper living where we live and have access to Chattanooga, tn within 25 mins. All of nickajack lake cuts thru mountains and goes all the way thru Chattanooga. This is gods country. Yes we have thunder boomers and I love to watch them from the porch. If you need any thing or have questions please feel free to pm any of us.

 

[southkogs]

Southkargs & redneck, thanks! I see some conversations in our futures & maybe meeting up sometime! Seems like TN is a hands down winner so far. Surprised to see the unanimous feedback on that. Thanks for the good info, guys & keep it coming!

You bet! Y'all c'mon down I've been down here since 1997 and absolutely love this state. I probably can't say enough good about it.

Here are a few of the lakes you can look at: J Percy Priest & Old Hickory (Nashville), Kentucky Lake & Lake Barkley (Big Sandy, TN & Cadiz, KY), Normandy Lake (Manchester, TN), Tims Ford Lake (Tullahoma, TN), Nickajack Lake, Watts Bar Lake & Chickamauga Lake (all impounds of the TN River in the Chattanooga area), Center Hill Lake (Smithville/Sparta/Cookeville, TN), Dale Hollow Lake (Livingston, TN), Lake Cumberland (Somerset, KY), Norris Lake (Knoxville, TN) & Cherokee and Douglas Lake (Morristown, TN). Most of those lakes are impounds of one river or another. Big rivers like the Cumberland, Caney Fork, and the Tennessee have a lot of opportunity too.

^^^^ All of that, and we haven't even started banging the great roads, growing economy and low cost of living gongs either

 

[aspeck]

My bro has a place on Lake Herrington in Kentucky. Loves it. Leaves the boat in year round. Very rural, but Danville and Lexington are close by. Deep lake, narrow, most places have steps, or even ladders to get to their docks, but not very crowded. Worst thing is water level fluctuation. Can vary 2-3 feet per day with a 25 foot range. Docks are on cables or rail systems. It is 80 feet deep off the end of my brothers 35 foot dock! Property and cost of living are fairly low. We almost bought a Marina that was for sale last year there ... 50 camp sites, 100 docks, 10 or so cabins, store, restaurant/snack bar, island and mainland, over 50 acres. It went for less than $750,000 I believe. I just didn't want to relocate ...

 

[redneck joe]

You bet! Y'all c'mon down I've been down here since 1997 and absolutely love this state. I probably can't say enough good about it.

Here are a few of the lakes you can look at: J Percy Priest & Old Hickory (Nashville), Kentucky Lake & Lake Barkley (Big Sandy, TN & Cadiz, KY), Normandy Lake (Manchester, TN), Tims Ford Lake (Tullahoma, TN), Nickajack Lake, Watts Bar Lake & Chickamauga Lake (all impounds of the TN River in the Chattanooga area), Center Hill Lake (Smithville/Sparta/Cookeville, TN), Dale Hollow Lake (Livingston, TN), Lake Cumberland (Somerset, KY), Norris Lake (Knoxville, TN) & Cherokee and Douglas Lake (Morristown, TN). Most of those lakes are impounds of one river or another. Big rivers like the Cumberland, Caney Fork, and the Tennessee have a lot of opportunity too.

^^^^ All of that, and we haven't even started banging the great roads, growing economy and low cost of living gongs either

if I remember right when I moved here the difference between the metro Atlanta area and Manchester TN was about 36% less.

and small correction to the above Tims Ford is really around Winchester area not Tullahoma but thats only about a 10 mile diff.

 

[sam60]

Hi all, how active is commercial construction around Nashville?

 

[southkogs]

Hi all, how active is commercial construction around Nashville?

Hey Sam: It's not what it was in the past, but it's come through the recession and is growing. Depending on the area of Middle Tennessee, it's doing as well as or better than the rest of the country. Nashville/Davidson County is probably pretty mediocre. Rutherford, Wilson and Williamson Counties are all growing strong. I'm not sure about Chattanooga or Knoxville for sure, but all three economies are pretty solid.

 

[NYBo]

Get some long johns and go back to the Finger Lakes! Seneca or bust for me!

 

[superbenk]

Get some long johns and go back to the Finger Lakes! Seneca or bust for me!

No doubt they are beautiful! We'll be up there tomorrow on Canandaigua Lake! Can't wait. We go every year.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Hey, Ben:
My mother lives right in Canadaigua and I go up to see her a couple of times a year. I drive right past the lake And every time I muse about dragging the cuddy up there. But, a six hour drag for a weekend--no actually a couple of hours boating-- doesn't make economic sense and the pleasure level just is not there.

 

[superbenk]

Hey, Ben:
My mother lives right in Canadaigua and I go up to see her a couple of times a year. I drive right past the lake And every time I muse about dragging the cuddy up there. But, a six hour drag for a weekend--no actually a couple of hours boating-- doesn't make economic sense and the pleasure level just is not there.

Acampora, where are you at? It's about 6 hours for us too from north of Philly in Bucks county. I grew up on Canandaigua lake & we rent a cottage about 3 doors south of the place I grew up in so it's very literally like going home for me. It's a gorgeous lake but does get crowded on the weekends. Still it's big enough that even when crowded there's plenty of room.

 

[southkogs]

^^^ Looks pretty nice.