Shifting towards looking at the Crossville/Cookville area

[Guest]

So since WELL before Covid, and BLM, and AntiFa, and liberal big city flight, I (we), have been planning to move back to the Sevier County area, or maybe a county next to it, but since Covid struck, we're screwed, doesn't matter that we "wanted" to move back to (my) home first, we simply can not afford to compete with overpaid liberal SOBs that can buy off Zillow, actual sight unseen, and be rich enough to fix any oversights once they get there and take possession. Besides that, Sevierville is sooo overpopulated with "tourons" , there's no way I'd move back here now, holy, cow, what a goat-rope!

We've found a nice realtor in the Cookville/Crossville area, and after tooling around that neck of TN, I do think I could live there without difficulty.

Plenty of stuff to do, medical infrastructure, shopping, etc...

I'd really like feedback from dwellers of that area, about the shooting scene, gun shops, demographics (yes, I said that out loud), liberal scum population density (so far, looks very low!)

Any thing you can add, I just want to find a place where I am surrounded by like minded thinkers (SCREW DIVERSITY, all diversity ever did was DIVIDE America and Americans, it's a load of bull!

 

 

Edited August 3, 2021 by OMCHamlin

[MacGyver]

You didn’t ask - but I might square away the I/we thing before I contemplated making any major life decisions.

The cash offers from corporate buyers isn’t limited to the big cities.  It’s increasingly everywhere.  There’s not a lot of kicking the tires in this market. You’ve really got to be ready to move. 

[KahrMan]

@MrsMonkeyMan2500 want to weigh in?

[Raoul]

Good luck with your search. VA sure isn't what it used to be.

[No_0ne]

4 hours ago, MacGyver said:

You didn’t ask - but I might square away the I/we thing before I contemplated making any major life decisions

True.  I suspect taking on a new house, paid for or not, right before a divorce is not a good move for either your stress levels or finances ...

[ReeferMac]

My FIL moved from FLA to Crossville to be nearer his daughter. It seems nice there, like you mentioned, modicum of infrastructure. I'm just down the escarpment, but our temps are consistently 5-10 deg warmer than him (old sail boater, always on about the weather). He will get an inch or two of snow when we get rain. Demographics are as they appear. Meth-heads are the problem children, but tweakers are pretty easy to spot. Jobs would be the concern, just not densely populated.

Cookeville is closer to Nashville, figuratively and literally. 

[gregintenn]

I can’t give much info on Crossville except it seems to be some sort of retirement community and the temperature there is usually cooler than anywhere else in the mid state.

I have a kid about to graduate college in Cookeville. He loves it there. It is a small town that is just big enough to offer most anything you’d want. Nashville and Knoxville are both reasonable drives from there.

The real estate market is red hot in both areas right now. Good luck!

[DennisG]

The Down Zero shooting range is south of Cookville near Spencer, TN. They have a 1,000 yard rifle range, pistol bays, sporting clays, monthly matches for IDPA, Steel, and more.

https://deadzeroshooting.com

[Quavodus]

19 hours ago, Raoul said:

Good luck with your search. VA sure isn't what it used to be.

It use to be for lovers. 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Quavodus

[Jackalope]

Crossville is a decent community.  There are several gun shops, and multiple pawn shops wihch carry guns.  There's one indoor range and several outdoor ranges.  The indoor range is clean and rarely busy.  I haven't used the indoor range since the Chinese virus b.s., and we mostly shoot on our own outdoor range on our property.  In my immediate area, it's not unusual to hear gun shots in the evening, in fact I heard some shots a short while ago (we've been having some issues with some coyotes and a bobcat bothering our poultry, but it wasn't me this time).

     Demographically, it's mostly Caucasians, there's a couple streets of darker complexioned folks located towards the western portion of town, just south of 70N.  The majority of folks here are conservative, and a lot of them are retired military, LEO's, and other government employees. 

        There are three major housing developments, Fairfield Glade, Lake Tansi, and Cumberland Cove and all three have H.O.A.'s.  The rest of the area is rural.  Most crime in the rural areas is crime against another family member, so everyone has a pretty good idea who the usual suspect is going to be.

        We like it in Crossville, as the folks are friendly and welcoming.  The medical facilities are good, for both humans and animals.  There's a good selection of restaurants and grocery stores.  Crossville is definitely more conservative than Cookeville, and when I visit Cookeville I feel like I'm entering a suburb of Seattle.

       Let me know if you have any specific questions about Crossville and I'll try to answer them.

 

 

[Guest]

On 4/23/2021 at 4:23 PM, Quavodus said:

It use to be for lovers. 

Apparently, it's become for "Lovers of the Causes of the Left...", citizen disarmament, critical race theory and third trimester abortion...

 

Jackalope, that's what I'm trying to do, find a place not in town/city limits, so's I can shoot in my own back yard, that's a tough nut to crack right now.  I was taken with both Crossville & Cookville, but I did see the more "woke" population in Cookville, for sure.

Hey thanks for all that replied, I can use everything folks have posted. (Edit 8-3-21) I can say it's a "we" thing, I was born alone, but it looks like one of us will have to feed and change diapers on the other someday, till one of us croaks, which is cool.  And we'll always have a scruffy, ill-mannered dog of some sort, because you can count on them, too!

 

Edited August 3, 2021 by OMCHamlin

[ReeferMac]

Dogs are by far the better choice, IMO.

[Darrell]

My wife and I decided to move to TN after I retired and after we spent a week driving around the eastern part of the state. I came back a month after that trip and looked at dozens of properties for sale before finding 20 acres in Crab Orchard, just east of Crossville. Both of us feel like we found "home." The neighbors are friendly but not intrusive. There's plenty of shopping in the area to satisfy the boss. And property prices were still reasonable, but are going up FAST.

A couple of negatives. I pick up a kitchen-sized bag of trash from my 1000 feet of road front once a week during the summer months, half that much in winter. It really ticks me off. And it's hard to impossible to find anyone to do any kind of work out here, you better be equipped and willing to do it yourownself. I was surprised to find out how rainy and windy it is here (having come from WA), but if you're already in TN that won' be a surprise for you. At any rate, my wife and I could NOT be happier than we are in the Crossville area.

I'm retired, so I haven't paid serious attention to the job market, but I notice that an awful lot of older folks are still working around here. I think an ambitious young man with some decent skills in most any area could do well here. 

Edited April 24, 2021 by Darrell

[Quavodus]

18 hours ago, OMCHamlin said:

Apparently, it's become for "Lovers of the Causes of the Left...", citizen disarmament, critical race theory and third trimester abortion...

 

Jackalope, that's what I'm trying to do, find a place not in town/city limits, so's I can shoot in my own back yard, that's a tough nut to crack right now.  I was taken with both Crossville & Cookville, but I did see the more "woke" population in Cookville, for sure.

Hey thanks for all that replied, I can use everything folks have posted. I do hope it's a "we" thing, but I was born alone, and mayhaps die the same (I think it boils down to me being hard to live with, not the other), at least as far as folk go, I'll have a scruffy, ill-mannered dog of some sort, because you can count on them (at least at chow time...)

 

There's some Woke idiots in Cookeville but, they know their place. 

[Guest]

So, let's just suppose it's "us" going out there, and we're still thinking Crossville/Cookville/in-between/just east, etc..., where does a fella drive to catch the best gun shows in the area, are there any gun clubs that do any sort of matches, IDPA, plates, even...Bullseye?

Are most on wells/septic, city/septic or city/sewer? How do wells tend to run out there, probably varies a good bit? Houses we've looked in that have basements sure seem dry, I mean really dry, gosh, what a pure joy to have a reloading room/bench/safe room down there, and the really stout "coffee table" on my back deck has these three little divots in a triangular pattern where some sort of rest must sit occasionally...

 

[ReeferMac]

I have well and city water, both are fine. City plumbed to the house. Septic only where I am out in the country, but sewer "in-town" most places.

On the West side of Knox Oak Ridge Sportsman Assoc (ORSA) has by far the best range, and they host all kinds of competitions. Up there on the plateau they have clubs, but honestly, I think ORSA is one of the nicest ones in TN, possibly the SouthEast. It would be a hike to commute, but you could train locally and compete there. 

I'd suggest 10-20 acres a good 15 minutes outside "town". Don't sweat the infrastructure issues, septic systems can always be pumped.

[Jackalope]

In the Crossville/Cumberland County area most folks are on city water, though we have a spring we could tap into, if needed, and the house was on a well, which I need to find.  I'm not sure how far the sewer system goes, as we're on a septic system.  Our basement is dry here, but a lot of homes don't have basements.

    Crossville has an annual gun show, and Cookeville has a gun show that I believe happens a couple of times a year.  Sparta also usually has an annual gun show.  The Cookeville show is relatively small.  If I want to go to a large show I usually go to one of the Knoxville shows, about an hour away.  No idea about matches and competitions.  

 

Edited April 26, 2021 by Jackalope
Poor grammar

[Guest]

Well, we still want to get out to that area and look again. We're thinking maybe next month, early in the month. Gal I've been working with out that way says let her know when we want to come out, but stuff has been flying off of the listings. We'll try it again, but I don't like bidding on an already overvalued house, and I won't unless it gives me darn near all of what I want in a house/land combo. I just crossed 59 1/2, so that cracks open access to some down payment cash and the market is strong out here on the shore in the "new benevolent democratic people's commonwealth of "best" Virginia".

Folks from 'Jersey consider the shore an excellent place to retire I guess... If you didn't know better, you'd swear Chincoteague Island was a part of New Jersey, not Virginia.

 

Edited June 11, 2021 by OMCHamlin

[Moped]

If you don't want to buy an overpriced house or land, Tennessee might not be for you, honestly.  Everything is high as a cats back, no matter where you are.  Even in the hinterlands of Scott, Fentress and Pickett Counties, prices are high, as lot of outside folk are buying up land for vacation homes and retreats. 

And there is nothing to rent either.  I've never seen anything like it in my 59 years.  Now is just not the time to buy a home here.  Even modular homes are backlogged by several months.

[Guest]

You're probably right, which is a drag. A few acres up a holler and a rancher with a pole barn was going to be our slice of Heaven. Wifey retired 1 Feb of last year, Had we known what was going to happen, we could have turned up the fire and got down there and bought and be all moved in by now, but a little delay, a few lockdowns and .... here we are...

Things are cyclic sometimes, and maybe it will cool enough to make looking again worthwhile in a few years. Or not?

[mikegideon]

On 4/23/2021 at 3:23 PM, Quavodus said:

It use to be for lovers. 

Ain't as much loving with all the confusion about which parts go where.

[OLDNEWBIE]

On 6/11/2021 at 8:12 AM, OMCHamlin said:

You're probably right, which is a drag. A few acres up a holler and a rancher with a pole barn was going to be our slice of Heaven. Wifey retired 1 Feb of last year, Had we known what was going to happen, we could have turned up the fire and got down there and bought and be all moved in by now, but a little delay, a few lockdowns and .... here we are...

Things are cyclic sometimes, and maybe it will cool enough to make looking again worthwhile in a few years. Or not?

As a Cookeville Realtor myself, my guess is prices stabilize soon but no significant drop as inventory is and was low even before the virus and the shortages of labor and materials.

People are flocking here to escape and...All the mortgages are so called "good" mortgages as well unlike 2008. So not seeing a crash with all the forclosures etc.

Saying that look who's running the Country. Never know what he's going to cause to happen.

 

[Guest]

 

On 4/22/2021 at 10:01 PM, No_0ne said:

True.  I suspect taking on a new house, paid for or not, right before a divorce is not a good move for either your stress levels or finances ...

Hahaha... Yeah, I suspect you're right, good thing we woke our butts up and figured we've hung around together for too long to quit now...

On 6/11/2021 at 7:26 AM, Moped said:

If you don't want to buy an overpriced house or land, Tennessee might not be for you, honestly.  Everything is high as a cats back, no matter where you are.  Even in the hinterlands of Scott, Fentress and Pickett Counties, prices are high, as lot of outside folk are buying up land for vacation homes and retreats.

Or, if you want to live in Tennessee, in other words, be prepared to pay for that right now. And you're right.

And we did. It looks like we've found a house on 5 partially wooded, mostly level acres. Just like the house I'm sitting in right now, we both knew that this was the one when we had walked 1/2 way through. It's county zoned agricultural, not in a sub division, enough practical land features to be able to add a berm and most likely get a 100 yard range, 50 for sure, 25 as it sits right now. Since I probably will need a place to sleep between range sessions, the house is pretty nice too!

Here in Virginia is the longest of any place I've lived, since I grew up an Army (civil service) brat, and went on to became a squid for 23+ years, I've moved a lot.  No, A LOT. I am NOT looking forward to this move, but that crap ain't gonna pack itself, nor load itself, nor drive it's butt 12 hours and unload either, so it's us. I'm just glad it's us...

And trust me on this, I'll not bring no "east coast liberal commie" ideas west with me...

 

[Moped]

1 hour ago, OMCHamlin said:

 

Hahaha... Yeah, I suspect you're right, good thing we woke our butts up and figured we've hung around together for too long to quit now...

Or, if you want to live in Tennessee, in other words, be prepared to pay for that right now. And you're right.

And we did. It looks like we've found a house on 5 partially wooded, mostly level acres. Just like the house I'm sitting in right now, we both knew that this was the one when we had walked 1/2 way through. It's county zoned agricultural, not in a sub division, enough practical land features to be able to add a berm and most likely get a 100 yard range, 50 for sure, 25 as it sits right now. Since I probably will need a place to sleep between range sessions, the house is pretty nice too!

Here in Virginia is the longest of any place I've lived, since I grew up an Army (civil service) brat, and went on to became a squid for 23+ years, I've moved a lot.  No, A LOT. I am NOT looking forward to this move, but that crap ain't gonna pack itself, nor load itself, nor drive it's butt 12 hours and unload either, so it's us. I'm just glad it's us...

And trust me on this, I'll not bring no "east coast liberal commie" ideas west with me...

 

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Where did you end up buying?

[user1776]

On 4/24/2021 at 6:24 AM, Darrell said:

My wife and I decided to move to TN after I retired and after we spent a week driving around the eastern part of the state. I came back a month after that trip and looked at dozens of properties for sale before finding 20 acres in Crab Orchard, just east of Crossville. Both of us feel like we found "home." The neighbors are friendly but not intrusive. There's plenty of shopping in the area to satisfy the boss. And property prices were still reasonable, but are going up FAST.

A couple of negatives. I pick up a kitchen-sized bag of trash from my 1000 feet of road front once a week during the summer months, half that much in winter. It really ticks me off. And it's hard to impossible to find anyone to do any kind of work out here, you better be equipped and willing to do it yourownself. I was surprised to find out how rainy and windy it is here (having come from WA), but if you're already in TN that won' be a surprise for you. At any rate, my wife and I could NOT be happier than we are in the Crossville area.

I'm retired, so I haven't paid serious attention to the job market, but I notice that an awful lot of older folks are still working around here. I think an ambitious young man with some decent skills in most any area could do well here. 

I have some interest in moving further out of Nashville (right now I'm as far south as you can get... right on the border of Nolensville), and that comment I bolded struck me as something I've never considered about more rural living. 

Do you mean it's difficult to find a handyman, or a plumber, or someone to do some general contracting in and around the house? I grew up in the suburbs, have lived a fair number of years in larger metros than Nashville, and I have always taken it for granted that I can find multiple qualified professionals for anything I might need done and have a choice on who to work with. Is that not the case living out in Cookeville/Crossville area?

Edited August 3, 2021 by user1716