I've had it with winters...looking at TN

[Wolf]

I'm done with Wisconsin...after 8 years of telling myself that its not so bad...it is. And my family agrees with me, so...we are looking at Tennessee. Mainly Knoxville and east, within 45 minutes or so as I need an airport near by to do my job.
We'll need decent schools...kids are 11 and 9. My wife is a teacher...hope she can get a job there at some point.

Any advice/info?

Also, I've ridden in TN quite a bit, but that was years ago. They had a riding club - TN volunteer MC club - or something to that nature...are you guys still around?

I intend to complete this by the end of this summer/early fall.

 

[Cryptonik]

Riding in TN

I live in knoxville. It's about the perfect place to live if you have already lived in an inclement area like Wisconsin. I lived in New Hampshire for 15 years and then moved down here to TN with my family. I enjoy not having bugs to swat in the summers and only having 3.5 seasons instead of 5 (have to include mud season up north :D). There is a HUGE amount of places to ride here. First off you have Brimstone. I believe right now its 150k acres to ride on. That butts up to Royal Blue, which is over 300k acres to ride on. Then if you go want you can ride from Royal Blue to WindRock (about 60+ miles) and ride all of Coal Creek which is another 175k+ acres of riding. All trails are 4wheeler/2smoke friendly in these areas. If you have a Dual Sport there is a lot more trails/fireroads to play on as well. . Man, this place is a mecca of offroading bliss. If you wanna come ride a lot, Knoxville is the epicenter for this. Anyways, that's my .02 :D

 

[trailqueen]

Yeah, if you're not into snowmobiling or skiing the winters can seem pretty long. I've lived in NY all my life but I love the winters! Good luck with your house search.

 

[Rooster]

I hear you Wolf. I've wanted to move south for most of my life, I hate the cold. We have looked into moving to S. Carolina, the weather is awesome, and snowfall is actually appreciated when (however seldom) it happens. Best of luck, let us know where you "land" when you get there.

Roost

 

[ysr89]

I wish I could get out of NH. We've had snow on the ground since early November. A total of 112" so far this year, and it will probably continue for a bit. No where to ride up here anymore, either. Cryptonik, do you remember where you used to ride? I know of only one place in the state, its Rivers Edge Campground and ATV in Canaan.

 

[mideastrider]

I don't live in TN. I live about 130 miles from knoxville in NC. But I have some friends that live in the knoxville area. We go up every chance we get to spend the weekend and ride. There is lots and lots of riding in that area. If I were going to move knoxville area would be high on my list.

 

[Patman]

Sitting outside by the pool with a cool breeze from the outdoor ceiling fans, the warm sun on my face, on Christmas day... yeah now THAT is just far enough south for me. Also happens to be most every day too :)

 

[Wolf]

I've ridden Coal Creek and Windrock, really enjoyed that.
How about living in Maryville? Seems close to where I want to be and I've heard good things...any thoughts on that?

 

[Cryptonik]

Yep. Maryville (pronounced Mar-ville) is another great place to live. It's a little farther out so it'll take about another 30-45 min to get to most of those places that I've already described. If you're a country boy, Maryville is a GREAT compromise between being close to the city (downtown Maryville is pretty small, BUT its growing very fast) and being out where you can raise a little h e l l.

I used to live up in North Conway/Jackson area of NH. 'bout 30 mins from the base of Mt. Washington. If you can't find trails to ride up near there then you are very blind. I can remember running up and down Birch Mt. Most of the trails that I would ride on may or may not have been legal, but I was very young (11-15 when riding up there) so I really have forgotten most of the places to ride. I remember riding up and down the railways to and from Kennett High (I went to Jr. High there). Man, I certainly do miss living there though. Mostly its the nostalgia of the place, but the people there were nice.

 

[XRpredator]

. . . We have looked into moving to S. Carolina, the weather is awesome . . .

don't thems gots hurricanes? :whoa:

 

[CJG]

I live in East TN as well(Tri-Cities area). Good riding in the Knoxville area, some decent places out this way too. Maryville is nice, been there many times. They used to have a really good KTM shop out there, I haven't been in a while though. It's also really close to the airport. Oak Ridge is pretty nice too, that's where Coal Creek is. You really don't have to go far from Knoxville in any direction to be in the country. The only problem with the Knoxville area is the traffic. I-40 is under constant construction, so it can be a pain sometimes.

Good luck in your search, if you have any questions about the area I'd be glad to help as much as I can. I travel all over the southeast for work(retail construction). Name a place and I've probably either been there or been near there.

 

[Coop]

I agree. I recently started back to school for an Engineering degree after two back surgeries. I already told my wife in 3 years when I graduate (going through the summers) I am not looking just in PA and she is fine with that. Years ago I had a job offer in Austin from a member here and I couldn't convince her to move, but she is finally ready. The cold really bothers my back now too.

 

[Wolf]

Thanks guys. Appreciate the tips.
Traffic won't be a big deal to me as I will work out of my home office.
Oak Ridge is definitely on my list.

 

[XRpredator]

Oak Ridge is definitely on my list.

I've heard of some boys from there.

 

[thorman75]

You can always put more on but cant always take enough off. I hate the heat, especially sweltering humid heat. If you need an airport take a look at Indy, my son in law is a Cpt@Mesaba I drop him off quite a bit, easy in/out nothing like say Ohare.

 

[SpDyKen]

I moved from Iowa to Charlottesville, VA., ('83-90) then to the far north Atlanta suburbs.

I'm back 'home' regularly, so I still get to clear plenty of snow.

One thing nice about flying out of the ATL. airport is that you can get almost anywhere on a non-stop flight.

The Atlanta area is a great place to make a living, live & ride!

I've been to Marysville, Tn. once. It seemed plenty nice!

Focus on the schools, though. That is where you might find things somewhat inferior to where you are at. I never would have believed you 20 years ago, if you had told me I'd have my kids in private school. Worth every penny, though, IMHO.

Good luck! Ken

 

[Wolf]

I am pretty sure (95%) that East Tennessee is it for us.
We are picking based on the school system, mostly. I have also decided that as long as I am within 1 hour or so of an airport, that's acceptable. I am now waiting to hear from a realtor, set up some houses and go and check them out.
Once that is done...hopefully within a month, I will try to sell our house here (probably the trickiest part right now).
I have 2 ways of completing this move after the sale of our current house:

1 buy a new house there if we find the right thing
2 rent something and take the pressure off to find something right away.

I'll get my snow fix...no worries. We have family in Michigan, and I have plenty of firends out west from my "ski bum" days ;)...and of course we could visit oldguy...if he's not too busy shoveling snow.

 

[SpDyKen]

Moves can be tough.

I went with your option #1 when I moved to GA.

My wife & I have discussed several times in the last 17 years that we would have been a lot better off now if we had chosen to follow your option #2.

Getting to know the area first gives you a lot of knowledge that can be helpful when making a major real estate decision.

You'll be happy either way, I expect.

 

[Cryptonik]

Pick option #2, but I'll almost guarantee you'll fall in love with east tn. There is a cornucopia of places to live here with most of them in the country. Willing to be ~1hr away from the airport opens you up to quite a bit more options than just Maryville and Knoxville or OR. Personally, I'd stay away from OR. The farther you can be from that nuclear reactor the better. Plus it's still an active military weapons creation facility and that can surely never add up to a good thing with terrorists. TBH, I'd probably move more towards Atlanta than Knoxville. Weather there is just a tad better than here. Knoxville is in a valley though so you do have the mountains to block most of the bad weather from coming into your life. If you do move on down here, what is the price range of houses you are looking at?

 

[Tennessee Thumper]

I am pretty sure (95%) that East Tennessee is it for us.
We are picking based on the school system, mostly.

Hey Wolf,

I actually live pretty close to the Nashville area,but have traveled to Alcoa,Maryville,and Knoxville many times.

From what I hear (take it for what its worth) the Maryville city schools,and William Blount are all good schools,about the only county in Tennessee that is ranked better as far as schools go is Williamson County,which has a lot of wealthy people in it from the music industry,Titans,Predators,and the Nissan HQ's.Anyway,Maryville is a very nice town and if I had to move it would be on my short list that's for sure.Oh yeah, if you have son's that play football you'll really like Maryville because they have a national powerhouse program.

I wish you the best on your move.

 

[Wolf]

Thanks guys. Much appreciated. I am waiting to hear from a realtor and get some ideas. Haven't determined a price range quite yet. When we move we will be a single income family (at least temporaily until my wife gets another teaching job), so we'll have to make some concessions. That's ok though.
Right on on the football program...Hunter lives for it.

 

[Shaw520]

Dont know what your missing

Watertown, NY had 147" in two weeks, :laugh: