Well… that is a tough question to answer. Having never actually lived there… I can’t really say. It may be the greatest place on earth to visit, but a terrible place to live. Are they city people or country people? I hated Memphis, but that is me. If they like live entertainment, Nashville might be good. (And no… it isn’t all country, but actually a very nice scene for almost all genres). I know that I could never live there for an extended period of time, because I can barely stand the heat and humidity in PA. I would also mention to your parents that compared to NJ lots of states have a lower cost of living. I hear Virginia is a nice place to live. Don’t come to PA, it sucks here.

Maity’s right, a lot depends on your parents’ taste and habits. My suggestion is that they schedule some vacation time to go look over places they are considering for retirement.

There are lots of places “cheaper than NJ.” There are some parts of Tennessee that are quite lovely and others (with a very low cost of living, I might add) where you couldn’t PAY me to live. And only they can really decide what’s for them.

I too have only visited. I love driving through the hills of tennessee. The scenery is just gorgeous, but like the 2 before me, you couldn’t pay me to live there. I must have the sea. Why TN? Why not New England or the midwest?

Go to Tulsa. It’s relatively cheap, it’s gorgeous, there’s alot going on (almost always something fun to get into) and I tell ya, it’s my second home.

My sister moved to Seymour, TN from Ohio. She loves it. She has a BEAUTIFUL house right outside of Knoxville. The people are friendly and there is always stuff going on. I must warn of the heat (summers can get mighty stuffy…but that’s what the AC is for.)

PS, She’s been a TN resident for nearly four years now.

I’d recommend Knoxville out of all the cities in Tenn. The people are amazingly friendly, though the temp change between where they are now and Tenn might come as a bit of a shock to them.

There are a lot of nice areas to live in Tennessee. Here are some I’ve lived in (I consider an average home 3 BR in a nice area)...

North of Nashville..

Goodlettsville is a mid-size town that’s a mix of country and suburbs. There are some very nice areas and then there are some very rural, rundown areas. Average home would be in the $150,000-220,000 range.

Hendersonville is very suburban and more upscale. There is a lake on one side of the city and the difference between housing on the lake side and the other is a pretty big gap. Non lake side would be $150,000-200,000, lake side would be $400,000-1,000,000.

White House is small town and quaint. It’s convenient to G’ville and H’ville for shopping and it’s pretty close to the Kentucky border, so you can shop in KY which doesn’t have sales tax on food. Average home would be $140,000-200,000.

South of Nashville…

Franklin is a very historic town. It’s also pretty expensive. There are areas (downtown) that a small, older home costs twice what a new, larger home costs in another area. There are also some pretty rundown areas. If you go out of downtown, it’s still expensive, but you get more house for the money. Downtown would be in the $250,000-$500,000 range, outside of downtown is $300,000-$600,000 but a much bigger house.

Williamson County in general is pretty expensive. It has the best overall school system in the state and has historically been more affluent.

Spring Hill is a small town in Williamson County (actually half of it is, the other half is Maury County) that is right outside Franklin. It’s more affordable than Franklin and is a small town that is booming. The Saturn plant opened there 10-15 years ago and it is has been growing since. Houses are anywhere from $150,000 to $500,000.

If I were retiring and didn’t have to worry about getting to work everyday, I would move to the Smithville/Cookville area. It’s on Center Hill Lake which is just beautiful. It’s a very rural area that is just gorgeous. It’s about an hour and a half east of Nashville.

I am originally from Tennessee and have lived in both east and west TN.

I would not recommend Memphis as it has a higher cost of living, one of the highest crime rates in the Nation, tons of traffic, and isn’t reflective of what TN has to offer, because it is in the west part of the State, doesn’t reflect a friendly southern attitude—it is much more flat, on the Mississippi River (which is nasty!) but doesn’t offer any type of water activities, is humid, muggy, and an overall over-inflated city in many ways.

I would also not recommend Nashville, even though it has some of the rolling hills and beautiful scenery, due to the traffic problems and higher costs of housing and land. If they’re interested in Central TN, they should look in the northeast, northwest, or southeast areas outside of Nashville – at least 50-75 miles or more outside the city proper.

My suggestion would be east, specifically southeast, TN. Chattanooga and the surrounding areas are beautiful with mountains, valleys, rivers – close enough to “big-city-living” to get to major hospitals, shopping, etc., and with a reasonable sized airport (and within 1.5 hours driving distance to the Atlanta airport).

The cost of living is less in this area than in other parts of the State. Housing is very reasonable—the same house in east TN would cost approx. $150K – $200K more in Nashville and Memphis. And, you can get a very nice house with a decent lot for under $200K, if you aren’t looking for a huge house (for example: something like 3000+ s/f, or a lot of acreage).

The thing about Knoxville is that is IS a college town, so you have to take that into consideration. The University of TN @ Knoxville is the biggest thing about Knoxville—and, TN fans are . . . well . . . can be absolutely obnoxious at times.

There’s also the Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge areas that are actually in the mountains (housing costs are a little more there because it is a tourist area), but it is a beautiful area.

I hope this helps a little. As someone else suggested, perhaps they can plan a trip to the area and just take a look around. I would highly recommend visiting Chattanooga and the surrounding areas within a 50-75 mile radius, steering clear of Knoxville proper, but checking out some of the smaller towns that have easy access to I-75.

I also don’t recommend the Memphis area. The only good thing in Memphis is BBQ. I have lived in east Tennessee for the past 17 years and I love it. The mountains are beautiful and there is alot to do there. I live in a very small town just outside of Knoxville. Knoxville is really nice except for Saturdays during football season. If you need a hook up for a real estate agent around the Knoxville area feel free to email me bmonet174547@hotmail.com

Depending on what they are interested in I would break it down like this…

East TN (Knoxville, Bristol and Chattanooga) – rural & mountains
Middle TN (Nashville) – friendly metropolitan area
West TN (Memphis & Jackson) – rural & flat

Chattanooga is the smallest of the four major cities in TN, it’s growing so it has a buzz and an energy. It’s 1.5 hrs from Atlanta. It’s probably cheaper than the other major cities too. It’s a little backwards, maybe a little more redneck, not alot of outside influence.

Knoxville is right at the foot of the Smoky Mtns. It’s traffic is terrible, especially during football season. That area is the coolest of the any part of the state, more snow…nothing like NJ but more than the rest of us.

Nashville is THE center of TN, geographically, politically, socially, etc. There is more cultural stuff (museums, theater, art, music). It’s about equidistant from Knox, Mem, Chat & Louisville. It’s more expensive than the rest of TN but not by much.

Memphis, I don’t like. It feels dirty and angry. I know there are nice parts but I can’t say more. If your folks like Blues or gambling it is right on the Mississippi border and they have both Blues & gambling. It’s across the river from St. Louis too, about an hour or so, I think.

In general: People are friendly everywhere. Tennessee has high sales tax but no income tax. Each metropolis has miles of satellite towns where property is cheaper. The weather is moderate in the winter and hot and very humid in the summer. You can’t get around any of the major cities without a car. We all have bus systems but nothing that will get you more than 20 miles from downtown. Most of TN is pretty low on crime. We are having some problems with Meth but that tends to be in the lower income and rural areas.

I can’t think of anything else but if you have questions let me know.

I really like Gatlinburg, which is in the Smoky Mountains. From what I remember, it’s a bit touristy, but when you get more into the “nature” area the touristiness lets up. It’s really one of the most beautiful areas to drive through.
I’m guessing that housing there gets a bit pricey since it’s in the mountains and probably valuable land in a popular area. But it’s almost sure to be cheaper than most places in NJ, and it’s true that the people in TN are super-friendly. If there’s not a place they like in TN, North Carolina has some good places too.

p.s. i took that picture up there in tennessee!!

Ive lived here all my life, 45 miles northeast of Knoxville, Its just close enough to shop in either knoxville or pigeon forge…(same distance) and I would never dream of living any where else. They are building some condominiums on the lake near me….Cherokee Lake is 52 miles long and is absolutely beautiful. Living is cheap and people are amazingly friendly compared to other places ive been. Ive been as far as TX and Myrtle Beach…south ive been to Panama City….north ive been to Pontiac….right outside of Detroit….it was horrible…..Put it this way…People wave at you here…..even if they dont know you…..People in other places ive been flip you the finger….whether they know you or not. Trust me…...Anyone would be crazy not to check it out. Our town is Bean Station. Grainger County…..Tomatoe Capital of the World.

I’ve read some terrific responses on here. Most of them are fairly accurate and as a lifelong resident of Nashville I’m of course gonna say “Ya’ll come!” I love my hometown and my state. Someone like me that’s an old hippie road dog, I’ve traveled all around the country from sea to shining sea yet I always end up right back here in the green hillsides and mountains of Tennessee.

Memphis is a rough town- actually there’s a place on I-40 west about 20 miles outside of town where I swear to Goddess you can SMELL the city before you ever get there. It’s filthy, it’s dangerous and when you go to Graceland you’ll find out that Elvis’s home is in a neighborhood you wouldn’t want to venture into at night. That sound is just Elvis spinning in his tomb.

Knoxville of course where the Great Smoky Mountains are is surely one of the most beautiful places on earth. I can’t really speak about the living up there, but every time I’ve visited the peeps are just as friendly and down home as they are here in the ‘ville. Plus, you might run into Dolly Parton up yonder at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge.

As for my beloved Nashvegas, this is it folks. The best kept secret city in America. Several times we’ve been voted the friendliest city. Someone else suggested looking in the areas outside of Nashville proper for better deals on houses and such. This is good advice especially since Metro Nashville encompasses a huge area. There’s all types of housing in all price ranges here, and the cost of living isn’t bad. If you’re bored here , well you’re just not paying attention. There’s tons of music and believe it or not most of it is NOT country. If you like to listen to live music, dine out, go to state parks and lakes, enjoy anything outdoors, then Tennessee is the place to be.

I live in Murfreesboro,TN for 5 years. It is a college town and is growing rapidly. They can’t keep up with all the people. They are building more schools just to keep up. Now I live in Smyrna, TN which is only about a 20 minute drive to MTSU campus. Smyrna is a nice town and is growing pretty well. Nissan plant is here and within a year the plant from CA is moving here.

For my tastes I don’t recommend moving to cloe to the BIG cities. Living about an hour away is good for me. Not too close but not too far. I love the Smokies when I visited the eastern side a few years back. I would think living there would be a bit more expensive then living in Middle TN. You can find alot of small towns with lot of acres.

Tip: Visit the small towns before setting up camp!

Us Tenneesseans are proud of our area….southern middle of the state is a good place to retire….lots of lakes, fishing, beauty. Everywhere is near a major metro area if you need a dose of culture or medical help. TN is home of Vanderbilt University/Hospital and the others compete well. East has beautiful mountains & some winter snow. Southern middle rarely sees snow & has mild temperatures in the winter but gets kinda hot in the summer (hence fondness for lakes).And we’re half-way between FL & New England!

The only areas I would NOT recoment is the memphis area, and the the immediate Knoxville area. Memphis because of crime and whatnot (though it’s a lovely place to visit) Knoxville, because every time I’ve been, it has felt sort of dirty/run down down around the UT campus mostly.

I have lived in Lebanon and Murfreesboro, both about 30 min from Nashville, and both nice cities. Lebanon is smallish, but has all the major amenities such as several grocery stores (wal-mart, krogers, and smaller) a sufficient number of restaurants, hotels, etc, but not too much more. Murfreesbor is more city living, they have multiple city parks, a 5 mile greenway trial that connects a few, a ton of restaurants (it’s a college town, so there is a lot of entreprenuership there) a smallish mall, and tons of specialty shops like bath junky, the cookie store, hobbytown, etc. They also have a pretty strong live music scene, with 5 major bars that have shows at least 3 nights a week (the boro, wallstreet, blueboro, and liquid smoke, and the buganut pig)

both cities are as I said close to nashville, but also within day trip distance to nice state parks (burgess and fall creek falls) and recreation areas, and lakes. And due to the fact that nashville sits on the intersection of 3 major interstates, it’s very easy to travel about the region quickly (N,S,E,W), to places like the smokey mountains, chattanooga, atlanta, louisville, memphis, etc.