Thoughts on eastern Tennessee

[CrazyDave]

Good evening, I’ve been a lurker on here a while and definitely love the input you all have. Im from the White Mountains of Arizona, been here my whole life except 10 years in the military. I’m unfortunately looking at leaving this area as work opportunities are slim. I currently have an opportunity to move to East Tennessee and wanted see if I can get some opinions on that side of the state as far as life and hunting goes. Thank you all for your time.

 

[isItFallYet]

East TN is the best part of TN, even though it is growing rapidly. The hunting is not amazing but there are public lands to hunt. Fly fishing is really good, if you’re into that. The Cherokee Natl Forest offers a lot of land to hunt, but it’s definitely challenging.

 

[loganwayne]

i guess how east Tennessee are you going? Going 30-40 miles can make a big difference in the town community. Got friends that live in kingsport, Erwin, and Morristown. I live in NC about 20 miles from the Tennessee line.
It is considerably hotter than this side of the mountains in NC.

we have looked at moving to Tennessee on the I-26 route up to about Unicoi as i could still commute to work and it be about the same time from where we live now off I-40. I like the area around Roan mountain as well but pretty rural.

 

[Pickettpuncher]

If you like mountains, and low populations it can be fun. As said, 30-40 miles can make a huge difference. Don’t let our liberal limits and seasons make you think there’s an abundance.

 

[wrexstex]

I think the low cost of living relative to other US states is one of the chief reasons people decide to move to Tennessee. The US Cost of Living Index is calculated based on how much money it would take to live in a particular state compared to another and uses criteria such as median costs for housing, medical care, groceries, schooling, and more.

 

[bowhuntercoop]

I have sooooo many federal inmates in custody from eastern tn for meth and fentanyl charges it’s ubsurd. Make sure to do your homework on the town and area. To say some are rough are putting it nicely.

That’s said it’s some of the prettiest country on the east coast. Decent deer hunting, awesome trout fishing and good bear hunting.

 

[Drenalin]

Nope nope nope. If you're talkin east of Knoxville, everyone here wants to rape your pets and murder your wife. And drugs are handed out to every person with a pulse, children included. We're a wretched people and we're full up.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Pretty area. Depending on the town it can feel pretty small. Chattanooga is a great town. My top in TN. Knoxville has its charms. You won’t have a hard time finding meth. Good outdopor access along the NC line. Property taxes are gonna be higher but you don’t have state tax.

if you miss Arizona, you could just stick your head in an oven.

 

[KHNC]

Bass fishing is great in E TN. And that lasts a lot longer than hunting. But there are some good deer on private land in E TN around the kingsport area and the Holston river. I live in Hendersonville NC. I make the trip over several times a year to fish. Get you enough land an you will have some great deer and turkey, especially if its on the river.

 

[Kurts86]

You are going the wrong direction moving from AZ to TN.

Tennessee is a low tax state and the services reflect that. If you have school aged kids the public schools are pretty poor. The cost of living in TN is rising very quickly in any area that is somewhat desirable.

East TN means different things to different people. To some people that means Knoxville/ Chattanooga and to others that means 10 miles from the NC border. As people have mentioned they are very different places.

The hunting is strictly a C+ at best. East TN as mentioned has lots of room to roam but low game densities. It’s thick and 99% forested so finding game is a lot different than tripod mounting some 15x’s in AZ. It takes a lot of time and woodsmanship to be successful in Cherokee or Big South Fork.

Fishing is probably the best hunting related outdoor activity in TN. You can chase about any species nearly year round.

 

[JBrew]

You might check out tndeer.com
You'll probably get a better idea of hunting/outdoor opportunities. I'm in the mid western part of the state and wouldn't care to move East, but don't mind visiting, for sure.

 

[Poser]

I lived in both West TN and Middle TN, but not in East TN. However, I have spent a fair amount of time throughout East TN.

As others said, the deer hunting out East lacks the densities of West and Middle TN. There are a lot of bears and some hogs, but bother are difficult to hunt in the thick timber. Turkey hunting in East is good, not as good as Middle TN, though. Lots of public land to roam, but it’s difficult to get off trail as it’s so thick.

Knoxville is very annoyingly a basic SEC college town. TriCities area has some grit and culture but some shady folks, too.

Some of the towns, take rogersville for example, seem quaint, but spend 24 hours there and you quickly realize how fast they roll the sidewalks up come dark -nothing going on. Chattanooga is a cool place, good balance of things to do, outdoor activities, nightlife, airport access, close to large cities, etc, but it’s too much of a city for some folks.

High sales tax in TN.

Run of the gambit from gated communities and HOA fees to run down shacks and everything in between. Some good people, some awful people.

Probably doesn’t matter, but as the possibility of WW3 looms, Oak Ridge area and Y-12 are alleged to be primary nuclear strike targets.

 

[Wallace]

I'm in western NC, if I get in my truck right now I can be in TN in about 12 minutes, I own a duplex in East TN as well.

I would not move here for the hunting. I kill deer and catch fish around here, but my serious hunting takes place in other areas of the US/world. I consider hunting local around here something to do until the next big trip. I don't know about the rest of TN, but there are a good bit of deer in my area, there's good fishing in the rivers and lakes as well.

I think the quality of life is a little better in western NC over east TN, but there are some very nice areas. If I had to move to TN with out worries of job prospects or being able to work from home, I'd be on Watauga Lake or South Holston Lake. Surrounded by public land, good fishing, incredible views.

 

[jimh406]

There is a lot of fishing available in the Tennessee River system lakes. Fishing can be good. As someone noted, the trout fishing and bass fishing can be good. There is a lot of public land.

Look at the map and do some distance comparisons to determine how close everything is compared to out West. There is a lot of interesting history in East Tennessee, but it’s an easy daily drive to most of it from East TN.

There are great schools all over Tennessee. Sure, there are some that aren’t, but that’s the case for every state. The “rating” system only includes public schools, but even those vary a lot from city to city. There is a well developed private school system as well in East TN. Each town/city varies a lot with what is offered. Focus on the individual schools in the area you are considering. The same goes for the culture. It varies a lot from deep Blue to deep Red and everything in between.

I wouldn’t hesitate to move back to Tennessee. I lived in the Knoxville area for half of my life until work pulled me away.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

My wife took the grandkids there while visiting her sister, everyone loved it, Granddaughter said when she is done with college, she is going to pack up and move there. That is the extent of my knowledge about TN.

 

[Ralphie]

It’s a great area with wonderful deer, bear, turkey hunting. Great people. Great quality of life. If the secret of it got out lots of people would move there.

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

I am moving to the Dunlap area in less than 2 years. It has a lot to offer. It's a low tax state. Lots of public land. Geographically beautiful. Mild weather with 4 seasons. It is getting more expensive though.

 

[DKBronco]

Traveled to an area between Chattanooga and Knoxville for work almost weekly for 3 years. It’s a nice area with good outdoors access and opportunities. I enjoyed it.

 

[Roosterstraw]

Don’t let ‘em fool you, I’ve seen the deer Bobby Worthington has killed on public land in Tennessee.

 

[Poser]

Don’t let ‘em fool you, I’ve seen the deer Bobby Worthington has killed on public land in Tennessee.

I read his book a long time ago. That guy is a bit off his rocker.