Posted: 3/18/2026 10:53:51 AM EDT
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Before posting, I read and have been reading other peoples questions and answers, so at least I'm trying...Moving away from an area you've spent the last 40 years in isn't easy, picking a new place is even harder. Employment: Wife and I are retired, watch the grandchildren so parents can work. DIL is a Registered Nurse, never an issue finding employment. Son has his own Business doing Asphalt Paving, Excavation, Gravel Roads, Dump Trucks, and anything that lends itself to municipal work such as Water and Sewer lines. I expect he'll have to work with someone established until he can open back up. They're looking at the Cookeville area, and I've been internet exploring Sparta. Semi-rural at a minimum so if I want to shoot my Rifle in the back yard, the State Police won't show up with a swat team. Currently we live in a Rural, Dairy Farming community where cows outnumber people and Deer outnumber the bovines...Hunting & fishing are great, but democrats that don;t know a fucking thing have made it so they have control and oversight on anything we do and we've had enough. Ostensibly You live there, where would you live or NOT live? |
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Sparta is a fantastic place with what you state you're used to and looking for. I'm the next town west in McMinnville. Cookeville is big enough to have good medical care for most things except major trauma. Major trauma gets airlifted to Nashville or Chattanooga but all the old people specialists from hearing aids to oncology and cardiac care are well represented there. Daughter in law should have no problem finding a job. There's ample shopping and dining there as well. The area is growing rapidly so your son in law could probably establish himself pretty quickly grading residential lots and digging footers and septic systems. Tennessee has no state police. We have a Highway Patrol that is primarily traffic focused. They do not answer calls about shooting on your land but they are in a crisis situation over arresting a large number of people for dui that had no intoxicants in their system. Fishing is fantastic here. Hunting is great if you can find a place to go. Public lands are crowded most place and private lands are mostly leased to big hunting clubs. Farmers are leery of their cows getting shot or let out by someone leaving a gate open. Honestly anywhere within 2 counties of Cookeville is a good place to be. You should recon the area. |
I think one of the major problems with America today is not enough families sit down to a big plate of squirrels momma just fried up.
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I plan on going down there soon enough...I've got Family in Alabama and Western NC so I've been through there many times, but driving through someplace and actually getting the lay of the land are different things...Both "kids" are in their early 30's and know what hard work and dedication are, my job is to make sure the grandchildren receive the love, attention, and safety that only we can give them, so they'll make the treck down and go from there. Are there Hunting & Fishing Clubs around? Here, every little town/village has a Rod & Gun Club, nothing Little Lord Fauntleroy, just Trap Shooters competing for bragging rights...Most charge $20. a year and have covered Rifle/Pistol Ranges. My folks took us Fishing in Celina 30 years ago...caught more fish than a drift net! Ate 'em too! How about Gun Show and casual sales? NY used to be Free, now they're charging Felonies for selling your shotgun in a garage sale without taking it to a FFL for transfer. (one of the many reasons for leaving) |
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No hunting clubs in the sense of what you have. Most big deer leases are a hunting club but it's word of mouth getting in. The whole area is close to good fishing and TWRA has a great network of public boat ramps. There are a lot of ramps on private property that are allowed to charge a launch fee to cover maintenance and such but it's usually either $5 or $7. Gun sales are free but you should ask if they are a Tennessee resident and not prohibited to cover fed regs. There are a lot of ranges scattered about Here's a link to the TWRA fishing access map https://www.tn.gov/twra/gis-maps/boating-and-fishing-site-access-map.html Public hunting land map https://www.tn.gov/twra/gis-maps/wildlife-management-area--wma--maps.html Here's a good realtor that helped a fellow arfcommer move here recently. He even has some air bnb properties you can rent as a base camp to scout the area from. https://www.cookevilletn-realestate.com/index.html |
I think one of the major problems with America today is not enough families sit down to a big plate of squirrels momma just fried up.
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Originally Posted By bodybagger: No hunting clubs in the sense of what you have. Most big deer leases are a hunting club but it's word of mouth getting in. The whole area is close to good fishing and TWRA has a great network of public boat ramps. There are a lot of ramps on private property that are allowed to charge a launch fee to cover maintenance and such but it's usually either $5 or $7. Gun sales are free but you should ask if they are a Tennessee resident and not prohibited to cover fed regs. There are a lot of ranges scattered about Here's a link to the TWRA fishing access map https://www.tn.gov/twra/gis-maps/boating-and-fishing-site-access-map.html Public hunting land map https://www.tn.gov/twra/gis-maps/wildlife-management-area--wma--maps.html Here's a good realtor that helped a fellow arfcommer move here recently. He even has some air bnb properties you can rent as a base camp to scout the area from. https://www.cookevilletn-realestate.com/index.html Thank you brother @bodybagger for sharing Bill's information. @fp1201 please fell free to DM me with any questions. We just moved up here to Jamestown TN area. We were planning on living in Cookeville but just unsuccessful during that time to find the right place. Ended up finding this beautiful place up here and went for it. We also looked in Sparta and really like that area as well, just couldn't find the right place for us. My wife and I are really liking it up here in Jamestown. Have Dale Hollow Lake and Big South Fork right up the road. Monterey TN has some nice camping and fishing spots close by as well. Please feel free to DM and I'll send my number... |
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Anyone know how the Residential Paving business is there? Need for excavating such as Foundations, land clearing, stuff you're not going to do with a little rental machine? Labor Market: can we hire dependable people that'll work a full day or ??? (Yea, I know it's subjective and varies, but there are places where you just can't find someone to work or if you do they just aren't worth a crap) |
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Originally Posted By fp1201: Anyone know how the Residential Paving business is there? Need for excavating such as Foundations, land clearing, stuff you're not going to do with a little rental machine? Labor Market: can we hire dependable people that'll work a full day or ??? (Yea, I know it's subjective and varies, but there are places where you just can't find someone to work or if you do they just aren't worth a crap) Shouldn't be a problem getting jobs in all those areas. Dependable help on the other hand might be. |
I think one of the major problems with America today is not enough families sit down to a big plate of squirrels momma just fried up.
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Found a House on the Southwest side of Cookeville that checks almost all the Boxes except enough are/range to shoot Rifle in...It does have a Farm Field behind it, but I'd never presume to ever launch a bullet without written permission...might still be viable. There's a 2,500ft Private Grass Strip that looks to be a mile or so away that might be a viable place to store/fly my ultralite airplane...shows the owner is in Middletown, NY (Long Island). Stats say 1,275 homes were sold there last year, which drives the proces way up, but also begs the question of where did all those people go? Why? https://www.homes.com/property/3582-s-pointe-rd-cookeville-tn/n500w704jlnsw/ |
| That's a fantastic area. It's just a couple miles from Cane Hollow and Johnson's Chapel free boat ramps and Cookeville Marina (pay boat ramp) all on Center Hill Lake. |
I think one of the major problems with America today is not enough families sit down to a big plate of squirrels momma just fried up.
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I love these threads as well. We (wife unit and me) have been poking around, looking for good like-minded red-rural towns to retire. We appreciate yall's replies. We took a trip up to Lawrence and Wayne County several months ago, very nice. Next reconnoiter will be up to the area from Overton to Scott Counties. I have early roots in McCreary KY and down 27 into Oneida. But really liking the Jamestown area as far as properties go on Zillow. 
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Originally Posted By Levi24: I love these threads as well. We (wife unit and me) have been poking around, looking for good like-minded red-rural towns to retire. We appreciate yall's replies. We took a trip up to Lawrence and Wayne County several months ago, very nice. Next reconnoiter will be up to the area from Overton to Scott Counties. I have early roots in McCreary KY and down 27 into Oneida. But really liking the Jamestown area as far as properties go on Zillow. Pay special attention to where good doctors and medical facilities are located in proximity to where you’re looking at. As we all get older and especially those of retirement age, this becomes a great concern. Another thing worth factoring in is a generator as in whole house. We tend to get all kinds of weather from snow to ice to wind. Even suburban Nashville couldn’t escape it. And be prepared to have a reliable and plentiful fuel supply due to possibly being unable to get out and replenish everything. The more rural you get the greater the need. FWIW |
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Originally Posted By rebel_rifle: Another thing worth factoring in is a generator as in whole house. We tend to get all kinds of weather from snow to ice to wind. Even suburban Nashville couldn’t escape it. And be prepared to have a reliable and plentiful fuel supply due to possibly being unable to get out and replenish everything. The more rural you get the greater the need. FWIW Whole house generators are nice, but they can get expensive to feed. I've been looking at battery systems, as there was a lot of time during the last ice storm that I probably would have been just fine with two or three battery power banks around the size of a car battery and running the generator for short periods when I would need to recharge the battery power banks and refreeze the ice packs I had to keep the refrigerator cool. Of course, all of that requires having a source of heat that doesn't depend on your electric meter having power. Things you need to be able to do, even if your electric meter isn't getting power: - Stay warm when it's below freezing outside. - Have water for various purposes. - Cook food. - Communicate in some way with the world beyond your immediate neighbors. It's also a nice bonus if you have the ability to (either on your own or working with neighbors) clear your own road, as some of the Nashville suburbs were complaining about still not having seen any city workers removing downed limbs (or complete trees) from their roads, several days after the storm. |
Earthsheltered house - a reinforced bunker that even the treehuggers consider to be socially acceptable.
Earthbag house - like an earthsheltered house, but cheaper and easier to DIY.
Earthbag house - like an earthsheltered house, but cheaper and easier to DIY.
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Originally Posted By JPN: Whole house generators are nice, but they can get expensive to feed. I've been looking at battery systems, as there was a lot of time during the last ice storm that I probably would have been just fine with two or three battery power banks around the size of a car battery and running the generator for short periods when I would need to recharge the battery power banks and refreeze the ice packs I had to keep the refrigerator cool. Of course, all of that requires having a source of heat that doesn't depend on your electric meter having power. Things you need to be able to do, even if your electric meter isn't getting power: - Stay warm when it's below freezing outside. - Have water for various purposes. - Cook food. - Communicate in some way with the world beyond your immediate neighbors. It's also a nice bonus if you have the ability to (either on your own or working with neighbors) clear your own road, as some of the Nashville suburbs were complaining about still not having seen any city workers removing downed limbs (or complete trees) from their roads, several days after the storm. Originally Posted By JPN: Originally Posted By rebel_rifle: Another thing worth factoring in is a generator as in whole house. We tend to get all kinds of weather from snow to ice to wind. Even suburban Nashville couldn’t escape it. And be prepared to have a reliable and plentiful fuel supply due to possibly being unable to get out and replenish everything. The more rural you get the greater the need. FWIW Whole house generators are nice, but they can get expensive to feed. I've been looking at battery systems, as there was a lot of time during the last ice storm that I probably would have been just fine with two or three battery power banks around the size of a car battery and running the generator for short periods when I would need to recharge the battery power banks and refreeze the ice packs I had to keep the refrigerator cool. Of course, all of that requires having a source of heat that doesn't depend on your electric meter having power. Things you need to be able to do, even if your electric meter isn't getting power: - Stay warm when it's below freezing outside. - Have water for various purposes. - Cook food. - Communicate in some way with the world beyond your immediate neighbors. It's also a nice bonus if you have the ability to (either on your own or working with neighbors) clear your own road, as some of the Nashville suburbs were complaining about still not having seen any city workers removing downed limbs (or complete trees) from their roads, several days after the storm. Appreciate the info and advice! Yall had some serious winter weather up that way recently I heard, my cousins from Nashville to KY had some stories to tell. I believe in having redundancy in power back-up for sure. We have 2 small inverter gennys that sip fuel for basics. We bought a 6800 WEN inverter this past Spring just prior to Hurricane season and had a transfer switch put in. While it will not run the central AC, it will power the well pump and everything in the house,,,and sips fuel as well. We have a lot of folks down here who buy large gennys and do not have fuel for them. The idea of charging up some spare batts with the generator is a great idea! I have a small Stihl saw and then a larger old school 029 farm-boss. I keep non-eth gas in 5 galllon cans for all of the above. While we are familiar with hurricanes and the prep madness, of people running around crazy thanks to the media: we are not familiar with those (unannounced) killer tornadoes yall have in TN. Wife and I are going to come up and stay a few days to a week, come this summer. I imagine we will check out some areas between Overton and Scott Counties. We will bring the permethrin! Again....I appreciate the info on this thread and Hometown, but I don't mean to take it over. |
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