Update: Offer Accepted Now to get my current house's final touches completed for listing in 5 days.

More below

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Looking for some pros and cons of moving to Tennessee (about halfway between Nashville and Huntsville, AL) vs. Texas (Fort Worth area, towards the north). These are two of the areas which wife and I are considering due in part to kids living or moving there by EOY 2025.

Any pertinent info will be greatly appreciated.

This will be a retirement move and as I have owned my home for 25 years, equity upon sale could net us a very good amount after mortgage and realtors are paid off. We DO NOT want to drop all of that on the property but, if the right house comes along (2,600+ sq ft, 20 acres+ with garage and goodly size garage), all options are on the table.

First, I and my wife were born and raised in SoCal and with the exception of 18 months in Millington, TN (Navy thing), I have lived my whole life near an ocean to include 10 years on the ocean.

We are wanting (ie., "looking for") 5-30 acres, high-speed internet, and attached garage. If larger property, prefer a treed backstop for shooting / hunting.

Also, just thinking about tornadoes scare the shit out of us. LOLOL

For the initial basics we are seeing:

Tennessee option looks to be MUCH wetter and flood zones heavily considered. Lower property taxes.

Texas option appears to be dryer and warmer. Property taxes seem to higher and acreage harder to find for a "reasonable" cost.

We are also considering other states to include Idaho.


TIA

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LS1 GTO,

Trying to stay near Carswell JRB? Access to the medical and BX?

If it were I, I'd have to take Texas.
And we'd love to have ya.

I would have to look further out to try and avoid the sprawl. You don't want Denton either. Loads of nice folks up there but the city evidently saved money in the past by never really upgrading the roads for the present population, much less the future. As a college town, they can have some pretty goofy city government decisions occasionally.

I can tell you, north Ft Worth and beyond have some of the worst traffic jams and at best, congestion I have ever witnessed anywhere to include Dallas and SoCal. Like serious, debilitating, soul sucking traffic. Inside and outside of the traffic loop.

Also a great many people have already moved way out west to Weatherford, so I am not sure how inflated it has become.

Wife was also mentioning Crowley and/or Granbury. (I know, neither are very north of Ft Worth.

Oh, left out ‘dark(er) sky’ and a desire. Watching for satellites is easier that way.

Both are South/Southwest of FW. Crowley will be a bit rougher and more blue collar. Granbury is actually pretty nice and has a lake. I haven't been down that way since about 2010. Worth checking IMHO.

I'm happy where I am, but of the two locations you listed, Tennessee is my choice, there are other parts of Texas I do prefer however.

Property taxes are much worse (in general) in TX.

quote:

Fort Worth area, towards the north

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Also, just thinking about tornadoes scare the shit out of us. LOLOL

Heading north from Ft Worth, the closer you get to Witchita Falls, TX, the worse the severe weather is. For some reason, that place is a magnet for tornadoes, large hail, violent thunderstorms, etc.

Here is a screencapture by county for the FEMA tornado risk index (i.e. the darker red the higher the risk, the lighter red is lower risk). Southwest of Ft Worth (Somervell < Hood < Johnson < Tarrant) is lower risk than north of Ft Worth.

Living near your kids can be a biggie, as long as everyone gets along.

Since you threw out Idaho, allow me to mention SD. Don’t laugh, it rates very well.

I’d consider somewhere near or South of Sioux Falls. It’s closer and an arguably better than Idaho. You can always bug out for the worst of the winter months.

Did you mention moving from where? Ok, I see CA.

I don’t live near either, but I have a cousin who lives about halfway between Nashville and Huntsville, near Lewisburg, and I’ve been there lots of times. I can tell you that you will be “in the country” there. As in no decent restaurants within 25 miles, maybe 50 miles.

I would imagine that property would be less expensive there than anywhere near Ft. Worth, but I can’t say for sure.

And you should get a pretty dark sky there, and again, I wouldn’t think that to be the case anywhere near Ft. Worth.

Also, I know that ticks are pretty bad in that area.

There are some big lakes not too far from that area if you want to explore lake living. And I don’t think tornadoes are a concern there.

I was born in Texas and live here now but I would lean towards Tennessee solely based on lower property taxes. I am fed up with them here in Texas, it’s a big scam. Sure, no state income tax so they gouge us with property taxes. The whole appraisal part is rigged also, I have gone through all of that trying to lower mine.

The rural areas in Texas should not be as bad on taxes, but I do not ever see real property tax reform being instituted in Texas.

Add another Texan fed up with the taxes.

Tenn all the way.....

I can’t answer your specific question but I can share that I will return to TN for retirement.

One of my sisters lives in TX and came to visit us in the mountains of N.C. She ended up buying a vacation home near the border of TN as the summers in TX were just too hot to do anything outside..

I am very familiar with the TN area. I have lived in South Nashville, Franklin & Arrington for 55 years. Yesterday I took a gun to my favorite FFL in Chapel Hill for shipment to a Sig Forum member. I then traveled over to Spring Hill. The countryside was full of new homes and upgraded roads. The best outdoor range is in Chapel Hill and south of Chapel Hill is Henry Horton state park with a great Skeet & Trap facility. The VA medical care in Nashville & middle Tn is very good. The main VA center is beside Vanderbilt and most of the VA specialist doctors work both for Vanderbilt and the VA. Email me if you have any questions.

The area south of Nashville is beautiful. Big wide open valleys and rolling hills. We looked at this area when we moved (before retirement, so I needed airport access) but settled on Lower Alabama. Look around Frankewing, Lynchburg, etc.

RMD

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
Wife was also mentioning Crowley and/or Granbury. (I know, neither are very north of Ft Worth.

Oh, left out ‘dark(er) sky’ and a desire. Watching for satellites is easier that way.

I have relatives that moved to Aledo, which is straight west, and they like it very much. Granbury looks good too. Once you step west of Ft Worth, you are entering the beginning of the southwestern climate zone, so it will feel more like home to you in that sense. The area outside of Ft. Worth is probably going to be more humid than you are accustomed to in California, but it is going to be a lot less humid than TN. But you will be a long, long way from worthwhile beaches. The drier air may make satellite watching a little easier and there may actually be less light pollution in the part of Texas you are looking at.

The part of TN you are looking at should be cheaper than areas near Ft Worth. The humidity will take some adaptation, but you will also be fairly close to the higher, cooler mountain areas of east TN and western NC for summer get aways. And you will be about 5-6 hours from the prettiest beaches in the continental US. If you like water activity, looking a little farther east to the Sweetwater/Lake Tellico area would give you some amazing vistas and little milder summer climate while still being about the time distance time wise to the beaches. Lake Tellico is on the Little Tennessee River, which flows into the Tennessee River.

I used to spend a lot of time in Idaho, from a time period of about 10 years ago going back to about 30 years ago. I was usually in the Boise area. I really, really liked that area a lot, and I found it surprisingly mild in the winter considering how far north it is. But I saw coastal, liberal Californians beginning to move in and the start of their screwing Boise up, just as they do everywhere they go.



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quote:

Originally posted by rduckwor:
The area south of Nashville is beautiful. Big wide open valleys and rolling hills. We looked at this area when we moved (before retirement, so I needed airport access) but settled on Lower Alabama. Look around Frankewing, Lynchburg, etc.

RMD

rduckworth is absolutely right about the beautiful hills of south central TN.

Here's perhaps a wild idea. You can now rent nice RVs from individuals through an AirBNB type of network. If you have the time, consider renting an RV and staying in and around the areas you are considering for an extended time, 2-3 weeks. Get to know whatever town, or towns, you will be close to. Find the local coffee/breakfast place and get to know the people a bit. Find out where you fit in the best.


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quote:

Originally posted by TigerDore:

quote:

Originally posted by rduckwor:
The area south of Nashville is beautiful. Big wide open valleys and rolling hills. We looked at this area when we moved (before retirement, so I needed airport access) but settled on Lower Alabama. Look around Frankewing, Lynchburg, etc.

RMD

rduckworth is absolutely right about the beautiful hills of south central TN.

Here's perhaps a wild idea. You can now rent nice RVs from individuals through an AirBNB type of network. If you have the time, consider renting an RV and staying in and around the areas you are considering for an extended time, 2-3 weeks. Get to know whatever town, or towns, you will be close to. Find the local coffee/breakfast place and get to know the people a bit. Find out where you fit in the best.


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this is sort of on the radar. One son is moving to the lewisburg tn area. House is in escrow and he, with family in tow, may not be able to fully move in before thanksgiving. Wife and i may have opportunity to spend a week or two there before son arrives.


We spent two week in Coeur d’Alain / Liberty Lake area this last spring, before the tourists arrived, we were told. Thought Spokane would be a nice walkable downtown area…. It was a shithole. Thought Coeur d’Alain was going to be a one stop-light town, it was not and we fell in love. Buuuut,


Being from SoCal we know about fire and we do not know winter solstice that far north nor the cold. Plus, all the roads for the Hellcat seem rather crappy

You can put beans in your Chili in TN and not have any admonishment...

TN for me, great topography, season changes, not too cold or much snow in winter but you get some.

The high speed network connection might be a problem in that area of TN depending on where exactly. My wife has family there and they don't have any hardline connections available so they use Starlink.