My mom was from Rogersville in Hawkins County as a kid we would visit every year. I would always hear my mom say the mountains behind my grandmas was the closest you could get to heaven without dying.

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:

"Do you know how much the fine for a seat belt infraction is?"
"No"
"It's five bucks. Ain't no sheriff gonna stop you for a five dollar ticket around here....."
I still put my belt on and he shook his head chuckling.

It went up to $25 fist offense and $50 for second and subsequent Jan 2016.

All my exes live in Texas

That’s why I hang my hat in Tennessee.

—Mr Strait


Looking forward to retirement in Knoxville in a few years. Home.

I was born in Detroit, moved to GA at 7 years old and grew up in Forsyth Co. ga. I was stationed at Ft Campbell in the Army and I have lots of family here so we our vacations were almost entirely visiting family. Made TN sort of a second home. We live an 45 min south of Knoxville. Years back we were returning from a weekend in Pigeon Forge. We stopped to eat at a Restaurant on the north end of Knoxville and the manager alerted me that someone had broken into my truck. We had our luggage in the back and I had a go bag buried underneath the furniture and covered with a Mexican blanket. They broke a couple of windows and went right to the my go bag, barely disturbing anything. We parked at the front door of this restaurant, it was well lit, and a short walk to a TBI building. My Sphinx Subcompact, a RMJ tomahawk, a Mick Strider custom knife, loaded mags, Steiner Binos, you name it. They were recover two weeks later at a burglary or the pistol was by Indianapolis PD and the tomahawk and Strider knife were recovered by a University Police on a vehicle search where they were staged to use right away in the car. I never got the Sphinx back (Indianapolis PD or at least the detective I spoke with talked to me with such disdain as if I gave these fools the pistol. The University officer however contacted the RMJ company whom I’d already spoke to about the incident. That Officer mailed my blades to Knoxville PD for me. Anyway, if a similar incident happens to you, an officer will not be coming. They are over there heads with Heroine and other drugs and don’t have the manpower to spare for those petty crimes. Move outside those big cities. Unless you’re just a city person, I recommend finding a rural spot outside the city. Don’t see moving unless our state turns anti 2A. If you ever have any questions or need a real estate agent for my area I know a good one, helped another member out that way and he bought a place with that agent moving from elsewhere in the country. Shoot me an email if you need help or have questions.

quote:

Originally posted by Mboroman:
<<snip>>
Just a quick bit of clarification: The state sales tax rate is 7%. Local areas may charge up to 2.75% for a total of 9.75%. Knoxville is currently at 9.25%.

Food is taxed at 5% plus local taxes.

A bit more clarification: Where I live in Madison, AL (a suburb of Huntsville), sales tax is 9.5%, and we HAVE income tax also! What I'm reading here about TN, and Knoxville in particular is their tax rate is better than ours!

Re: TN sales tax

There is currently a sales tax "holiday," running through October, suspending it on food items. There was one for gun storage and locking devices last year. All in all, I'll take a little higher sales tax in exchange for taking home more of my paycheck, without state income tax deductions.

Also, vehicle license fees are low. It varies by county, some of which add a "wheel tax," but in mine (Carter) I pay $36. There was a forced changeover for 2023 to a new type of license plate, but the license fee was suspended (it goes back to full price next renewal), the fee for the plate itself being $5.50.

You don't pay sales tax on every dollar you earn, but you do pay income taxes....

TN and FL are perfect examples of the better method of no income tax states.

TN is on the short list, East TN for us, we've got to get up there and look around for property, relatives live around Bristol.

Tn DID have a tax on unearned income (like stocks, investments etc.) but dropped it by 1% a year over ~5 years time until it was gone... a couple years ago.

Yea!

TN is of only the 11 states that run a budget surplus. In 2022 the surplus was about 1 billion IIRC.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
Re: TN sales tax

There is currently a sales tax "holiday," running through October, suspending it on food items. There was one for gun storage and locking devices last year. All in all, I'll take a little higher sales tax in exchange for taking home more of my paycheck, without state income tax deductions.

Also, vehicle license fees are low. It varies by county, some of which add a "wheel tax," but in mine (Carter) I pay $36. There was a forced changeover for 2023 to a new type of license plate, but the license fee was suspended (it goes back to full price next renewal), the fee for the plate itself being $5.50.

Just paid over $350 to register my 2016 Ford Flex and my Wife’s Pacifica is also due to the tune of $450. 3.5 years until I can flee and eastern Tennessee has been on my radar for several years.

I lived and worked in the area in the Seventies. Hunting and fishing and the TVA dams are nice. The area does lack sophistication. With the exception of the University and Oak Ridge it borders on being an intellectual and cultural desert. It is rural Southern Applachia. Outsiders are not welcome in the outlying areas. I did enjoy the five years that I lived there.

quote:

area does lack sophistication

quote:

an intellectual and cultural desert.

quote:

I did enjoy the five years that I lived there.

So you are saying that you are an unsophisticate that don't need no culture nor too much thinkin'?

I guess you speed read. UT and the National Labs in Oak Ridge where I lived are oases. You sound like a Deliverance outtake.

Posted as humor. Just trying to reconcile your impressions with the fact you enjoyed your time there.

And yes, I am a bit of a rube. See my cut.

My little slice of SE TN.




What’s not to like?

Looks real nice Tom!

I bet I've passed near your place coming up hwy.68 from Blue Ridge Ga. A twisty but very scenic drive.

I'm usually headed to the far eastern end of the state at Bristol.

Back in the early 70s my crowd used to keep the road hot from Cumberland College, Williamsburg Ky to Knoxville. Williamsburg was in a dry county and Knoxville or Richmond Ky was the nearest hard liquor, both about 80 miles Richmond n on I-75 Knoxville south. If weather was bad we'd go to Richmond to avoid Jellico Mtn.

Also in the early 1950s my dad was Kroger store manager in Middlesboro Ky. He had a bad car wreck on Dead Man's Curve just outside Middlesboro where he ran his new Packard under a flatbed trailer parked on the shoulder. Missed tearing his head off by a few inches but did mangle the right side of his face. The extent of the injuries were beyond the local hospital so they sent him to Knoxville where a surgeon got extra involved and gets credit for saving dad's life.

I love living in southern Indiana (not at all like the rest of the state, more like Ky/Tn) but if I were forced to move Appalachia area of se Ky or eastern Tn would be 1st choice.

quote:

Originally posted by 9x18:
<<snip>>
I bet I've passed near your place coming up hwy.68 from Blue Ridge Ga. A twisty but very scenic drive.
<<snip>>

So you live in Blue Ridge??? That is my #1 vacation spot out of every place I've ever been. Absolutely LOVE it up there!!!

I'm about a 35% resident. I'm sentenced to the Atlanta area most of the time.

And ,yes, it is nice.

quote:

With the exception of the University and Oak Ridge it borders on being an intellectual and cultural desert

I grew up in Kingsport & left for UT Knoxville fall of 1963. East Tn has changed since a lot of manufacturing left in the 1970's. Kingsport had Eastman Kodak & much of the Eastman chemical research. 90% of my high school class went to college. My high school class had 8 National Merit scholars & 8 Runnerups. 50% of the TN 1963 National Merit scholars from Kingsport & Oak Ridge.

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
2000Z…if you want to scout more central Tennessee, check out Cookeville. Smaller than Knoxville and seems to be less “busy”…more small town feel.

I came to this area in the late seventies after leaving the army. I attended Tennessee Tech in the sixties. Could not be happier. But it is growing fast soon the small town feel will be gone