This is absolutely spot-on. Moved here for the weather/inexpensive housing -got incredibly lucky there - and don't regret it, but with caveats. There are no 'FBI crime statistics' because almost nothing happens here - look at the average age; everyone is golfing, playing tennis, swimming, fishing or just taking it easy. There's a tradeoff not having access to a name-your-favorite-store on every corner and other retail but shopping on line is ridiculously easy. You can still buy a house for cheap in nearby Crossville(working class/hard scrabble/pickup trucks) and a few in FFG or you can spend $350K and up for a 'my other house is a vineyard chateau in the south of France' style ostentatious 4 bedroom, 3 1/2 bathroom house to knock around in, just the two of you and once a year when the kids and grandkids visit, you 'entertain'... Lots of money here looking for a way to spend it on something besides golfing and 'dining' in restaurants that have trouble staffing because there are no teenagers. Hopefully the voting stats are for Crossville and not FFG, otherwise a lot of my neighbors voted for a criminal psychopath - Twice... Property taxes are incredibly low, the HOAs are based on house value and still very low. Sales tax is a shock but easily avoidable (estate sales are a big deal here, leave your furniture back in your old state, buy better than 'new' at one of the ubiquitous 'OMG these people had money' sales without having to pay sales tax.) Houses that go up for sale are because the owners died or went into nursing homes - again, look at the average age. Anyone needing work would do well catering to the retirees or in the tree business; this is a forest and there will always be tree work needed as well as construction. Don't buy a building lot (cheap!) without checking that all the utilities will be available; bedrock that disallows sewer/septic tank installation means that many lots in FFG will never be developed beyond what already is, although I was told that '100 houses are built every year here' and the population gain over the last census doesn't support that - I don't see how and don't see where...I hear nightmare scenarios amongst people who insisted on building their 'dream house' but fought every step of the way with contractor issues and delays. If you do build, expect it to take at least a year. The locals are 'southern' in their work ethic; I've had businesses take 4-6 months to 'get back to me' after calling about having work done, then act like that was normal. Expect to have your Yankee accent reacted to, both benignly and maybe not so. You're not allowed to take down trees except right near the house, so choose lots wisely or it'll be really dark inside almost year round - this isn't suburbia in any way, shape or form; it's rural with old growth forest and the accompanying wildlife, good and bad. There *is* an Art Guild with talented members, and the local government is trying hard to make it a retirement destination; as anywhere else, it's what you make of it; Tennessee in general will be one of the few places in the U.S. that will be a destination for climate refugees going forward. The Californians are just starting to arrive now, I expect a flood of them soon.
D |
Fairfield Glade, TN |
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