Wife and I are looking for land for a future retirement homesite.  Want rural.  Would love to find something that backs up to national forest

One priority is the ability to set up a 1000yd range on my property w/out worrying about someone/something having an issue with it.

Don't worry about the north invading the south.  Both of us are conservatives, Trump voting, 2A loving, freedom loving, have fought against the Crook County IL machine, have marched in our capitol fighting for concealed carry.

Tellico Plains is ok. Right on the border of the Cherokee national forest. Plenty of fishing, camping  and hunting.
An easy drive to Knoxville or Chattanooga. Very rural.
It is also the beginning of the Cherohala Skyway. A scenic drive over the mountains into north Carolina.  Lots of hiking trails and waterfalls.

I used to live in Englewood, which is not terrible either...if you like small towns.

Most of the state is decent. Liberals do infest Chattanooga

I have never lived there but have visited several times, very beautiful area.
You also might want to take a look at NE Alabama, also very beautiful area.

You’d better not be lying about how you vote and what your views are.  Libs are coming in here at a rapid rate, doing Lib things.

We are very welcoming as a state/people, but don’t come down trying to turn it in to your old state. (That’s a general warning, not aiming at you in particular)

Chattanooga - Knoxville - Tri-Cities corridor is all nice, rural mixed with smaller suburbs of hub cities.  Plenty of state and national park/national forest land to visit. Hunting and fishing is decent, especially within an hour of Chattanooga area.

Lots of gun shops and shooting ranges.

Best thing about this part of the state is that, with the exception of the touristy areas of the Smokies, cost of living is about as cheap as you can find in the US in relation to being near “Metro” areas.  A very nice house can be had for high 100’s-200k and up.

That's SE TN

So sre the other places mentioned in this thread.

The wife and I have been talking about relocating to eastern Tennessee in around 5-7 years. Lived in Virginia all our lives, but our state is being ruined.

The plan is to look for land to purchase first and then build a small home later on.

We fell in love with the place a few years ago. Here’s a pic from when we did the Tail of the Dragon during that trip.

Attached File

OST.

I've been looking out west, CO and MT, but prices are sickening, $400K for a double wide on 5 acres type stuff, and CO politics are California light.....for right now and until the Left can take total control of the state.  It might be TN....

How far from a Walmart do you want to be, OP?

A friend bought land that backs up to Daniel Boone  Nat'l Forest up by the Tn/Ky line near I-75.  Ended up with 140 acres. Large barn. House is around 2600 square ft, I believe it was.
Into it for $375,000.
Land on either side of him is owned by people that want to be left alone. He seldom sees them.

Kingsport,  Bristol and Johnson City.

The mountain empire.

All are great places to live. Me and my wife are heading there in a couple years.
Probably around Kingsport.

I’m up in the hills just outside of Johnson City.
Been here over 15yrs now, which is the longest I’ve ever lived in one place.
Ain’t planning on moving anytime soon.

We've been in Hawkins County since 1997. Pro 2A law enforcement and a fairly low cost of living. It's a fairly rural area, but you can be to Bristol, Johnson City, Sevierville, or Knoxville in an hour to an hour and a half.

Sevierville

To the OP, there are actually  two National Forests in East TN, the North Cherokee and the South Cherokee. Between the two (for the most part) is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Property in and around the National Park is insanely expensive. Around the National Forests less so.

You can get pretty damn rural in a lot of East TN and especially around the extreme ends of the NF as far away as you can from the Park, traffic is much less too.

Where in E TN can you get enough land that is flat enough for a 1000yd range?

Doesn't need to be flat.  You just need two sufficiently separated hillsides.

OP def needs to check into real estate prices. Since east TN has blown up in the past couple years. Tellico platoons is nice but also a known retirement spot as is most places north of Chattanooga and east of I24. If I were looking for land that could be used for a range of that distance and rural I would look around Athens area west of 24. Just be aware that they have meth issues there. But lol it's in kv too so... If you go north of kv you have a good variance in elevation and you might can find something. Each direction can its ups and downs. The biggest is rising cost. My house has increased 50%in value in the last 4 years and most land in my area has been snatched up during the bust and is now subdivided or freaking snow bird condos.

Good luck. Do your homework, come visit for a couple weeks away from the tourist traps, and research and you can prob find a dream spot. I love it here.

Edit - we have a ton of Chicago transplants here are they are the most MAGA people I've met.

Chattanooga has turned into a liberal place with blm protests at the formerly nice Coolidge park so we don’t even go into chattanooga anymore, which is a Shame because it was a nice place. So anyway, I wouldn’t base your decision too much on proximity to chattanooga is all I’m saying.

I don’t back up to a National Park, but I do border UT Ag Research land.  I fell in love with this place the first time I saw it.  I’m up on the Cumberland Plateau and can be in a small town in 10 minutes, Knoxville in 45, and Chattanooga in an hour.  We were originally going to buy up in the mountains but settled for the hills - bum leg couldn’t handle stumping up the steep parts.

I live about 5 miles NE of Tellico Plains in the Foothills of the Cherokee NF. The NF borders two sides of my 76 acres and my elevation is about 1500’.   Hilly as hell and I barely have a 300 yard range. I can stretch it to 600; but, I have to shoot from the back porch down into meadow. Not ideal.

With your range requirements, I would image you would need to look at land along HWY 360, 68, or 310.  Probably with an elevation of around 900-1100’.

There’s a really nice 1000 yard range in Oak Ridge (Knoxville) and they held a two day CMP MATCH there this weekend. Plus Chattanooga has a 1000 yard range.

Not much in Tellico Plains except hunting, Trout fishing, motorcycling, white water kakaking, or off roading. We do have a world class bakery that’s been on the food channel. Benton Bacon is in Madisonville, just N of Walmart. That’s about 30 minutes away.

Tennessee has a whiskey trail of distilleries. It’s only about 4 hour drive or so to Kentucky’s extensive Bourbon Trail.

Lowe’s, Home Depot, decent hospital, and decent restaurants are 1:15 to 1:30 away depending on if you are going there Knoxville, Maryville, Athens, Cleveland, or Chattanooga. It’s about a three hour drive to Atlanta, Asheville, or Nashville. Knoxville airport (Maryville actually) is growing, they just lengthen led the runway. Sometimes though you have to have use Atlanta or Nashville.

My family is from Southern IL; and, I still own land around Marine. A nice place with lots of nice people. Just FUBAR’d by the Democratic Party. My Trump tax cut was directly offset by County property tax increases in IL. The price of grain was down considerably; but, the counties I have farmland I decided to have the biggest tax increase in years.

As one proceeds up the valley to the NE of Chattanooga, the demographics become less and less vibrant. Chattanooga is much closer to Atlanta in demographics than Knoxville and especially on up towards Johnson City.

Buddy has a mile range,  he shoots over another guy’s property from a hilltop to get back on his

Putting a 1000 yard range about anywhere is a challenge mainly do to the safety fan needed in the impact area. It certainly is probably doable, it will just cost you in land prep and acreage needed in making sure your impacts don't end up on someone else's property.

That tends to happen when your state invites them. Look at Georgia.

I'm good with an hour drive

Have you lost your mind.  So many tourists you can't get around anywhere on weekends.

I like mountain city area.

That's pretty ironic coming from one of our best known carpetbaggers!

Roan Mountain area

There's flatter land in the crossville area

Here are some of the things I researched for my move years ago.

It was worth it because there were no surprises later on and our trend here is going further Republican just like the data showed which is one of the most important things in the near future. Also no one is ever going to tell anyone to wear a mask here. There are a lot of "conservative" areas that force people to do things.

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Politics and political trends - Look for who the people voted for in the county you are looking at and all counties near it. It doesn't matter if you're in a solid red county if the neighboring county is solid blue with millions of people. It is a death trap. Example map towards bottom of post.

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Neighboring states - You do not want to be close to a left wing border state for obvious reasons. You also don't want to live near a large blue city whether it's in your state or across the border. Give yourself a buffer if possible.

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Incoming roads - It may be good to have many ways out but it can also be a problem because that means many ways in for bad actors. These differ depending location and has to be looked at yourself. Also if fires are started and you have no way out that can be a huge problem especially in a forest area.

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Natural formations - If people have trouble walking up a hilly or mountainous area that is great when people flee cities but can be an issue if you ever have to get out on foot. Waterways can also be of benefit in specific situations but may also draw people in.

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Culture - Do the people hunt/fish/garden and store food supplies for emergencies? Are they able to somewhat live off the land or does everyone buy food from the store. Note that if you have a massive population of people nearby the wildlife can be wiped out very fast if everyone hunts. You want a low density population in this situation for obvious reasons.

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Hospitals - If you prefer having hospitals nearby this needs to be researched. If you live off a dirt road that gets muddy and you have no chance of getting out in an emergency this could be a huge problem.

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Snap benefits - If you want to know how many people are on assistance this data is available. If they ever all lose benefits for any reason many of them may in their mind have to steal it from others which may put you in dangerous situations.  

Some counties are actually exempt from SNAP work requirements based on having high unemployment. These counties may currently be different now but the article found said  Bledsoe, Hancock, Jackson, Lake, Lauderdale, McNairy, and Scott. "Sky Arnold of the Tennessee Department of Human Services tells us the exemptions are based on criteria including their poverty rate, labor surplus, and unemployment rate."

Data link https://www.fns.usda.gov/ops/snap-community-characteristics-tennessee

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Demographics - Education, Nationality, Religion, and Ethnicity

Race and Religion[/i] - If you prefer being in an area with people who are like minded you should check into these things. Whether we like it or not some people are targeted by specific races and some religious groups may not want anything to do with outsiders while others may be accepting. These are obviously personal decisions.

Age of population - If it's important for you to be around people your age and don't want to be around young people you should research the area. However if people are extremely old they may not be able to help in situations and may actually need your help all the time.

Nationality - You do not want to be in an area that is a dumping ground for immigrants that hate our country or just want to be here for benefits. However if the area has immigrants who come because they love your state and this country it can be a good thing.

State level census with race and you can easily find by county by searching.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/TN/MAN450212
Religion can be seen as an example:
https://www.bestplaces.net/religion/county/tennessee/greene

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Crime - You can find many different maps of areas that show updated crime in the past few weeks or more. Some areas do not have this if they are small. If crime is high in "good times" you do not want to be there during the bad times.


Example:
https://spotcrime.com/TN/Knoxville


Sex offenders map(important if you have children/grandchildren or don't want to be in a county that is lenient on sex offenders):

https://tnmap.tn.gov/sor/
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Local Sheriff/Police - Check social media sites and read reviews of the local law enforcement to get a good idea of who they are. If they allow blm/antifa to do whatever they want it's probably a bad place to move. If they are hard on drugs or soft on drugs you probably want to know that as well.

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Concealed Carry - Check which counties have the most if that's what you prefer.

Tennessee is 8th for carry permits on the list with around 12% of the population according to that data.
https://www.gunstocarry.com/concealed-carry-statistics/#info


Greene County for instance: 12.5%


https://fox17.com/news/local/how-tennessee-counties-rank-based-on-percentage-of-residents-carrying-firearms
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Some images to get your started.

Greene County, Tennessee voting as an example
https://www.bestplaces.net/voting/county/tennessee/greene (bestplaces.net has information on most places like this - just click politics and voting on the left side)




Greene County as the example is actually getting more conservative over time. If an area is trending Democrat in the way below that it's trending Republican you do not want to even consider moving there. Make sure to check surrounding areas as well.




Some additional things you may want to look into.

You would tailor this list to your wants and needs and figure out what you like and don't like about a place.

Property Taxes
Income Tax
Sales Tax
Weather
National Disasters
Cost of Living
Economy
Job Market
Schools
Real Estate Prices
Obesity levels
Commute Times
Pollution
State Spending

Plus many more but I think you get the point.

Athens, Tn.

Good luck finding a 1000 yard flat spot.  I guess you could shoot from ridge to ridge.

Tri Cities-Kingsport, Johnson City and Bristol.  Terrain is more ridge and valley.  Good farmland and the valley's between ridges can be fairly broad. Check out one of the many online topo maps or Google Earth to get an idea.

Blount County is nice, but expensive around Maryville.

Cumberland plateau is rugged and isolated, harder to fulfill your range requirements I would think.

ETA:  here in Kentucky and certainly Tennessee, we call it : East Tennessee, Middle TN, and West TN

How much snow do ya’ll get in eastern Tennessee? I’m a structural engineer, and based on the ground snow load map, it looks like eastern Tennessee is only 10 psf at 1,800’ elevation and below. Where I live now in VA is 30 psf.

I’ve only been there during the fall months.

Anywhere from a dusting to more than enough...lol

We used to live in Scott county and found it a good mix of rural people who wanted to be left alone, public land for outdoor stuff, and less than an hour to civilization.

Finding land to build a safe 1000-yard range is a huge hurdle. It would be a miracle to find less than 100 acres that had a suitable place to build a 1000-yard range and it's more likely to take 200-500 acres. Fortunately there are big tracts of land available in east TN.

I think it is prudent to say in these times, whether it applies to anyone in this thread or not...don’t flee the shithole you are in with the idea of bringing your values here.  There is a reason you and folks like you are leaving, and you will not be welcome if the “culture” isn’t what you had hoped and try to change it...or if our bakeries don’t have babka like Luigi’s “back home.”

Stay there or look elsewhere if this is your objective.

However, if you try to fit in with the communities that YOU CHOSE without trying to bring the same shitty values and policies you are leaving, then we welcome you here.

The area between Knoxville and Tri-Cities fits what you are looking for, as does the area up I75 north of Knoxville toward the KY border.  Lastly, the Cumberland Plateau REALLY fits the bill...especially between Crossville and Cookeville.

I grew up in Kingsport but since joining the Army in 1982 I've only been back to visit family.

I've thought about heading back that way after retiring but I still have kids in school, maybe when we become empty nesters.

I think I know where you are....

If you are truly a conservative, you will be welcome anywhere from Maynardville all the way up to Bristol. The stretch around Tazewell, Harrogate, and over to Bristol is truly beautiful country, where you might find what you're looking for.

IM me if you need more info.

Property is going up very, very quickly here.

come north a few miles.

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Do you have a Scag mower?

Given your criteria of rural and bordering National Forest land, you need to be looking at Polk, Monroe, Cocke, and Unicoi counties.

You aren’t going to get a 1000 yard shot anywhere that backs up to National Forest land or pretty much anywhere in East TN for that matter.  Land is way too rolling for that.

I’m currently looking for land to buy for hunting land and to put a range on. Pickings are slim.

Cosby.  Definitely Cosby.  They will welcome you, your firearms, ammunition and power tools with open arms!

TN is full of midwestern refugees already, look elsewhere.

Kingsport and Johnson City surrounding areas are nice and red. Lots of rural property and the cities are big enough to have anything you need but you can drive across either town in ten minutes.