Great Rural Towns in Tennessee to Retire or Buy a Home. 

Born and raised in this great state of Tennessee grew up on the Cumberland Plateau. Now I live in East Tennessee around the Knoxville area. One thing I will say is I wish people would stop moving here it’s ridiculous. I constantly see people from the north east and California moving here. Just don’t try and change our way of life here.

I lived in TN for about 6 months and I will say that the state is beautiful no matter where you are in the state.

I fled the peoples republic of california and landed in what in all my 66 years is the best place I ever lived I proudly say "SWEETWATER,TN is my home

Born in TN live in TN and will be laid to rest in TN. Been many places seen many things but nothing compares to my beloved Tennessee.

I was born and raised in Tennessee, its a beautiful state with a lot of really nice people. I've been living in new England for 15 years and it still blows my mind how rude people can be.

If you move here, please understand how to be polite and socially decent to your neighbors. Southern hospitality as we call it. Wave high to people at 4 way stops, don’t drive fast, and make small talk at the grocery store. Or, just don’t move here

I come from a small town in the friendliest province in Canada: hearts delight, Newfoundland. Retired 5 years ago at age 45 in Loretto, TN (2 hr south of Nashville) and married an awesome country boy from Pulaski. The people here are just like home: kind and happy. Great vid!

We don’t want more rude people here in Tennessee. We want to keep it beautiful.

Born and raised here in East Tennessee. Im a town over from Blaine. I absolutely love my small town. I wouldnt trade the view of the mountains and farms for anything!

Tennessee used to be such a beautiful, peaceful state to live in with flat land in the West to gorgeous Rolling Hills in middle Tennessee and then the mountains of East Tennessee. It used to be full of rivers, streams, creeks and beautiful farmland and plenty of Woodlands. There were some larger cities scattered in each direction with many rural towns and communities where people knew neighbors for miles around. Now much of that is being chopped up, divided covered in concrete, Blacktop with subdivision after subdivision replacing all the beautiful landscape and destroying wildlife habitats and Monstrous size Mansions carving out CHUNKS of the previously beautiful, untouched mountains. Not to mention people coming in from other states with pockets so deep that they drive the prices Sky High so people that were born and raised here as Generations before them cannot even afford the American dream. the irony of that is that a good number of the newbies don't even want to integrate with the born and raised here locals viewing them as low class, low life rednecks. Goodbye my BEAUTIFUL Tennessee, so thankful I knew you when you were the REAL DEAL!!

The cost of housing in east Tennessee is skyrocketing thanks to all the people fleeing liberal cesspools like California, Illinois, New York and most of New England. They show up paying over asking price for a house with cash which is driving our property taxes up. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are always bumper to bumper traffic with hardly a single car wearing a Tennessee license plate.

As much as I enjoy the Smokies and the TN/NC border region, the plateau region between Nashville and Chattanooga is absolutely stunning. I love crossing Nickajack Lake and crossing the plateau at Monteagle on I-24 on the way to Nashville.

Videos like this are why TN is getting flooded with out-of-staters.

Moved to Greenback from MI in 91. I was excepted very well and can say that I have never met anyone in TN that is from TN that I didn't like! So....yep, I'm dug in like a Tick and ain't never leaving!

I live in Middle Tennessee, but East Tennessee is especially nice.

You make it sound like Churches are a bad thing, The religious diet of a rural town/community is very important and if people have a problem with there being "Too many" Churches then I say look someplace else to live.

We lived in NE TN and absolutely loved it!! We would still be there if the place where my husband worked did not close. Now retired would love to go back. Miss it terribly and consider it home. I am from IN but that area spoke to me.

Oliver Springs Tennessee hasn't changed a bit in 100 years and a great place to live

I think one reason crime rates are listed as higher in rural Tennessee is because unlike many places the law is still enforced here. We respect law enforcement here unlike many places. Most of us anyway. And we’re not restricted as much with gun ownership. Crime here doesn’t go unpunished.

You mentioned smallmouth fishing. Even as a kid in the 60's I read about Tennessee's great smallie lakes and rivers. Getting down to Dale Hollow is on my bucket list. Last I heard, that's still the home of the world's record.

Mountain City is very nice. It's also only 30 minutes or so from Boone, in NC. Home of Appalachian State U. and a fabulous little college town. (2 of my kids went there.) Gorgeous area.

Just came across your video I was born and raised in Parsons, Tn. As a Teenager I couldn't wait to get out of that town but now that I'm older I can appreciate all that Parsons has to offer.

Grew up in Tullahoma, now live in Murfreesboro. Tennessee is great for outdoor activity, better east of I-24 because of terrain.

A couple of years back, I wanted to get away from it all, I found a cabin to rent in Coker Creek, Tenn. Nice place to visit but not much to do. No complaints here, though!

Retired to Tennessee going on 5 years. Love the people ! Moved from South Florida and I wouldn't change it for anything. This state and it's people are awesome, so thankful !

This guy is the most entertaining, funny person I've heard in a very long time. I love 'em.

spent the best 14 1/2 years of my life living in east TN, both Johnson City and Cleveland, with Barbara. Miss both dearly

PLEASE! STOP! Tennessee is FULL!!! Too many have moved here already! Leave us alone, Briggs!

i live in east Tennessee all my life we dont need any more people from bad places that bring their crap with them if you do hope you like guns

I'm from Memphis, grew up there. Is it dangerous? Sure.. if you don't know how to act right. If you act like you're a pushover, you'll find problems. If you act out like you're looking for problems, you'll find them. That said, there is amazing food (better than Nashville) and culture to be had there. Don't turn down the wrong road, and definitely don't panic or look like a target if you do and you'll be fine.

Born and raised here … do you know what ruins a small town ?… more people , just saying , most of the cities infrastructure can’t handle the influx of people …

Hey, don't send people to our state.

I enjoy these videos! I live in a nice town in California. My sisters live in southern Kentucky around Franklin, just north of Portland , Tennessee. The fire seasons have been vicious and I have been going out Tennessee and Kentucky for a month or two around September. Given how dry and hot it is becoming in CA I especially enjoyed the beautiful green and the moist weather. I am grateful for what CA has provided for me so I will hang in there and see if I can help out, so don’t worry, I am not moving to Tennessee.

I know the majority will disagree, but I prefer visiting Memphis. I’ve lived in Memphis and Nashville and I would never live in either one again, but I prefer visiting Memphis out of the two. Give me some Blues, BBQ, and Shelby Farms and I’m happy. But only for a visit.

Actually there are dozens of small towns in Tenn that are nice (and fit your silly criteria. Glad you missed most of them so they stay small and unpolluted by Yankees and Californians.

Surprised my town of Crossville wasnt on here: right off of I40, lots of outdoor things to do between Cumberland Mountain State Park and the Catoosa Wildlife Reserve, not too far away from a more major city (Cookeville), it has a hospital just outside of downtown, and it will have a Buc ee's! The only negative is the internet but it is getting better, we are getting Ben Lomond fiber at our house by the end of the year.

Excellent description of the difference between Memphis and Nashville. “Hug versus a punch in the face.”

Rural Tennessee looks beautiful. Thanks, Briggs.

Good video, however most people who live in Parsons would go to Jackson for hospital care, which is a 45 min drive instead of Nashville which is an 1:30 drive. Jackson has the largest hospital group outside of Memphis and a little piece of history: MD Anderson of the same named Cancer hospital in Houston TX was born in Jackson, but the Kirkland Cancer Center is state of the art.

Parsons is 40 mins from Jackson Tn. Great hospitals and restaurants. Also buffalo river is really close to Parsons. Lots of Canoers and kayakers.Also good smallmouth fishing as well as the Tn river.

Yeah thanks, Tennessee housing has more than doubled in the last 2yrs thanks to videos like this.

Tennessee is completely full if you are a Democrat but if you happen to have common sense and you are a Republican come on in

I was born and raised in East Tennessee and I'm very familiar with Mountain City, TN. There is quite a lot of crime in Mountain City that does not get reported because it and the surrounding towns are very corrupt in the political districts. Carter County Tennessee is especially wrought with crime, corruption, and more. Yes, the internet is good. Charter and it used to be Comcast dominated the areas and they brought in pretty good internet about 15 years ago. Most of Tennessee is also tourism based, so when it comes to the locals, they could care less. The state and local governments want what they can get out of taxes, that's why they have the highest sales tax in the nation. Property taxes in relation to the cost of living are relatively high as well. My Mother pays more than $1k yearly on 3.6 acres of land with only a mobile home on it and no one actually living on the property currently. Much of East Tennessee is in flooding zones and there have been some very nasty flooding events that have happened there. Just pull up the flooding that occurred in 1998. Watauga Lake sits very close to Mountain City, so you do have that as an option for entertainment, but be prepared to pay at every location that you can get to at the lake on top of the taxes already established. Local government also likes to take it upon themselves to block off lake access everywhere except the places that you have to pay to access. Now, lets talk about cost of living...it is high in relation to the pay. When I left Tennessee in 2015, you could barely get more than minimum wage at most jobs, but the rent and housing prices had increased so much that most people could not afford anything on that rate of pay. Of course, as with everything else that is being highly influenced by leftists, the rate of pay has increased, but the jobs have not. The only real work in these areas is restaurants, hotels, and healthcare. If you planned on trying to get work in the government there, forget it, there's nepotism abounding, so if you're not related to someone already in the government jobs, you're not going to get a government job. Just for example, I applied for a government job in Carter County, TN. I have certificates, went to college, did several training programs, worked in Washington DC before for the CWLA, and was with AT&T for over 7 years. I applied for a County Clerk position, took the Civil test requirement, and I hold a government clearance. They hired the current police Chief's 18 year old, straight out of high school, 0 training niece over me and a number of other qualified candidates. One of the County Clerk's held position for well over 50 years and it has been a notable, reported upon issue of County Clerk's using each others signatures even when they are not present on documents. There has been embezzlement issues, bribery, and the recent prior police Chief impregnated an underage girl. So, if you think you can handle all of these things, and you can Google them, it's all right there, then go for it.

I live on the Kentucky/Tennessee line next to Byrdstown. It’s a very small but beautiful place. Dale Hollow Lake is in the County and Lake Cumberland in Ky is 25-30 minutes away from it. If you love fishing boating or hunting this is definitely the place for you.

Just keep in mind a town can have a hospital, but that doesn't mean they have exceptional Healthcare. 😉

Thanks Briggs! Being from TN I appreciate you highlighting smaller towns. Nashville is getting kinda crazy.

Really enjoyed your video! I grew up in NE TN and I would like to say that if I were to ever move back to that part of the state, I would easily move to Jonesborough. Mountain City is very beautiful, but it is also very remote just because of the mountain roads you have to take anywhere. Jonesborough is the oldest European settled community in TN and there's maybe 5,000 people. You are close to Johnson City which has the area's largest hospital and the area's only level 1 trauma. If you are a parent, the Niswonger Children's Hospital is right next to the JC Medical Center. Jonesborough's downtown is absolutley beautiful and well kept simply due the town's history. People do like to visit, but it isn't a tourist trap in any sense. I love that little community.

Tennessee is a layed back kind of town the people are great love my home town Tennessee

PLEASE STOP MOVING TO TENNESSEE WE ARE HAVING A HOUSING SHORTAGE

STOP MOVING TO TN!! WE HAVE A SEVER HOUSING SHORTAGE AND PEOPLE WHO'VE LIVED HERE OUR WHOLE LIVES CANT EVEN FIND ANYWHERE TO MOVE TO BECAUSE PEOPLE WON'T STOP MOVING HERE!

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. We will be there in September lol hope we are neighbors 😂❤

Born and raised in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Moved to West Ohio in 2012 yes boring flat west Ohio with nothing to do. Went to East Tenn for one week in April for the first time. Fell in love with Tenn. I love my rolling hills and mountains being a true Appalachian girl from Pa growing up going North Pa camping. I miss my mountains. Hubby and I decided we will be moving to Tenn in a few years. I have huge respect for Tenn people and I would never change a thing for Tenn and for what they have. I am a huge history bluff and love everything they have there. I love the southern hospitality they have there too.

I was hoping your list would include Paris, Tn. Twenty plus years ago I thought that would be the place to live. Keep doing the great Vlogs.

I live 20miles from Parsons it is a great town but you have to go to Decaturville if you wanna go fishing. You don't have to drive to Nashville or Memphis for shopping, Jackson would be a better bet, Jackson even has a Mall. Nashville and Memphis probably be only places to have anything to do besides shopping. And fun fact Parsons is located in Decatur county the Meth Capital of Tennessee. But crime is low. The hospitals closed. And Lexington and Jackson are closer for hospitals and you can get to Lexington in under 20minutes or 45 minutes to Jackson. Jackson has an awesome hospital amazing staff and care.

I live in Tennessee, Mountain city should be the last place you ever want to move or retire! Conveniently located 50 miles from the nearest Walmart. Very few places to eat besides fast food and only a few of those. Mountain city hospital can only do so much consider that golden hour and you are 50 miles from the hospital. Even if "Wings" flies you they have to come and get you from the hospital then returned. The clock is ticking! There is nothing to do, nowhere to go, I lived there 4 years.

Hi Briggs, I'm loving this new series, it's being really useful and helpful. I can only imagine the amount of work and research you're doing to make these happen for us. So THANK YOU! As I'm a remote worker father of 3, one going to college, one home schooled and another we are planning to go back to school (elementary), if you could include university/college/school for the city/town (info, or proximity), and/or homeschool information for that state, it would be amazing. Once again, thank you for all your videos and have a wonderful week!

Having visited my sister a number of times in the small Tennessee city she retired too---I especially enjoyed this video. She lives in LaFollette.

I had a friend whose Tennessee relatives came to San Diego to visit. Good people, good people!

Tennessee native here. We're full, thanks.

Tennessee is such a beautiful state. I would nominate Sevierville. Mountain town with a cooler climate where the people are super friendly.

I live within a 40-50 mile radius of Mtn City TN … what you forgot to mention, or maybe you just missed seeing it .. & might be very important to some folks.. it is also home to a minimum security prison in Mtn City … never really heard any problems arising from it tho & was raised in this area for the last 53 years & O yes it is a beautiful place to live with access to many outdoor activities & not an extreme drive to the gorgeous Mountains of North Carolina

Should have included Jonesborough as the oldest town in the state it’s a great place

Videos like this especially during the pandemic is why the people that have lived and worked here all their lives can't afford it any more. All the people from Cali New York etc buying up everything and want cali prices. Now these towns have huge homeless rate because of that

Fun fact about Byrdstown: the county it's located in (Pickett) has the smallest population of any county in Tennessee.

Alright---great places to live where you don't need a snow blower, snow plows to clear roads and all wheel drive. These all sound like great places

We spent 3 glorious years in Knoxville. Loved it, so much so, that when we needed to move away we moved to tiny Fayetteville because of work location. Love Fayetteville too.

I know two great towns in Tennessee, but I'm not telling. Don't want it to get too crowded. Question = What is the difference between a Yankee and a Damn Yankee. A Damn Yankee comes to visit and Stays!

Rogersville is where we landed and my job is only 48 minutes which is less than Los Angeles where i traveled 1 hour from Antelope Valley to Valencia. Lucky for me, I was able to transfer here and find a lovely town to live in and we have a Hospital and a dentist too.

I’m really wondering why Tennessee is starting to become such a hotspot. Our real estate prices have tripled in the last year. Not to mention my town of 600 has doubled since covid.

You can walk into any Tennessee Farm Bureau office and get an insurance quote. But their most basic requirement is that you own one acre of land. With that, however, you can get everything insured for a reasonable cost.

I’m only about 30 mins from Byrdstown.❤️ Our internet is amazing. We live in a tiny rural area. Mostly people who like to ride horses come here. I’ve been here my entire life and don’t plan on leaving.🥰

Problem is that many of these not so bad real-estate prices are inflated because of the people working from home coming from high price areas. If they had actually checked prices instead of just being awed by it being lower than where they were from they could have bought much cheaper and not jacked up prices.. Land that only a couple years ago did well to bring around 5.000 is bring 20.000.. 150000 dollar houses bring over 300 000.

Thanks Briggs for making me think of when the last time I went into a Insurance office and it was almost 20 years ago in Riverside. Time went be fast..

Almost choked when Collinwood made your list. I grew up there. Good thing this was a retirement to working from home list lol. Btw pretty sure housing there gets a lot cheaper 10 to 15 minutes outside of town in any direction. Internet might suffer a little but several big hospitals within 35 to 45 minutes if you know the roads.

I haven't watched the video talking about Thompson Station as a rural town, but while that may be technically true, it's really a sub-burb of Nashville, and housing prices are probably not what most folks are looking for. Interstate 840 is pretty much East/West and Interstate 65 is North/South. I have lived in both Spring Hill and Franklin TN with Thompson Station in the middle. In fact, Spring Hill and Thompson Station have much overlap, (Franklin too) with subdivisions and shopping right next to each other in one or the other. Unless you know exactly where the line is, it's easy to get confused. As an added insight. People are flooding to Tennessee from all over, but many from what some would call the Blue States, so prices are a bit out of control. Thompson Station is affected by this. I personally know of folks putting a bid on a house but needed financing, then someone from California comes in goes 50K over asking, and pays cash. Others have gone 100K over to get stuff. Albeit 4000+ Sq/Ft newer home. Even before Covid, it was starting to get out of control.

Not sure about the other two, but if you have any significant melanin, you don't want to move to Collinwood, Mountain City or Byrdstown.

We are full no vacancies

I used to live a few miles from Parsons. The hospital had closed like many rural communities. Not sure if they reopened. Zero to do there. But if you like that and church,it's not bad. Summer's are extremely hot and humid.

When you mention Spectrum as the primary internet carrier, I automatically strike that city off the list. Poor customer service, and their constant rate hikes are unreasonable.

Thank you for your videos.They give me the opportunity to get the idea of places I probably won't see firsthand..its so far from where I live.And the voice..I like it

Im from Knoxville. Knoxville was always slept on until a year ago, now people are breaking their necks to get there while space and houses are still available.

It's really a beautiful state. There are plenty of outdoor activities to keep the kids busy and entertained. There's a great deal of rivers and lakes if they want to check that out, too.

I live in a very rural area in SE Tennessee and I have Twin Lakes internet (fiber optic). They are NOT kidding when they say their internet is super fast. I work at my parents house a few miles away and they have Xfinity, but it pales in comparison to Twin Lakes. Just FYI, for anybody thinking of moving to an area that offers Twin Lakes as an ISP. They're based in Cookeville, TN, BTW.

Beautiful area. Hot and Humid, got air conditioning? I'm good. I refuse to go to doctor's or hospital's so I'm good there. Internet? Give me enough to watch Briggs channels and a couple of homesteading videos, I'm good. The winter? What's that like? Tipping point: I don't like ice and snow.

Parsons has no hospital, it is closed. There is a hospital 15 miles to the west in Lexington, 30 miles north in Camden. I was the Administrator at both Camden and Parsons, years ago.

Both my sisters live in New Tazewell, TN....Claireborne County. Beautiful area with lots to do, as Lake Norman is a huge lake with tons of waterways. Good employment, and on the Kentucky, Virginia borders, 20-30 miles northwest of Knoxville. They even have a WalMart....lol.

As a pretty much life long TN resident thats lived all over the state, and while moved away always came home, back to my homestate, even home town...its interesting the places picked ...I would have thought Cooksville, Murfeesboro, Johnson City, Bristol even Kingsport, Knoxville or Maryville, Alcoa, Oak Ridge, and even Crossville would have made cut lol

MARYVILLE TN #1 You have a small Pleasantville town of all cultures and 30 mins to1 hr away from everything Cades Cove, Dollywood, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, UT Hospital, UT College. No homeless no crime. Cheap good food and Major airport 15 mins away. Amazon building and ALOT of jobs in Alcoa and Knoxville right next to Maryville. YOu over looked this gem. If you want the country they have that in Blount County next to Maryville also

Born and raised in Tennessee really surprised that Union City wasn't included on this list

I have lived in Tennessee most of my life, and I giggled at some of these towns. We have A LOT of people moving to my area since COVID, so I wont say were I live lol...its a bit bigger than these towns but still considered a "Small town".

Seems like the people of Tennessee should just be happy that people are finding out what a beautiful state you have. I get you don’t want people to change your way of life but please remember most people are moving to Tennessee because they don’t like their way of life from where they are coming from. Try being a little more welcoming…. It’s what the world needs right now!

Should’ve told the folks there’s a state prison located in Mountain City TN. Northeast Correctional and like most of the state prisons here in TN, it’s likely the number one place for employment for the locals. Most prisons in TN (And probably most states) are located in or very near a small rural town.

Did you look at Sneedville TN? They are truly mainstreet USA. Good hospitals, internet, affordable housing and vacant land . I don't know how to find the crime statistics but didn't see or hear of any the many times I've visited. Hopefully this will be the area I retire to.

You had me at “do you want a hug or punch in the junk” !!!!

The large difference in quality of governor's mansions in each state and the neighborhoods they're located in is pretty amazing. Perhaps there's a video in there somewhere.

I would add the following: Tellico Plains (foothills of smokies and close to water) Dunlap (tucked away in a massive valley) Winchester (next to a nice lake) Hampshire and Santa Fe (nestled along the Natchez Trace) Oakdale (nice little river running through town) Dandridge (close to nice lake) Pelham (foothills are beautiful here) I’ve been all over the state. It’s the most beautifully diverse state in the entire country.

U forgot Erwin/Unaka Springs TN. Personally, my favorite place in the world!

I live in Thompson Station and it’s great. It’s like a resort without the beach.

Yeah my town didn't make the cut I guess its Manchester Tn and I love the hell out of it I moved here from Michigan in 2006 and have never regretted it we are 60 minutes south of Nashville and 60 minutes north of Chattanooga every year we have a music festival called Bonnaroo and thousands come from around the world to see it I just wanted to brag about my town since Briggs didn't tell ya about it Oh and we have a hospital and internet ALSO SPECTRUM

Another great video thank you please keep posting in states and towns very cool to check out