I'm kind of partial to Tennessee since I was born and lived here my whole life. We owned and operated a high end floor care business for over 24 years before retiring and going into full time Real Estate in 2016. My Hubby, Son, Labradoodle and I are all native to this area and when we travel it is to our favorite place.....the Great Smoky Mountains and we go glamping in our travel trailer to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg! We hardly ever leave the state for traveling, except when we have went to Florida, which has been a while! Well if we don't sell everything and go full time on the road, we will stick to vacationing here in Tennessee or maybe run up to Kentucky to see some caves.....ha! Little harder to go full time Rv'ing as a full time Realtor, so I think we will stay put and we LOVE our home too much on the Gallatin side of Portland and enjoy having a home after losing our home of 23 years to a house fire back in 2015! But, with that said we do love Tennessee and all it has to offer, so why bother going anywhere for now. Most clients tell me that they are moving here because we have 4 seaons......ok, well sometimes we are known for having all 4 seasons weather in one day.....lol!
I've helped clients retire to Tennessee from Florida and usually it's the other way around.....lol.....because we do have better weather and no hurricanes I have been told......but we do have tornadoes. We have a storm shelter in our basement, which makes us feel safer as long as we are home should one come through. We have beautiful mountains, trees, lakes, caves and just so much history here, so there is so much to do. If you like being outdoorsy then this is the place to live! Everyone that knows me knows I LOVE BEARS......and at our home in Portland, TN I have "Woody", the chainsaw carved 8 or 9' bear that stands tall at our side porch area to greet visitors and people drive by and roll down there windows to take pics and about 20 others throughout the outside & inside made of wood or concrete. It reminds me of our favorite destination, like being in the Smoky Mountains! We have even had Amazon drivers and delivery people want to do selfies there and then put it on social media. My love for bears goes back to a TV show called "Grizzly Adams" with Ben the Bear! And I am drawn to the Smoky Mountains and decorate in bears here at home too! We do plan on buying short term rental properties in the Smokies and can't wait!
They say that the bear population is starting to be spotted here closer to home.....with all the building in Sevierville I can see that they would have no choice but to venture out because there is nowhere for them to go. My family & I love to just breathe the mountain air, go hiking, walking through the rocks in the river/creeks, see the history of the Smokies at the old home sites and read about the families, take tours and go to dinner shows, like the Hatfield & McCoys, Dixie Stampede and The Pirates Dinner Show. Even if you are not into riding rides at Dollywood there is always something to do like shows, shopping, eating, train rides & so much more, even a water park. You can go up to Gatlinburg and walk the strip, shop and eat or just sit there and rest and people watch....ha. One of the newest things we did on our latest glamping trip for my 50th Birthday and our 32nd Anniversary was go up to Anakeesta for the first time and do the ropes, climb and ride the lifts up there ....... the views up top are amazing, but it is not for the faint at heart! We have season passes to Dollywood and Anakeesta too and have many more trips planned for the rest of the year! Our new campground that we love and have our bookings through January of 2023 is at Camp Margaritaville RV Resort & Lodge in Pigeon Forge......love that place! It's so clean, of course it's new and they also have Fin's Restaurant & Bar....we don't drink, but love the convenience of walking down there and picking up dinner and bringing it back to the camp site to eat....Stewie, our Labradoodle loves some chicken from there as well or we pick him up an angus beef burger.....lol! He has never eaten dog food a day in his life, so I have always cooked and prepared his food!
If you have never been to Tennessee and you love the outdoors, then you are definitely missing out. It is a great place to live, work and play! Usually you can find something to do within 15 min to an hour from whereever you decide to live. We are not far from Old Hickory Lake.......and we had a boat for about 12-13 years that we kept at Drakes Creek Marina and loved going out on the water. We have been too busy and didn't use our boat for a few years so we finally decided to sell it this year!
We are also members of Bluegrass Yacht & Country Club in Hendersonville, TN and are social members, but there is a pool, tennis and golf, along with out things such as dining, which we love and have a booth there known to be the "Hicks Booth!" LOL ..... I have been an ambassador there for a few years now and if you ever want a tour just let me know or we would love to do dinner with you and show you around. There is a waiting list a mile long for the marina at Bluegrass, so that's why we always kept ours at another marina all these years! If you love boating then you have many options to either keep it at home or at local marinas around Hendersonville, Gallatin, Mount Juliet, Lebanon, Nashville and beyond!
There are so many choices for dining, shopping, playing, traveling and working that Tennessee offers, so if you are thinking about making a move to TN give me a call and I will go over your options. Take a look through my website and read my testimonials and other blogs about areas! Enjoy and thanks for visiting my blog today!
Written by:
Audra Hicks ~ REALTOR, ABR, e-PRO, SRES, PSA, AHWD, RENE, HFR
Stewie says, "Mom puts the REAL in Real Estate!"
Benchmark Realty, LLC
131 Saundersville Rd, Ste 130
Hendersonville, TN 37075
Cell - 615-859-1748
Office - 615-991-4949
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