Where to Retire magazine

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By Olin Chism
'Golf capital of Tennessee' boasts scenic lakes,
mountain valleys and small-town friendliness
umberland County is a microcosm of scenic Tennessee. Sit­
uated in the northeast quadrant of the state on the rolling
Cumberland Plateau, an outlying part of the Appalachian
range, the county varies in elevation by more than 2,000
feet , with gentle mountains backdropping broad valleys. The area is
dotted with lakes, and much of it is heavily timbered. In spring and
summer, it's an ocean of green. In fall, it's a multicolored rival to the
Smoky Mountains about an hour to the east.
At the center of Cumberland County lies Crossville, which, with
several surrou nding communi­
ties, has become a favorite of
retirees. Drawn by the natural
beauty, a low cost of living and
welcoming reside nts, out-of­
state newcomers have moved
to the area.
An exa mp le of the cosmo­
politan nature of the influx, Jim
Hodge, 60, and his wife, Alice ,
61, have rang ed far and wide in
their careers. They moved to
Florida du ring their working
years and planned to retire
there with a seco nd home in
Crossville, but weather and
fina nces ma de
Ten ne ssee
increasingly attractive as a pri­
mary residence .
Unlike many of the area' s
retiree s, Jim is a native Ten­
nessean , although he was born
in Selme r, far to the sou thwest
of Crossville. In his rnid-20s, Jim
moved to Manhattan, where he
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104
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WHERE TO RET IRE
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A distinctive rose-colored sandstone quarried
from Crab Orchard Mountain in the Cumberland Plateau was used to construct several
buildings in the Crossville area, including the
1905 Cumberland County Courthouse.
i
became the ticket manager for
the New York Yankees and me t
Alice, a native New Yorker. "I'm
a born and bred New Yorker,
and I married my Southern
gentleman," Alice says.
Later in their New York years,
Jim and Alice moved to subur­
ban Westches ter County. Jim
became the ticket manager of
Giants Stadium and Alice
worked in a management pos i­
tion at Citibank . Twenty years
after Jim's move to New York,
Alice had the opportunity to
transfer to Florida and jumped
at it.
Jim had always wanted to
move to Florida, and Alice had
inherited her mother's condo in
Port Lauderdale. For the next 12
years, Alice traveled extensively
for Citibank in Latin America
from her base in Florida , while
Jim took on various projects as
=--­
.--_ .
a ticketing consultant. Assignments in
Florida included managing tickets for
the Parker Playhouse in Fort Laud­
erdale and several othe r Florida the­
aters as we ll as a major-league soccer
team and a King Tut tour of Florida.
Eventually Alice was recruited for an
executive position with Home Depot
in Flori da, and a cou ple of years later,
she and Jim decide d they wanted to
take ea rly retireme nt. They had
bo ught a house at Fairfield Glade, a
master-planned development for all
ages near Crossville, but they thought
of it as the ir second home.
Clockwise from above: With a 270­
acre body of water, Meadow Lake
Park is a popular fishing spot. Alice
and Jim Hodge live in the Fairfield
Glade planned community, which has
90 holes of golf. A 73-foot-long
mural, painted by Brooklyn artist
Katie Yamasaki, adds color to the
Fifth Street area in Crossville.
"We thoug ht, 'Let's find the house of
our dreams and let's retire in Florida.'
The weather's great. What cou ld be
wrong with that?" Jim says.
"Well, six hurricanes late r, w ith my
ho meowner's insurance going up
dramatically and then being can ­
ce led, and taxes very high, we start­
ed thinking - we actua lly put it
down on pa p er - 'We're not go ing
to have a very comfortable retire ­
ment if we stay in Florida ,'" he says.
10n W HFRF TO RETIRE
So Jim and Alice's seco nd home
became their only home. "I haven't
regretted it for one minute," Jim says.
"I don 't miss Florida at all. We've made
great friends here. I play golf all the
time. My wife is involved with the
commu nity. She just learn ed to play
golf, and she's involved with the
ladies' club . We go to the hom eown­
ers association meetings all the time.
We love it here."
Jim's mention of golf is highly perti­
nent as Crossville calls itself the "golf
capital of Tennessee." There are 12 18­
=--­
hole courses within 15 miles of the
cen ter of Crossville, and the Crossville­
Cumbe rland County Cham ber of Com- .
me rce claims that mo re tban half a mil­
lion rounds of golf were played in the
county in 2008. Several of the courses
are awa rd winners, including Fairfield
Glade's Stonehenge Go lf Cours e ,
w hich Golf Digest ranked as the No. 1
co urse in Tennessee in 1995. Fairfield
Glade , in fact, has 90 holes of golf.
Another we ll-traveled couple who
found a retiremen t home in Fairfield
Glade is Jim and Rosemary Campi, 68
and 65, respectively . Jim, a dentist
who practiced for many years in Indi­
anapolis, actua lly has retired tw ice.
"My hu sband boug ht so me proper­
ty in Montan a, and we built a nice big
log home there. We retired and
moved out there (in 1996), and he
loved being Jeremiah Johnson - and
I didn't like being Jeremiah's Wife,"
Rosemary says, referring to a 1970s
movie starring Robert Redford as a
mountain man. "There wasn' t anybody
there and we we re on the to p of a
mou ntain in the middle of nowhe re."
Jim sees it a little differently. "I had a
dream to retire there. I had a bea u tiful
spread out there, 140 acres on a mo un­
taintop , an architecturally designed
and built log home, horses and four­
w heelers. I was in seventh heaven . We
spent three yea rs there," he says.
"111en my wife explained to me that it
was a sabbatical, and I had to invoke
the only two words that co unt in a
marriage: 'Yes, dear.' So we sold out."
111e Campis retu rned to Ind iana po­
lis, w here Jim pra cticed for a year in
part ne rsh ip with his son, w ho is also a
de ntist. 111en Jim decided to retire
aga in, and on the recommendation of
a co usin, the Campis moved to a
pleasant resort community, St.
Michaels on the Eastern Shore of
Maryland . But retirem ent still wasn't
qui te right. After a few yea rs, the cou­
108
WHERE TO RETIRE
says. "In Indianapolis, our house had
about as much acreage as we have
here but it wasn't on water or any­
thing, and property taxes wer e almost
$9,000. Then in St. Michaels it was
$3,700, and .here it is $1,700. That's
nice - and, of course, the state has no
income tax. That might be another
reason people are coming."
The Campis are also imp ressed with
the frien dliness and laid-back attitude
of Crossville area citizens . They cite an
example: They had some ma jor
rep airs done while they were ou t of
town. When they return ed , Rosemary
says, they called the w orkman and
asked if he wan ted to pick up his
check . "And he said , 'Well, I'm busy
now. HoW about if I come next
week?" says Rosem ary. Jim adds, "I
had to call him three times to co me
get a check for $4,500."
"They are just really, really nice peo ­
ple," Rosemary says.
Another recently relocated retired
cou ple, Richard and Sandra Gadwe ll,
agree. "Taxes are cheap and the people
are nice," says Richard, 66. "And the
scenery is beautiful," adds Sandra, 70.
Richard and Sandra, w ho are retired
from the General Motors Corp., moved
from Monroe, MI, in 2007. They
~
ple decided that their property was
"too big and too much to take care
of," in the wo rds of Rosemary, who
has multiple sclerosis .
Jim and Rosemary had friends who
lived in Fairfield Glade and loved it, so
the Cam pis checked it out and moved
in 2009. They share a lovely home on
a lake with a friendly lab, Belle. At
Fairfield Glade , a resort-style commu­
nity of attached townhomes and sin­
gle-family homes, the Campis found a
place they both could enjoy equally.
Like the Hod ges, the Campis are
impressed with Tennessee's costs of
living. "It's a lot less expensive than
anywhere we 've been," Rosemary
Ii
JANUARy/FEBRUARY 2010
109
.­
C R 0 S S V I LL E, T EN N E SSE E
Population: 11 ,599 in town, 53,590
in the county.
Location: Crossville is the seat of
Cumberland County in northeast Ten­
nessee. It is about 115 miles east of
Nashville, 70 miles we st of Knoxville
and 80 miles north of Chattanooga .
Climate: High Low
January
44
26
july
84
65
Averag e relative humidity: 79%
Rain: 57 inches annually
Snow: 12 inches annually
Cost of living: Below average
Housing cost:The median sales price
was $135,000 for homes in Cumber­
land County and $187,500 for homes
in Fairfield Glade for the third quarter
of 2009, according to the Knoxville
Area Association of Realtors.
Sales tax: 9.75% (5.5% on groceries)
Sales tax exe mpt ion: Prescription
drugs
State income tax: Tennessee has no
state income tax on earned income
but does levy a 6% tax on interest
and dividend income from stocks,
bonds and notes receivable. Income
received from IRAs and 401 (k)s is not
taxable. Interest from CDs, savings
accounts, obligations of the federal
government and state of Tennessee
or Tennessee local government
bonds is exempt.
Income tax exemptions: For the
tax on interest and dividends, noted
above, the first $2,500 in such
income for joint filers and $1,250 for
single filers is exempt. Those 65 and
older are exempt if total annual
income is $27,000 or less for joint fil­
ers or $16,200 for single filers.
Estate tax: Tennessee has an inheri­
tance tax that is similar to an estate
tax.
Inh eritance tax: A state inheritance
tax applies to all assets of estates
above $1 million . The rates range
from 5.5% to 9.5% . A spouse is
exempt.
Property tax: Residents in the city
pay a total rate of $ 1.88 per $ 100 of
assessed value. Those living outside
the city limits pay only the county tax
of $ 1.33 per $ 100 of assessed value.
Homes are assessed at 25% of market
value. The yearly tax on a $150,000
home would be about $705 within
the city limits and about $499 in the
112
WHERE TO RETIRE
county, including Fairfield Glade.
Housing: Jim Firley, a broker for
H omestead exemption: None, but
Hughes Real Estate Services. sa s that
there is a property tax relief program
Fairfield q'@9~;:: D)_383"7600, .I.~
for those 65 and older who meet !be·-,rY6StPopular retiree destinatio n"
low-income guidelines, disabled pelj/ /in. Cumberland County. Lake Tansi
sons and disabled veterans.
(
V illage , (800) 600-9913, also
Religion: Baptists are the predo.rhi- attracts retirees . ~oth are unincorpo­
nant religious group, but vari~d, rated communities outside the
Protestant
denominations
and~~G1 e
Catholic and Jewish groups are repre­
OH
sented.
Education: Roane State Community
IN
wv
Colleges Crossville branch offers non­
credit continuing-education courses
for personal enrichment and general
KY
cultural benefits as well as technologi­
MO
cal training and courses to comply
Nashville. 8 z;:J:lill:. ~oxv ill~
with business and industrial require­
NC
ments.
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Chattanooga
Transportation: Interstate 40 is the
SC
his
principal east-west artery, connecting
Crossville with Knoxville to the east
and Nashville and Memphis to the
GA
AL
west. U.S. Highway 127 is the main
MS
route to northern and southern desti­
nations; 1-75 is about 50 miles east.
Interstate bus service is provided by has its own security service and a vol­
unteer fire department. take Tansi Vil­
Greyhound, and the closest Amtrak
lage also has its own security service
train stop is in Atlanta, about three
but depends on the county for fire
and a half hours to the south.
Crossvilles municipal airport provides protection . Firley says housing in
each community starts at about
charter and rental service. The closest
$) 10,000, with larger houses on
scheduled airline service is at McGhee
acreage costing up to $ 1 million.
Tyson Airport at Knoxville, but many
Fairfield Glade, which has 90 holes of
prefer to use Nashville International
golf. 11 lakes and a large community
Airport, slightly farther but a major
center among its amenities, has been
hub with a greater range of destina­
in Where to Retires selection of Amer­
tions and fares.
icas
100 Best Master-Planned Com­
Health care: Cumberland Medical
munities
. In Crossville proper, Home­
Center is a nonprofit regional facility
with 149 private patient rooms and
stead Place, (931) 707-0393, is an
20 skilled-nursing beds. There are 7 I
upscale gated community. Nongated
physicians on staff, with specialists in
areas include Park Trace, Mountain
Vista and Laurelwood . Housing
numerous fields, including cardiolo­
gy, emergency medicine, endocrinol­
prices in Crossville range from about
$80,000 to $1 million, according to
ogy. geriatrics, gynecology. internal
medicine, neurology. ophthalmology.
Firley.
Vi sitor lodging: Options include
oncology, oral surgery, orthopedics,
Comfort Suites, $99-$164, (9311707­
pulmonology, radiology, radiation
8638 ; Days Inn, $74, (931) 484­
oncology. urology and vascular sur­
gery. The center has a 24-hour physi­
9691 ; Holiday Inn Express, $94-$1 19,
cian-staffed emergency department.
(93 1) 707-1035; LaOuinta, $74-$79,
(931) 456-9338; and Super 8, $76­
A Lifeline personal emergency
response program is available. A CMC $145, (931) 707-7660.
Inform ation: Crossville-Cumberland
facility at Fairfield Glade has mam­
County Chamber of Commerce
mography and physical therapy serv­
(Where to Retire magazine). 34 S. Main
ices as well as a w ellness complex
offering nutritional and exercise pro­
sr. Crossville. TN 38555, (877) 465­
grams including senior aerobics.
3861 or www.crossville-chamber.com.
0
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looked at Fairfield Glade but decided
they wanted to live closer to Crossville.
They chose a rural area just east of the
Crossville city limits. It's a sign of how
neighborly the area is that they can
name all the people who live near
them. It's definitely not a place where
the residents keep to themselves.
Sandra loves the low mountains to
the north of their property, as well as
the wooded country nearby and the
wildlife. "Especially early in the morn­
ing - it's just gorgeous," she says.
"We have a lot of deer around here
and wild turkeys coming through the
yard. And it's quiet."
Crossville, the county seat, had a
population slightly under 9,000 in the
2000 census and passed 11,500 in the
estimated 2008 census data. It is sur­
rounded close-in by the commurlities
of Crab Orchard and Pleasant Hill as
well as two unincorporated areas,
Lake Tansi Village and Fairfield Glade,
which have attracted retirees.
Crossville is the commercial center
of the area, providing banking and
other professional services, shopping,
restaurants, recreational opportunities
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114
WHERE TO RETIRE
and health-care facilities. The latter
includes Cumberland Medical Center,
a 182-bed facility offering a number of
specialized services not usually found
in rural health-care systems, including
a 24-hour physician-staffed emergency
department, There also is helicopter
ambulance service to hospitals in
Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga,
which range from roughly an hour to
an hour and a half away by car.
Recreational opportunities include
the Cumberland County Playhouse, a
well-regarded regional theater, as well
as the multitude of golfing options and
outdoor-centered activities in the
area's parks, lakes and hilly wood­
lands. Anyone checking out Crossville
should have a look at Cumberland
Mountain State Park, on the edge of
town. This lovely park has not only
well-appointed camping and picnick­
ing areas but also recreational facilities
that include swimming and, of course,
golf, as well as a restaurant popular
with residents.
The fast-growing Fairfield Glade
development, the area's most popular
retiree destination, has additional com­
mercial , professional and recreational
oppOitunities. Cumberland Medical
Center operates a wellness center at
the community, as well as in Cross­
ville, offering exercise equipment and
classes , personal training, massages
and dietitian services.
Cumberland County seems a model
of peaceful liVing now, but it wasn't
always that way. Carbon-dated
weapons prove that American Indians
were in the area thousands of years
ago, and Choctaws, Chickasaws,
Creeks and Cherokees were present in
historic times. In what became a famil­
iar type of episode in American histo­
lY,the first known white man to clear
land in Cumberland County, Thomas
"Big Foot" Spencer, was killed by a
group of American Indians led by
Cherokee Chief Doublehead in 1794.
The chief was later killed by some of
his own people.
Much greater violence erupted
seven decades later. Cumberland
County, which was officially estab­
lished in 1855, was evenly divided
between Union and Confederate parti­
sans during the Civil War - a point
made by Crossville's Civil War monu­
ment, which is unusual in listing a vir­
tually equal number of names of ser­
vicemen on each side. It's not hard to
imagine the tensions that arose when
relatives were pitted against relatives
and neighbors against neighbors dur­
ing the nation's greatest time of stress.
A major source of havoc was the rene­
gade bands that roamed the area dur­
ing the war.
Today's Cumberland County may be
popular with retirees, but it lacks the
aura of age assoc iated with some
retiree destinations. As Alice Hodge
puts it, her area is not "an adult, old­
fogy community." There are children
about and, "You have a lot of people
=-­
Water lovers reside near Mariner's Pointe on Lake Holiday
on the west side of town.
~
~
w ho have retired younger. A lot of
folks are not waiting until they are 65
or 70 to retire. There are a lot of
younger people who are helping the
Glade become revitalized," she says.
Many of those wh o have passed
traditional ret irement ag e remain
active. For example, Jim Campi is
involved in a program he inaugurat­
11 (, W HFRF TO RETiRE
ed to bring de ntal care to poo r chil­
dren in Honduras . While he and
Rosem ary were living in Maryland,
Jim went on a working mission trip to
Hondura s and saw "that the dental
situation was dire for these kids.
There were a hund red kid s in this
elementary-school system, and I quit
counting cavities at 500. These kids
were getting no de ntal treatment."
The situation is more critical than
many people migh t imagine , an d it
pr events Jim fro m co nside ring a
rocking- chair retireme nt. Jim says
that the No .2 nat ural cause of de ath
for chi ldren in Hondu ras is denta l
absc esses. With the hel p of his
church, Jim w as able to raise $55,000
nationally an d set up a three- chair
dental clinic in an o rp hanage . Now
he goes down twice a ye ar and has
recruited other dental teams and
expanded the program.
Jim exe mp lifies the town speople of
Crossville. "Any time you have a prob­
lem , they are right there," Sandra Gad­
we ll says of local residents . "In town,
if you walk into a bank or wha tever,
it's 'Hi, Mrs. Gadwell.' It's really nice ."
And for many new reside nts, life in
Crossville seems to harken back to
another era. "It's the way it used to be
back in the '40s and '50s," says Richard
Gadwell.
Wfl1R'
OLin Chism is a writer in Irving, IT,
and recently visited Crossville.