Tellico Village - Loudon, TN

We love living here. There are clubs and activities for everyone. We mostly hike, play tennis and pickleball for sports. We never got a boat because we’re off with friends with boats too often. We don’t golf but people seem happy with it. We’re in several clubs and probably have more friends here than in decades in our old home. The POA fees are reasonable when you consider they cover things that property taxes might such as road maintenance. All told taxes and POA together, which is a better way to think of it, are pretty low compared with the north. The only negative for us is that it is a little more rural… going to good shopping or a really nice restaurant is 30-45 minutes away depending on where you live here. There is diversity of home appearance but in recent years, a lot of black and white spec homes have been built in the newer neighborhoods. Real estate prices are definitely on the high side. Emergency medical care is awesome… response time is a few minutes but a small hospital is 20 minutes away and a big one is 40 by car. Red/Blue is 70/30 and people are as divided here as everywhere but politics is usually off limits in social gatherings by consensus and this seems to work. There are groups organized by political tribe if that’s your thing. Restaurants/golf and some other things are subsidized by the POA but this helps property resales; most things are paid by the actual users. They have a new villagers group (you can belong for 2 years) to help people make friends and learn about activities. The homeowners group sponsors local and regional trips and activities. Eastern TN has a lot going for it and for us, it was a better choice than FL.

We moved here about 3 years ago. The property taxes are extremely low, there is no state income tax and sales tax is about 9% except groceries which are 6%. So all in all, good cost of living. In the past two years, this place has exploded. Home prices have almost doubled for all, not just new, houses. As a result, many of the facilities are so busy all the time, it is difficult to utilize them. For example, while there are 3 nice golf courses, you cannot get a tee time during the week in the morning as it is all leagues. The Wellness Center has an indoor pool, but again is used so much for classes, almost no free time to just swim laps. There is a Recreation Center that has rooms that are used for bridge, quilting, hand & foot, etc. But the parking lot is constantly full and sometimes you must park far away and walk on the road.

The are a huge variety of activities, truly something for everyone. Three churches right in the village. There are two restaurants that are subsidized by our HOA dues. Frankly, both overpriced and mediocre food. There are 3 independent restaurants within the village that are very good. There is a Food Lion grocery at one end of the village.

Our HOA dues go up 5% every year. ( the maximum allowed). There is a excellent fire department and emergency services right in Tellico.

It is 10-20 minutes to Lenior City where there are mostly chain restaurants, Walmart and Home Depot and some other grocery stores. For other shopping you must travel 30 minutes or more. We have not been impressed with the healthcare. Very difficult to find a good doctor and then it is usually over 3 months to get an appointment. Took me 6 months to get a dentist appointment.

The weather is great. Truly it is sunny most days except for when it rains. We have had several very hot summers, but that seems to be happening everywhere. However, even in the summer, it is usually cool enough in the morning to do outside activities. We have had some snowfall, twice. But it is melted by the next day.

One of reasons we moved here was because all the homes were different; didn’t have that planned community look. However, nearly ALL of the 400 new houses, are virtually the same. The overall character has changed.

But given all those positives, we have not found this place to be welcoming. There is little diversity and tolerance for others. We had hoped this would be our forever place, but alas it is not.

We have been here nearly six years now, living right on Tellico Lake with a view out to the mountains and a boat at our dock. Ideal! The best part though are the amazing people who create a wide variety of events for the community– theater, arts, civic, veteran, animal care, games, sports, boating, hiking and more– all thriving due to the volunteers who run them. Makes is super easy to meet people and to get engaged.

We moved here 2 years ago hoping this would be a good fit for us. There has been unexpected and explosive growth and the unique character and charm of some of the neighborhoods is gone. Houses are being mass produced with the same craftsman style and on some streets it looks like a tract home neighborhood. The amenity that was extremely important to us was having access to a lap pool. Unfortunately the Wellness Center pool is poorly managed and most of the time is catered to water aerobics and other non swimming activities. This part of TN does not have other feasible options for lap swimmers. It’s not the wonderland we had hoped and I would caution anyone interested in moving here to really research the area. We should have done a more thorough investigation.

My wife and I have lived in the Village for almost 12 years and love the community’s lifestyle and convenience. There are two bank branches, a supermarket, hardware store, pharmacy, gas station, three hairdressers, yacht club plus more than a half dozen restaurants either on the property or just outside the community. In the Chatuga and Mialaquo neighborhoods you’ll find neighborhoods with curbs and sidewalks. My wife and I take advantage of the more than 14 miles of walking trails within the community every chance we get. The Village has three championship golf courses, three recreation centers, two outdoor pools, three tennis complexes, three marinas, a medical center, a pickleball complex and a transitional neighborhood offering independent and assisted living. Tellico Village is on the shores of 16,000-acre Tellico Lake with spectacular views of the Smoky Mountains. What is best about the Village: the people. We have lived and worked in different parts of the country and the world. We were fortunate to find this special place to enjoy this stage of our lives.