How Do You Plan a 48-Hour Visit to Tennessee National?

A scheduled visit shows you what Tennessee National is. Two days in the area shows you whether you could live here. If you are flying in, use the extra day and a half on purpose.

This plan assumes you land one afternoon, spend the next full day on the property, and fly out the evening after that. Move the pieces around if you need to. Do not drop any.

What should you set up before you travel?

Three things: the flight, the hotel and the visit itself.

• Fly into McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS). It is the Knoxville airport, about 35 minutes from the gate.
• Stay in Farragut. Farragut and the Turkey Creek shopping area are about 20 minutes from Tennessee National, with hotels, restaurants and the big stores.
• Schedule the visit for your full day. Tennessee National is private and gated, so schedule a visit before you come. Say what you want to walk. The five ways to own are The Timbers (wooded homesites), lake homesites, waterfront homesites, Land & Home packages and townhomes.
• Read first. Pricing is in the info pack. Read it on the plane and arrive with a short list of questions.

What do you do the afternoon you land?

Drive the route once with no agenda. Pick up the car, check in at the hotel, then drive to the gate and back.

Notice the exits and the last few miles. I-75 is about 10 minutes from the gate. This is the drive you would make to the airport and to Knoxville for years, so it should feel easy. If it does not, that tells you something.

Have dinner in Farragut or Loudon. The area guide maps restaurants around Loudon and Knoxville. The meal is not the point. The point is learning how far "going out" is from where you would live.

What should you see on the property?

Everything you would use in an ordinary week. Give it the whole day.

The homesites. Stand on each one. Check where the sun is, how the ground falls, and what you would see from a porch. Homes here are custom built and go through design review, so ask for the guidelines. There is no deadline to build after you buy a homesite.

The marina. Tennessee National has a full-service marina with 140+ boat slips. Watts Bar Lake is a TVA lake with more than 39,000 acres of water and 722 miles of shoreline. Ask how residents without a boat get on the water. The lake sits about 5 to 6 feet lower in winter than in summer, so read up on Watts Bar lake levels before you judge a shoreline.

The course. One Greg Norman Signature course. 18 holes, 7,393 yards, par 72. If you golf, ask the club ahead of time whether you can play. If you do not, ask to ride through by cart. This is a golf cart community, and the ride shows you how the homes, the fairways and the marina connect.

The people. There are 22 social clubs and 180+ events a year. Ask to meet a resident or two. Ask what surprised them after they moved in. That answer is worth more than anything on a website.

That evening, write down three things you liked and one thing you are unsure about.

How do you test daily life on day two?

Run the errands you would really run. You are checking whether an ordinary day is convenient, not whether it is charming.

• Loudon, about 5 minutes. Groceries and quick errands.
• Lenoir City, about 15 minutes. Everyday shopping.
• Farragut and Turkey Creek, about 20 minutes. The big stores.
• Knoxville, about 30 minutes. Hospitals, the university, downtown.

Then drive into Knoxville and look around. This is your city if you buy. How far Tennessee National is from Knoxville lists the other drive times.

If one homesite stuck with you, go back and stand on it at a different hour. Light changes a homesite. So does a second look with nobody talking.

Then drive to the airport. By now you have done the airport run twice, the Knoxville run once and the Farragut run several times. You know the distances from the driver's seat, not from a table.

What should you decide on the way home?

Three questions decide it.

1. Could I make the airport drive as often as my life needs?
2. Did the water pull me, or did it only impress me?
3. Would I rather be there on an ordinary Tuesday than where I am now?

Three yeses means it is time to talk about a specific homesite. Two means come back in a different season. Visiting in winter shows you things summer hides. One yes means you have your answer, and you saved yourself a mistake.

What two days cannot tell you

Be honest about the limits.

• One weekend of weather is not the year. East Tennessee has four seasons and mild winters. You saw one slice.
• A weekend is not a weekday. Ask what a normal Tuesday looks like.
• The paperwork matters more than the view. Covenants, design guidelines and association budgets deserve a slow read at home, not a quick look in a parking lot.

Two days will not make the decision for you. They will make sure the decision is about the real place.

Facts about Tennessee National come from the community. Lake facts come from TVA. Rules, taxes, loans and insurance change, so confirm anything that affects a purchase with the right office or professional before you buy.