Moving From Chicago to East Tennessee: What Changes?

If you live around Chicago, you know the pattern. The clubs go to the basement in the fall. The boat comes out of the water. Then comes the long gray stretch where you shovel, scrape and wait.

Tennessee National is a private, gated lake and golf community on Watts Bar Lake in Loudon, Tennessee, about 30 minutes from Knoxville. Here is what changes if you trade one for the other, and what you give up.

How do the seasons change?

Winter shrinks. East Tennessee has four seasons and mild winters. You still get color in the fall and a green spring. What you lose is the long deep freeze in between.

For a golfer, that is the headline. Tennessee National has a Greg Norman Signature course: 18 holes, 7,393 yards, par 72. Mild winters mean more golf days, not golf every day. Check the forecast any given week. But the run of months with no golf at all gets much shorter. See golf.

The lake year stretches too. Ask the marina how owners handle the cold months before you plan around it.

How do you get there from Chicago?

Fly for short stays and drive for long ones. Both work.

Flying. You land at McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS). Check current nonstop routes on the airport's site. Our guide to flying to Tennessee National covers the airport.

Driving. The usual route is I-65 through Indianapolis to Louisville, I-64 to Lexington, then I-75 south. Tennessee National is about 10 minutes from I-75. Drive it once before you decide it is a trip you want to make several times a year.

The clock. East Tennessee is on Eastern time, one hour ahead of Chicago.

A home here changes how you pack. The golf cart, the clubs and the boat stay put. You travel with a carry-on.

How is Watts Bar Lake different from Lake Michigan?

It is a river lake with coves. Lake Michigan is the lake you already know. Watts Bar Lake is the kind of water where you tuck into a cove, tie up and stay a while.

Watts Bar is a TVA reservoir on the Tennessee River. From TVA:

• More than 39,000 acres of water.
• 722 miles of shoreline.
• A 72-mile navigable reservoir, with locks that connect to the rest of the Tennessee River system.
• Freshwater. No tides, no salt.

Like other TVA lakes, the level moves with the seasons. Summer pool runs about 740 to 741 feet and the winter minimum is 735 feet, a change of about 5 to 6 feet. Ask how that looks from any waterfront homesite you like.

Tennessee National has a full-service marina with 140+ boat slips inside the gates, so the boat can live in a slip instead of on a trailer. Ask the marina what is open. See marina and lake life.

What changes on taxes and bills?

The state income tax line is the one to look at. Tennessee has no state income tax.

Owning a second home is not the same as changing your residency. If Tennessee becomes your primary home, ask a CPA what happens to the state line on your Illinois return and when. Our guide to establishing Tennessee residency explains the steps.

For everything else, bring three documents: your last state return, your property tax bill and your homeowners insurance bill. Set them next to real quotes for a Tennessee address. Your own numbers will tell you more than any article.

What should you ask on a visit?

Ask for specifics, and get the important answers in writing.

• Which homesites and finished homes are available now? There are five ways to own: The Timbers (wooded homesites), lake homesites, waterfront homesites, Land & Home packages, and townhomes. Pricing is in the info pack.
• What does a normal year look like for someone who golfs and boats? Ask residents, not only staff.
• What are the current golf membership terms? Those come from the club. Do not assume.
• What if I buy now and build later? There is no deadline to build after you buy a homesite. Homes are custom built and go through design review, so ask for the HOA documents too.

What is inside the gates?

1,492 gated acres, and you get around most of it by golf cart.

• The course and the marina.
• 22 social clubs and 180+ events a year. Trivia, live music, wine tastings, holiday parties.
• A clubhouse with Kendall's restaurant, a pool and a fitness center.
• Pickleball, tennis, walking trails and a lakefront boardwalk in the Marina District.

Tennessee National is not age restricted. If you are leaving a club up north and wondering how this compares, read trading a northern country club for Tennessee National.

The honest trade-offs

• You will be far from family. A flight or a long day's drive, every time.
• Knoxville is not Chicago. It is a university town with hospitals and restaurants, about 30 minutes away. There is no lakefront skyline and no commuter train. You will drive everywhere.
• The airport is smaller. Fewer nonstop routes than O'Hare. Some trips will need a connection.
• Summer is hot and humid, and it lasts. If you love a cool lake breeze in July, you will notice.
• Mild winter is not warm winter. There are cold, gray weeks.

It fits a week built around golf, water and neighbors. If you need a big-city downtown outside your door, it will not feel right, and it is better to know that before you buy.

Do not decide from a website. Take a short trip with a plan: walk a few homesites, see the course, and stand at the marina.

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.