Is Moving From Nevada to Tennessee Worth It?

Moving from Nevada to Tennessee can be worth it, but do not count on the tax bill. Tennessee has no state income tax. If there is no state income tax on your Nevada return today, that line will not change, and the real reasons are water, trees and four seasons.

That makes this guide different from most. The honest question is whether you want to trade the desert for a lake, and whether that is worth a cross-country move. Here is what you gain, what you give up and how to test it. The example throughout is Tennessee National, a private, gated lake and golf community on Watts Bar Lake in Loudon, Tennessee.

Is moving from Nevada to Tennessee worth it?

It is worth it if you want water, trees and four seasons. It is not worth it if a lower state income tax bill is the only goal. Check your own return before you assume there is one to find.

Then compare the bills that differ from one address to the next: property tax, homeowners insurance, power and water. Use your own statements from Nevada and ask for real quotes here. Do not trust an average from a website, including this one.

What do you gain by moving to East Tennessee?

You gain water you can live on, and a landscape that is green because it rains.

• A lake at home. Watts Bar Lake is a freshwater TVA reservoir on the Tennessee River. It has more than 39,000 acres of water and 722 miles of shoreline. Tennessee National has a full-service marina with 140+ boat slips inside the gates. See marina and lake life.
• A lake level with a published range. Ask about levels on any lake you consider. Watts Bar runs about 740 to 741 feet in summer, with a winter minimum of 735 feet. That is a change of about 5 to 6 feet. TVA posts current numbers, and our guide to Watts Bar lake levels explains them.
• Golf on grass that wants to grow. One Greg Norman Signature course: 18 holes, 7,393 yards, par 72.
• Seasons. East Tennessee has four seasons with mild winters. Fall color is real here. So is spring.
• People. 22 social clubs and 180+ events a year, in a golf cart community of 1,492 gated acres. When you move this far, a full calendar matters.

What do you give up?

You give up dry air, big sky and a short trip home. Be honest with yourself about each one.

• Dry air. Humidity is the big adjustment. Summer here is warm and sticky. Mornings and evenings are when you golf and walk.
• Big sky. East Tennessee is hills and trees. Sightlines are short. Some people miss the horizon more than they expected.
• Easy yards. Things grow here. Grass, weeds, mosquitoes, spring pollen. If you have allergies, visit in April before you decide.
• The neon. Knoxville is a mid-size university city with restaurants, concerts, hospitals and Tennessee football. It is not Las Vegas.
• A short trip home. A visit to Nevada takes most of a day each way once you add the drive to the airport and any connection. McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) is about 35 minutes from the gate. Check current routes from Las Vegas or Reno, because schedules change.
• The clock. Loudon is three hours ahead. A 6 p.m. call here is 3 p.m. in Las Vegas. If you still work Pacific hours, your workday ends at night.

How do you test East Tennessee before you commit?

Visit twice, once in July and once in January. Those are the two months that answer the questions someone from the desert has.

A good first trip is two days.

Day one, inside the gates. Walk the marina. See the course. Stop by the pickleball courts. Stand on two or three homesites, including one near the water, at the time of day you would use the porch.

Day two, outside them. Drive to Knoxville, about 30 minutes, and look at what you would use every week: the grocery store, a few restaurants, the medical offices your doctors would point you to. Farragut, about 20 minutes from the gate, has hotels.

Our two-day visit itinerary lays out a fuller plan.

How do you sequence a cross-country move?

Slowly, and in an order that never forces your hand. There is no deadline to build after you buy a homesite at Tennessee National.

1. Visit on purpose. Twice, in two seasons.
2. Run your own numbers. Start with your own return, then compare everything else with real quotes.
3. Choose how to own. There are five ways: The Timbers (wooded homesites), lake homesites, waterfront homesites, Land & Home packages and townhomes. Pricing is in the info pack.
4. Sell in Nevada when it suits you. The homesite can wait. So can the build.
5. Plan for the distance. Our guide to buying at Tennessee National from out of state covers how to handle the paperwork and the build from far away.

The honest trade-off

This move is a climate and lifestyle swap, not a financial play. If someone tells you the move pays for itself in state income tax, look at your own Nevada return before you believe it.

What you are really deciding is whether a lake, a golf course and green hills are worth humid summers and a long flight to the people you are leaving. For some households that is an easy yes. For others, one July afternoon settles it the other way.

Both answers are fine. Find out which one is yours before you sell anything.

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.