Retire to Tennessee

The Tennessee way of life

What is the Tennessee Good Life?

Sipping hot cocoa fireside in a log cabin overlooking the Great Smoky Mountains?

Listening to music in Nashville’s famous Ryman Auditorium?

Bass fishing at Paris Landing State Park?

Exploring the civil war battlefield of Shiloh?

Whatever your interests and hobbies, Tennessee provides the backdrop for the good life.

Tennessee is home to urban places and wide-open spaces, with lots of scenic room to roam. Tennessee’s lakes, rivers and parks provide perfect settings for outdoor activities. The fine arts thrive alongside regional crafts. Sports share the spotlight with great musical attractions. Major medical centers, colleges and universities, and active civic organizations enhance Tennessee and offer a sense of community for its citizens.

Tennessee’s claim to fame is its musical heritage. Memphis boasts the blues and Rock ‘n Roll of Elvis Presley, Nashville is the world center of country and gospel music. In East Tennessee, you’ll hear the sounds of the banjo and fiddle in bluegrass music.

Outside the main cities, natural attractions are state focal points, where the only music is a birdsong or a flowing stream of water. Boating, fishing and hiking are popular outdoor recreational activities, especially at one of the 54 state parks.

Tennessee has three professional sport teams, the Memphis Grizzlies (National Basketball Association), the Nashville Predators (National Hockey League) and the Tennessee Titans (National Football League), also based in Nashville. Minor league baseball teams blanket the state with the Memphis Red Birds, Jackson Diamond Jaxx, the Nashville Sounds, the Chattanooga Look-Outs and the Tennessee Smokies, located in Kodak.

As the only state except for Virginia to have witnessed the most Civil War battles, Tennessee attracts history buffs throughout the United States. Tennessee is known for its historical preservation of Civil War battlefields such as Shiloh, Lookout Mountain and Stones River. Tennessee is also part of the scenic “Trail of Tears,” beginning east of Chattanooga and heading north toward Kentucky.