patrick.net

It's really funny that when you cross into TN or GA, all of a sudden it's "Crabgrass Woods, a Covenant Community" bullshit. Like you can have a big smelly, rat-attracting horse on 5 acres, but not a duck pond. "Keep it looking nice". Some people think massive stables and a 2400 sq ft monstrosity take away from the mountainside rustic charm, not add to it. Ever see a hillbilly with a mondo condo and a massive, metal roofed stable for 3 horses on just 5 acres where every last tree is chopped and replaced with sod grass and barely a tree to be seen? Where's the woods now?

Want a covenant community? Buy a minimum of 40 acres and pay taxes as if a 2400 sq ft house was on it immediately. Put your own money down, stop telling people what they can do.

AmericanKulak says

Also thinking Gatlinburg-Cherokee area around the GA-TN-NC border but the pickins are a little slimmer and there's a lot more Covenant Horse Pucky Farms bullshit subdevelopments, even on low density wooded low mountain areas. You know "No homes under 2000 sq ft, no modular, etc."

South of Chattanooga might be good. East/West of I-59 or I-75 and get 10-20 miles away from the highway. Coming from FL I-75 corridor would make the most sense north of Atlanta. You could exit and go west into Northern AL though.

I like the south. Not the cities or Florida besides the panhandle. Rural AL and GA can be nice if you get the right land.

WookieMan says

South of Chattanooga might be good. East/West of I-59 or I-75 and get 10-20 miles away from the highway. Coming from FL I-75 corridor would make the most sense north of Atlanta. You could exit and go west into Northern AL though.

Exactly what I'm thinking. Gadsden going north to South Pittsburg (Lodge oven HQ!) and Chattanooga.

As they used to say at Outback "No rules, just right". It gets me the lower foothills and plenty of views and much cheaper prices, without the county / subdevelopment Yuppiescum turds.

You want to be within a 16 hour drive of Orlando / central Florida ? ? ?

I would agree that Delta, Alabama is the best choice as far as "mountains" (at least +1500 ft hills) and flexibility as far as land use (i.e., no white uppity people and their zoning rules).

Georgia is not Republican enough, and Tennessee may have pockets of hope for your endeavor.

But Delta, Alabama still has high humidity.

A buddy of mine moved to Elijay, Georgia and likes it there in the mountains. It may be less driving time to Elijay than Delta, Alabama. Also check out Georgia towns near Interstate 75 north of Atlanta, as well as other towns such as Blue Ridge, Helen and Clayton.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellijay,_Georgia#Climate

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Check out the website Weather Spark. They have a neat charting tool so that you can get an idea of how muggy the hot months are. Here's a link for Bluefield, VA :

https://weatherspark.com/y/18000/Average-Weather-in-Bluefield-West-Virginia-United-States-Year-Round

While using this site I came to the realization that if you want to stay in the South in August, you must have elevation. Even in mountainous areas when you get into a river valley (which is where 99% of retail is) August is going to be brutal. I live in the Appalachia foothills and this August was miserable.

I look for a 'muggy' sigma of less than 40%.

For truly low humidity you have to go north. Think Illinois or NY. Just leave before December!

stfu says

Think Illinois or NY.

I don't know about Illinois, but upstate NY, as least as far as Binghampton or Albany, doesn't have low humidity in summer. Plenty of summers in Upstate NY and Mass and CT spent on hiking trips and summer camp. LI has the saving grace of getting crosswind from the Sound and Ocean both, but still humid.

But yeah, you're right about elevation.

Just a 10F temp drop and a breeze makes a world of difference

79F at night is a lot less brutal than 89F at night, though with high humidity in both. Florida summer was just murder this year. Day after day over well over 90% with full humidity, and both little wind (Despite being on a barrier island) and little rain (there was a pocket where we didn't get the usual PM rain except maybe a few days in all July-August). At least the afternoon thunderstorms cool off the ground a little.

After the last hurricane, it's been fine. Low 80s-mid 70s. Humid, but breezy for weeks, so pretty good.

stfu says

https://weatherspark.com/y/18000/Average-Weather-in-Bluefield-West-Virginia-United-States-Year-Round

Great link, btw. Very useful! Looked at Oak Ridge, Jellico, etc.

Gatlinburg looks good, esp in the evening hours. Course, up in the mountains, you gotta think about sun hours. Better to get the morning rays from the East. I find West facing in summer is rough.

AmericanKulak says

Gatlinburg looks good

I'd go east of that to the Cosby area. Gatlinburg is a hell hole of fuck. Pretty rural, but you could likely get away with doing what you want on your land government wise. Likely cheaper as well.

I'd call the weather there "moist" in the summer. You'll sweat for sure if hiking, but being outside is comfortable. My one buddy just had a dehumidifier and no AC and it was comfortable between Gatlinburg and Cosby. Dehumidifier was more to dry the air out instead of getting a window unit. Haven't talked to him in years, but I believe he's still in that area. Boots on the ground if you want me to text him.

He's lived in that area for about 2 decades now. Was a good friend in my younger years. I've gone down there 5-6 times for a 5 day stay or so and know the area relatively well. It's not bad at all in the summer. Winter if it snows all bets are off. The rural roads are not getting plowed and they don't use salt. And no one knows how to drive with a 1/2" of snow.