Kentucky or Tennessee

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Onward Allusion

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2020 was an interesting year. Life can be a heck of a lot shorter than one thinks.

If you were able to retire a little earlier than expected, which State is more gun friendly? Kentucky or Tennessee?

I'm looking at the Bowling Green, KY and the Clarksville, TN area because my kid is at school in Nashville for a few more years. I can't see myself living in Nashville for various reasons but I do want some acreage and be able to shoot in the back yard. Worst case, have a nearby private club/range that I can visit several times a week.
 
KY is a bit better gun wise, but not much. While I agree the civil asset forfeiture going on in TN is a bit rediculous, most don't encounter it. I would like to see that curbed completely. Once we get constitutional carry, TN will be better. We keep trying.
 
Gun wise they’re pretty similar, so you might want to look at the tax differences. I know Tennessee has a higher sales tax and they also have a tax on ammunition that Kentucky doesn’t have, but I don’t know if Tennessee has a state income tax like we do.

Kentucky doesn’t require a permit for concealed carry, but if you travel much you’ll want to get the permit anyway. Our permit is recognized by a whole bunch of states.
 
Check out the areas between Clarksville and Nashville. Cheatham county. Or Dover/Stewart county Tn, on the "back side" of Ft Campbell.
 
The TN $.10 tax per box was repealed awhile back. Permit less carry will be a good thing but I'll keep mine just for cross border runs.

Bill

Bill
 
TN does not have income or personal property tax, or city income taxes like KY. Otherwise, the rural areas of TN and KY are about the same, but metro areas like Memphis and Nashville are becoming more liberal and less gun friendly.
 
I grew up in Hopkinsville Ky and spent a lot of time in both Ky and Tn. I currently live in TN and would not wish to change that. However, if your looking at retiring I would have to turn on a different filter. Clarksville is ate up with Ft Campbell. That’s nice for some folks but the young hotheads being soldiers gets old. I love those guys but they can be very annoying. I prefer to love them from a distance. Bowling green isn’t far off though because of WKU being a medium/large school drawing from a similar age bracket, it’s just a slightly different version of young and dumb that everybody goes through. Hopkinsville is right in the middle and is are up with gang and drug activities. If your looking at that area and want to be in a more peaceful place then consider Joelton or Springfield Tn. Close enough to the big cities for good medical care, far enough out to be peaceful, cheap enough to have a decent chunk of ground, and not up in the middle of fancy folks like you find in other Nashville suburbs. Murfreesboro isn’t bad either but it has turned into baby Nashville. Going west you hit the fancy ritzy neighborhoods then a bunch of nothing. South is kinda uneventful. East along i40 you get Lebanon and Mt Juliet which are also not bad areas to live, and of the pile I would go with Mt Juliet. Nice place that’s not hard to get out of and still right up in the middle of everything.

Welcome to the neighborhood. Message me if you have any questions.
 
WestKentucky said:
I grew up in Hopkinsville Ky <snip> . . . Welcome to the neighborhood. Message me if you have any questions.
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That's some really good info. Thank you.

Being able to shoot in the backyard is probably #4 or #5 in my list of top 10 requirements. Only crime, medical care, & taxes sit higher on my list. Dealing with young & dumb hotheads is definitely not in the top 10. :)

Still have a little time before heading South. Planning on dropping it on the employer next month and will stick around to wrap up a huge project before leaving in June. Time flies, however.
 
Lived in Clarksville, TN for 34 years. Tennessee doesn't have an income tax as stated earlier but the sales tax is around 9-10% depending on the county tax rate in addition to the state rate. Kentucky has state and city taxes but doesn't have sales tax on food. The I-24 corridor going west out of Nashville is the least built up area and the traffic during rush hour can be a bit heavy but nothing like I-65. I-40 and I-24 coming in from the east into Nashville. Clarksville has a couple nice gun shops that are stocked pretty decently, at least during the less crazy times. Finding property outside the city with enough room to shoot can be difficult and costly. A friend owns a farm out in the boonies and we had a nice range set up there where we could shoot pistol, bench rest or silhouette shooting. I belonged to the Todd County Gun Club just across the border in Kentucky. Pistol, trap and skeet, and rifle range out to 300 yards. Very modest membership fee, less than $100 if I remember correctly. The range was never really crowded especially during work days but the weekends, sometimes, were a bit busy.
 
Onward Allusion said:
That's some really good info. Thank you.

Being able to shoot in the backyard is probably #4 or #5 in my list of top 10 requirements. Only crime, medical care, & taxes sit higher on my list. Dealing with young & dumb hotheads is definitely not in the top 10. :)

Still have a little time before heading South. Planning on dropping it on the employer next month and will stick around to wrap up a huge project before leaving in June. Time flies, however.
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Never had any problems with military people while living there, never had a problem with anyone actually. I would recommend living on the south side of Clarksville around Exit 11. As I said in my earlier post, I belonged to the Todd County Gun Club and it was about a 25 mile drive to the range from my house near Exit 11. The hospital in Clarksville isn't bad but isn't in the top 10 either, however most of the doctors in the area are competent. There are excellent hospitals in Nashville, about a 45 minute drive to them. Vanderbilt Hospital, St. Thomas, and a number of others. If you are a veteran there is a large VA hospital located next to Vanderbilt Hospital. There is crime in Clarksville, some of it by small gangs, but Nashville is eat up with gangs and crime, some schools there are dangerous and provide substandard education. Homes and taxer are higher there also, stay away from Nashville.
 
Did a tour at Campbell back when so I understand the "love them from afar" comment. I'm looking to retire, not throw down every weekend.

I think I did live near exit 11 come to think of it. Liked the area, part of the reason we're thinking about TN now. I didn't see much of it as I was deployed most of the time but liked what I did see and the Wife liked it.

I'm not the OP but thanks for the input!
 
I’m just thinking out loud here. But hear me out. You’re talking about upending your life to move closer to your son who only has a few years of college left. Then he’s going to get a career (no one knows where), possibly get married, and have a family. The absolute last thing I would do is move right now. If you move there and he gets a good job and starts a family in Colorado or even back in Illinois, are you just going to move again so you can be closer to the grandkids? I think it’s awesome you want to be close to your son. I mean that. But I don’t think now is the time. You could actually be hampering his future. He might have an awesome opportunity in another state but he won’t take it because of moving farther away from you, after you moved to be closer to him. My advice is just wait. But my advice is also only worth what you paid for it.
 
George Dickel said:
Yes but Tennessee has Jack Daniels and George Dickel.
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Cant forget about the legacy left behind by Popcorn Sutton either. There is a thriving corn likker industry in TN.

Not to mention, Tennessee allows 2 bucks a year, is closer to the good beaches, and mandates that all natural disasters follow the interstates.
 
George P said:
ONLY KY has "Bourbon"; TN has whiskey
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They may not call it bourbon, but JD single barrel is pretty much bourbon.

I worked in Clarksville 2010 -2015 , it's not bad, but slip a little South East towards Dickson or West towards Cumberland river and its about as rural and quiet as it gets. Thought about moving that way myself once. But its also pretty good here near Paris. I can be in Nashville or Memphis, or Paducah within 1 1/2 to 2hrs.
 
Onward Allusion said:
2020 was an interesting year. Life can be a heck of a lot shorter than one thinks.

If you were able to retire a little earlier than expected, which State is more gun friendly? Kentucky or Tennessee?

I'm looking at the Bowling Green, KY and the Clarksville, TN area because my kid is at school in Nashville for a few more years. I can't see myself living in Nashville for various reasons but I do want some acreage and be able to shoot in the back yard. Worst case, have a nearby private club/range that I can visit several times a week.
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Tennessee is very gun friendly. A resident can get a handgun carry permit to carry open or concealed. And if you dont have a permit you can still carry a long-gun or handgun in your car loaded , chambered , and ready to go with no permit at all. Clarksville is too crowded in my opinon. Fort Campbell has made this town too crowded and the streets are packed with cars all the time. I was born here and it was nice back in the 70's and 80's but no more. I'd move somewhere like Ashland City which is right next to Nashville. Its very rural and you can shoot in your backyard if you choose.
 
Onward Allusion said:
2020 was an interesting year. Life can be a heck of a lot shorter than one thinks.

If you were able to retire a little earlier than expected, which State is more gun friendly? Kentucky or Tennessee?

I'm looking at the Bowling Green, KY and the Clarksville, TN area because my kid is at school in Nashville for a few more years. I can't see myself living in Nashville for various reasons but I do want some acreage and be able to shoot in the back yard. Worst case, have a nearby private club/range that I can visit several times a week.
Click to expand...

One law that is overlooked in almost ever one of these discussions is, "do no gun signs carry force of law", which they do in TN and not in KY. In others words, if a no gun sign is posted in TN and your caught carrying your in trouble. In KY your not unless your asked to leave and you don't. KY is also constitutional carry, and open carry permit less. KY is probably has better gun laws than just about any other state, including AZ where signs carry force of law. And, with a conservative supermajority that is very pro gun. Though our governor socks, hes way outnumbered in both houses giving them power to overturn his veto.
 
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