How about 20 min. north of nashville on Old Hickory. I moved here a year ago and love it. My neighbors house is for sale for $550k right on the lake.
I'm looking for more of a bargain now that may be a popular area in about 15 years. $550k as an investment is out of my league. I was surfing Lakehouse.com and there are tons of cheap lakefronts in the south--$300k or less. I'm sure the're not all in bad areas. Most of the houses look very nice.