Well, I guess it depends on what you are into.
I moved to Cookeville from Southeast Florida back in 1987. I now live 25 miles south of Cookeville in Sparta, TN. I work in Nashville and commute 110 miles one way to work. Luckily I get to work from home one day a week which helps.
If you are looking for a good paying job well that might be tough. Good paying as in $70K+ will be really hard to find. However, you don't really need that much as there are many houses under $100K or for a bit more upscale I'd say $150-200.
There are not too many things to do in Cookeville but again it depends on what you are into. I live 20 min from Fall Creek Falls which is an awesome state park with hiking, biking, golf, etc...
There are several parks in the Upper Cumberland region with awesome views various other outdoor things to do.
If you are a big nightclub partier well there's not too much of that but there are some clubs. The first fight I ever saw in a bar was after moving to TN as in FL I didn't see that much. I don't frequent bars/clubs much anymore but I'd say there still some of that going on. It's just a redneck way to handle disputes.
Anyway, it is a great place to live and I hope my comments have helped.