Run Your Own Race: Real Estate, Clarksville & Life with Deana Watson
In the first episode of The Clarksville Keys Podcast, Travis Egan sits down with Clarksville Realtor Deana Watson of eXp Realty for a conversation about real estate, military relocation, Clarksville neighborhoods, long-term wealth building, local businesses, and the importance of running your own race.
Deana brings more than 15 years of real estate experience, has served hundreds of clients, built a top-producing business, coached high-performing real estate professionals, and lived the military PCS experience herself as a longtime military spouse. That combination gives her a unique perspective on both the practical and personal sides of buying a home in the Clarksville and Fort Campbell area.
Watch Episode 1: Run Your Own Race with Deana Watson
Meet Deana Watson
Deana’s connection to Clarksville goes back to her college years at Austin Peay State University. She grew up in the Pleasant View and Nashville area before choosing Austin Peay and eventually building her adult life in Clarksville.
Her original plan was law school, but a conversation about her potential in real estate changed her career direction. She entered the real estate business in 2011 and has since spent years helping buyers, sellers, military families, investors, and fellow real estate professionals.
That long history in the area has also allowed her to watch Clarksville change dramatically.
Neighborhoods and areas that once felt far removed from the center of town are now heavily developed. Price points have changed. New communities have emerged. And, as Deana explains in the episode, Clarksville has grown into a city with very different lifestyles depending on where you choose to live.
Clarksville Is Not One Single Experience
One of Deana’s biggest pieces of advice for people moving to Clarksville is simple: do not assume every part of Clarksville feels the same.
She explains that different parts of the city have very different personalities, lifestyles, price points, traffic patterns, businesses, and community experiences.
For military families arriving at Fort Campbell, it can be easy to experience only the areas closest to the post, including Fort Campbell Boulevard and Tiny Town Road. But Deana encourages newcomers to explore farther.
She points out that some parts of Clarksville offer a slower pace of life, more locally owned businesses, stronger neighborhood interaction, and a very different daily experience than the more transient areas near Fort Campbell.
Her advice is to think about how you want to live first, then choose the area and home that fit that lifestyle.
That can mean asking questions like:
How long do you want your daily commute to be?
Do you want to live near restaurants and shopping?
Do you prefer more land or a neighborhood feel?
Do you want a strong sense of community?
How important is being close to Fort Campbell?
Are you comfortable driving farther for work or school?
Deana uses Sango as one example. She says the area feels very different from many other parts of Clarksville, with strong neighborhood interaction, locally owned businesses, and a community atmosphere she didn't fully appreciate until she lived there.
A Different Way to Think About PCS Moves
The conversation then moves into one of the most important topics for military families: what to do with the homes you buy during your military career.
Deana says one thing she wishes more service members understood is the long-term wealth-building potential of buying homes during PCS moves and keeping them rather than automatically selling them every time they relocate.
She and her husband followed that approach themselves.
Instead of repeatedly buying and selling, they purchased homes during military moves, held onto many of those properties, and converted them into rentals.
Her point is not that every military family should automatically become a landlord. It is that military members may have access to powerful VA home loan benefits and more options than they realize
The bigger lesson is to think beyond the next duty station.
Military life often forces families to think in six-month or one-year increments. Orders change. Duty stations change. Plans change.
But real estate wealth tends to be created over much longer periods.
As Deana explains during the conversation, people often understand that real estate can create wealth, but they do not always hear the rest of the sentence:
You generally build wealth by buying, holding, and allowing time to work on the asset.
Buying a Home Is More Than Finding a Pretty House
Another major theme of the episode is Deana’s approach to advising clients.
She describes herself as direct, factual, and willing to tell a client when she believes a purchase is a bad idea, even if that advice could cost her a commission.
For Deana, a home purchase is too important to treat as a simple sales transaction.
She looks at factors such as:
How long the buyer plans to stay
Future PCS moves
Whether the buyer may become a landlord
Neighborhood development
Rezoning
Future inventory
Resale potential
Commute times
Lifestyle preferences
Long-term financial impact
She gives examples of telling clients that a home may be beautiful but could still put them in a difficult financial position if they need to sell within a few years.
Her philosophy is that a real estate professional should diagnose before prescribing.
In other words, an agent should understand the client’s life, goals, finances, family situation, timeline, and future plans before recommending a neighborhood, price point, or property.
The Lifestyle Question Matters
One of the strongest points in the conversation is something that often gets overlooked during a home search:
People make the purchase decision in a moment, but they live the consequences every day.
Deana gives the example of buyers wanting to live in Sango because they like the area or schools, without fully considering what a 45-minute commute may feel like five days a week.
That may still be the right decision.
But she believes buyers should understand the tradeoff before making it.
That is why she asks questions about how clients want to spend their days, how far they want to drive, how close they want to be to work, and what kind of lifestyle they are really trying to create.
Local Spotlight: Roma Ristorante
The episode also includes a Clarksville Keys local spotlight on Roma Ristorante, a locally owned Italian restaurant near the Trenton Road side of Tiny Town Road.
Travis shares that he had driven past the restaurant many times before finally trying it and came away impressed by both the food and the people.
That leads into a broader conversation about Clarksville’s local restaurant scene and the hidden gems found throughout the city.
Deana points out that Fort Campbell Boulevard in particular has a number of small restaurants and long-established local businesses that people can easily overlook if they judge the area only by appearance.
For both Travis and Deana, part of the fun of living in Clarksville is finding those locally owned places that become favorites.
Who Works Best With Deana?
When asked what kind of client is a good fit for her, Deana is clear.
She is not the agent for everyone.
She works best with people who want direct advice, facts, long-term thinking, and someone willing to challenge a decision when necessary.
She is comfortable telling a buyer that she believes a property is overpriced, poorly positioned, or likely to create problems later.
Her focus is not simply helping someone buy a home.
It is helping them make a decision they can live with financially and practically for years to come.
How to Connect With Deana Watson
Deana says one of the easiest ways to find her is simply to search her name online.
She also creates a lot of local real estate content, especially on TikTok and Instagram. Her TikTok content is highly local and neighborhood-focused, while her Facebook content often covers personal growth, coaching, and mindset in addition to real estate.
If you're considering buying or selling a home in Clarksville or the Fort Campbell area, you can learn more about Deana Watson and her real estate services on her website.
In the episode, she also shares that text and direct messages are two of the fastest ways to reach her.
The Clarksville Keys Quick Six
Every Clarksville Keys episode ends with the Quick Six, a series of short questions designed to show a little more of the person behind the business.
Beach or Mountains?
Mountains. Deana prefers the calm, cooler temperatures, sounds, and atmosphere of the mountains.
Favorite Clarksville Coffee Spot?
Amsterdam Local. Deana also mentions Asulon as another favorite local coffee destination.
Early Bird or Night Owl?
Definitely an early bird. Deana jokes that if she sits down without her phone after about 7:45 at night, she'll probably be asleep.
Where Would She Take a Friend Visiting Clarksville for One Day?
Deana’s Clarksville day might begin with coffee at Amsterdam Local or Asulon, followed by something active like Liberty Park, yoga, or Pilates. She also mentions pizza, events at Downtown Commons, farmers' markets, and other activities happening around Clarksville.
What Is Her Guilty Pleasure?
Working and creating content make the list, along with coaching, self-development, neuropsychology, meditation retreats, and true crime.
What Would Your Billboard on Wilma Rudolph Boulevard Say?
The final Quick Six question is one Travis plans to ask every Clarksville Keys guest:
If you could put a billboard on Wilma Rudolph Boulevard and had only five words, what would it say?
Run your own race.
For Deana, that phrase is bigger than real estate.
She believes too many people spend their lives chasing someone else’s definition of success instead of deciding what their own great life looks like.
People compare careers, income, relationships, possessions, and accomplishments without stopping to ask whether they truly want those things.
Her message is to define success for yourself.
Then build your life around that definition.
About The Clarksville Keys Podcast
The Clarksville Keys Podcast takes you inside the people, places, businesses, and stories that make Clarksville, Tennessee, home.
Hosted by Travis Egan, VA Mortgage Vet, the show features conversations with local Realtors, business owners, and community leaders who know Clarksville and the Fort Campbell area firsthand.
From Clarksville real estate and PCSing to Fort Campbell to restaurants, businesses, neighborhoods, and hidden gems, each episode helps you:
Crack the Code to Clarksville Living!
Explore more episodes and learn more about The Clarksville Keys Podcast on the main Clarksville Keys Podcast page.
