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Why wouldn't you prefer living in NC if you don't mind me asking?
For the most part, I definitely agree. The Greensboro/Winston-Salem area is flying under the radar compared to Charlotte and RDU. There are plenty of retirees settling all over North Carolina, but all the transplants seem to be hitting Charlotte/RDU. Most of rural NC isn't too different from rural TN. Nashville belongs in the same neighborhood as Charlotte and RDU, and I'm hoping Knoxville will catch up in the future. I don't know the story in Memphis, but apparently it's more "Old South" like New Orleans or Birmingham?
Money talks. I'd much rather live in a lower taxed state than a higher taxed state, particularly since there doesn't appear to be much reason for NC's higher taxes; its K-12 schools aren't any better than TN's, its roads and infrastructure certainly aren't any better, and its economy, outside of Charlotte and RDU, isn't any better, either (and Nashville added more jobs last year than either Charlotte or RDU). Plus, I happen to like Tennessee's cities better than North Carolina's cities, although I really do like Winston Salem and am not a big fan of Knoxville. Don't get me wrong, I would be very happy to live in NC. But given a choice, I'd rather live in TN.
North Carolina undoubtedly has better public universities than Tennessee, but they're not cheap. Graduates of TN high schools can now get free tuition at any state community college and almost-free tuition at state universities thanks to the state lottery. They can also use their lottery scholarships to attend private universities within the state such as Vanderbilt.
As far as taxes go, when all the various state and local taxes are added together, Tax Foundation ranks Tennessee 45th in the country for taxes, meaning only 5 states have lower tax burdens than TN. North Carolina is ranked 17th.
The economy in rural NC is no better than it is in rural TN, either. In TN, about half of the state's job growth is in the Nashville area. In NC, it's pretty much divided between Charlotte and RDU. All three of those areas are powerhouses these days in job growth. But outside of those three areas, there's not a whole lot of economic activity going on in either state, especially outside of the larger metro areas (Knoxville, Chattanooga, Greensboro-Winston Salem, Asheville).
I own property in both states. I love the Outer Banks of NC and prefer the NC side of the Appalachians but would choose to live and raise a family in TN.
Tennessee ranked lower in many other test scores than North Carolina, according to the National Education Association state comparison data and Alec.
In addition, North Carolina does more with much less, as their teachers are paid near the bottom of states in salary rankings. So no Tennessee has a ways to go before you make the claim that public education is better. And as far as taxes go, Tennessee has one of the highest sales tax in the nation despite having no state income tax and low property taxes. This means that poorer people are paying more of their disposable income on everyday items such as groceries, automobiles, gas, and clothing. This also means that the state depends on tourism (outside money) and sales tax to fund infrastructure needs. During an economic recession, this could be devastating, especially for poor residents. Jobs and retail growth is leaking into other states with lower taxes (Desoto County, MS, suburb of Memphis), (Catoosa County, GA, suburb of Chattanooga), (Bristol VA, competing city with Bristol, TN), (Oak Grove & Hopkinsville, KY, suburbs of Clarksville, TN).
I'm also torn on the free college thing in Tennessee because this will undoubtedly have a negative affect on private colleges and universities that are already losing students to the big state schools. I am glad that more people will be allowed the opportunity to go to school, but not at the expense of other institutions.
In addition, North Carolina does more with much less, as their teachers are paid near the bottom of states in salary rankings. So no Tennessee has a ways to go before you make the claim that public education is better. And as far as taxes go, Tennessee has one of the highest sales tax in the nation despite having no state income tax and low property taxes. This means that poorer people are paying more of their disposable income on everyday items such as groceries, automobiles, gas, and clothing. This also means that the state depends on tourism (outside money) and sales tax to fund infrastructure needs. During an economic recession, this could be devastating, especially for poor residents. Jobs and retail growth is leaking into other states with lower taxes (Desoto County, MS, suburb of Memphis), (Catoosa County, GA, suburb of Chattanooga), (Bristol VA, competing city with Bristol, TN), (Oak Grove & Hopkinsville, KY, suburbs of Clarksville, TN).
I'm also torn on the free college thing in Tennessee because this will undoubtedly have a negative affect on private colleges and universities that are already losing students to the big state schools. I am glad that more people will be allowed the opportunity to go to school, but not at the expense of other institutions.
Those links you provided prove nothing other than Tennessee and North Carolina are very similar in what they spend on K-12 education. The last link, in particular, is of little use since NC isn't included in the NAEP 2013 results. Besides, I never said that TN's schools are better than NC's, only that NC's schools aren't better than TN's. If anything, they're probably pretty even, particularly considering that 10% of Tennessee's kids are in that war zone called Memphis schools. And considering that NC taxes its residents more than TN does, I don't see much of a return on the investment.
Where NC really outshines TN is in its colleges and universities. NC's three big universities (UNC Chapel Hill, NC State, and UNC Charlotte) are light years better than TN's three big universities (UT Knoxville, MTSU, and Memphis). NC also has excellent schools in Eastern Carolina and UNC School of the Arts. TN has nothing even remotely close to UNCSA. And while Tennessee has a very prestigious private university in Vanderbilt, North Carolina has Duke AND Wake Forest.
But, again, money talks. If I were concerned with raising a family in either TN or NC, it would be hard to pass up TN's lottery scholarships and lower taxes.
Those links you provided prove nothing other than Tennessee and North Carolina are very similar in what they spend on K-12 education. The last link, in particular, is of little use since NC isn't included in the NAEP 2013 results. Besides, I never said that TN's schools are better than NC's, only that NC's schools aren't better than TN's. If anything, they're probably pretty even, particularly considering that 10% of Tennessee's kids are in that war zone called Memphis schools. And considering that NC taxes its residents more than TN does, I don't see much of a return on the investment.
Where NC really outshines TN is in its colleges and universities. NC's three big universities (UNC Chapel Hill, NC State, and UNC Charlotte) are light years better than TN's three big universities (UT Knoxville, MTSU, and Memphis). NC also has excellent schools in Eastern Carolina and UNC School of the Arts. TN has nothing even remotely close to UNCSA. And while Tennessee has a very prestigious private university in Vanderbilt, North Carolina has Duke AND Wake Forest.
But, again, money talks. If I were concerned with raising a family in either TN or NC, it would be hard to pass up TN's lottery scholarships and lower taxes.
The higher taxes in NC are directly related to its public university/community college system which has resulted in the state having a more skilled, educated workforce than either TN or SC.
Why wasn't Virginia included in this thread/poll? But since asked a question, I'll answer. South Carolina gets my vote, and in particular Columbia, Greenville or Charleston.
The higher taxes in NC are directly related to its public university/community college system which has resulted in the state having a more skilled, educated workforce than either TN or SC.
Those links you provided prove nothing other than Tennessee and North Carolina are very similar in what they spend on K-12 education. The last link, in particular, is of little use since NC isn't included in the NAEP 2013 results. Besides, I never said that TN's schools are better than NC's, only that NC's schools aren't better than TN's. If anything, they're probably pretty even, particularly considering that 10% of Tennessee's kids are in that war zone called Memphis schools. And considering that NC taxes its residents more than TN does, I don't see much of a return on the investment.
Where NC really outshines TN is in its colleges and universities. NC's three big universities (UNC Chapel Hill, NC State, and UNC Charlotte) are light years better than TN's three big universities (UT Knoxville, MTSU, and Memphis). NC also has excellent schools in Eastern Carolina and UNC School of the Arts. TN has nothing even remotely close to UNCSA. And while Tennessee has a very prestigious private university in Vanderbilt, North Carolina has Duke AND Wake Forest.
But, again, money talks. If I were concerned with raising a family in either TN or NC, it would be hard to pass up TN's lottery scholarships and lower taxes.
They are not light years better than those universities, again you provide no facts, just talk. You have no statistical evidence to prove this, and you also conveniently left out Tennessee's prestigious HBCU's, particularly Meharry Medical College which North Carolina does not have an equivalent. I already conceded that North Carolina's colleges were generally better in other posts, especially Duke. If you knew anything about the universities in Tennessee and North Carolina, you would actually know that are actually partners in several engineering, math, and science grants for government research. For example, UT Knoxville and North Carolina State University are part of the Southeastern Partnership for Integrated Biomass Supply Systems (IBSS), which focuses on developing regional systems for the sustainable production of bioenergy and biobased products. North Carolina actually spends less (not significantly less) per pupil on education, while being significantly larger, and still outranks Tennessee in K-12 performance indicators. You still do not understand how taxes work, only that you have to pay more to keep your "properties" in North Carolina.
Probably NC although Its probably more expensive on average then either Tennessee or South Carolina all states are seeing high amounts of growth NC the most though.......I went to Cary not to long ago and I see where it gets its nickname not easy to find a native.......that is somewhat of true of the rest of the Triangle and Charlotte as well.
Probably NC although Its probably more expensive on average then either Tennessee or South Carolina all states are seeing high amounts of growth NC the most though.......I went to Cary not to long ago and I see where it gets its nickname not easy to find a native.......that is somewhat of true of the rest of the Triangle and Charlotte as well.
Nashville is clogged with transplants, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same situation with Knoxville later down the road. In SC, Charleston and the Upstate are growing while the SC coast is even more popular than the NC coast for northern retirees. People can point fingers at the Research Triangle and Charlotte metros in NC and say "we've lost southern roots" but it'll only be a matter of time before it happens to other portions of the South.
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