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It's close to McMinnville, TN, the "Nursery Capital." Indeed, this area does seem to be one of the best places for a variety of plants, as the most cold-hardy palms and little-known Escarpment Live Oak would reliably grow alongside Eastern White Pine and the most heat-tolerant spruces. Winter annuals are also widely present in the form of pansies, henbits, red dead-nettles and winter wheat.
It's only an hour from where I've grown up, so transitioning wouldn't be very hard. If I find a boyfriend by then, I wouldn't necessarily be forced to forfeit him to move, and there's a good chance he'd be from there to begin with.
Given the first point, there are likely to be a lot of nurseries I could work at for training and initial profit before opening my own.
NDM is so big and fast-growing that I'm not likely to completely exhaust the supply of suitable people to meet, at least if looking online and/or moderate changes to my methods are allowed.
NDM is the most likely to be able to grow Eastern White Pine, Blue Spruce and Norway Spruce reliably due to the other two being hotter.
The "glades" around Nashville, Murfreesboro and Lebanon give some people a desert vibe that could encourage even people who think they look out of place in most of TN to plant Needle Palms and Dwarf Palmettos.
I wouldn't have to go as far on business trips to my childhood/teenage house (collecting seeds, seedlings, cuttings, etc.).
It's liberal unlike most of Tennessee, at least in Davidson County. Rutherford County, although conservative, is noticeably less so than Knoxville, Clarksville, Tri-Cities, suburbs, medium cities and rural areas (except maybe Haywood County).
Murfreesboro has plans for a mixed-use center downtown, implying that mixed use development is at least on the books for them.
Nashville-Davidson/Murfreesboro cons...
Spoiler
DFW is in Tornado Alley. However, Memphis and NDM are in Dixie Alley, and Dixie Alley is more dangerous overall because fewer people are prepared, especially with tornadoes often happening at night. I would try to get tornado sirens installed in my house and shop either way, perhaps also even the sheds that'll be there for plant farm workers to cool off/warm up more conveniently.
The CoLI appears to be the highest in NDM. Combined with the current economic recession and possibly being exacerbated by recent tornado damage, the poverty rate is at risk of increasing enough to make it more difficult to get enough customers, find suitable friends and find a boyfriend.
The above could also lead to rising fraud, embezzlement and theft depending on how far unfortunate Nashvillians and Murfreesboroans are willing to go to make a living. However, if crime rates rise, I could use a passcoded gate, some stealth sensors and a Needle Palm hedge to protect my house, business and plant farm.
Finding a friends and boyfriend would be difficult without looking online, as I've heard and noticed many people in Middle TN in general are introverted, occupied, old-fashioned or not outgoing. We seem to be falling into the "Seattle Freeze," and the more people I ask and research I do seems to just prove rather than contradict what I've dreaded. More poor people mentioned above, and the possible resultant higher crime rate, would also add to the difficulty. However, if I have to look online, I will; I'll turn 18 in under a year.
The Needle Palm, unlike most palms, is most popularly grown under evergreen oak trees rather than on waterfronts. However, Southern Live Oak and Sand Live Oak cannot grow in most of Tennessee, and Escarpment Live Oak isn't exactly easy to come by.
I'd still have to deal with an oppressive Tennessean government trying VERY hard to make life harder for those attracted to the same gender.
Memphis pros...
Spoiler
Like Nashville, Memphis is more liberal than conservative.
Although I'd no longer be near McMinnville, TN - the not-unreasonable "Nursery Capital" - I'd still be in the same state, and Memphis can grow several things that nowhere else in Tennessee easily can (similar to Hampton Roads vs. general Virginia). Examples: Southern Live Oak, Cabbage Palmetto, Spruce Pine, Saw Palmetto, Spanish Moss
While I'd probably have to forfeit Blue Spruce and Eastern White Pine, Norway Spruce can grow in humid climates of AHS Zone 8, and Spruce Pine is shade tolerant as well as EWP.
I wouldn't have to forfeit Spoonwood Mountain Laurel, River Cane nor Great Rhododendron as well, as Memphis still gets more than enough rain to meet their high water requirements.
Memphis has the only gay village of any note in Tennessee, and that same neighborhood has a variety of other minorities too.
Downtown Memphis has a trolley system, which implies that NDM still hasn't caught up to them in terms of mass transit.
Memphis is extremely cheap not just for a city its size but in general. The CoLI is so low that it makes even places like Cookeville, Yuma and Roanoke look expensive (and they're very cheap for urban areas in reality).
Memphis cons...
Spoiler
DFW is in Tornado Alley. However, Memphis and NDM are in Dixie Alley, and Dixie Alley is more dangerous overall because fewer people are prepared, especially with tornadoes often happening at night. I would try to get tornado sirens installed in my house and shop either way, perhaps also even the sheds that'll be there for plant farm workers to cool off/warm up more conveniently.
The crime in Memphis is very high. However, I could use a passcoded gate, some stealth sensors and a Needle Palm hedge to protect my house, business and plant farm. Being in Memphis would allow me to also add Saw Palmettos to this hedge, which would allow the hedge to be finished more quickly and somewhat varied.
The "glades" around Nashville, Murfreesboro and Lebanon give some people a desert vibe that could encourage even people who think they look out of place in most of TN to plant Needle Palms and Dwarf Palmettos. However, Memphis's location on the mighty Mississippi, somewhat closer to the coast and barely outside the latter palm's native range may counteract the effect of losing the glades.
I would have to go further on business trips to my childhood/teenage house (collecting seeds, seedlings, cuttings, etc.).
I'd still have to deal with an oppressive Tennessean government trying VERY hard to make life harder for those attracted to the same gender.
Memphis alternates between slow-growing and shrinking, so my supply of new friends and potential dates wouldn't be practically inexhaustible. Also, this would mean potential business growth would have a defined limit.
Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) pros...
Spoiler
DFW is in Tornado Alley. However, Memphis and NDM are in Dixie Alley, and Dixie Alley is more dangerous overall because fewer people are prepared, especially with tornadoes often happening at night. I would try to get tornado sirens installed in my house and shop either way, perhaps also even the sheds that'll be there for plant farm workers to cool off/warm up more conveniently.
DFW is so big and fast-growing that I'm not likely to completely exhaust the supply of suitable people to meet, at least if looking online and/or moderate changes to my methods are allowed.
The winters are not only mild but actually warm. The only things I'd have to watch out for would be Blue Northers, strong cold fronts and windy days.
One of my best moments ever was being in the Reunion Tower in April 2016, at sunset. This was also the first time I saw palms growing outdoors in person, which was what initially inspired my research on growing palms outdoors, which in turn led to my research of plants more generally and then lastly to my career plans.
I'd no longer have to deal with those awful, awful Tennessean legislators trying so hard to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges and actually succeeding in abolishing several statewide discrimination protections.
I could grow not only Southern Live Oak, Cabbage Palmetto, Spruce Pine, Saw Palmetto and Spanish Moss. I could also grow Oleander and possibly even California Fan Palm! Also, the long growing season combined with extreme humid heat would probably make the Needle Palms and Southern Magnolias extremely strong.
Despite being the fourth-largest metro area in the entire country, it has a CoLI very near the national average (larger cities are generally more expensive).
Although TX is seemingly conservative, it's not as bad as somewhere like TN, MS or ND, it has a voter turnout of a mere 36% (the lowest of any state), multi-million urban agglomerations are generally liberal, and DFW has the country's sixth-largest LGBT community.
Dallas/Fort Worth cons...
Spoiler
The "glades" around Nashville, Murfreesboro and Lebanon give some people a desert vibe that could encourage even people who think they look out of place in most of TN to plant Needle Palms and Dwarf Palmettos. However, DFW is in the latter palm's native range, and it being in a hot climate could counteract the effect of losing the glades (yes, it would be a BSh/BWh climate if it were arid rather than a mild/warmer BSk/BWk).
I would have to go further on business trips to my childhood/teenage house (collecting seeds, seedlings, cuttings, etc.).
While I'd have to forfeit Blue Spruce, Eastern White Pine and probably Norway Spruce, Spruce Pine is shade tolerant as well.
I'd also have to forfeit Spoonwood Mountain Laurel, Great Rhododendron, probably American Holly and possibly River Cane, as DFW lacks enough precipitation for plants from the very rainy climates of Tennessee. (Except further north, Great Rhododendron is actually found mostly in the Appalachian Rainforest in the wild!)
I would have to move out-of-state completely, which wouldn't exactly be easy.
The crime in DFW is very high. However, I could use a passcoded gate, some stealth sensors and a Needle Palm hedge to protect my house, business and plant farm. Being in DFW would allow me to also add Saw Palmettos to this hedge, which would allow the hedge to be finished more quickly and somewhat varied.
IMPORTANT:
--No hurricanes/tropical storms
--Cost of Living Index (CoLI) at or below 115 in the city limits of one or more core cities (the lower, the better)
--Easy to make friends that are into gaming, art, plants or pop/alternative/rock music. They should also be interested and not too busy to visit regularly.
--Humid subtropical climate; not just Cfa under Koppen system but also a winter mean over 2.2C/36F and qualifying as Cf under Trewartha
--Sizeable and diverse LGBT community
--Decent-sized lots just outside of suburban areas for plant farms
--Moderate to high road quality
--Friendly towards mixed use development
--Moderate or low (preferably low) rate of hate crimes
PLANS:
--To run a plant nursery specializing in winter interest (broadleaf evergreen trees/shrubs; birch; winterberry; conifers; winter annuals)
--To find proper friends and a suitable boyfriend
--To enjoy a more fun and urban life than the inconvenient rural one I currently have (I currently live in a county with an urban area, but it's half an hour away and not a major city)
Based on these factors, which one do you think is best suited for me? Which one do you think is the least well suited for me?
NOTICE: This thread is not for suggesting other cities for me to move to.
Spoiler
It's not that I haven't thought about others, though. For example, I wouldn't consider Atlanta due to poor road quality, anywhere near the East or Gulf coasts due to hurricanes, non-major cities because I'm a city person nor arid cities because I need a humid climate for my career.
I did STRONGLY consider Phoenix, Las Vegas and Roanoke previously, but the former two are too arid for my career and latter too small for me despite being big.
The Pacific Northwest is a big no-no too due to the Seattle Freeze, high CoLI, active volcanoes and extremely gloomy winters.
My name basically implies no cold or even somewhat chilly places, and even marginal subtropical ones like Louisville count as "somewhat chilly" in my mind.
P.S.: I have considered the fact that DFW is VERY hot and humid. However, that's not likely to be a problem for me; I'm very heat-tolerant in addition to cold-sensitive. Being outside a lot last year made me realize this is even to the point of handling a sunny and humid 100F day better than a windless, sunny and non-humid upper 40s day.
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