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I am retiring in about 4 years and looking at places to retire. I do NOT want a retirement community as I also have two 9 year old children who will be going wherever I end up. SO, in considering Cookeville, I was wondering about the past history of tornados and earthquakes in that area....and also mosquitoes.
I currently live in CA and have experienced lots of earthquakes--most of the time they are little and not much damage happens, so I am not too concerned with a little shake, but am concerned about the major ones when roads shift and fireplaces become detached from houses. Do you have major earthquakes? If so, how often?
Also, for tornados, how often is there a warning, and if your home does not have a basement, where do you go? I only experienced one tornado and that was when I was in training in OK. We had the pleasure of sitting in a smelly, trash filled, water rising, underpass walkway between buildings for many hours. I am pretty sure that once in a lifetime was enough for that experience. Also, how often does a tornado actually hit Cookeville?
Oh, and the mosquitoes, is there an active management plan for them, or is it something to learn to live with? Where I live now in SO CA the county actively sprays surface water for them, since we have West Nile here.
And, last question for now, I noticed form the census data that the area is mainly white. My two children are Maya Indian (from Guatemela). Do you think that the local community would be accepting of non-white children, or would they be treated poorly or ignored/excluded?
I am retiring in about 4 years and looking at places to retire. I do NOT want a retirement community as I also have two 9 year old children who will be going wherever I end up. SO, in considering Cookeville, I was wondering about the past history of tornados and earthquakes in that area....and also mosquitoes.
I currently live in CA and have experienced lots of earthquakes--most of the time they are little and not much damage happens, so I am not too concerned with a little shake, but am concerned about the major ones when roads shift and fireplaces become detached from houses. Do you have major earthquakes? If so, how often?
Also, for tornados, how often is there a warning, and if your home does not have a basement, where do you go? I only experienced one tornado and that was when I was in training in OK. We had the pleasure of sitting in a smelly, trash filled, water rising, underpass walkway between buildings for many hours. I am pretty sure that once in a lifetime was enough for that experience. Also, how often does a tornado actually hit Cookeville?
Oh, and the mosquitoes, is there an active management plan for them, or is it something to learn to live with? Where I live now in SO CA the county actively sprays surface water for them, since we have West Nile here.
And, last question for now, I noticed form the census data that the area is mainly white. My two children are Maya Indian (from Guatemela). Do you think that the local community would be accepting of non-white children, or would they be treated poorly or ignored/excluded?
Thanks for any information you may wish to share.
Welcome to Tennessee! You've made a great choice in Cookeville.
There are very few earthquakes in Tennessee. We do have some very minor rumblings every now and then, but most people don't even feel them. We had one centered in SE Kentucky a few months ago which did nothing more than make the chimes on my grandfather clock hum a little.
The last tornado to hit Cookeville was in the 1970s. There are tornadoes in Tennessee, but mainly west and south of the Cookeville area. There have been a couple of tornadoes the last couple of years up on the plateau in the Crossville area, but those are still pretty rare. The bigger concern is the occasional spring storm which can bring strong winds and hail.
I don't know if they spray for mosquitos in the Cookeville area or not. Of all the times I've been to Cookeville, I don't remember ever being bothered by mosquitos. I know here in Knoxville they don't spray for mosquitos, and it's never been a problem.
As far as your children being accepted, that is really a non issue. There are many Hispanics in Cookeville, certainly not as many as in California but more than you might think. The school system is about 10% Hispanic, and Jere Whitson Elementary School in North Cookeville is over 50% Hispanic. The last time I was in Monterey (a little town just east of Cookeville) I saw a Guatemalan grocery store.
But back to Jere Whitson Elementary: a few years ago most of the school burned down just weeks before the end of the school year, and the community rallied around that school in an incredible show of support. The university let the school hold classes in its basketball arena free of charge, and then a local church cleared out part of its building for the school to use, also free of charge. Here's a touching video someone made about it. In the video you can see just how many Hispanic students there are at Jere Whitson, many of whom look like they could be at least part Mayan.
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its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
Tennessee already has the lowest over-all tax burden in the country according to the Tax Foundation. And Cookeville has among the lowest property tax rates in the state. Cookeville also has among the best schools in the state, and it's only an hour from Nashville's airport which has cheap Southwest flights to all over the country including nonstop flights to California. And Tennessee, especially the Upper Cumberland region around Cookeville, is just so beautiful. I hope you checked out the Cookeville picture thread:
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its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
I dont think the area sprays for mosquitos unless there is a problem. Some years back when we had some cases of west niles I know the nashville area sprayed. I dont think mosquitos are a big problem unless you live in a swampy area.
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And, last question for now, I noticed form the census data that the area is mainly white. My two children are Maya Indian (from Guatemela). Do you think that the local community would be accepting of non-white children, or would they be treated poorly or ignored/excluded?
I will never understand why people think all non-white people will be discriminated against in the south. My gkids have gone to school in rural putnam and cumberland county. They go to school with and have friends that are hispanic, chinese, indian, biracial and yankee. Just because the area is predominately white dosent make people mean or racist. You have nothing to worry about as far as that is concerned.
Thanks JMT, I will take a look at the photos. I did not do that yet. I also read the bankrate article. Hope it does not send so many people there that the housing market gets too high!
2Mares, I did not mean to offend anyone. I made the racial comment, not because Tenn is in the south, but because I have lived in California for so many years. Here some areas are very integrated and accepting of people. The street I grew up on had a black family, a few Hispanic families, one Saudi family, and one Japanese family making up about half the block, the rest was white. But some areas are VERY separated and they like it that way. Even some major cities like LA have neighborhoods that folks of a different race would not live in very long. Its not just non-whites moving into white neighborhoods, but a white would not be very well accepted in, say, East LA (Hispanic area) or Watts (black area).
So, if Cookeville was not accepting of integration, I am not the one to want to push it at my kids expense. So I am glad it is integrated And sorry I did not word it well in the original post.
Thanks JMT, I will take a look at the photos. I did not do that yet. I also read the bankrate article. Hope it does not send so many people there that the housing market gets too high!
2Mares, I did not mean to offend anyone. I made the racial comment, not because Tenn is in the south, but because I have lived in California for so many years. Here some areas are very integrated and accepting of people. The street I grew up on had a black family, a few Hispanic families, one Saudi family, and one Japanese family making up about half the block, the rest was white. But some areas are VERY separated and they like it that way. Even some major cities like LA have neighborhoods that folks of a different race would not live in very long. Its not just non-whites moving into white neighborhoods, but a white would not be very well accepted in, say, East LA (Hispanic area) or Watts (black area).
So, if Cookeville was not accepting of integration, I am not the one to want to push it at my kids expense. So I am glad it is integrated And sorry I did not word it well in the original post.
No problem, I was not offended its just that we get that so much on here its as though ppl think anyone not a white christian republican will be stoned out of the state. Its just hard to understand why anyone would think people are so much different here than in any other similar area in the US. I lived in Dayton Ohio as a child and encountered as much if not more individual hatred and racism there. Similar as you described there were certain "neighborhoods" consisting of a large majority of one particular race or culture. It isnt really like that in Cookeville. Its kind of hard to explain but being more spread out than in metro or more suburban areas, Cookeville and smaller towns have a different overall feel. Unfortunately there are still rascist people everywhere but as a overall community Cookeville is very friendly and accepting IMO. I dont think your family would have any problem fitting in here.
We live about 8 miles west of Cookeville, in Baxter, about a 10 minute run down I-40, and we love it. We are retired, so, I can't help you with anything about kids, or schools, but, I can say the area is great to retire to, in my opinion. The folks are real friendly here, and we really like our place . Like JMT said, the main threat here is the storms that bring hail, and a lot of rain. I looked at weather history for this area, and further up the Cumberland Plateau before we made a decision to move here, and I call the Cookeville area the " Goldilocks zone ", since the bulk of bad weather is most times east of us toward the Cumberland Plateau, or west, toward Nashville.
Not sure what sort of insurance you are going to have when you retire, but for me, I wish I had researched that aspect a little better. There are plenty of Doctors, and Dentists here, but very few are on our plan. We have a specialist my wife has seen that is a good hour drive from where we are. He is the only provider, in that field, that is on our plan. I am at least relieved her primary Dr. isn't that far. You might do what we did, and make an exploratory trip here to check things out to see if you and your kids like it. Good Luck
124c41, thanks for the information. I do plan on visiting, probably some time in the next year. I can change insurance to any plan that is open to federal employees, so I will make sure that I check for local providers before I choose the plan. That was something I would not have thought of doing, so I owe you
What encouraged you to go to Baxter instead of Cookeville? I probably need to go to the larger town just so the kids do not have to go as far to their future friends...but I am curious.
lae60, we were originally from a small town, and being used to a rural lifestyle, we liked Baxter, and the fact that we can have the quiet, and country surroundings, and yet if we need something from the city, it's not but a 10 minute run up I-40. We both don't function well if we have to contend with all that comes with urban living. There's nothing wrong with that lifestyle, it's just not for us. We have no one, but ourselves to consider, but in your case, you probably do need to get closer to the city, especially if the kids came from that environment where you are moving from. Anything else you need to ask, please feel free to pick my brain. And if you get a chance, come look the area over, and have a glass of tea. Good Luck!
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. Just because the area is predominately white dosent make people mean or racist. You have nothing to worry about as far as that is concerned.
And sorry I did not word it well in the original post.
