Relocating (Johnson City, Kingsport, Morristown: house, university, living in)

[zoolady]

Need info/advice on NE Tennessee area (esp Johnson City). I have a great job opportunity in Johnson City. I was born in CA, grew up mainly in MN, and for past 6 years lived in NM. My parents lived near Livingston, TN for a short while and I hated it. My mother is Hispanic and was treated horribly by a lot of people. I worry that I will end up in closed-minded area. I know one place isn't totally free of all ignorant people, but I'd like to live in an area where the over-all feeling is good.

[rccrain]

Johnson City is not what you would call "close minded". I would say the culture is mostly "live and let live", small government, libertarian, but with some deeply religious roots. I think you would feel comfortable in JC, but outside JC/Bristol/Kingsport (in the sticks) it might not be as good of a fit.

[JoeyBooth2]

Hello I sent you a Direct Message with some info about info.

[bkjonesborough]

I don't think she'd have a problem in this area. We have a growing Hispanic community in East Tennessee, and I've personally not seen or heard of any issues. In the past, Erwin and Mountain City had a big reputation for problems. I think Erwin has come a long way, but I don't know about Mountain City. That's a ways off from the Tri Cities, though.

[funymann]

Morristown has a large population of hispanics.

[zoolady]

Thank you all for your input. JC looks/sounds like a great place for me, but I'll have to check it out more closely for my parents. They really want to live out in the country in a secluded, small town setting. I'm not sure if I can find that near JC.

[jabogitlu]

I'm not sure about "small town setting" but look towards the Cherokee Road/Greenwood Drive area of Johnson City, especially out near the city/county line. Also, for small town, if you could find (and afford) a house in the historic part of Jonesborough that would probably work as well.

[rccrain]

Bluff City would have been perfect but its government is currently in shambles, so I cannot recommend.

Limestone, Fall Branch, and Erwin might work, but I would worry about the "close-mindedness". Additionally, I find it difficult to put myself in the shoes of someone of a different ethnic background. You might try visiting these locations and see how it feels. Good luck.

[zoolady]

Everywhere I have lived there have been racist people. Here in NM a few people have treated my blond blue-eyed German father (el Gringo) very rudely. When I lived in MN (esp. in small northern towns) some people would stare at us and ask what country we came from. I'm green-eyed with dark brown hair, a normal person in the crowd, but they see my mother who is Spanish and they turn up their noses. These attitudes appear to come from not just one race. It is sad that our country is still struggling with prejudice. Not only is my skin brown-it's tough. I can handle ignorance, it's my mother I worry about. Ultimately she will have to check out the area herself and decide. I just hope if she does move back to TN she will be treated better than she was in Livingston. Thank you all for your input. Keep it coming.

[jabogitlu]

Zoolady, it also depends in what company she keeps. I have lots of friends that are Asian and Latino and they encounter no problems but we're all plugged into the university scene here in JC. I'm sure if you hung around the feed supply store out in rural Washington County you'd encounter a very different set of people.

Like you said there are racist people everywhere. These days I'm not sure there is a larger percentage of "racist" people in the South especially among the new generations. Yeah there are racists and bigots but at least you're living in a beautiful part of the country among generally nice and friendly people, and it's very cheap to live here. As a gay American that's how I look at it, anyway.