How did you discover the Tri-Cities? (Knoxville, Johnson City: transplants, apartment, hotels)

[Beretta]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

JoshB, yep, Cherokee. Of course everyone native to this area claims to be somewhat Cherokee, usually.

Yep, that is because most of us do have Cherokee in our blood. I know I do too. My paternal grandmother had one long braid down her back and never cut her hair her entire life.

[JoshB]

Great post, Mary Beth!

[jabogitlu]

My line traces back to one Glumdalclitch Shawheehou, who also called herself Mary Polly Franklin and Eliza McComas, at random different times in her life. Genealogy in the southern mountains is notoriously difficult to trace - because people took different names at different times, married randomly and had many children out of wedlock, gave their children to other people, and were all named Sally, Mary, Eliza(beth), Tom, Roderick, Henry... SHELTON.

[davit]

I just learned about the Tri Cities yesterday; now it's on my short-list.

I grew up in WI, hated the cold, moved to San Diego, got bored, ski bummed in Lake Tahoe and Steamboat Springs, you talk about COLD, got married, moved back to WI , hate the cold.

The wife and kids need a vacation, perhaps I will drag them to the area for a visit next week.

[hrhf]

I grew up in southern WV... the coalfields... the heart of Hatfield-McCoy country. Like essentially every other kid from that region with ambitions beyond the existing industries (not that there's anything wrong with that...), I had to eventually cut my losses and move somewhere with a more thriving economy.

The problem is I've never really felt comfortable outside the "cozy confines" of the hill country.

So, over the past year or two, I've been halfheartedly looking for openings in my field in WV, KY, TN and western VA. A couple of months ago, I found a position in Abingdon and interviewed. I had only been to the area once, in '92. I was only 18, and can't remember a great deal about the trip, other than that I enjoyed my time. This most recent trip, for the interview, I fell in love with the area. Just beautiful country.

Growing up, my family made lots of trips down I-77, and my parents loved the Fancy Gap/Galax area of VA.... they talked often about selling out the family business and buying a farm down there to retire. They never were able to realize that dream due to health issues.

Now, I feel like I'm kind of fulfilling that for them. They never visited the Tri-Cities area (to my knowledge), but I'm sure they'd have loved it.

I'll be moving there, with my wife and 17-month-old daughter, just as soon as our house sells. With the economy the way it is, that could take a while. But my future employer says they're willing to wait as long as it takes. Hope I don't have to test the outer limits of that promise!

[Madeline4]

We've been here 18 months now. Prior to this, we lived in Switzerland. We wanted to move back to the States and buy something by the water (HA!). We made a list of everything we wanted in an area. We looked in several states, but East TN had most everything on our list. We rented the first year. While driving around (got lost actually) with our realtor we happened upon the Siam area. We found an old abandoned farmhouse right on the river. We were able to call the owner and we purchased the property (scrapping together whatever we had). Now we are hoping to build. It's like a dream come true.

[suecen]

hrhf: Just curious, where do you live now?

[hrhf]

Originally Posted by suecen

hrhf: Just curious, where do you live now?

Portsmouth, VA.... Work across the river in Norfolk, VA.

[JoshB]

Originally Posted by davit

I just learned about the Tri Cities yesterday; now it's on my short-list.

I grew up in WI, hated the cold, moved to San Diego, got bored, ski bummed in Lake Tahoe and Steamboat Springs, you talk about COLD, got married, moved back to WI , hate the cold.

The wife and kids need a vacation, perhaps I will drag them to the area for a visit next week.

Interesting! Your about an hour away from me. I'd check out the tri-cities.

[JoshB]

Any newcomers that haven't filled this out?