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I'll chime in as I'm from upstate NY living and loving it in Knoxville.I remember the post you refer to, I think the posters name was something like eating squirrels for Jesus and it was Maryville he was talking about. In my experience, his radical bitter views are not shared by anyone I've come in contact with.
In my 3 years here in Tn. I came across one older native who was very proud of her family heritage and she poured on the outsider routine by the cupfull. But that was just her and as far as I'm concerned she is a minority and showed bad manners,that isn't how the rest of the people I met in Tn. have treated me, nor does she represent the rest of the natives.
Barking Spider shared some great wisdom with you and it is very true. I've found that as long as you try to assimulate(sp???) to the area you move to, you'll be welcomed and treated fairly.
I'll share something of my impressions of when I moved down here to Tn. The fighting of the war questions is asked by more northerners and it seemed to me at times it was the northerners keeping that rumor alive and well by spreading it and pointing fingers with the war card. I thought it was stereotyping or profiling due to their paranoia. I heard more "Southerners are still fighting the war" comments in NY, then evidence that it in fact is still happening here in the south. I'm sure there are pockets somewhere in the South where the war is still being waged, but I haven't seen it here in Knoxville.
Did you ever go up the Hudson River and visit Kingston? To me Knoxville is like a big overgrown town and reminds me of Kingston. Knoxville is my home and I love it and don't want to be anywhere else.
Pam
PS. If you move here, you might want to stock up on Ring Dings to bring with you as they aren't sold around here. When my parents come to visit, they bring me boxes of them.
Pam
I went to school on Long Island, lived in Mass, Miss, Oh, NC and Md and plan on retiring to K'ville. My experience is you'll find the kind of people you expect to find/look for. The Knoxvillians I've met (native or transplant) have been good folks.
We recently retired in Tn. from Wisc. We are not in Knoxville, but in a small rural area east of Knoxville. I can't tell you how many people have referred to me as a "Yankee". I try to laugh the comment off but I now reply that was not my war. We are building a home here and our neighbors have been great none of them refer to us that way unless we are joking around about the differences between us, like the teasing about bringing the cold to TN. It is often my accent that triggers the Yankee comment. I think that this is more common in rural areas rather than in Knoxville itself. I was actually told from a perspective employer that I was not selected because I was a Yankee and they were concerned about that influence. So to your question is yes, there are some who refer to you as a Yankee. How you handle it is the important question. I love Tn and for the most part the people here are the friendliest I have ever met. For those still fighting the war there is nothing you can do and you need to accept that. Instead look at the wonderful things that TN offers.
I am very behind in getting ready for Christmas. I don't even have a tree. We have had various ailments but everything is great now.
Like many have said, there is always one in the crowd wherever you go, but for the most part people are very nice.
I have to say that this is the place where I most feel comfortable. I can finally be myself and people actually "get" me.
I think that there is a reason for that. The area is full of Scotch-Irish, many of the same people that settled in the northeast. They are very quick with a joke, love to laugh and are just very intelligent, in general. I find the same attitude with the area's blacks. Just great, fun people here.
Now, if you go farther away from the city you can find some pretty unfriendly people. I don't mean the redneck country folks. They are really nice, too.
There are some people from the mountain areas that can be very hostile, but really they don't like anyone unless they are from their clan. It is not a Yankee thing.
Interesting thing happened at a restaurant on Saturday night. The waitress-not ours-was talking to the next table. She said she was from Michigan and found the people down here to be "'pretty" friendly but she really hated the New Yorkers. I turned around and glared at her. For the rest of the night she would smirk whenever she walked by me.
What an imbecile. Good luck making tips. That girl had no idea who she was speaking to. For all she knows, she was talking to people that have relatives or friends in New York.
I bring this up because you mentioned Florida. The natives have those bumper stickers because they are surrounded by jerks just like that waitress. I've seen some pretty nasty snowbird bumper stickers. It's not a Yankee thing. It's a rude retiree thing. Trust me.
One final comment, and it is my biggest concern. I absolutely abhor how you portray New Yorkers, manyroads. Most New Yorkers may come across as abrupt but most are kind, loving people that would do anything for anyone.
Be proud of who you are, manyroads, and no matter where you go you will be respected and make friends. Always be you.
If reading those is enough to convinces you not to move here then you might not want to. Your skin is too thin then. If you read the Knoxville chat or any number of other threads for the Knoxville area you would realize that that was the aberrant, not the norm. We bought a home here last year and have been living here full time since early this year after living most of our lives in the metro NY area. Neither one of us regrets the move. We absolutely love it here and plan to make it home for a long time to come. Others we know who had been life long NYers have made the move in recent years and we all agree, the people here make the place a wonderful home. Even before we moved we met former NY, CT and NJ folks and got big welcomes and "you'll love it here."
It doesn't take much to feel welcome here, the natives make it so easy. We were fortunate in that our neighbors have been helpful in so many ways. Every store I go to I meet terrific, friendly and above all very polite people. Not even the neighbors who have been lifelong residents of the town with deep family roots have given me pause, or made me feel like an intruder although I am sure we must seem it at times.
There are a few people who resent any newcomers, not just Yankees or specifically NY people. I can't say that I blame them much when I hear how much has changed recently for many who knew this as farmland and forest. Then again where I used to live many of those who had been there a long time really resented the rich people from 'the city' who bulldozed over the last farmland and woods to build monstrous and grandiose second and vacation homes. When anyone from the 'outside' moves in with more money and makes big changes it will always engender some resentment. Add to it the tendency of some newcomers to lament what they can't get *here* that they always had *there* and it would set even the most friendly person's teeth on edge.
My advice is to come and look around. Visit in at least 2 seasons, drive during "rush hour" and in the evening on some of the main roads. Sample some non chain eateries and do a little shopping. We like the milder four seasons, but it does get hotter and a bit more humid for longer than you have in NY. You will find, depending on where you were from in NY that the traffic is really not bad at all. The best experience though is to meet people in every day situations. No one rushes you out the door, everyone has a nice word to say and everyone (including the kids) is polite. Learn, once again, to hold the door open for others, say thank you, please and pardon me as you make your way up the grocery aisle. Genuine manners really do exist. Someone recently said it in another thread here... and darn if I can't find it to give credit but... Knoxville and the areas around it (esp Maryville) do really feel like overgrown Mayberries. Not quite the TV perfect naive Mayberry but the people are nice type Mayberry.
The area itself has a lot to offer. The scenery is of course beautiful, how can you not like looking at the Smoky Mountains? There is every kind of shopping and food if you look for it. Entertainment is varied and if you check on the various threads here you will see all sorts of events. Every major and many minor religions are well represented.
If reading those is enough to convinces you not to move here then you might not want to. Your skin is too thin then. If you read the Knoxville chat or any number of other threads for the Knoxville area you would realize that that was the aberrant, not the norm. We bought a home here last year and have been living here full time since early this year after living most of our lives in the metro NY area. Neither one of us regrets the move. We absolutely love it here and plan to make it home for a long time to come. Others we know who had been life long NYers have made the move in recent years and we all agree, the people here make the place a wonderful home. Even before we moved we met former NY, CT and NJ folks and got big welcomes and "you'll love it here."
It doesn't take much to feel welcome here, the natives make it so easy. We were fortunate in that our neighbors have been helpful in so many ways. Every store I go to I meet terrific, friendly and above all very polite people. Not even the neighbors who have been lifelong residents of the town with deep family roots have given me pause, or made me feel like an intruder although I am sure we must seem it at times.
There are a few people who resent any newcomers, not just Yankees or specifically NY people. I can't say that I blame them much when I hear how much has changed recently for many who knew this as farmland and forest. Then again where I used to live many of those who had been there a long time really resented the rich people from 'the city' who bulldozed over the last farmland and woods to build monstrous and grandiose second and vacation homes. When anyone from the 'outside' moves in with more money and makes big changes it will always engender some resentment. Add to it the tendency of some newcomers to lament what they can't get *here* that they always had *there* and it would set even the most friendly person's teeth on edge.
My advice is to come and look around. Visit in at least 2 seasons, drive during "rush hour" and in the evening on some of the main roads. Sample some non chain eateries and do a little shopping. We like the milder four seasons, but it does get hotter and a bit more humid for longer than you have in NY. You will find, depending on where you were from in NY that the traffic is really not bad at all. The best experience though is to meet people in every day situations. No one rushes you out the door, everyone has a nice word to say and everyone (including the kids) is polite. Learn, once again, to hold the door open for others, say thank you, please and pardon me as you make your way up the grocery aisle. Genuine manners really do exist. Someone recently said it in another thread here... and darn if I can't find it to give credit but... Knoxville and the areas around it (esp Maryville) do really feel like overgrown Mayberries. Not quite the TV perfect naive Mayberry but the people are nice type Mayberry.
The area itself has a lot to offer. The scenery is of course beautiful, how can you not like looking at the Smoky Mountains? There is every kind of shopping and food if you look for it. Entertainment is varied and if you check on the various threads here you will see all sorts of events. Every major and many minor religions are well represented.
What a wonderful post!
I'm the one who said in a recent thread that Knoxville is like an overgrown Mayberry, and you explained it exactly as I intended it. People around here are really, really friendly. There are few malcontents, but over all this is the kind of city where even the bad areas aren't that bad, and the snooty areas aren't that snooty. The teenagers around here are respectful and pretty well behaved. And driving here is a dream; about the most annoying part about driving in Knoxville is that if 4 cars pull up to a 4-way stop at the same time, expect to sit there for a while because everyone keeps waving for the other person to go first.
And, considering there are 800,000 people in the metro area, I am amazed at how often I run into someone I know. From the Home Depot in Maryville to the Tennessee Theatre downtown to the East Town Target to the Chick-fil-a on Clinton Hwy, it seems I can't go anywhere without bumping into a friend.
And driving here is a dream; about the most annoying part about driving in Knoxville is that if 4 cars pull up to a 4-way stop at the same time, expect to sit there for a while because everyone keeps waving for the other person to go first.
And, considering there are 800,000 people in the metro area, I am amazed at how often I run into someone I know. From the Home Depot in Maryville to the Tennessee Theatre downtown to the East Town Target to the Chick-fil-a on Clinton Hwy, it seems I can't go anywhere without bumping into a friend.
Yep. Get use to letting people out into traffic and not cutting them off. If the light turns red, politely wait for the guy or gal in front to notice. Whatever you do, don't honk the horn. The only time we do that is to wave to someone and even then we try not to do it.
This is the Knoxville way.
And the law of averages somehow does not apply here. I grew up in towns of about 14,000. I could go weeks and never run into anyone. Here, no matter where I go, there is always at least one person that I know.
It seems like assimilating or at least, accepting, the differences in a new environment will go a long way in making one's move more pleasurable.
Those that have a missionary's zeal to bring about "needed changes" to their new locale should think long and hard as to why they would even bother with the trouble of moving in the first place.
Thanks JMT, sometimes I know I have seen something and then when I really want to find it can't quite figure our where. When I read your comment it was exactly what I had been feeling without having the right word for it.
I don't know enough people yet to run into friends everywhere, it must be nice! I'm not complaining I still feel welcome because instead I keep meeting people who like chatting with me, and usually end up finding out one more nice thing about the area. The other day someone helped me matching fabrics and then told about another store that just recently opened that might have more of what I needed. She didn't have to, she was really busy and had to go back to her business. She took the time anyway. I have listened to stories both sad and happy about grandkids and kids, service people and ordinary people. I've been invited to church and to church sponsored events. My neighbors give us things and friendly advice. Everyone waves when we walk. Many wave when we drive by. The stop sign dance always makes me smile, its true... everyone tries hard to let the other guy go first. I don't mean to make out NY to be a horrible place, far from it. There were lots of nice people in NY, and plenty of polite ones as well, but there is something that is just a little different here that reminds me of NY 40 or 50 years ago.
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Attitudes on Northerners
When I read your comment it was exactly what I had been feeling without having the right word for it.
I'm not complaining I still feel welcome because instead I keep meeting people who like chatting with me, and usually end up finding out one more nice thing about the area. The other day someone helped me matching fabrics and then told about another store that just recently opened that might have more of what I needed. She didn't have to, she was really busy and had to go back to her business. She took the time anyway. I have listened to stories both sad and happy about grandkids and kids, service people and ordinary people. I've been invited to church and to church sponsored events. My neighbors give us things and friendly advice. Everyone waves when we walk. Many wave when we drive by. The stop sign dance always makes me smile, its true... everyone tries hard to let the other guy go first. I don't mean to make out NY to be a horrible place, far from it. There were lots of nice people in NY, and plenty of polite ones as well, but there is something that is just a little different here that reminds me of NY 40 or 50 years ago.
