Knoxville and Northern Transpants (Farragut: environment, relocating, transplants)

[gemkeeper]

Originally Posted by darkholme

LOL. That's how I'm going to start every conversation to get in good with the locals. "How 'bout them Vols, eh?"

I noticed UT Athletics seems to be a big deal down there. I hope my car, with it's big Michigan block-M sticker won't get egged too many times.

Is your car big enough to handle 2 decals? Michigan and UT are not in the same conference (Big 10 and SEC), so maybe nobody will pay attention. Then again...

[darkholme]

Originally Posted by gemthornton

Is your car big enough to handle 2 decals? Michigan and UT are not in the same conference (Big 10 and SEC), so maybe nobody will pay attention. Then again...

You guys played us in a bowl game a few years back and kicked our behinds It was not fair I tell ya, not fair!

I'm considering going to grad school at UT, maybe then will a sticker deserve to be on my car...in the meantime, I'll park at the back of the lot

[gemkeeper]

Originally Posted by darkholme

You guys played us in a bowl game a few years back and kicked our behinds It was not fair I tell ya, not fair!

I'm considering going to grad school at UT, maybe then will a sticker deserve to be on my car...in the meantime, I'll park at the back of the lot

Actually, darkholme, we lived in MI for 16, almost 17 years. Our 4 boys all went to school in Michigan and 3 are U of M graduates. One with two master's degrees from Michigan. We know and love Ann Arbor well.

On those rare occasions when Michigan is scheduled to play an out of conference game with UT, it will be a nail-biter. Yikes, who do you root for? GO VOLWOLVS!

I worked on my master's at Eastern Michigan U. And, NOBODY plays them except Central and other lesser knowns!

I'd park in the back if I were you and back into the parking spot and maybe no one will notice. Keep all of those navy tee shirts for the weekend.

[mjb62676]

We're "northern" transplants and have gotten along just fine even though I'm a huge Kansas State supporter and my wife is an Oklahoma fan.

We actually saw our first live UT game at Neyland last weekend, so we now own some orange.

[Kathleenh54]

Originally Posted by jimj

We looked at moving to the Ashland area a year ago. I can tell you that if you really like Ashland you won't really like TN. The atmosphere is completely different, Ashland being a left wing kind of hippie party anything goes socialist area vs a more, oh I don't know... shall we say conservative religous area?

I'm not knocking Ashland, if that's what floats their boat that's fine... I'm just pointing out that Oregon values and TN southern values couldn't be farther apart imo.

Jim, lol, you're so right. It's tough to be a moderate here in LaLa North. What we like about Ashland is the scenery, the Shakespeare Festival and proximity to the coast. The looney lefty stuff I can do without, but also the right wingnut stuff.

[darkholme]

Originally Posted by gemthornton

Actually, darkholme, we lived in MI for 16, almost 17 years. Our 4 boys all went to school in Michigan and 3 are U of M graduates. One with two master's degrees from Michigan. We know and love Ann Arbor well.

On those rare occasions when Michigan is scheduled to play an out of conference game with UT, it will be a nail-biter. Yikes, who do you root for? GO VOLWOLVS!

I worked on my master's at Eastern Michigan U. And, NOBODY plays them except Central and other lesser knowns!

I'd park in the back if I were you and back into the parking spot and maybe no one will notice. Keep all of those navy tee shirts for the weekend.

LOL @ "volwovs"...! That's kinda catchy! And nice to meet another Michigan ex-pat I definitely know where Eastern is. I'm going to miss the snow but a mild winter might be nice. I can always listen to my Christmas music on 100.3 internet radio, LOL!

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by darkholme

I can always listen to my Christmas music on 100.3 internet radio, LOL!

Oh, you'll have PLENTY of Christmas music to listen to on your local radio stations. Trust me on this.

[Kitties of Domination]

While I do not deny that the region, in general, is conservative and religious, many of the people commenting on this board live in outlying areas. Hiknapster, Powell is one of the most conservative areas of Knox Co. (along with Farragut). Darkholme, I live in the Bearden area just west of downtown. This is a few typical blocks of Bearden: Gourmet market, mexican grocery, gun shop, meditation center, tattoo parlor, tea room for old ladies, sushi bar, hair salon, Buddhist center, adult book store, british pub. Like any state university, there is a liberal presence on campus. There is a large young Democrats group, even a nudist club and a wiccan group! There are large Indian and Asian populations of students. I have several West African friends. There is a mosque in Fort Sanders. 1/2 of the strip is owned by Egyptians. There is a Turkish restaurant, a hookah bar, a Malaysian restaurant, a vegetarian restaurant, and a skate shop on the strip. There is a sizable college of art. First Friday is a montly event that features showings of university and other area artists at various art galleries downtown. Market square downtown has a wine bar, a thai restaurant, several gourmet fusion restaurants, a fair-trade shop featuring crafts from around the world (all artisans are paid a respectable, living wage), a Cuban restaurant, a sushi bar, a brew pub, a Greek deli, and multiple art galleries. Gay street has a Middle Eastern restaurant with a belly dancer, an upscale cocktail club, and Yeehaw Industries, a well-know print shop specializing in folk-art inspired hand-cut prints. The old city and Market square features numerous music venues ranging from traditional blues to experimental art rock, trendy design firms, coffee shops, a Fondue restaurant, and vintage clothing stores. A new British-owned authentic pub with cask-conditioned ales and televised soccer matches. Numerous gay bars. Jazz clubs and dance clubs. Organic food stores, vinyl record stores, new age stores, Mexican dance clubs, Middle eastern markets, oriental food markets, Indian restaurants, Korean restaurants. Knoxville is not all white, Christian conservatives

[jabogitlu]

Thanks, Kitties of Domination! When I lived there (just outside the Fort, most of the time) I always recognized Bearden to be one of the funkiest places in the Knox metro, though oddly no one ever mentions it on-board. It's sort of 'midtown Knoxville' if you know what I mean. Too bad Sequoyah Hills is all sandwiched in there.

[goodbyehollywood]

I've found people here to be friendlier than in most places, but of course, you're not going to break in with long-time locals right away. It's no different than in New England, the Mid Atlantic, Old Orange County or other older, established locales. But if you live in an area where there are more transplants-- i.e., West Knoxville, Hardin Valley, etc.-- you're going to "fit in" better. Old school locals don't want to change the way things are done and newcomers usually lobby vocally for change, so to each his own!

Plant yourself in the right place and you'll find plenty of like-minded friends. Move into Sequoyah Hills or Old Fountain City and you're going to meet more resistance... just like you would in Beacon Hill, Atherton or Chevy Chase. Good luck and welcome!