michigander in nashville (Hendersonville, Columbia, Spring Hill: transplants, daycares, movies)

[luvmykids08_10]

just wanted to know do you think it would be a big transition from michigan to tennessee? i just want a good start for my family and i. my kids are 2.5yrs old and 3.5months old and im 23yrs old and my husband is 22yrs old. we really like doing things without spending money ALL the time. we like to do things like go to the zoo, museums, river walks, and things like that. we dont mind staying in a trailer either. How country is it down there? is there an area most african americans are? whats a good area from pre-k, and daycares?

[septimus]

there are a lot of former michiganders in Mid-TN. Especially Spring Hill.

[BirdieBelle]

Do you want it to be country? Because we can point you to some VERY country areas. But if you're trying to avoid the country, we need to know.

You might look in the Maury County town of Columbia. A lot of Michigan transplants came here when they built the GM plant in Spring Hill. Many of them still live in Columbia, and it's not as expensive as Nashville.

[somewhereoutthere15]

there are so many Michigan transplants in Tennessee that soon Tennessee will be like another Michigan. (but thats a good thing btw)

[poolagoo]

Being from Michigan and having lived in Hendersonville for 6 months I can tell you the transition can be a little rough. I would agree that you may be more likely to find like minded people in Spring Hill, it is very quiet and conservative here, seems like everybody is in bed by 9pm whereas in MI nothing starts until 9.

[poolagoo]

Just to add to that, I have talked to many people from MI who have moved here and most have said it took them awhile to get adjusted, 2-5 years for most , but that once they've settled in they are now 100% sure they will never leave TN.

[ziggy2022]

Why though? What is the reason it would take so long to get adjusted - aside from people being early to turn in for the night? I did hear that peoples' sense of humor is a bit different in the south. Who knows, but I am curious as to what they attribute the difficulty of adjusting to.

[shinestx]

Oi! I have difficulty believing that there is still so much ignorance about the South. I mean, it's only the most populous of all the regions of the USA, with fully a third of the total population of the country. As such, the South today has among the most diverse cities with the most vibrant economies as you'd find anywhere in the USA. 9 of the 20 largest cities by population are in the South. And as one who often listens to the political correctness cr@p from a niece (in California) who cannot multiply off the top of her head ("to save her life" as we Southerners sometimes say) and has been taught to "feel" more than think, I know that a lot of the education in the "cosmopolitan" places on the coasts is not all it's cracked up to be either. I am sure at my children's school there are parents who will not put up with gratuitous PC (or the "touchy-feely" stuff) and raise a fuss when it takes from more useful instruction. Of course, they (we) all know there are those who would call us intolerant for that. Actually, public (secondary) schools here are no worse than any other parts. I have mentioned myself as the product of public TN schools and my two graduate degrees from private universities. My best friend's daughter graduated from Marion County (TN) schools and is now working on her PhD in mathematics at Harvard. While the Ivy League has the big names, the South has its share of the greatest colleges and universities in the world, and many of them are public. Having said that, I guess I realize that the stereotypes persist in the media and movies.

So the short bit of advice I can only give is that you and your family should really come and explore, just as you should if you were thinking about a move anywhere.

[Antioch]

Originally Posted by luvmykids08_10

just wanted to know do you think it would be a big transition from michigan to tennessee? i just want a good start for my family and i. my kids are 2.5yrs old and 3.5months old and im 23yrs old and my husband is 22yrs old. we really like doing things without spending money ALL the time. we like to do things like go to the zoo, museums, river walks, and things like that. we dont mind staying in a trailer either. How country is it down there? is there an area most african americans are? whats a good area from pre-k, and daycares?

Hopefully this will better answer your question. #1 Davidson County/Nashville is not a country setting at all. The further away from the Metro Nashville Davidson County area the more country/rural it gets, especially west and north of the Metro area. #2 Many of the Davidson county schools have Pre-K programs that accept students as early as 3, depending on when their birthday is, not too sure about daycares in the area. #3. African American areas are North Nashville including Bordeaux, and Historic Jefferson St. area, East and North East Nashville including areas south of Briley Pky, Parkwood Bellshire, Dickerson Rd., South/South East Nashville including Edgehill to Naprier/Lafeyette St. areas. Other areas with higher populations of African Americans are Madison-Neeley's Bend area Antioch-east along and east of Bell rd area in to Cane Ridge and Priest Lake area, ok amount in Hermitage as well as Lavergne which is in Ruthford County.
#4. Nashville Zoo is in the Harding place area of South Nashville, Frist Art center downtown, just to name a few museum type places. Greenway walks all along Cumberland River and creeks and smaller rivers that branch off of the Cumberland. Percy Priest Lake stretches from Hermitage into Antioch, down to Smryna, numerous recreational parks there including Long Hunter State park. Several other free activites as well, especially in the summer.
The transition should not be so hard to adjust to if you stay in the areas mention or with in the Metro area, otherwise areas outside it may be.