Thinking of moving to Middle TN? READ THIS! (Murfreesboro, Cleveland: middle-class, transplants)

[IngleDave]

I could only smile. Hope your back gets better.

[groovamos]

Originally Posted by nsantamaria

...just moved OUT about 3 weeks ago relocating to the greater Charlotte, NC area.... I hated middle TN. The smog is terrible, there is nothing really pretty or aesthetic about it at all....

I grew up in Nashville and my mothers's family and 13 of my first cousins lived in the Charlotte area. I really loved going to Charlotte every year as a kid, and it was mainly because my granparents lived on a small farm between Charlotte and Mt Holly where my mother grew up, very much in the country. Many of my mothers childhood friends lived around, this was a connection to my ancestry and history. But to say I liked that part of North Carolina for being pretty would be false. Try buying a house in the hills in the Charlotte area, or in Houston where I am now. Any time any of our N.C. relatives would come visit us in Nashville, they would literally gush at the loveliness of the residential areas of Nashville, (we lived in West Meade) and the countryside around there. Such topography and vegetation was not to be seen in Charlotte. But I have been to the part of SC near Charlotte a few years ago and I like it. It was pretty enough, kind of rolling topography but not as hilly as Nashville. I like NC and SC, both have beaches and mountains. My dad lives in Asheville too.

A lot of people from Texas travel to Nashville on business, and phrases I often hear is "beautiful town" and "really pretty" or "great town". There are even people who open branch offices in Nashville simply because they love the area and are confident in the city's future prospects. Example: one of Austin's most talented architects, Dewitt Gayle, graduated from Vanderbilt in '73 and has always been a Nashville partisan. He was motivated to open a Nashville office of their firm, Susman Tisdale Gayle. As Austin is considered the cultural and aesthetic jewel of our state, the not uncommon affinity of Austinites for Nashville is nothing to discount. In fact there is no doubt that some people there are quite envious of Nashville's recording and songwriting industries.

[applejuice]

Hey, I did not think your post was that rude...but I am originally from Miami

I am currently living in Atlanta (and boy do we have problems!) and I do get defensive when someone comes into the Atlanta forum to say bad things about "my" city. However, I am considering moving to Nashville because of family and I think it is a great area. I find people to be really friendly, traffic average, and never had a problem with air quality. I guess everything is perspective.

My only concern is that Nashville is going to be like Atlanta in another 10-15yrs in regards to traffic

[Taterhead]

I liked the post, as someone who is thinking of moving there, you said a lot of info. I liked the honest way you put your feelings into words, no bull. I read everything people have to say and take it with a grain of salt. Thanks for your view of the city.

Debbie

[nsantamaria]

Thanks for the well wishes with my back - it's been killing me for years, been to tons of doctors now they think I have fibromyalgia. Anyway....

Again, there were some things I liked about Tennessee but for the most part not so much. I agree with a previous post.....Charlotte is NOT pretty or aesthetic by ANY means either. AND the air quality here is bad if not worse.

I DON'T believe Charlotte (and outskirts) is cleaner, healthier or prettier than Nashville (and outksirts). Trust me, I've been doing TONS of research on it - and apparently the entire eastern portion of the U.S. is suffering greatly in terms of healthy air and cleanliness due to MONEY GRUBBING POWER PLANTS. The Southeast suffers the most. It's a shame.

Anyway, I'm still pondering the idea of buying this home I found here. After the nightmares I lived through in Tennessee I'm not sure if I'm ready to buy again. And, even though I stated I think I like Charlotte better than Nashville - I'm not totally sure this is where I want to spend the rest of my life. The next house I buy I want it to be my last (potentially). I would love my daughter to grow up in a home like I did. To call it, "my neighborhood". I'm not sure if I found that perfect spot yet. Times have changed - and I'm not even sure a spot like that exists anymore.

You'd be hard-pressed to find anywhere that is going to fit all your criteria I suppose, but healthy living and clean neighborhood (including air) is high on my list. I don't know - it's just important to me.

Sadly, due to my husband's job - there are only limited options for us in terms of where we can relocate. As most people, he does better in the more populated - city areas.

If it were up to me I think I'd live in Coastal Maine or on a ranch in Wyoming.
Although, I read yesterday there's a couple of massive nuclear power plants in wyoming too...

OY VEY. What is this world coming to?

[AliceT]

It's ok to have an opinion and admirable to admit when you are wrong. But the way you presented it and the urgency of your post title shows a deeper despair than just a personal unhappiness. I would advise you to seek professional counseling. That's not an personal attack, it's my observation of a problem much deeper than what you can grasp or understand.

[Beretta]

Originally Posted by nsantamaria

Again, there were some things I liked about Tennessee but for the most part not so much. I agree with a previous post.....Charlotte is NOT pretty or aesthetic by ANY means either. AND the air quality here is bad if not worse.

I DON'T believe Charlotte (and outskirts) is cleaner, healthier or prettier than Nashville (and outksirts). Trust me, I've been doing TONS of research on it - and apparently the entire eastern portion of the U.S. is suffering greatly in terms of healthy air and cleanliness due to MONEY GRUBBING POWER PLANTS. The Southeast suffers the most. It's a shame.

Anyway, I'm still pondering the idea of buying this home I found here. After the nightmares I lived through in Tennessee I'm not sure if I'm ready to buy again. And, even though I stated I think I like Charlotte better than Nashville - I'm not totally sure this is where I want to spend the rest of my life. The next house I buy I want it to be my last (potentially). I would love my daughter to grow up in a home like I did. To call it, "my neighborhood". I'm not sure if I found that perfect spot yet. Times have changed - and I'm not even sure a spot like that exists anymore.

You'd be hard-pressed to find anywhere that is going to fit all your criteria I suppose, but healthy living and clean neighborhood (including air) is high on my list. I don't know - it's just important to me.

Sadly, due to my husband's job - there are only limited options for us in terms of where we can relocate. As most people, he does better in the more populated - city areas.

If it were up to me I think I'd live in Coastal Maine or on a ranch in Wyoming.
Although, I read yesterday there's a couple of massive nuclear power plants in wyoming too...

OY VEY. What is this world coming to?

There will always be something "wrong" with each city that someone lives in until they choose to find the good in each place. This really isn't about an area, a state or a city. This is about the poster. And, I also agree with the previous poster.

[nsantamaria]

I am not offended at anyone's post at all. I don't think at this time counseling is what I need, I think I just need a break from the craziness. But - 2008 is already looking better for me. Believe me if I thought I needed help in that respect I'd be the first person out there getting it (for $120 bucks a week I'd better make my medical coverage worth it!)

Here's a couple of things that happened to me in TN which made me hate it:

I know it doesn't happen to everyone but I personally received a lot of flack for being from the North (my husband actually got arrested once and had to drive himself to jail from our home because a man had come onto our property and my husband told him sternly to leave - the man called the cops (as did we) and waited for them to arrive sitting in his car, in OUR driveway with the windows rolled down, on his cell phone - radio blasting .....and supposedly he was AFRAID for his life because my husband assaulted him and threatened him. My husband never laid a finger on this guy who could have easily drove off no one was stopping him! He was there to collect money he said we owed him for painting our bedroom to which is dragged oil-based paint from his work boots all over our brand new HARDWOOD floors. My husband told him, no way you're not getting any more money now leave. that's how the whole thing happened. Anyway, the cops came and made my husband drive himself to jail as I said. We had to hire a lawyer which cost us 1k to get his record expunged. Hendersonville cops are LOVELY. Judge threw the case out when the cop openly stated, "I just didn't like that guy's yankee accent"

Then there was the time I got a speeding ticket SITTING on my COUCH, I swear may God strike me down dead if I'm lying about these stories. Cop comes banging on my door says he needs to see my license and my car. I said what for he said because he was writing me a ticket. I said. "for what? Changing the channels too fast?" He didnt laugh. In fact, he really was kinda rude and mean. I practically had tears in my eyes I was so confused. Cop told me a neighbor in the area saw my car speeding around and almost taking out a mailbox. He also mentioned that I saw seen with a black male passenger in my car, which I thought quite odd to mention. (I did have my friend with me at the time - and Hendersonville is not a very diverse community). Anyway, he wrote me the ticket and left. I called my husband at work and he was like, "WHAT THE HECK?" He called the precinct and the cop explained it to him, Dave (my husband) said how can you give a ticket when it's a "he said, she said" thing. They hung up. 10 minutes later cop calls him back saying the person dropped the charges. Again, I SWEAR this is true stuff. lol it's almost too insane to make up.

In July I had my two labrador retrievers STOLEN. I can elaborate on this story but I think that sentence in and of itself explains it all.

We were going to this church for a little over a year - and we never felt like we fit in. The fundamental beliefs were the same but apparently the minor things that we as a family and the church as church disagreed about were causing problems. This is a very unfortunate, detailed drawn out situation that I won't get into too deeply mainly for respect of persons involved but I can assure you it didn't end well and I found myself more "spiritually dead" as I had mentioned in my first post as I had ever been in my life.

Before coming to Tennessee I was naive about the fact that there are so many types of Baptists and that is apparently where all the trouble started. Sadly, I've found that many fundamental Christians lack a certain amount of compassion - which is sad because I am Christian myself and I hate to see other people so turned off by Christianity because of the choice few who make it look like the "religion of hatred towards everyone else."

In regards to my mention in the original post about animal neglect and ignorance - I stand by that because I worked at Nashville Humane Association for 1 year. ONCE AGAIN, I'm not putting everyone Nashville in the category of "bad pet owner" but I'm telling you I've seen it and if the majority of people were truly doing the right thing by their animals - then I wouldn't have had to put so many innocent creatures to sleep.

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW FOLKS!

[hml1976]

Well, I moved here from Brooklyn too. I appreciate a little of what you're saying, getting used to the south takes a while, you're right about that.

But Brooklyn's got its issues too, its nice to live somewhere where people smile at you, the streets are clean and you don't have fight with someone every time you 1) go to the post office 2) go to the grocery store 3) walk to the train

I'm leaving Nashville next week for Portland, OR. I'm going to miss it

[Steve Overfelt]

I Think "Wow..." sums it up.