Moving from Los Angeles to Nashville area (Franklin: elementary school, contractors)

[Kevin south of Nashville]

We moved from San Diego, CA to Nashville, TN six years ago and have loved it. I do miss the weather, the diversity, and the coast – but it’s been worth it for us. To your questions:

1. Compared to LA, you’ll be like a kid in a candy store. What you have available here for the same money or less is remarkably better.
2. Several strong schools systems to choose from for you.
3. The most common reply you hear when asking why people love it here: “The people.” Community is alive and well.

Come visit and I think you’ll see it’s much more charming and good natured than anything else. Be intentional about making relationships from the start and you’ll be shocked at how welcoming people are here.

[septimus]

Originally Posted by Anony-Momma

I grew up in the South in a state that borders Tennessee; I have lived on the Left Coast; and spent a big chunk of my life in the Midwest. Each region has its own 'flavor', which goes way beyond food. Moving around, living in other regions, gives you experience and education that you can't get in school or from a book. Richer, broader. Your lens changes. You quit seeing everything through the lens of the region you grew up with. Your perspective taking grows. People are people, everywhere you go. Customs differ, and while sometimes you think your familiar way is 'better', over time, you learn that your ways and their ways are 'different', not necessarily one better than the other. Well, that's my experience, anyway.

and

People who don't believe in dinosaurs???????? Seriously???????????? Lots of dinosaurs here: Creation Museum - Creation, Evolution, Science, Dinosaurs, Family, Christian Worldview | Creation Museum

Seriously.... My 4 year old all excited about his dinosaurs was told by other children that dinosaurs were buried by the devil to test our faith in god and my other son was told on halloween (dressed up as a dinosaur) that he was from 1 B.C. Trust me, I would have perked up at church growing up if Jesus has been riding around on a dinosaur instead of a mule.

[brentwoodgirl]

I would caution people reading the forum that sept seems to have more bad religion experiences than I have ever seen. (sept- you might want to find some different circles for socializing.)

My oldest was obsessed with dinosaurs when he was younger. When he was 3, the only thing he wanted for Christmas was a big deinonychus (which, BTW, was tremendously hard to find.) He was a dinosaur for Halloween and he took dinosaurs with him every where he went for a couple of years. No one ever said anything to us, and he went to religious schools. In Baptist and Church of Christ schools both the teachers helped foster his interest. In fact, the director of one school felt like his vast knowledge of dinos was a good indicator of gifted traits and used that as part of his recommendation for why he should get tested for the gifted preschool.

There is a Dinosaur World about an hour from Nashville in Cave City, KY. So apparently there is enough interest in dinosaurs around here to warrant a whole museum dedicated to them. (Although I use the word museum loosely here.) They even have a deinonychus replica, my son was thrilled.

I am a Christian, so I like people saying things like "I'll pray for you" when someone's sick. I can see how that might me jarring to someone who is not religious.
But I don't think sept's experience with dinosaurs or Bible verse resumes is typical. I used to work in a very desirable field and people were always giving me resumes to give to my boss. I never saw one with a Bible verse on it.

The only children's museum in town is a science museum. We were there Friday, and it was packed. If you read this thread, you would think the science museum just handed out Bibles and told everyone to go home. I assure you that's not the case.

[movingtomusic]

Originally Posted by septimus

Seriously.... My 4 year old all excited about his dinosaurs was told by other children that dinosaurs were buried by the devil to test our faith in god and my other son was told on halloween (dressed up as a dinosaur) that he was from 1 B.C. Trust me, I would have perked up at church growing up if Jesus has been riding around on a dinosaur instead of a mule.

Hi.
New here. I've had the same experiences. I'm freaked out by it too. I didn't realize it was as bible crazy as this when I agreed to move here.

[groovamos]

Originally Posted by septimus

wmsn-

The Christianity thing can be a huge culture shock for someone coming from a more secular part of the country.

The depravity thing is a huge moral shock delivered by the vile culture pouring into the core of the country from the secular coasts. Try this: Skins is a vile, depraved show, put it on HBO | The Political Surf

Something people should be prepared to accept. We are a science family.

I do accept that it is inevitable that by pursuing some wierd secular dream we are pursuing our cultural destruction. This is an experiment that has never, ever been tried before by ANY society. And there is this unshakeable faith held by the elite that it is all "progressive ideal" and is a natural "progression". Look at what's happening around us. Social order in the South is not unaffected but seems to be sinking more slowly than that on the coasts because of more reliance on tradition. I'm waiting on "progressives" to explain to me what has occurred with the Los Angeles Unified School District. Why the obvious collapse of this gigantic "progressive" institution into dysfunction?

There are 3 science professors in my family.

It takes no rocket scientist to understand that a culture that eschews spiritual tradition will turn into a cesspool. The Judeo-Christian tradition was the loving handmaiden to rationality and modern science, until pushed aside by scientific materialism in the 19th century, which is now pushing its "faith" onto the rest of society.

I'm working on a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, having earned an MSEE from UT Austin in the 8th ranked EE program in the country. Trust me guys, high competence in the hard sciences sets no requirement to deaden the soul. I just met a Ph.D. (in physics) practicing Catholic from Monterrey Mexico.

[akm4]

Well, I wouldn't expect to hear from the OP again, as they have surely crossed Nashville off their list after reading our posts.

sigh

[septimus]

Originally Posted by akm4

Well, I wouldn't expect to hear from the OP again, as they have surely crossed Nashville off their list after reading our posts.

sigh

Probably not... Sometimes I feel like an anthropologist down here... except I'm judgmental and anthropologists aren't supposed to be :-).

Did anyone else see the guy wrapped in the American Flag carrying the cross on his back (with the assistance of wheels) down the Mack Hatcher on Election Day?

I almost went back to take pictures.

[akm4]

As Reese's character said in Sweet Home Alabama, "I swear you need a passport to come down here."

It's different from anywhere else I've lived, but I love it!

[mblight]

Strongly agree with akm4. OP is probably long gone and considering other places. I was thinking, after reading this through, that this little thread really speaks volumes about this part of the country, and highlights some of the differences between people here, which, if they cannot be bridged at all, at least are very difficult to bridge. I actually had a sense, after posting that quip about science and cardinals,
that I could predict the whole future of this thread: one side would get all mad and defensive, the other side would try to make their point with more anecdotes, until you could look at all of these posts and really get a picture of the anger, discomfort, and general frustration resulting from what septimus rightly calls "a huge cultural shock." Hopefully the OP has seen that around here, Christian viewpoints are not just something you can get around by choosing to hang out with transplants, or just living your own life and not going to church and so forth. Around here, religion and politics are simply in the air and cannot be avoided, and depending on your comfort level with hearing about it all the time, perhaps it isn't a good idea to move here.
And yes, you will hear about it all the time. The only people who will tell you that you won't hear about it all the time are the natives. To wit: we have had the evolution talk with our son (totally necessary, unfortunately, as the Scopes Trial happened in Tennessee, not Massachusetts). We've also had the dinosaur talk with our son. In fact, a paleontologist friend (a fellow transplant) prefers to cloak their career in code (Earth and Environmental Sciences!) in order to avoid the constant local chatter about the history of the earth. People here will tell you that dinosaur bones are "just a bunch of bones" (actual quote), or that dinosaurs existed 6,000 years ago, or that they didn't make it onto Noah's ark, and these are all things that you just won't hear, at least as often, in other states, typically blue states.

Anyway, I wholeheartedly apologize for the remark about science, which, I'll admit, was a bit mean-spirited. However, the OP raised some concerns about right-wing rhetoric and stated they are not church-goers, and I sought to address them with an anecdote, which I myself find fairly typical, and I think other transplants from more secular areas would probably agree with me.

[devonrenee571]

Hi everyone...
First off I would like to thank all of those that took the time to respond and PM me...the majority of responses were very encouraging. It was great to hear from those that made the move and are happy with their decision.
As is often the case with discussions on forums, the conversation turned to religion and politics. I did reference in my question that we are not church goers or right thinkers. However, what I left out (pardon the pun) is that we are open-minded and spiritual. I personally would have probably told my daughter that God made the cardinals as well, but maybe then later looked up the science to share with her....I think both God (no matter what religion you subscribe to) and science can coexist.
I have no illusions that any one place can only be inhabited with like-minded individuals...and if there was one, I wouldn't live there....how boring! Both my husband and I have traveled extensively and lived all over the world, so we are very adept at adapting to our environment. Now that we are a family, we hope to have a lovely place to lay down roots, build relationships, and continue to travel. We have visited Franklin and really felt it could be home...and I still think it might be...

Thanks again...God Bless...Namaste....Peace Out....May the Force Be With You!