A new yorker in TN? (Johnson City, Kingsport: how much, movie theaters, school districts)

[relocatingfromli]

Hello ..

We are relocating soon, and are doing research on several different states. I am looking into Upstate NY, NH and just started researching TN.

I have some questions.

A buddy of my husbands retired from the police dept up here and relocated his family down to TN. I dont know where in TN. He didn't last long down there, because he was an "outcast" because he did not go to church every Sunday. I'm not sure if that was the only reason, that is all I heard. We are Catholics, but I do not go to church every sunday. Matter of fact, I can count how many times I've been to church on my fingers in the last year. I've heard that TN is the bible belt. Would we be out of place in TN???

Also, coming from NY -- I do notice the rebel flags all over the place. Do they dislike NYers and Yankees?

Any info is helpful -- Thank You!

[mbmouse]

Hi, I am from CT originally (Yankee) and lived 11 years in FL before moving my family here and I am catholic, practicing, but not every Sunday church goer either. Yes, I did have some of those problems when I first moved here, but I moved to a town with less than 10,000 people. I was asked "what church do you go to, why don't you come to ours" quite often. And when I started to talk, heard "you ain't from round here are you?" I was never told to go home, or no one was mean to us but it did get kind of annoying. However I then moved to the Tri-Cities area, and I think I have been asked 1 time what church I go to, when I said I was catholic, not an eye was batted. It is still "country" living but a little bit more.........less personal? I guess would be a good way to describe it? Not sure if that is right either, but I do feel more comfortable stating that I am catholic. hahahhhaa
Sure there are people with the rebel flags in the back of there trucks or on their flag pole under the American flag, but it is not everywhere. Using the word "they" infers all people that live in TN. No one could give you the opinion of every person in TN, but you have to remember, a lot of people that live here weren't born and raised here. I have yet to hear of a "hate crime" that is based on anger towards non locals, heck, haven't heard of that anywhere in TN, but it probably does exist in the very rural areas. So it took 3 moves in 10 years, but I have found a place in TN that my family and I are very comfortable with and no one calls us an "outsider" sure, a joke now and then about "Yankees" but it is all in good fun, never maliciously.

[relocatingfromli]

Mbmouse -- Thank you very much.

Where abouts do you live now? Looking at school report data, we see (or think) that the following are good school districts:

Williamson County School (Franklin)
Maryville
Stewart County
OakRidge
Newport
Johnson City


All these places are probably scattered all over the place. I guess we would have to find a "not so small" town to live in.

[jmarkey]

Another lapsed Catholic, also from CT.

I've never had anyone mention church in the time we've been here. We live near Oak Ridge. I can't remember seeing one rebel flag, either.

We did run into problems similar to those mentioned when we moved to GA. Tennessee is very different. It may be considered south, maybe even in the Bible Belt, but the people not quite as rigid in their attitude. Another consideration - many of the people in this area aren't native to the state. Lots are from IN, MI, MN, and WI. I've come across a few from FL. No one's had any problem fitting in and everyone seems very happy that they chose to come here.

I don't mean to knock GA. We met plenty of nice people. But there was a noticable difference in lifestyles and traditions.

[mbmouse]

We are in Gray, which is in Washington County, right in between Johnson City and Kingsport. I love the schools here for my boys. Not sure about some of those you mentioned but I believe Newport...well you a more than likely to find the issues you are wanting to avoid there. It is a small town backed up to the Smokies. Land is pretty, but there are many "good ol boys" there that do not like newcomers and you WILL see A LOT of rebel flags in Newport.
A lot of families are looking at Maryville and Oak Ridge as well, I have heard a lot of good things about those schools too.
Hope that helps!

[Bubba on my mountain]

Greetings,

Have recently moved to Tennessee from Florida and really like it. We live in a small (very small) town and it is actually getting smaller. My forefathers helped settle the area we moved to. One thing to remember is to blend in with the folks in Tennessee. Many in the coal mines back in the 50's and 60's have gone through some rough times and newcomers must understand that many of the areas on the outskirts in the small communities are just reviving.
We have been trying to move here all of our lives, but with the military and other assignments precluded that from happening. We saw move rebel flags during our time in Florida than here. In fact my wife is from the deep South and does agree that it is heritage not hate to fly one. Everyone has been friendly to us for we try not to change them, but get along and appreciate their heritage. No Walmarts, no golf courses and no movie theaters. We love it on our 250 acres in the mountains.
Regards

[heathersmom]

What Mountain are you on? I want Mountain too but my husbands afraid of too much snow- considering we come from near Buffalo-too much snow is a joke...but just curious...where and how much snow? Thanks

[mhogan10010]

I grew up in Detroit and went to college in Nashville.
In Nashville I never had many problems other than the occasional Yankee joke.
However (I was one of those bible thumpers you are worried about) when I moved to a small town about an hour South of Nashville to pastor a small church, I ran into some hard core Anti-Yankee types out there. I mean some real, the south is gonna rise again types. I have a couple of stories, but don't want to unduly influence you.
Good luck if you make the move.

[Joe P]

Originally Posted by relocatingfromli

Do they dislike NYers and Yankees?

Yankees are 50/50, New Yorkers are considerably lower odds. Don't feel bad though, it's not the people in Tennessee. Heck, there are people all over the country that don't like New Yorkers. Even Iowa!

[DivaLicious]

If you are looking to move to East TN , I think the people in Sevierville are A LOT more welcoming than any other county in this area. It's very tourist oriented, but there are also a lot of "people who are'nt from here" that have relocated there. I am Southern myself, from Savannah, GA and my hubby is one of them there Yankees, (LOL!). We moved to Newport, TN (Cocke county) about 5 yrs ago and the first 2 1/2 to 3 yrs were treated like crap from EVERYONE! The neighbors were hateful, people were very unfriendly. Come to find out, Cocke county is BAD for this sort of thing. Stay away from Newport and Cosby or any other Cocke county community if you are looking for friendly faces. Hubby and I are currently looking to get back into Sevier or Jefferson county ourselves.
Also, if you are looking for good schools for kids, Sevier co. is great. Again, Cocke co. is NOT. Another reason we are leaving is because the school system is completely whacked. My son attends a school right now where the Principle was once arrested for Attempted Murder on his ex gf. He is a VERY unfriendly man and could care less about the students. He's hateful. Not to mention the crooked cops in this area as well.

Peeps may get mad, but this is the truth as we have experienced it. They don't like "outsiders" here and they don't take to kindly to change either.