I am planning on moving to Tennessee, which would be a good county/town for me (Memphis: low crime, safe area)
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I'm so torn. I don't know if 2 weeks is going to be enough for me to tour Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis. I do have a question though. Are Memphis and Nashville really more like large towns as a lot of people stay?
Knoxville is a lot like a very large town in its feel. Everyone seems to know someone that knows someone that knows you. I grew up in a very small town and could go to the grocery store for years and not run into anyone I know. I go to the grocery store here and almost always run into someone. I have no idea why. It's the oddest thing. I'm thinking of starting a "Three Degrees of Separation in Knoxville" game on Facebook.
But Knoxville is a small city. The population is about 185,000 people in the city limits but with the county and surrounding metro area it is much larger. Nashville is the capital and much, much larger than Knoxville and Memphis is even larger. Those two are not as large as NYC but any stretch of the imagination but they are cities. They are NOT large towns. Knoxville just has a town feel. You can be in the country in 10 minutes from downtown. To me, Knoxville feels like a large town. To you it might seem like a town, period. You will get a more city feel in Nashville and Memphis.
Clear as mud?
If you have family in Memphis you might want to consider living in the outskirts of it.
I'm so torn. I don't know if 2 weeks is going to be enough for me to tour Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis. I do have a question though. Are Memphis and Nashville really more like large towns as a lot of people stay?
You aren't going to know the ins and outs of the 3 cities in 2 weeks time, but I think that's enough to get a general feel. My suggestion would be to go to each of the Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis forums and ask for advice on what to do/see in 4-5 days time...not as a tourist as much as a potential resident. Ask which restaurants to eat at...which neighborhoods to see. Stuff like that.
As for Memphis and Nashville being more like large towns...that's a matter of perspective. For someone from NYC, yeah, they could definitely seem that way. The entire metro population of Nashville is roughly on par with Manhattan, and Memphis's with the Bronx. But Manhattan is 23 square miles, and the Bronx 42....Memphis and Nashville's urban areas spread across several hundred square miles (in other words, you're not going to be seeing anything remotely comparable in terms of built up area or urbanity).
On the flip side, though...people from small towns around here view Memphis and Nashville as cities...sometimes "big" cities. Again, perspective.
If you go to the separate forum (which is a great idea) you might give people an idea of what you would be looking for in housing and budget so that they can suggest a few neighborhoods to look at. No point in spending a lot of time checking out areas of the cities you might seldom or never venture to. I lived in Memphis for over twenty years but still couldn't tell you a whole lot about anything on the southwest side of the city...never a need for me to go there.
I've decided to rule out Memphis... for now. I'm going to visit Knoxville and Nashville in the fall to search for jobs and tour the towns. I talked to my relative and friend that are from Memphis, and they both told me that I might feel a little more comfortable starting out in East or Middle Tennessee. If I do end up liking Memphis, I will consider moving there in a few years.
I'm thinking about spending a week in each city to get see where I like it best. I'm not sure if it a week in Knoxville and a week in Nashville is going to be enough, but at least I can get to know the area a little bit. I'm hoping that there is some kind of tour guide that can help me.
Thanks for all your answers! They were very helpful.
I think a week in each city is more than enough! I mean it takes a long time to decide which neighborhood to buy a house in but you should be able to tell by the vibe within a few days for each city, I would think. And they are much smaller than what you are use to so it won't take that long to traverse each. We can help you out about where to go but it shouldn't be that difficult to explore, especially Knoxville. The downtown core is quite vibrant but you would probably consider it to be a very small neighborhood of NYC.
You probably won't find NYC on too many lists. This is why I hate statiscal evidence of crimes in cities. As I said before, there needs to be a federal uniform way of reporting.
A violent crime or crime of violence is a crime in which the offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, as well as crimes in which violence is the means to an end, (including criminal ends) such as robbery. Violent crimes include crimes committed with and without weapons.
But since the end of 2002, the department, the nation’s largest, has not made public its statistics on reports of lower-level crimes: a vast trove of complaints about matters like misdemeanor thefts and assaults, marijuana possession and sex offenses other than rape.
As a result, residents across New York have gone without a full understanding of the quality of life in their corners of the city. It has also complicated the efforts of some to examine fully the department’s reductions in major crimes.
But not long after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg appointed Raymond W. Kelly as the police commissioner in 2002, the department stopped providing the information to the state.
The integrity of the department’s crime statistics has been questioned recently. In an academic survey released this year, more than 100 retired captains and higher-ranking officers indicated they were aware of instances of “ethically inappropriate” changes to crime complaints in the seven major felony categories measured by the department.
Their research has examined whether a system of incentives, as well as a desire to avoid being excoriated by department leaders in weekly CompStat meetings, have led some precinct commanders to downgrade crime reports. Crime reduction is a key to promotion and more desirable assignments, and some current and former officers say that pressure sometimes trickles down to frontline supervisors and officers on the street.
The department has issued penalties in a dozen cases of officers manipulating crime reports since 2002, Mr. Browne said. Last month, in the 81st Precinct, in Brooklyn, a whistle-blower officer’s claims of complaints being downgraded led to internal charges against five officers, including the former commander.
Facing questions over whether crime statistics have been manipulated to cast the New York Police Department in a positive light, the police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, announced on Wednesday that three former federal prosecutors would review the department’s internal crime-reporting system.
“I believe that the statistics were in fact being manipulated,” Mr. Vallone said. “I have spoken to many current and former police officers who unfortunately refused to go on the record but who have corroborated that fact. And I’ve spoken to many civilians whose valid complaints were not accepted by the Police Department.”
I think a week in each city is more than enough! I mean it takes a long time to decide which neighborhood to buy a house in but you should be able to tell by the vibe within a few days for each city, I would think. And they are much smaller than what you are use to so it won't take that long to traverse each. We can help you out about where to go but it shouldn't be that difficult to explore, especially Knoxville. The downtown core is quite vibrant but you would probably consider it to be a very small neighborhood of NYC.
I agree, a week is plenty. Maybe Maryville would be a nice area? Close but not too close to Knoxville. Good schools also.
I agree, a week is plenty. Maybe Maryville would be a nice area? Close but not too close to Knoxville. Good schools also.
You have to inform outsiders about the pronunciation, though. It's not Mary-ville, as it might seem...but Murrrvul.
(Truth be told it's probably closer to Mare-uh-vul)
Also, I agree with your frustrations with crime reporting statistics. It's hard to make apples to apples comparisons when you have varying definitions.
You have to inform outsiders about the pronunciation, though. It's not Mary-ville, as it might seem...but Murrrvul.
(Truth be told it's probably closer to Mare-uh-vul)
Also, I agree with your frustrations with crime reporting statistics. It's hard to make apples to apples comparisons when you have varying definitions.
Hey, I am just suggesting areas...after that it's survival of the fittest in whatever way.
But speaking of crime. How is it in East Nashville. I know, it's got a worse rep but whatever. What do you think?
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