?? Jackson, TN ??? (Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga: crime, home, neighborhoods)

[Mary P.]

We are thinking of moving to Jackson, TN and would like to hear from anyone that lives in the area. We are both retired, but active and enjoy a nice home and neighborhood. We want to get away from the concern of hurricanes in FL. We have lived in FL for 24 years, Orlando and now Tampa Bay. Prior to that Wisconsin. Any input anyone has on the Jackson, TN area would be appreciated.
Mary P.

[JMT]

Going from Florida to Jackson in order to escape hurricanes is almost like stepping out of the frying pan into the fire. Jackson has had a couple of disastrous tornadoes in the last 3-4 years.

There are far fewer tornadoes in the eastern half of Tennessee, from the Cumberland Plateau on east. And, in my opinion, the eastern half of Tennessee is much prettier than West Tennessee.

[hiknapster]

Tremendous. Send the retirees my way.

[TXboomerang]

I'd take my chances in a tornado alley town over Florida the Hurricane Magnet.

Tornadoes carve a very small path of destruction in comparison to a hurricane. They come and go in seconds. You don't have the empty grocery stores, standstill evacuation traffic, and all the other nightmares associated with hurricanes. Not too mention, hurricanes typically spawn dozens of F1 tornadoes and some can be F2s and F3s.

So tornodoes are still something to think about, but I lived just north of Dallas and there were tornadoes near me a couple dozen times in 6 years. But they touched down for typically 5-10 miles with a path of destruction only 100yds to half a mile wide. Compare that to the giant swath a hurricane cuts and I'll take tornado alley any day over Florida! lol

I've only driven through Jackson, TN but have an acquantence that lives there and loves it. I'd say its at least worth checking in to.

[JMT]

I've never heard of anyone who just LOVES Jackson other than their Chamber of Commerce officials. But it's not a bad place. You'll notice that the vast majority of posts in this forum are for people who want to live in the eastern half of Tennessee, and there's a good reason for that. If I absolutely wanted to live in Tennessee, I'd check out the eastern part of the state, say from Nashville on east.

Jackson isn't a bad place, but it's got many of the same problems as Memphis. It's kind of like a smaller version of Memphis. Around the interstate you've got new developments, but once you venture into the city you'll find crack neighborhoods, lousy schools, racial tension, and a run-down downtown that is merely a shadow of its former glory.

[Mary P.]

Thanks for the comments on Jackson, TN and the eastern part of TN. There really is no PERFECT location, is there?! And with the gobal warming that is taking place, weather across the world is changing. Crime........something every community needs to really stay on top of. We will be taking a much closer look before making the move. I will be watching for further comments. Thanks again.
Mary P.

[TomNashville]

I went to college in Jackson and have been there a lot in my life. It's not a bad town. Crime is probably overstated a bit; every city has bad neighborhoods and as long as you stay away from those you'll be fine. As a general rule, the neighborhoods north of I-40 are fine, while those south of it are a bit shadier, but the area around the hospital (approx. Highland and Skyline) is nice. The only place you'd really want to avoid is the area just north of downtown.

The tornadoes, yeah, there are a few every year, but usually they're not bad. The one three years ago (luckily for me, right after I left town for the summer!) was bad, but those are rare. It's not like we're talking about Kansas.

If you're looking for a lot of outdoor recreation, yeah, go for east Tennessee. West TN has some nice older towns (though there are certainly ones to avoid.) If you're set on west Tennessee Jackson is probably the best place to live if you're looking to live in a sort of "urban" area (yeah, it's hardly urban, LOL) but some of the smaller towns are pretty nice.

There is an unstated reason why many people prefer east TN (and, to a certain extent, middle TN) over west TN which I will not go into.

[AppalachianAngler]

I've been to Jackson many times and I do not like it at all. It is just an ugly place, in my humble opinion. Crime, run down neighborhoods & downtown area. Not a very good place for retirement. I think Memphis is about an hour and a half away if you want to go to a bigger city for the weekend. And Nashville is a couple hours away.

If you end moving, look for neighborhoods in the North Jackson area.

Middle or East TN would be much better as others have recommended. Middle TN will probably be more costly, however. East TN (other than Knoxville & Chattanooga) will probably be about the same as Jackson. Johnson City, TN - in the northeast part of the state in the mountains - is about the same size as Jackson, TN with much better areas and activites. Plenty of great things for retirees. Just my 2 cents.

[Mary P.]

Again, thanks for all of the in put on Jackson, TN. All opinions are helpful.
Happy Holidays to all.
Mary P.

[TomNashville]

Um, okay, that's an exaggeration. Jackson is a full 80 miles from Memphis and Memphis is not growing terribly fast. Western Fayette County is only just now starting to fill in, and it's not even close to being full.