One Year In Tennessee - 20 Observations

[hjlacey]

Have lived here now for 8 months and absolutely love it. everyone is very respectful, courteous and helpful. My neighbor where we are building, has always asked if we need anything, and has always stopped to chat if he wasnt in the middle of something important like feeding the cows,or mowing the hay. He would stop later when he could and if we were still there. My co workers are also great! one was a little standoffish until she got to know me and found I accept everyone for who they are and not what I can make of them. This is definately HOME!!!

[MTownLady]

Been here 1 year also from California. I am in Morristown on a farm, and can attest to all but the birds, LOL. Have not noticed the birds, I first thought you meant the women ( am not implying anything) in a polite way, LOL but you were actually talking about the birds. I do miss lots of things such as easy access to things, but its a catch 22 for this is the reason we are here. To not have neighbors on top of you.
Positiv changes fpr us:
Healthier eating: We, ha hubby says we. but I beg to differ, I cook everyday, vs eating out 3-5 times a week as before.
LESS STRESS, did I mention less stress..
Smaller schools + smaller classes = happier educated children.
I love the smell of the trees and mountains..
I do not like the sneezing attack we all had in the spring. We got over it, and I guess we'll have to adjust..
All in all.
Tn has treated us far better then Cali.

[jguillot]

Originally Posted by MTownLady

Been here 1 year also from California. I am in Morristown on a farm, and can attest to all but the birds, LOL. Have not noticed the birds, I first thought you meant the women ( am not implying anything) in a polite way, LOL but you were actually talking about the birds. I do miss lots of things such as easy access to things, but its a catch 22 for this is the reason we are here. To not have neighbors on top of you.
Positiv changes fpr us:
Healthier eating: We, ha hubby says we. but I beg to differ, I cook everyday, vs eating out 3-5 times a week as before.
LESS STRESS, did I mention less stress..
Smaller schools + smaller classes = happier educated children.
I love the smell of the trees and mountains..
I do not like the sneezing attack we all had in the spring. We got over it, and I guess we'll have to adjust..
All in all.
Tn has treated us far better then Cali.

I am so happy to hear that you are happy with your move to Tennessee. My wife and I live in the Sacramento, CA area and we plan to retire in Tennessee (Cumberland Cove - Monterey, TN) in about 6 years. We are so anxious to make this move, but I guess we'll have to be patient. We'll be visiting Tennessee again this fall. Looking forward to it.

[tamor]

Originally Posted by JEANNE61

I AGREE . . only been there twice ..( to adamsville . tenn) where i'll be moving in about 3 mths . . from wpb fla .
one thing i resent .. the constant comments about those 'foreigners ' from 'up north' or fla. .

we're not that bad . . after all , we wouldnt have CHOSEN your state to live in (t he rest of our lives) if we didnt 'see something good in it ..

sure its gonna be a 'transition .' as any move would be . esp from city to country . .but again . that's why we CHOSe it ..
we dont want to change you . .we want to change OUR lives. .NOT YOURS ...

why not just accept that possiblility . and leave the 'foreigner' comments out of it ..
we're just like you. . just havent' been in the country mode for many yrs ..

i'm just hoping . .once they hear my (former ) NY accent . . i dont' get this kind of guff from the locals .. . i certainly dont intend to offend anybody in my new 'hood' . .

thanks for listening . . jeanne

You're moving to Adamsville on purpose?? Have you bought a house? I live in Adamsville and there is nothing here - and it's definitely the country!! As soon as I can sell mine, my hubby and I are moving to east Tennessee. I can't wait!

[gingerpeaches]

I am just reading your post LauraC. I am looking for our new home/ town/city there in Tennessee. I cant WAIT to get there, have been there alot. IN my heart i know tennessee is where i belong. May i ask what city you live in, it sounds so nice and i want a smaller nice town with good schools for my teens. I am a country girl from alabama. Thanks so much for this post. Lets me know what i can look forward to . Also WOW on the birds, hmmm wonder if my mama already moved there and is feeding those birds, she loves them hehe. hugs gingerpeaches

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by gingerpeaches

I am just reading your post LauraC. I am looking for our new home/ town/city there in Tennessee. I cant WAIT to get there, have been there alot. IN my heart i know tennessee is where i belong. May i ask what city you live in, it sounds so nice and i want a smaller nice town with good schools for my teens. I am a country girl from alabama. Thanks so much for this post. Lets me know what i can look forward to . Also WOW on the birds, hmmm wonder if my mama already moved there and is feeding those birds, she loves them hehe. hugs gingerpeaches

I live in Oak Ridge. I know you have a family but I'm retired - no kids, so I can't tell you honestly if this area would be right for your family because I have no idea what teens do around here. Not that they have nothing to do, I'm just not attuned to it. I know kids are held in a high regard because even seniors voted to increase the property tax for a school extension (before my time here) but as far as teen activities go, I'm just not knowledgable.

[sassykat&joe]

Originally Posted by SmokyMtnGal

The birds in California are much thinner, but you have some amazing robin redbreasts out there that look quite, um, quite puffy!

I believe that first pic was an Eastern Bluebird, not a robin - I haven't read the whole thread yet, so someone else may have already said that. those are some pretty fluffed up birds. Did you happen to take the pics in cold weather? Birds will fluff out their feathers to stay warm. they are great pics!

[Beretta]

Originally Posted by sassykat&joe

I believe that first pic was an Eastern Bluebird, not a robin - I haven't read the whole thread yet, so someone else may have already said that. those are some pretty fluffed up birds. Did you happen to take the pics in cold weather? Birds will fluff out their feathers to stay warm. they are great pics!

We were joking around.

[brandisboys]

What town was the original poster talking about? We are coming to TN soon and not for sure where to look first.
Thanks

[BarbG]

1. Time to take the shovel out of the trunk of the car. Don’t think I’ll be digging myself out of the snow anywhere in Tennessee. I used my ice scraper once last year and that was the brush end, to brush the snow off my car. (Note: I’m retired. If you are outside at 6:00A or earlier, every morning in the winter, you may have a different take on this.)

I AM outside at 6:00 am. LOL And, you are right, ice scraper is plenty. And if my steep driveway is iced over, then I don't need to leave the house for the slick roads anyway.

4. Now here in Oak Ridge there are all of these trees, a ton of overhead wires, a lot more traffic accidents and yet power outages are infrequent, haven’t heard/seen a power surge and when the power goes out, it comes back on fairly quickly. Plus, it’s cheaper here. Transplants, is this your experience in your TN town?

I agree with you. We live in the 'country', but even in bad storms, those fearless power company folks are out there restoring power ASAP. And it's much cheaper than a fairly cheap area I came from.

5. Food is not cheaper here than the place I left. Maybe the food tax is throwing me. Comments from other transplants? Also, I expected more produce here and local farm stands. Didn’t have them in MD, just expected them here.

I agree, food is not cheaper. And maybe it is the tax. We are fortunate to have two produce companies near our home. They supply the local groceries . . . with their leftovers. I've never seen such huge green onions in all my life!

6. The birds are fat here (and so am I ). I never saw such fat birds in my life – the ducks are huge, the geese are huge, the songbirds (even the little ones) have huge bellies. I’m thinking if it rains here more frequently than other places, then worms come up more, so the birds eat more frequently. Anyone have any other ideas about this?

I've seen a caterpillar that was bigger around than a fat cigar. That sucker was HUGE! My husband had to get a small piece of wood to put it on and haul it away from the azalea bush before it ate the whole thing. And the spiders here are huge too!!! So, I'm sure the worms must look like baby snakes. LOL

7. I don’t see any difference in Tennessee drivers and Long Island or Maryland drivers except they don’t honk here.

I've found TN drivers to be less attentive than other places, but nicer for the most part. I've learned to drive much more defensively here. LOL

8. Strangers are definitely friendlier here.

We have found the same thing too. That's one of the reasons we picked this area.

9. What are your TN doctor experiences?

I've found some great docs here, courtesy of it being a university town, I'm sure. I love the docs that I've found over the last 3 years, for many of the same reasons you do.

15. Although I’m not religious I feel the churches here are a bigger part of the community and I like it.

Another reason we like it here.

20. Haven’t met or seen or read about any showoffs since I’ve been here. No one is flashy (makeup, jewelry, fancy clothes). Wealthy people don’t get any attention at all in the two local newspapers…and I like that. Here you get attention for accomplishment…and, you know, if you get arrested. Is that true in your TN town?

The KNS does feature wealth more than I'd like, but I don't buy the paper anyway. But, I find the people in our town and church to be unpretentious. It's refreshing.


Thanks, Laura. Your posts are always refreshing!!!