Floridians, why Tennessee? (Murfreesboro, Morristown, Cookeville: relocate, real estate, property taxes)

[mbmouse]

Hello all, I was born and raised in rural CT, a lake community, then my father was transfered to South East Fl with Pratt my freshman year of high school. What a culture shock! I spent 11 LONG years in FL, Northern West Palm Beach County. I could not stand it! I wanted my seasons back. Too hot. People were rude, the social aspect for a teen or even adult was scary.As an employee, you were treated like a number and there was someone out side the door waiting for your job. There was nowhere I could go where I did not hear people or traffic. The drugs in the school and area were everywhere! And Jupiter (the town) was supposed to be one of the "better" areas. Long story short, While in Fl, went though schooling, fell in love (way to young!) got married, bought a house, had 2 children. When my oldest son was in kindergarten in 97, the 2nd week of school a note came home telling parents to explain to these 5 year olds what drugs are and to not accept stickers from anyone at school as they had found several sheets of stickers with acid on them and the children were getting the acid trough osmosis. That was enough for me! I was NOT going to raise my children in Fl, I didn't care how "upper class of an area" South Fl was. My in-laws (4th generation native Floridians) moved permanently up to their Western North Carolina cabin land to build a new house. There are no jobs there and is one of the poorest areas of "Appalachia" So we looked just over the mountains to East TN. I was desperate to be "back in the country" and raise my children the same way I was raised. We were called "flat landers", Floridiots" and I was called a "half backer", now mind you, not in a mean way, it was always in a friendly joking manner. But I did find that even though the people were nice and friendly, there wasn't much ambition to be anything more than a tobacco farmer. (the kids in school) and not much for the teens to do except get pregnant or cause trouble in the towns. It took a divorce, 3 moves to 3 different counties before I found the BEST place to raise my children. I now live in Washington County TN (Gray) and I work in Kingsport. The schools are FANTASTIC here. My oldest son has a learning disability and was in special ed for 5 years, now he is steam lined and on track for college. That is proof enough for me that these are good schools. I can read all the statistics out there, but being in a teacher parent conference and know these teachers care about my child almost as much as I do, yea, that says it all. Mind you these are "native Tennessean teachers who know we are from elsewhere.
As for a way of life here, It is GREAT! I don't feel like I am working my tail off just to pay bills and taxes.............(continued next post)

[mbmouse]

........Property is VERY affordable in comparison to FL. You can buy a very nice home, with plenty of space between you and your neighbor, 2000sq ft or more of living space under roof, great friendly communities, all for less than 200k and the property taxes and insurance are NOTHING in comparison to FL or CT. I can enjoy life here, take my children on weekend excursions, take a vacation once a year. Driving in this area is easy, no horns, traffic jams or people with guns having "road rage". I can't tell you the number of police officers I have seen in the Tri-City area helping some one change a tire, A lot! Yes, the police actually have time to help people in need here, not just track down the drugs and catch the law breakers that to me seemed to be ignored in FL. Very little bad happens here news wise, if it does, you hear about it! Just about every car accident, arrest and investigation is broad casted on the news, and trials of aweful crimes are followed on the news, which trust me, there aren't many. There is actually GOOD news broad-casted here, such as people helping people, fun events and happenings. I remember in Fl, I hated to watch the news because it was always so depressing and violent. I am defiantly not a "head in the sand" kinda person either. OK, I am rambling here, back to the reason I started writing this post.
I read a lot of these post that people are wondering why TN, or looking for "mayberry", people, it doesn't exist, maybe it does, but not with good schools, something for kids to do, (productive things), good jobs, beautiful land and scenery, nice homes, and nice people, but in my opinion, East TN is as close as I can find to it. There are good people and bad people everywhere, doesn't matter what color, shape, race, or religion one is. This is AMERICA, the melting pot of the world. I have traveled to more states in this country than not and have been to other countries as well. For me, East TN is the nicest place I have seen, people wise, land wise, cost of living wise and most importantly, enjoyment of living wise. But I also like it because of the way it was when I got here, I don't try to change it, I accept it and embrace it. I have lived in East TN for almost 10 years now, it is home. Some of you who have read my other posts already know I am in the mortgage industry here and I really hope no one thinks I am answering questions about the area and offering help to those moving here for financial gain, not true. Or to put a spin on things to "lure" people here, Not true. There are Realtors here as well answering questions, but some of them are also like me, transplants here from elsewhere that want to share our experiences of moving here and living here. After all, isn't that what everyone here on this forum looking for? Others who have gone through it, advice and opinions on different areas? Those of us that are parents who are involved in their child's education can tell you the truth about the schools. Those of us who are involved with local real estate are the most knowledgeable about the property here. Those of us who work here can tell you about the employment situations here.
There are many people here who want to share there love of the area, I am one of them. There are also people here who don't want this area to grow or share it with anyone else, they have there right to their opinions too.
All in all, I believe in TN, the people here and the way of life that I have chosen for myself and my children. If I can help others like me, that want a better way of life, I am happy to help in anyway I can.
For me, all of THAT is why TN instead of Fl or New England, or anywhere else.

[chester's]

based on that post(s), I'd seriously think about moving to E. TN if I could!

[heathersmom]

You go girl! I'm glad for you-- you sound braver than I- setting out as a single Mother--I have a husband's support, 3 kids and education--but am still nervous! You did a great job of letting people know your reasons--you are very passionate about it --as it clearly shows

[mbmouse]

Thank you, but don't get me wrong. I found the right man and married him in June of this year....never thought I would be here again! hahahahaha But he is a native Tennessean and life is wonderful! The 5 years I WAS a single mom, yep it was hard, but being in TN, I think made it easier, I could not image what it would have been like going through that in FL!!!

[sleeper]

mbmouse-

I think you've covered all the bases nicely. I agree with you.

I was a S Fla. resident, (key word 'was') now very happy to say I am a resident of TN.

Just seems like this is how life IS supposed to be lived....


sleeper @ home !!!

[renrn99]

I have several reasons for choosing TN. #1 I'm single without a second income and someone like myself cannot afford descent housing in Florida. I have horses and I can't afford acreage and a small farm here in Florida unless I want to pay over $300,000. I love the mountains and the 4 seasons. I also want to escape the nasty love bugs.

[HengyMama]

This all is so true about Florida. My sister is a single parent and there is no way she can continue to make it here on her own. At least in TN she has a fighting chance. Here, she can't be a home owner and it takes every dime to pay the bills so there is nothing left over to do anything else. Forget finding a decent guy.....they all want these half dressed barbies hanging around at the beach. Get out while you can.....I know we are! Florida is probably going to sink anyway with the amount of condo's going up on the coastal regions.

[dreamofmonterey]

Florida is a retirement state. Unless you live there for vacation only, it has little to offer. There are few white collar opportunities, the culture is shallow. I cant even imagine how bad the schools are in S Florida.

NE Tennessee /Johnson City is still a city- but you can afford a decent house with acreage, even within city limits. The school districts in Washington County are rated high. The insurance is extremely cheap.

S Florida will never return to what it was due to too much corruption and development. Our a/c was on (500.00/month ) 24/7 for at least 9-10 months of the year. It was horrible.

sunny

[williboy]

I love the NE TN area. We live in Jacksonville, FL which is a nice city, but we've been here a long time and just need a change. We were just in Johnson City last week for my wife to interview at the VA Hospital. I played golf at Pine Oaks Golf Course while she interviewed and took a tour. I had a great time and love the area. I am a die hard Florida Gator, but found everyone I met to be friendly and nice in spite of my Gator ball cap. NE TN is a beautiful area. If all goes as planned we hope to relocate to either the Jonesborough or Gray area within the next month or so.