what dissappointed me about moving to East TN (Knoxville, Jefferson City: real estate, rent)

[SuzieQFL]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

Hi sthpoet, Welcome to the forum.
When I first moved to TN I moved to Jefferson County and we really didn't care for it, but you might love it.

mbmouse - can you tell us what it was about Jefferson County that you didn't care for? For some of us still trying to decide on where to check on a future visit, it might help.

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by SuzieQFL

mbmouse - can you tell us what it was about Jefferson County that you didn't care for? For some of us still trying to decide on where to check on a future visit, it might help.

OK, but mind you it was back in 97-99 so things might have changed since then. We lived in New Market, just west of Jefferson City and just East of Strawberry Plains. I grew up in the country and wanted to get back to that way of life after years in FL and wanted my children to experience it and grow up with good people with good morals and values.......well after a while in Jefferson County I realized I didn't want THAT country. It took 20 minutes to get to a grocery store, and that was ok, but the grocery store was dirty and the majority of the people I was shopping with seemed very poor and very ........ I don't know how to put it into words. I guess the fact that ladies in their 40's that were so thrilled that their 15/16 year old girl was now pregnant and the boyfriend was now moving in to so the baby would have a daddy, they were all going to be living with them so that they can help them out, but they were so thrilled to be a grandma. Now mind, at first I liked the attitude considering the alternative, but after I heard that same conversation (from different people) about 20 times, well I realized this is what a lot of the teenagers aspire too. There seemed to be a very high number of people on disability from the government. A few conversations I had with teachers at the school led me to believe that a high number of children in that school also had aspirations in life to "draw" when they got older. I guess seeing a lot of 2nd and 3rd generations want nothing more for themselves than to do as little as possible in life to get by, well I didn't want that attitude to seem acceptable to my children. I want them to have options and choose what makes them happy, not "the norm as everyone else". Sure I can teach them that but you have to admit, if they are surrounded by that attitude day after day, it is hard to over come it at home. There is something to the phrase" It takes a village to raise a child", well, I wanted a different village is all.
Don't get me wrong, the people were as nice as nice could be for the most part, would give you the last shirt off their back if they thought you needed it. We made some really nice friends and some felt more like family. There was also that good ol boy network, the bus driver was also the town Constable, fire chief and had a seat on the city council. Which seemed to work just fine there, was not an issue, I thought it was kinda cool. There were some very close minded people who did not like us off the bat because we weren't natives. We bent over back wards to assimilate. But hey, at least we were of the right color for them, so they tolerated us, (that was a very few, but they were there) Even if we weren't the right religion, which to a few was worse than being the wrong color. Granted, those last few was not the norm, but it wasn't just one or two. It just wasn't the town for us. We needed just a bit more to do and available to us without driving for an hour. Better schools. After being in TN for a while and learning about a lot more areas, I found that there are many places that I could be in the country but be close enough to a larger town or city without having to fight Knoxville traffic or be out in the boonies. I personally wanted something more in between.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by sthepoet

I can not believe the amount of people who write complaints on this forum about Tennessee. We have been there 2 times and are currently house shopping(check out my Dandridge or Newport thread). I can not imagine a more beautiful place on earth, if indeed it is on earth, feels unreal like being in heaven. We can not wait til we move there. Do wish however there was more information to be found about different towns and areas on the internet, maybe I am going to some wrong web sites? But please please, look around take a big breath maybe a drive to Clingmans dome, or through Cades cove, THEN TRY TO COMPLAIN! Seems absolutely unbelievable that anyone has a complaint about Tennessee at all.

Living day to day and visiting are not the same thing. Some people vacation in the same town/city for years and then when they move to the place, they are unhappy. They don't deal with the same things they do on vacation. Some examples:

When you are on vacation/checking out a possible new town, are you likely to be on the roads during the morning commute? Probably not.

When you are on vacation are you dealing with the local people that provide home services/utilities? No.

When you are on vacation in those beautiful mountains are you driving the steep icy curvy mountain roads in January? Do you know if they even plow the roads where you plan to live? Have you been there after 3 days of rain to find out if the street floods? Probably not, even if you have visited for 5 years in a row, for two weeks, every July and April.

When you are on vacation at the XYZ cabins or ABC motel, is the next door neighbor shooting off his gun for target practice, riding his ATV through your property, using the woods behind your place for paintball games, mooning you from his livingroom window? No.

Hey, nice college town. Concerts, plays, other events, right? Looks perfect when you visited last June. Been there during the time students party in the streets at 2:00AM or right after the traffic from a big game hits the road?

When you are on vacation, are you taking your kids to school everyday? Does the high school look idyllic in July and very much not like that in September - June?

When you are on vacation in your potential new town, have you ever had to make an emergency trip to the hospital or see a doctor? Looked for the items involved in making your favorite dish? Checked out the library to see if they have the kind of new books you like to read? Probably not.

Those are just some examples. The point is, if a place strikes people as wrong for them when they just visit/vacation, living there is not going to make it better for them. Better they bail before a costly move.

Visiting and vacationing is not the same as living in a place. It just gives you a general idea.

I know I sound like a broken record but if you want to get a better feel for a town and its people, read the local newspaper (local stories/community events pages/school and business accomplishments/town council meeting stories) DAILY...or weekly if it is a weekly paper. For the most part, you can do it online. Pay attention to the innocuous stories. What do people in the town like to do? Are they things you like to do? Are the events family oriented, young singles oriented, seniors oriented? In which neighborhood is the crime? When they write about the schools are the stories about student/teacher accomplishments/recognition, just sports, school fiscal problems, crime/trouble? Or don't they write about the schools at all (red flag). Over a period of months, any patterns in the letters to the editor? What are people talking about/complaining about at town meetings? Pay attention to town planning stories. Is idyllic small town getting ready to build a super highway though it or is a new multiplex movie theater going up in 2008, around the corner from where you will be living?

And do some non-tourist things when you visit, like go inside the supermarkets and library, do they have what you like? Is there a good assortment of what you like? Is the store busy (food turns over faster)? How frequently does the library add new books? Attend a local event and take a look at the people. Do they look like your kind of people? Eat out someplace that isn't near/in the hotel. Visit the schools when they are in session, if you have kids. If you are religious, attend services. If you are going to be working, get up one morning while you are visiting and make the commute with everybody else to find out what you will be facing on a daily basis if you move there. Will it take an hour to get to a job only 15 miles away? Watch the local news on TV in the hotel room.


Laura

[Lawson1028]

Get out of the tourist area...everything is higher there..you have to shop in Jeff city, Newport, or Knoxville.....everythings higher in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg...due to tourists!

[TheShadow]

LauraC,
Some great ideas for checking out potential future hometowns. i will take your advice on some of those thiongs to check out when I visit next month.

[Deborah53]

LauraC,

Now this is the nitty-gritty stuff we need to be thinking about. Thanks Laura!

[mjb62676]

Originally Posted by LauraC

Living day to day and visiting are not the same thing. Some people vacation in the same town/city for years and then when they move to the place, they are unhappy. They don't deal with the same things they do on vacation. Some examples:

When you are on vacation/checking out a possible new town, are you likely to be on the roads during the morning commute? Probably not.

When you are on vacation are you dealing with the local people that provide home services/utilities? No.

When you are on vacation in those beautiful mountains are you driving the steep icy curvy mountain roads in January? Do you know if they even plow the roads where you plan to live? Have you been there after 3 days of rain to find out if the street floods? Probably not, even if you have visited for 5 years in a row, for two weeks, every July and April.

When you are on vacation at the XYZ cabins or ABC motel, is the next door neighbor shooting off his gun for target practice, riding his ATV through your property, using the woods behind your place for paintball games, mooning you from his livingroom window? No.

Hey, nice college town. Concerts, plays, other events, right? Looks perfect when you visited last June. Been there during the time students party in the streets at 2:00AM or right after the traffic from a big game hits the road?

When you are on vacation, are you taking your kids to school everyday? Does the high school look idyllic in July and very much not like that in September - June?

When you are on vacation in your potential new town, have you ever had to make an emergency trip to the hospital or see a doctor? Looked for the items involved in making your favorite dish? Checked out the library to see if they have the kind of new books you like to read? Probably not.

Those are just some examples. The point is, if a place strikes people as wrong for them when they just visit/vacation, living there is not going to make it better for them. Better they bail before a costly move.

Visiting and vacationing is not the same as living in a place. It just gives you a general idea.

I know I sound like a broken record but if you want to get a better feel for a town and its people, read the local newspaper (local stories/community events pages/school and business accomplishments/town council meeting stories) DAILY...or weekly if it is a weekly paper. For the most part, you can do it online. Pay attention to the innocuous stories. What do people in the town like to do? Are they things you like to do? Are the events family oriented, young singles oriented, seniors oriented? In which neighborhood is the crime? When they write about the schools are the stories about student/teacher accomplishments/recognition, just sports, school fiscal problems, crime/trouble? Or don't they write about the schools at all (red flag). Over a period of months, any patterns in the letters to the editor? What are people talking about/complaining about at town meetings? Pay attention to town planning stories. Is idyllic small town getting ready to build a super highway though it or is a new multiplex movie theater going up in 2008, around the corner from where you will be living?

And do some non-tourist things when you visit, like go inside the supermarkets and library, do they have what you like? Is there a good assortment of what you like? Is the store busy (food turns over faster)? How frequently does the library add new books? Attend a local event and take a look at the people. Do they look like your kind of people? Eat out someplace that isn't near/in the hotel. Visit the schools when they are in session, if you have kids. If you are religious, attend services. If you are going to be working, get up one morning while you are visiting and make the commute with everybody else to find out what you will be facing on a daily basis if you move there. Will it take an hour to get to a job only 15 miles away? Watch the local news on TV in the hotel room.


Laura

That is very well said. We tried to do a lot of those things, and we give any new area what we call the "Wal-Mart" test, even though I hate Wal-Mart.

We go in and just walk around to see what the people are like. If they are anything like the last place we lived, it's out.

Incidentally, we FINALLY found a grocery store that is remotely close to what we like and are used to.

What's up with 6 dollar a gallon milk though?

[hiknapster]

Did you try the Food City behind the mall?

[southerngreen]

please, please, please don't say anything else about this area. we've been telling people how wonderful it is for years & now they are all going there!!!
pigeon forge used to be a wonderful place - now it's just like any crowded city. if i ever find another beautiful place, i'm not telling a soul.

[sherrenee]

No Meijer. Those of you living in MI, IL, OH, IN, and KY....can you imagine not having a Meijer????

What the heck is Meijer?