Best school district in Tennessee?

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by menglin

I was worried about the meth problem I was reading about on the message board and then I saw on news last night they busted a family for a meth lab in Melbourne. They had their 9 year old daughter playing near the chemicals. Geez Not worried about Tennessee anymore. Its everywhere.

My Dad lives in Melbourne!

I've yet to see a drug addict in Tennessee. I'm sure they are there, but if you stay out of a very few areas you will be fine. Florida is crawling with drug addicts. I don't care how "nice" your neighborhood is, for all you know, a drug dealer can be living next door. Why is that state such a creep magnet?

I think one of the best things in Tennessee is you can write a check anywhere. No one even bats an eye. Walk into any store, bank or post office in Tennessee and they look at you like you are going to rob them.

I once broke my car key at a Knoxville gas station. The station let me use their phone a couple of times. Bought my daughter and me a soda. Refused to take money. When the locksmith called to tell me he could come earlier they paged me. Then the locksmith shows up and accepts a check right on the spot.

Do you think any of that would have happened in Florida?. None of it.

The best part was the locksmith was a Florida transplant, too. One of the ones that actually acclimated. I asked where were all those nice folks like him in Florida when I lived there.

"We were hiding in our homes," he responded.

[Skye]

Originally Posted by menglin

Hi we are looking to relocate to Tennessee this year, to get away from the Florida school system. I have 4 year old and 2 year old. Where would you take your family if you were looking for the best education? My husband is a New store developer for Quiznos so being close to an airport and major highways probably would be good. But hey we can drive. LOL Schools are our number 1 concern. I welcome all information about what looks to be one of the prettiest states. Oh yeah anybody have any info on the Tellico Village area I see Eric Estrada talking about on T.V? LOL

Hi!

I came across this site the other day about Sullivan County Schools (Kingsport/Bristol) http://www.sullivan-county.com/identity/shanda.htm. Most of the posts are dated 2003 so maybe things have changed, but I'd stay away from the county system in Sullivan County. High drop out rate; this is a real nightmare. It's a long story written by a student from Sullivan North. Also, click on the links after the story.

That said, I lived in Kingport for 12 years where my son attended Dobyns-Bennett High School and loved it. DB is a city school - not in the county system and continues to receive rave reviews from parents and students. See http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/parents/tn/569

IMHO - DB's the best! But that's high school and I know your little ones aren't ready for that yet, but I thought I'd toss in my 2 cents anyway!

[Catrina]

Hello-
I too relocated from Florida to wonderful East Tennessee.
I purchased my home in Tellico Village 2 years ago and permanetly relocated last summer. I have a 5 year old that will start school in August. I did my research by going through the different chambers and pulling up websites. There are also many fine private schools in the West Knoxville area.

I hope that this helps you.

[Catrina]

I have read everyone's comments and I think we are all in agreement. We all want out of the rat race that Florida has become.
We love Tellico Village. Yes there are many older couples that have relocated her for retirement. We have been welcomed by all of our neighbors and are thrilled that there is a child in the neighborhood. Everyone in my neighborhood is so friendly and if I need something, someone is always there to assist me. We are 9 miles away to the nearest Wal-Mart and Home Depot.
I don't have to worry when my child is out playing in the yard. Our Kiwanis group built a very nice playground and also a beach and swimming area for the kids to play. It also has a Pavillion for picnics. We also have 3 golf courses, rec center and a new wellness center should be open by summer.
We actually received our first stop light late last summer. There is so much to offer here, you would have to see it to understand why we like it so much.

[tkola]

I came to East TN twenty something years ago to attend the University of TN in Knoxville. After a great experience at the university I decided I didn't ever want to leave. There are just too many good things to list including the climate, mountains, and friendly people.

When our daughter was born we lived in the foothills of the mountains in a beautiful log home. However, we decided to give it up to move into what we believed was the best school system in the area. Our daughter is just in kindergarten now, but our experience in the Maryville city schools has been outstanding. I hate to be critical of other school systems but I just wouldn't recommend the local county schools. They just don't have the resources that the city schools have. Of course our city tax rates tell the story.

The only concern I have is that many others have recently come to realize the quality of life in our area and we are growing in leaps and bounds. I'm not sure how long the infrastructure can hold up. Already traffic is starting to stack up. For example, it takes me as much as 15 min to drive across town. This may not seem like a problem for others in big cities.

Conincidentially, this evening I was having dinner at a nice restaurant in Knoxville called Flanagan's and Eric Estrada sat down at the table next to us. Nobody really seemed to notice him... although I think everyone just wanted to give him his space. I'm curious why he keeps popping up in this area.

[hiknapster]

Mr. Estrada is one of the reasons that traffic is getting worse in your area. He sells Tellico Village on infomercials in Florida. Now, not everyone buys at Tellico Village, but Floridians are inundated with sales pitches' to come to the great state of Tennessee from him and others.

[daniellefort]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

My Dad lives in Melbourne!


I once broke my car key at a Knoxville gas station. The station let me use their phone a couple of times. Bought my daughter and me a soda. Refused to take money. When the locksmith called to tell me he could come earlier they paged me. Then the locksmith shows up and accepts a check right on the spot.

"We were hiding in our homes," he responded.

Well we don't seem to see things eye to eye on anything we post whether it being FL or TN and i'm sorry for that but it's ok. everyone has their own opinion on things.

Anyways, i saw your post about the gas station thing and it reminded me when we in TN last October, we stopped for gas somewhere in East TN, i can't remember where but it was just a little shop out in nowhere land by itself and i love to give those kind of places my business to help them out. anyways, we prepaid $30 for gas. as my husband walked out and i walked in with my daugther for her to use the restroom, we were told we couldn't use the restroom after we just saw another customer come out of it. Didn't give us a reason or anything so i took the $30 back and got gas elsewhere.

I also remember my first post was about moving to Newport. Boy, i got so many responses saying that was known as Meth capital of the world.

Oh and i'm one of those nice folks hiding in my home in FL too.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by menglin

I was worried about the meth problem I was reading about on the message board and then I saw on news last night they busted a family for a meth lab in Melbourne. They had their 9 year old daughter playing near the chemicals. Geez Not worried about Tennessee anymore. Its everywhere.

The one thing I notice is that they arrest an awful lot of people in East TN not long after the crimes are commited. Don't know how good the courts are but it seems like the police are doing the job. At first, reading about all of the arrests made me nervous, then it dawned on me that the newspapers and local radio stations where I live now don't report all of the crime/arrests. They just report the major personal crime and virtually zero property crime. Where I'm going, you get your name in the paper for a DUI and they report property crime. I think that's a good thing.

[hiknapster]

Danielle: I am truly sorry that happened to you. To not allow someone to use the restroom, especially someone with a child, is deplorable. The nice gas station that I went to was in Knox County. I guess some places are better than others.

Let me share some information about Newport and Cocke County. This is from Wikipedia:

"Cocke County has a long-standing reputation in the surrounding area as a center of illegal activity, particularly the production of and trafficking in moonshine, both during Prohibition and in subsequent years, when most of East Tennessee, including Cocke County, remained officially "dry". The county also developed a reputation for prostitution in the years during and after World War II.

A series of raids beginning in 1969 targeted both illegal liquor sales and alleged brothels. Many of the businesses were allegedly tied to organized crime groups in Ohio and St. Louis, Missouri and there were allegations of involvement by local law enforcement officials.

In the early 1980s, marijuana production and smuggling of illegal drugs became prevalent in the area. For example, in 1982 more than 40,000 marijuana plants with an estimated value of $15 million were found growing at one site. In 1983 a massive state and federal probe led to the discovery of an interstate prostitution ring and the FBI's arresting the county sheriff and 43 other people on cocaine conspiracy charges. Agents also recovered more than $2 million in drugs and stolen vehicles and heavy equipment.

On the afternoon of June 11, 2005, more than 100 federal and state agents, led by the FBI and supported by snipers and helicopters, raided and closed a large illegal **** fighting ring in Cocke County. The Del Rio Cockfighting Pit was described by officials as the United States' largest and oldest illegal cockfighting pit. The agents seized more than $40,000 in cash and issued criminal citations to 143 people. More than 300 fighting roosters were euthanized during the raid. The complex that was shut down included a 5,000-square-foot metal building with bleacher seating for up to 500 people, a restaurant, gift shop, nearly 100 outbuildings, and a guard shack.

The raid occurred as a result of "Operation Rose Thorn," a four-year investigation of criminal activity in the area, including drug trafficking, chop shops, the hijacking of interstate shipments, organized gambling (including cockfighting and video poker), prostitution, fraud, attempted money laundering, racketeering and public corruption. By the end of July, the investigation had resulted in closure of the cockfighting pit and two brothels, criminal charges against a total of more than 170 people, and searches of taverns, homes, garages, a video amusement company, and a flower shop."

No matter what you think, we ARE trying to help you out and give you good information. And yes, there are an awful lot of people in Tennessee now that are very nice and fled from Florida. Do I think you are one of them? Yes. I think you are just stressed out and I have said so before. It took me over a year to calm down after moving from Florida.

Laura C: Yes. I think the police are great here. There is actually a local radio station that broadcasts all the names of people that got in trouble with the law the day before. They also read all the death notices. It is absolutely fantastic!