So Many Moving to Tennessee WHATS THE EFFECT? (Clarksville, Cleveland: sale, crime rate)

[fntintn]

Originally Posted by amblush

Here is why we want to leave Wisconsin:

-Too many materialistic people keeping up with the Jones'
-Too many people who think the most important thing in life is to have a pristine yard and emerald green grass
-Stuck up people
-Rude people that won't hold doors for people and if they smile their faces would crack
-Binge drinking and bars on every corner
-Packer Fans (Don't throw any brats or cheese curds at me. I'm just tired of people treating me like crap just because I'm not a 'Packer Backer', ok?!)
-Everyone is always in a big hurry
-Cookie cutter houses 10 feet apart from each other
-Crappy schools
-Too much snow

The list goes on.

so, so true! we have lived in a small village for over 3 years. we still only know the people from our small church. we do not even know the names of our neighbors we share a duplex with. i walked out with our baby to check the mail the other day. the neighbor across the street was in his driveway, so i waved to him. he looked at me and went into his garage.

we went for a walk in our downtown area. there is a new store, so we went in to check it out. the woman who was working there looked up from the counter, said hello and went back to eating her dessert and talking to the man who worked there, who did not say a single word to us while we were there - even when we walked right by him and were talking about a piece of furniture that we really liked. we left and told them to have a good day, and they did not respond.

i told my husband i wonder if we are invisible! we went to cookeville this weekend, and looked at one place for rent. the woman's neighbors showed it to us. we sat and talked with them for an hour! we know more about them than we know about the people we have lived by for 3 years!

our car got stuck in a snow bank by our house last winter. other neighbors across the street were outside - 3 guys around 20 or 30, outside talking. they sat and watched me (short and heavy female) and my other short and heavy female friend work for 20 minutes to get it out - no offer to help or anything.

i am tired of the attitude that if you did not live in the small town since birth, then you are not worth talking to. it's not like we sit at home all the time. i've joined little playgroups at the library with other moms of kids the same age, i've hung out at the pools and the parks.... i did home daycare and thought i was at least friendly with the moms that i sat for - since i quit to have my baby last year, one came by to visit once and that is it... very few return calls, and then it is brief and rare. people were so much friendlier when we were down.

we are moving to be closer to family, so my husband does not have to commute an hour to work each way, slower pace of life, better winters (i can live with hot summers, but winter driving is insane, especially with a commute to work), more conservative-ness (is that a word? )

ya know, the people on this board are all very friendly, and positive. go check out the wisconsin board - you do not have the same feel at all. that is about how it is here. i can't wait to move. i'll miss some things, mostly the friends we have made at church, and my daughters until they come, but i am counting the days until we are outta here!

[TNRyan23]

Originally Posted by tsimmu

I'm glad someone asked the question regarding the urge for people (especially from Ohio & Michigan) to move here. There are so many that my son and I have a car game where we see how far we can go without seeing a Michigan or Ohio tag or a car that has a dealer sticker from a dealer there. We don't usually get very far before our first sighting.

Almost daily I see a car with Ohio plates pulled over by the red unmarked metro impala right around Wedgewood headed into downtown, They usually fly past you doing like 80mph in a 55mph zone...

[kygman]

Originally Posted by RS-1080

We just say howdy to folks as we walk by and know the ones who ain't from here when they ignore us rather than speaking back.

I'm from western Kentucky (just as friendly! lol) and recently spent a weekend in Pigeon Forge. I'm the type that will say hello to anybody. I did notice there are some people who will look at you like, "Do I know you?" On our stops through Tennsee on our way to the Smokies, we meet plenty of friendly people either working where we stop or just some of the locals.

We're getting to know the route to Shoney's in Maryville pretty good. We go that way to Gatlinburg to miss Knoxville, the City of Eternal Road Construction (I used that in another thread too). Always good food and friendly workers.

[TNNative]

Originally Posted by LauraC

I'm thinking of taking a vacation in Florida next year wearing a tee shirt that says "OAK RIDGE - HOME OF NUKES!" Every once and awhile I'll twitch for the desired effect.

I say we keep talking about snakes, spiders, coyotes, bats...have to think about some previous threads...tornadoes, earthquakes, icy curvy mountain roads, traffic, air quality in Knoxville, not enough sunny days...still thinking...people who invite you to church against your will and/or people that are tooooo nice so you suspect ulterior motives, people who socialize with their church meaning you are left out, "stupid" dry counties, corporal punishment in schools, jailing bad parents with absentee kids, schools that don't take your parental "helpful suggestions"...no gun control, smoking all over the place so you might have to take your business elsewhere, watermelon seed spitting contests, square/buck dancing, rampant Yankee baiting/teasing/ignoring even though you're so wonderful/smarter/tolerant than them, predominantly Republican registered East Tennessee, hunting, no Meagers or whatever the name of that store was that started with an M...still thinking...I CAN'T BELIEVE THERE'S A TAX ON FOOD! even though I don't pay state income tax, some places with no broadband, "good old boys" only get hired and they passed up my sterling "I'm a highly educated professional" 20 different jobs resume to hire a guy who has lived here all of his life, not enough high-end retail stores, lower wage jobs, polite men that treat you like a lady and you don't know how to handle that, non diet conscious people who offend your eyesight, people with missing teeth that offend your eyesight, people with southern accents that offend your ears, men who sit in pick up trucks and, you know, sit there, too many country music stations...and HORRORS, poor people that have lived there all the years of their life who might be living in the general vicinity of where you want to build a house.

Have I missed anything?

You forgot the crazy NASCAR interstates when the congestion finally clears, having to assume your tea will be sweet, all the deer that you have to dodge while driving...even worse when combined with those DANGEROUS icy, curvy roads where there is no cell phone service.

WHO would wanna live in a place like that??

[elgusano]

As a TN native who left because of the way things were going, I see the same things happening here.

People move from other places to escape the problems of where they live, and they bring those problems with them.

On a small scale, an example would by my mother-in-law's neighborhood. She got new neighbors who wanted to escape the ghetto. They brought the ghetto with them and now her neighborhood is the pits and the property values plummeted.

Here, we have the lowest tax burden in the US (but a very high cost of living). People move here to escape the taxes. Then they vote for "free" garbage service, etc. and the taxes rise so that my taxes are now nearly as high as when I lived in TN.

[Miami305Kid]

Tennesse isn't alone. Basically every desirable southern/southwestern state is being flooded with immigrants from outside the U.S and people from the north/midwest. Arizona, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, basically anywhere where there is hot weather people flock to.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by TNNative

You forgot the crazy NASCAR interstates when the congestion finally clears, having to assume your tea will be sweet, all the deer that you have to dodge while driving...even worse when combined with those DANGEROUS icy, curvy roads where there is no cell phone service.

WHO would wanna live in a place like that??

Our tea is so sweet you'll get Type 4 Diabetes (2 times Type 2 Diabetes) go into a diabetic coma, causing you to swerve to miss all of the deer hovering around the next curvy icy bend in the mountain road. As your car plummets down the side of the mountain into a heavily wooded ditch, your last thought will be, "Dang, I have no cell service to call for help."

Then, as the venomous snakes and brown recluse spiders check out your car, the bears will come and eat your remains. Three years later when they discover what's left of you, one of those pesky religious types that you tried so hard to avoid, will pray for your soul. How's that?

[farmerandpoet]

Originally Posted by LauraC

These things make places bearable for people but I'm waiting to read more posts of people who are moving to Tennessee FOR the culture, not people who are moving to Tennessee hoping people will tolerate them and their ideas.


So tell me, who is coming to East Tennessee because -

You want to hunt and/or fish more often?

You want to be a part of a church community lifestyle? (meaning your religious institution is more than a building where you attend services once in awhile - it is also an avenue to socialize and do good deeds in the community)?

You want to celebrate traditional religious holidays like Christmas, for example, or patriotic holidays like Memorial Day or 4th of July beyond having a day off from work or going to sales at the stores? (parades, events)?

You want to hear more country, bluegrass, gospel or blues music than you hear now? You want to learn some southern dances?

The idea of eating traditional southern dishes or something you've caught or shot appeals to you?

You want to spend more time with your ATV, racing or truck? Or, you are looking to buy one/participate in related activies/events?

You want to belong to some group after you get to Tennessee that has to do with nature and/or nature related sports (hiking, rafting, birding, etc.)?

You think a person's property is his to do with as he pleases?

You like to swim in lakes and/or swimming holes?

You like the school rules, the school curriculum, the school activities more than the place you left?

You want to marry a southern man or a southern woman raised in Tennessee or have friends who are Tennessee natives?

You want the town you are looking at, to stay exactly like it is now and not looking at the town for what it could be once more transplants arrive?

I can't speak for others reasons for moving to the area but as for me and my husband, we are looking forward to more fishing and camping, new churches in which you feel genuine fellowship,not people showing up for church for appearances only, learned to swim at gravel pit and beach up here, hates pools, lived in the country most of our lives, and agree that a person should be able to live in peace and do whatever they would like to there property as long as it does not interfere with others rights to do the same, or endanger peoples lives, we would like to hear more country music and hope we do get the opportunity to do so if my neighbors play music, fantastic, I would be the gal living next door inviting them over for beer, we want to move to an area we like, with less government, and don't change the towns, thats what we like, just the way it is,we are warm friendly people and hope we meet the same there.

[lazinhe]

Considering a move from Alabama to TN - have children - please tell me about the quality of schools, safety, ample amt of activities, and developments w/ acreage - room b/w the homes. How friendly is the area?

[eagleriver]

HAHAHA Laura C - we do the same thing here in Oregon to the Californians who want to escape there and come here - Too funny. But, alas, too late, too. I want to move to a place where there are conservatives, who believe in the family and God, and believe those values come first. Way, way too late for that here. I want to live where there is less govt, not more, and hope to soon make TN my home - some nice, conservative rural area where I can live my life.