musician couple looking for cool city to settle down in (Memphis: fit in, 2009)

[shamity]

Hi,

We are a couple in our early thirties, about to have our first kid in a few months, looking to get out of icy, snowy, unfriendly and crowded New England. We have been to Tennessee twice (I'm originally from N. Va and have also lived in Athens, GA) and we loved it both times. We eventually would love to start a small business there that caters to both locals and tourists alike.

We REALLY want to find a place where we fit in... we are kind of an odd mix of contradictions! We are blue collar types I suppose, not cubicle dwellers, my husband currently works for the public works dept. and I am a teacher. We hate things like desks and meetings and team building exercises and the like. We are also musicians, and we love all types of music, it is a huge part of our lives. We are a tiny bit bohemian but full on hippies make us nervous. We are a little bit "alternative" but certainly not full on hipsters. We like things like dogs and trucks and mountains but things like hunting and nascar aren't on our radar and never will be. We are kind of old fashioned in some ways, progressive in others, and despite our age, the yuppie types we meet out here are folks we totally can't relate to. Mainly we are just down to earth types who wouldn't mind finding like minded neighbors to sit around our kitchen table, have a few beers, play a few Neil Young or Muddy Waters or Flatt and Scruggs covers, and then go home and mind their own lives as we will be doing as well.

The question is, where to find those kind of neighbors? Is there a city in E. Tennessee where the people kind of strike a balance in this way, or are we just very normal freaks? Thanks!

[jabogitlu]

That really sounds like Asheville. Yeah, Asheville has a rep for being freak-central and if you go downtown in certain areas, alternative lifestyles DO abound, but Asheville at its heart is a city full of people like you just described.

But most of east TN is a bit more "plain" or "conservative" (dare I use the word) than what you describe. Areas of Knoxville or Chatty might fit you okay.

[JoeCartpath]

Sounds like you'd fit in right here in Memphis.....Cooper-Young district, or South Main...

[shamity]

Thanks Joe but though we love Memphis to visit (Rendezvous rules!), we are interested in E. TN to live. Jabogitlu, can you be more specific about which areas of Knoxville you were thinking might be a good fit? I think Asheville might be a touch too liberal for us, plus it seems more expensive and I'm worried my husband wouldn't be able to find a job there. Thanks!!!

[jabogitlu]

As far as Knoxville goes, avoid the west side. Anything from the waterfront/downtown north to the Old City or keep going north toward Fountain City. Fourth and Gill-type areas. Parts of Bearden are also very eclectic (I think it's home to Knoxville's only foam store) but the neighborhood is vast/sprawling and can be more expensive to purchase in.

[TriDad]

You may want to check out the Southside of Chattanooga. Southside Chattanooga
It's an eclectic mix of hip & hipster doofus (Seinfeld reference) without taking itself too seriously. They recently had the MainX24 Festival which was an all out celebration of the community. MAINx24 2008 - A 24 Hour Celebration of Main Street Chattanooga Tennessee

There are some other neighborhoods around town that may suit you well too. Check out the Northshore Welcome to NorthShore Chattanooga!
Looking for a "cool", up & coming yet historical area? St Elmo may have what you want http://www.st-elmo.org/

As for the music scene: 1/2/2009 - Chattanooga’s Live Music Scene: The Best Of 2008 Awards - Happenings - Chattanoogan.com

Almost forgot, we've got the Riverbend Festival which provides multiple stages over the course of week to see a heck of a lot of bands - FYI Weekend | Riverbend 2008

Oh, and we have a free summer concert series downtown: CDP :: Nightfall along with some cool bluegrass festivals as well - CDP :: ThreeSisters Music Festival

here's a cool place you may find yourself hanging out at: MySpace.com - JJ's Bohemia - 38 - Male - Chattanooga, TENNESSEE - www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia or how about Rhythm & Brews

And check out the Chattahippie Festival: Chattahippie Music Festival | Chattahippie is a new music discover festival held in Chattanooga, Tennessee on September 18-21, 2008. Come join us! (fun for the entire family)

looking for fun? look no further: Chattanooga Has Fun 2.0
We absolutely love it here in Chattanooga (can you tell?) I could go on and on and on....

[creeksitter]

I'm thinking Knoxville would be a good fit. Lots of music. I'd recommend South Knoxville as it is a lot of working class & unpretentious middle class folks. There are music jams at Gateway hardware and the Neighborhood center (at least there used to be).

I'm puzzled about this: "full on hippies make us nervous". Can you define this better? You will find a few hippies hiding among the trees but it's not like Asheville (all hippies all the time). Go to the Knoxville forum and search on South Knoxville and Vestal.

[BlueCuzco]

As I read through your post I imagined you in Chattanooga, and I think you would fit in well. The suburbs (depending on the suburbs and many specifics) may be less to your taste, but you can check out areas around downtown like North Shore and see if they'd be a good fit for you. The new development spreading from the river seems to be exactly what you describe: a sort of down-to-earth, hippy-esque, regular worker but also artist/culture monger sort of culture. As TriDad listed there are many music events (many free), though I don't have any clue about specific opportunities for you to be involved. My specialty is nature:

"We like things like dogs and trucks and mountains but things like hunting and nascar aren't on our radar and never will be." Then you're cool in Chattanooga. We're a mecca for outdoor sports, but for most locals its more of a laidback day-trip type outdoor experience (such as a hike in the mountains west of town, a trip to an East Brainerd nature sanctuary, greenway walk, river paddle or eco cruise, caving, etc). If you want specific info about things to check out, just ask.

"We eventually would love to start a small business there that caters to both locals and tourists alike." The way things are going, I think you'd find opportunities. The downtown/riverfront area is flourishing (and spreading its niceness to other areas of town) and constantly improving in big ways. There's a good amount of tourist traffic with the aquarium, Lookout Mountain attractions, and what not, and because downtown is so walkable they typically will go out...walking, to check things out, instead of just heading back to their hotel like they might in less pretty/friendly cities. (*cough, cough, Atlanta*) However, there's absolutely no differentiation between places that locals might go and where tourists might go, so you'll get a blend. (Maybe the only place in town that is more strictly for tourists is Ruby Falls. )

Now, beware, the public school system in Chattanooga is pretty bad (starved for funds) and isn't on the improve. However, there are a number of good schools (if you're not looking for the adventure that is Ooltewah High (almost %200 overcrowding)) around town as well as several excellent private schools (like, regionally known as excellent) and a number of decent/good ones. So you'll have to look around. I don't know what the teaching market is like.

Kristian

[GoGreenNashville]

Hi
It sounds like Nashville might be a little to far west for you but if you ended up our way, I think you might like the historic East Nashville. It pretty much is a little bohemian with not much pretense. We also have an incredible concentration of singer/songwriters in our neighborhood so its not unheard of to find yourself at one of our coffee houses listening to a neighbor play a set. Most of us shave our legs but few of us care what kind of car you drive. Dogs are very much integral part of the neighborhood.

[shamity]

Wow, thanks everyone! Nashville is a bit far for where we'd like to be but E. Nashville sounds pretty great. Chattanooga is fun, I've been before, but it is too far south for us. Sounds like schools are a problem financially everywhere... I am going to be laid off from my school here in Massachusetts and this is a pretty wealthy town. Maybe it's time for me to change careers!

Creeksitter, thanks for the tip on the south side! I did a search as you suggested and it sounds like South Knoxville might be a great place for us to come and see. I also searched Vestal and got some mixed results??? Maybe parts of it are iffy? My husband is a little concerned with the acceptance of his "Yankee" roots. He has the whole Boston accent and everything but has the heart of a southerner, which is a big part of the reason he wants to relocate there, and a big part of the reason I married him! We are a little bit of everything (except maybe white collar yuppie type) so I think we'd do ok in most places but the music thing is something that could really keep us in one place forever. We could never live in a place where no one played anything or weren't passionate about music!

And the hippie comment... we just get intimidated by things like growing all your own food, composting in the backyard, vegans... where we live here, people who are into that stuff are also into preaching to you about it and then making you feel like a jerk if you can't see yourself having a compost toilet. So that makes us nervous. Otherwise, we have absolutely no problems with hippies. One of our favorite places on earth is Portland, ME and that place is LOADED with hippies. There's nothing like heading to a bar for a couple pops and seeing dogs laying at everyone's feet.

Anyway, these responses help us narrow down where to focus our search immensely, so thanks everyone! We are torn between having a couple acres for us and our dog or having friendly neighbors close by for our kid... I am a country girl at heart but we worry about boredom setting in. Ugh - decisions are hard. I guess we'll just have to come have a looksee and see what we think.