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For any city/town, as long as you know what you are getting into and are willing to accept that, you can move anywhere and be happy.
Thing like "it's too hot" and "too many mosquitos" is sort of pointless to say because anyone with half a brain knows this about TN before they move here. You can't move to TN and then complain about it being too hot. I mean....I agree, it's too dang hot here, but you can't use that as a reason for someone not to move. It's like moving to North Dakota and complaining about there being too much snow compared to TN.
While I do agree that of what I have seen of Jackson, it is definitely more of a small town, chain restaurant, etc type of town (compared to Memphis, Nashville, etc). However, if you know that going in...it shouldn't be a problem for you.
The only thing I'd advise to think through, is that if you are coming from a city or even a small town that is NEAR major cities (ie, you live in a small town but can drive 30 minutes to a huge metro area), Jackson is not like that. Memphis is over an hour away at least, and Nashville is further. It would be harder to just "drive into town" for a movie, a nice restaurant, or shopping without planning the whole day around it. I know in the northeast, you are typically pretty close to some huge cities no matter where you live.
Have you thought about moving closer to a city like Chattanooga or Nashville? You could still be in the country but still be near a main metro area. Not to push you in another direction, but just wondering how you found Jackson out of all places
For any city/town, as long as you know what you are getting into and are willing to accept that, you can move anywhere and be happy.
Thing like "it's too hot" and "too many mosquitos" is sort of pointless to say because anyone with half a brain knows this about TN before they move here. You can't move to TN and then complain about it being too hot. I mean....I agree, it's too dang hot here, but you can't use that as a reason for someone not to move. It's like moving to North Dakota and complaining about there being too much snow compared to TN.
While I do agree that of what I have seen of Jackson, it is definitely more of a small town, chain restaurant, etc type of town (compared to Memphis, Nashville, etc). However, if you know that going in...it shouldn't be a problem for you.
The only thing I'd advise to think through, is that if you are coming from a city or even a small town that is NEAR major cities (ie, you live in a small town but can drive 30 minutes to a huge metro area), Jackson is not like that. Memphis is over an hour away at least, and Nashville is further. It would be harder to just "drive into town" for a movie, a nice restaurant, or shopping without planning the whole day around it. I know in the northeast, you are typically pretty close to some huge cities no matter where you live.
Have you thought about moving closer to a city like Chattanooga or Nashville? You could still be in the country but still be near a main metro area. Not to push you in another direction, but just wondering how you found Jackson out of all places
I dont think pearlbob is that familiar with Jackson. Jackson is the center for shopping, resturants, and entertainment in West Tennessee outside of Memphis. Jackson isn't just a small hick town. I don't consider 65,000 people a small town. In comparison to Memphis' 650,000 or Nashville's 545,000 yes its considered small. But compared to other cities in Tennessee its not. And you dont have to go to Memphis or Nashville for any of that. Jackson has 1 major mall and in the process of building a second one. There are multiple multi-screen theaters here. Comedy clubs, night clubs, a symphony orchestra, plays, Miss Tennessee Peagent, NAIA Womens Basketball Championship Tournament, AA Baseball, ABA Basketball, bowling alleys, skating rinks, coffee shops, bars, pool halls, and over 200 resturants. Some with live music. There are lots of stores for any shopping you need. People usually shop in Jackson in West Tennessee instead of Memphis because we have almost all the same store that Memphis does without 2,000,000 people being everywhere you go. The only thing you might need Memphis for is huge name music concerts (we get some big names but not huge artist) and the airport. Unless you are going to St. Louis or Cincinatti then you can go from Jackson's airport. Other flights you will need Memphis or Nashville. And Jackson also has the largest medical center in the entire state. Yes Jackson. Check if ya want to question it. Small city with all the amenities of a large one. Not a small town.
2,000,000 people? I don't think you're familiar with Memphis then.
I've been to Jackson, know many people from there. I'd consider it a pretty small feeling town. I guess if you grew up there or live somewhere smaller, it would feel different.
I was saying my *opinion* which is to me, Jackson does feel like a small southern town. For someone who lives in the Northeast, they may feel the same. Just an opinion from someone else who did not grow up in this area.
2,000,000 people? I don't think you're familiar with Memphis then.
I've been to Jackson, know many people from there. I'd consider it a pretty small feeling town. I guess if you grew up there or live somewhere smaller, it would feel different.
I was saying my *opinion* which is to me, Jackson does feel like a small southern town. For someone who lives in the Northeast, they may feel the same. Just an opinion from someone else who did not grow up in this area.
I have to agree with Pearlbob on this. I've been to Jackson many, many times. It's an ok town, it has a lot of shopping. But for a small town, it has a lot of undesirable neighborhoods. My friends from Jackson tell me that there are definitely some parts of town that you wouldn't want to wander alone at night. I just don't think that a small town should be like that.
And the fact that there's such an excellent private school in Jackson (University School of Jackson) doesn't speak very well for the public schools there. I mean, typically towns the size of Jackson don't have a big need for private, non-religious schools unless there's either a lot of racism (white people don't want their kids in public schools with a lot of blacks), or the public schools are just lousy. In Jackson's case, it could be some of both.
I'm also not a big fan of hot, muggy weather. I put up with it in Memphis because Memphis has so much more to offer (I love Memphis). But there's just not that much to do in Jackson to counterbalance the stifling summer heat, the high crime rate, and the two little commercial flights a day from the Jackson airport (on small prop planes, no less).
But that's just my opinion. I'm certainly no expert on Jackson, but I do know that of all the small towns in Tennessee to pick, Jackson doesn't seem to be very high on most people's list (Jackson is barely mentioned in this forum, for example).
In the grand scheme of things, Jackson is a very small town. However, Jackson is Tennessee's 6th or 7th largest town (depends on whether Murfreesboro has passed Jackson, which I think it has).
There are things to do in Jackson, though not on the scale of a larger town.
And crime in Jackson is largely segregated to one section of town (East Jackson), unlike Memphis, where pockets of crime are present in various areas of town.
For people looking for a smaller town and somewhat slower pace of life with relatively quick access to bigger places, Jackson is a good place to live.
2,000,000 people? I don't think you're familiar with Memphis then.
I've been to Jackson, know many people from there. I'd consider it a pretty small feeling town. I guess if you grew up there or live somewhere smaller, it would feel different.
I was saying my *opinion* which is to me, Jackson does feel like a small southern town. For someone who lives in the Northeast, they may feel the same. Just an opinion from someone else who did not grow up in this area.
i am quite familiar with Memphis. With shelby county's population around a million plus all the other people not from there buzzing around u obviously have a larger number than the actual population. It was also meant to be a large number to add emphasis. LOL.
Last edited by titanfan07; 06-22-2007 at 04:18 PM..
I have to agree with Pearlbob on this. I've been to Jackson many, many times. It's an ok town, it has a lot of shopping. But for a small town, it has a lot of undesirable neighborhoods. My friends from Jackson tell me that there are definitely some parts of town that you wouldn't want to wander alone at night. I just don't think that a small town should be like that.
And the fact that there's such an excellent private school in Jackson (University School of Jackson) doesn't speak very well for the public schools there. I mean, typically towns the size of Jackson don't have a big need for private, non-religious schools unless there's either a lot of racism (white people don't want their kids in public schools with a lot of blacks), or the public schools are just lousy. In Jackson's case, it could be some of both.
I'm also not a big fan of hot, muggy weather. I put up with it in Memphis because Memphis has so much more to offer (I love Memphis). But there's just not that much to do in Jackson to counterbalance the stifling summer heat, the high crime rate, and the two little commercial flights a day from the Jackson airport (on small prop planes, no less).
But that's just my opinion. I'm certainly no expert on Jackson, but I do know that of all the small towns in Tennessee to pick, Jackson doesn't seem to be very high on most people's list (Jackson is barely mentioned in this forum, for example).
So because theres an excellent private school, actually all the private schools here are pretty good, then public must be bad. What kind of view is that? Crime rates? All u look at is stats. Please that doesnt acurately depict Jackson at all. And every freakin city has bad neighborhoods. They hardly out number the beautiful crime free ones here. And Knoxville isnt exactly big city USA. If it wasnt for the University of Tennessee and the river what would Knoxville be. And the airport is so huge. I dont think so. I've been to Knoxville plenty of times and I really havent been impressed. It actually looks kinda dirty to me. But this is my opinion.
In the grand scheme of things, Jackson is a very small town. However, Jackson is Tennessee's 6th or 7th largest town (depends on whether Murfreesboro has passed Jackson, which I think it has).
There are things to do in Jackson, though not on the scale of a larger town.
And crime in Jackson is largely segregated to one section of town (East Jackson), unlike Memphis, where pockets of crime are present in various areas of town.
For people looking for a smaller town and somewhat slower pace of life with relatively quick access to bigger places, Jackson is a good place to live.
Thank you. It's #7. Most of the crime is basically in that area. And I never said Jackson was a big city. But its not some small town that is dead and has nothing going on. Thats all I'm trying to get people to see on here. People talk Johnson City, Kingsport, and Bristol up like they are large areas and the truth is they are all smaller than Jackson. No big deal though.
I am not to familiar with where Jackson is but we recently moved to Dandridge between Morristown and Newport I believe. LOL.... Still get lost... Well let me put it like this. I have a 10, 7, and 5 year old. We are from Florida (thats mosquito village), and I think of Tennessee as a country escape, so if that is what you are after. Peace and quiet etc, then its here, however if your seeking an urban city with hot spots etc, there are many, but not like in major metropolitan cities... Or so I have seen here in East Tennessee. We had never been here before picked up and moved without to much research, but we knew we wanted to go country, and all that comes with.....
So because theres an excellent private school, actually all the private schools here are pretty good, then public must be bad. What kind of view is that? Crime rates? All u look at is stats. Please that doesnt acurately depict Jackson at all. And every freakin city has bad neighborhoods. They hardly out number the beautiful crime free ones here. And Knoxville isnt exactly big city USA. If it wasnt for the University of Tennessee and the river what would Knoxville be. And the airport is so huge. I dont think so. I've been to Knoxville plenty of times and I really havent been impressed. It actually looks kinda dirty to me. But this is my opinion.
Actually, yes, if you look at areas with the highest number of non-religious private schools, those tend to be areas with the worst public schools and/or with high levels or racism. I'm sorry that this concept offends you, but do some research on the locations of private, non-religious, non-military schools in the country, and the pattern becomes very clear.
The notion that "every town has bad neighborhoods" is simply not true. That is an excuse I have heard over and over again from people in West Tennessee, Mississippi, and Eastern Arkansas to explain the levels of high crime in their towns. Every town has its poorer neighborhoods, yes, but that doesn't always correlate to high crime rates. Again, just look at small towns in Middle and East Tennessee to see that your argument doesn't have a leg to stand on. (If someone wants to move to Johnson City, for example, no one has to say "oh my God, stay out of such-and-such neighborhood or you'll be mugged for sure.")
Since you brought up Knoxville, let's go ahead with the comparisons:
The Jackson airport (McKellar-Sipes Regional) has two flights a day to Saint Louis on prop planes. The airline that handles those flights, Region Air (for American Airlines) has been grounded by the FAA. Comair, a Delta Connection carrier, will replace those flights with flights to Cincinnati. The federal government has identified McKellar-Sipes as one of the few airports in the country that needs federal funding in order to survive. Only one airline is able to serve McKellar-Sipes at a time, and it does so by being heavily subsidized by the feds. Most planes that arrive and leave from MCK are virtually empty.
There are two flights a day out of McKellar-Sipes and a total of about 10,000 passengers per year who use that airport.
The Knoxville airport has 8 airlines with over 60 flights a day to 19 destinations, and not one of those airlines is in Knoxville because of federal subsidies. About 1.4 million passengers use McGhee-Tyson every year.
Between 2000-2006, the Jackson metropolitan area grew by 4,562 people, or 4.3 percent, to 111,937. Of those 4,562, only 796 actually moved to the area; the rest were babies born.
Between 2000-2006, the Knoxville metropolitan area (which no longer includes Sevier County) grew by 51,304, or 8.3 percent to 667,384. Of those 51,304 people, 33,539 actually moved to the area. It's a popular destination for a reason.
Because of the University of Tennessee, TVA, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratories, the Knoxville metropolitan area has more PhDs per capita than any other metropolitan area in the South. So, SMART people are moving to Knoxville, too.
Jackson has the Casey Jones museum and fudge shop, Knoxville was home to a World's Fair.
Jackson is near Natchez Trace State Park (which is beautiful), while Knoxville is near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most popular national park in the country.
There are definitely run-down parts of Knoxville and neighborhoods with high crime, but Knoxville is a much larger city than Jackson. It would be more appropriate to compare Jackson to comparably-sized areas such as Morristown (132,851), Cleveland (109,477), Cookeville (99,942), or Tullahoma (99,014), all of which are growing faster, have better public schools and lower crime rates than Jackson.
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It's like moving to North Dakota and complaining about there being too much snow compared to TN. 
