latinos moving to TN (Memphis, Knoxville: health insurance, houses, unemployment rate)

[molepoblano]

Greetings. Have been hearing some nice things about TN, and in our search to find a beautiful, wonderful place to live, we are now considering a move there. I haven't had time yet to look at all of the millions of threads out there (I'll do that this weekend). I would love to hear about the state, the economy, the culture, etc. Also if there are any areas that have relatively large populations of latinos or schools with bilingual programs. What is the political climate like, in general? Thanks!

[sliverbox]

I'll try to knock out a few of your questions. Economically, the state has a fairly diverse industrial spread, but each city is different. Nashville's biggest industries are Healthcare( primarily health insurance) and of course the 6.4 billion dollar music industry. Memphis has a lot of shipping industries and some tech. Knoxville is a college city with more or less a majority of the economy focussed on the service industry with sprinklings of many other industries. There are lots of startups state-wise. Manufacturing is HUGE. Nissan, Toyota ( Denso) Saturn, and John Deere have plants in the state. Many more are moving there all the time from more expensive states.

As far as culture, the area is primarily white except for Nashville and Memphis which have the highest ethnic mixtures. Nashville actually has the highest Kurdish population in the US. Many natives have roots in the area dating back 200 years or more so there are strong ties to the land and traditions. Latinos are a more recent addition as they are now making a bigger presence in the South, moving from more expensive areas like California and Florida. The saturation of Latino immigrants is not near the extremes that it is in places like Miami and LA. But I assume this number will increase in the coming years. There are small latino pockets in all the TN cities. I have not heard of Billingual programs in TN- again because the state doesn't have a large latino population. I guess what I'm getting at is that it sounds like you're trying to find a place in TN where you can have a heavily Latino lifestyle. Not to say that you can't here, but it won't be as convenient as it is in other cities like Miami. So you might need to make exceptions towards living perhaps in areas that are different for you culturally.

[sweetz]

Originally Posted by sliverbox

I'll try to knock out a few of your questions. Economically, the state has a fairly diverse industrial spread, but each city is different. Nashville's biggest industries are Healthcare( primarily health insurance) and of course the 6.4 billion dollar music industry. Memphis has a lot of shipping industries and some tech. Knoxville is a college city with more or less a majority of the economy focussed on the service industry with sprinklings of many other industries. There are lots of startups state-wise. Manufacturing is HUGE. Nissan, Toyota ( Denso) Saturn, and John Deere have plants in the state. Many more are moving there all the time from more expensive states.

As far as culture, the area is primarily white except for Nashville and Memphis which have the highest ethnic mixtures. Nashville actually has the highest Kurdish population in the US. Many natives have roots in the area dating back 200 years or more so there are strong ties to the land and traditions. Latinos are a more recent addition as they are now making a bigger presence in the South, moving from more expensive areas like California and Florida. The saturation of Latino immigrants is not near the extremes that it is in places like Miami and LA. But I assume this number will increase in the coming years. There are small latino pockets in all the TN cities. I have not heard of Billingual programs in TN- again because the state doesn't have a large latino population. I guess what I'm getting at is that it sounds like you're trying to find a place in TN where you can have a heavily Latino lifestyle. Not to say that you can't here, but it won't be as convenient as it is in other cities like Miami. So you might need to make exceptions towards living perhaps in areas that are different for you culturally.

Man you broke it down!!! But you left out Chattanooga.

[jkmewright]

Chattanooga is seeing a huge influx of Latinos but the largest population in this area would be in Dalton GA, which has alot of carpet mills and such. We drive down on weekends just for a cup of corn w/mayo, hot sauce and parmasean cheese Our schools have english classes for immigrant children, English is/as Second Language etc... Generally the latino population is welcome, heck we have 4 houses on our little street with spanish speaking families. It seems to be a great area for those w/a drive to start a business ex: tiendas, landscapers, diners, etc...

[JMT]

Originally Posted by molepoblano

Greetings. Have been hearing some nice things about TN, and in our search to find a beautiful, wonderful place to live, we are now considering a move there. I haven't had time yet to look at all of the millions of threads out there (I'll do that this weekend). I would love to hear about the state, the economy, the culture, etc. Also if there are any areas that have relatively large populations of latinos or schools with bilingual programs. What is the political climate like, in general? Thanks!

There are no public schools with bilingual programs, and I would be surprised if there are many private schools with such programs. I'm somewhat familiar with bilingual education (I teach languages at U.T.) and have noticed a national trend AWAY from bilingual education.

Nashville has, by far, the largest Hispanic community in the state. Memphis has a pretty large one, too. Knoxville and Chattanooga have growing Hispanic populations, but nothing like Nashville's. For small towns, Morristown and McMinnville are each about 10 percent Hispanic. Monterey, a tiny but wonderful community on the Cumberland Plateau, is also very Hispanic (its elementary school is 1/3 Hispanic).

Politically, Tennessee is fairly conservative. Even most elected Democrats have to run as conservatives to win state-wide posts. Nashville and Memphis probably have the highest concentration of liberals in the state.

Manufacturing used to be the bread and butter of Tennessee's economy, but as thousands of jobs have moved to Mexico and China many former manufacturing towns such as McMinnville and Lawrenceburg now have very high unemployment rates and very few jobs. The Nashville and Knoxville metro areas enjoy very healthy economies (especially Nashville). The Tri Cities and Chattanooga also have decent economies, although their populations are still among the slowest growing in the South.

I live in a neighborhood in Knoxville with a lot of Latinos, and I absolutely love it. There's a Latino grocery store around the corner and another down the street.

What kind of job are you looking for? I hope you'll keep us posted on your plans.

[suzycue]

Originally Posted by molepoblano

Greetings. Have been hearing some nice things about TN, and in our search to find a beautiful, wonderful place to live, we are now considering a move there. I haven't had time yet to look at all of the millions of threads out there (I'll do that this weekend). I would love to hear about the state, the economy, the culture, etc. Also if there are any areas that have relatively large populations of latinos or schools with bilingual programs. What is the political climate like, in general? Thanks!

If you want a more hispanic culture, consider moving to Miami..there you will find all the latin flavor, not in TN.

[SClady]

I made a wrong turn in Nashville and ended up on Nolensville road. I thought I was in Mexico. Many many Mexican stores and restaurants. First let me say I have not met a Mexican I didn't like and welcome them here. I don't understand why you want to come here if you don't accept the American way and learn English. Join us, dont separate yourselves from us and don't bring Mexico with you. If I moved to Mexico I would become a Mexican and join their way of life. There are so many people I would love to talk to but we can't understand each other languages. I would hate to see America become a place where each nationality has its own little country

[suzycue]

Originally Posted by SClady

I made a wrong turn in Nashville and ended up on Nolensville road. I thought I was in Mexico. Many many Mexican stores and restaurants. First let me say I have not met a Mexican I didn't like and welcome them here. I don't understand why you want to come here if you don't accept the American way and learn English. Join us, dont separate yourselves from us and don't bring Mexico with you. If I moved to Mexico I would become a Mexican and join their way of life. There are so many people I would love to talk to but we can't understand each other languages. I would hate to see America become a place where each nationality has its own little country

I am SOOO WITH YOU....I am running away from this here in Miami, and if TN turns into Miami, I WILL MOVE AGAIN!! THIS IS NORTH AMERICA!!

[bbkaren]

Lest this thread turn into a political one...I didn't read word for word every post, so it may have already been mentioned, but I'm under the impression that Monterey has a good-sized Latin population.

[mbmouse]

Yes, please lets not turn this into a political thread.