West TN vs East TN? (Memphis: school, place to live, shop)

[Pam& Bill]

We landed in East Tn. and I can't say enough wonderful things about this area. First we lived in East Knoxville(this country girl loved Knoxville) and now we are living in Dandridge. The people are friendly and the cost of living is reasonable.
I think the natural beauty of this area is unrivaled and the Smokies are really close as is Pigion Forge/Sevierville area and the Smokey Mountain National park.

[HartmanLandDevelopment]

Keep coming East-- Greeneville. Great rural small town with parks, river, mountains. Two smaller hospitals here-- short commute 30minutes to 1 hour depending on where you go to larger hospitals/ trauma centers.

[ca2tn]

Thank you thank you thank you. We are committed to moving in early August so I'm in a bit of a panic! Thanks so much!

[JMT]

Originally Posted by ca2tn

Thank you thank you thank you. We are committed to moving in early August so I'm in a bit of a panic! Thanks so much!

It sounds like you really do need to come visit first. West Tennessee certainly has its qualities, but East Tennessee definitely wins the beauty contest.

I really think a good compromise would be the Cumberland Plateau where you have the higher elevation like in East Tennessee (hence the milder climate), it's only an hour from Nashville or Knoxville (depending on where you are on the Plateau), it's largely rural but has excellent, and I do mean excellent medical facilities, particularly in Cookeville, although the Crossville hospital is also very good. And if you want to go visit your relatives in West Tennessee, the Cumberland Plateau is that much closer than East Tennessee.

Best of luck to you! We'll be anxious to hear how it goes for you.

[miss the south]

I lived in Cleveland TN. Nice area, hospitals were okay to work at. I actually worked in Etowah, but that hospital there is going through major changes and had financial problems. My friend works in Athens hospital. It seems like a nice area. I would definately go back to this area and wish we didn't move west. Best of luck to you.

[ca2tn]

I must say, the thing that makes me feel peace is that the people from Tennessee are so very very nice and willing to help. Please know that I so appreciate the good wishes and the advice. I look forward to our journey.

[titanfan07]

West Tennessee is a great choice to me. U have plenty of smaller towns and country areas for your farm way of life and then u have bigger cities for those amenities that you might desire. One good thing about West Tennessee is that you are centered between the two largest cities in Tennessee, that being Memphis and Nashville. Between the two, you can get flights pretty much anywhere in the country with little ground travel time. Also you have Jackson, where I live. Although its not a city for country life the surrounding towns and counties are. Jackson population is approx. 65,000 and one of the best cities to work in if you are in the medical field. Check out West Tennessee Healthcare's website. It is the largest healthcare company in the state. It serves 17 counties surrounding Jackson with facilities all over West Tennessee. The center of it is Jackson Madison County General. It is adding a new 9-floor state-of-the-art tower to the already present two-tower facility. Well, you'll see on the site. There is also Regional Hospital of Jackson. It's smaller than county general but still a great hospital to work in. And there are clinics and private facilities all over if the hospital atmosphere is not to your liking. I think you would love working here in the area. Hope I helped.

[tennesseenative]

I have lived in west, middle, and east TN. Be forewarned that there are serious problems in many of the west TN school systems (for ex., 20% of jackson, tn students are in private school, which costs in excess of $5K per kid per year).

[burk7679]

Hello,
My family may be relocating due to my husbands work and know absolutely nothing about the area of Jackson. If anyone would like to share some insight as to good places to live crime rates and schools it would be a great help.

Thanks

[AppalachianAngler]

I only know a little bit about Jackson, but the North part of Jackson is the good part. All my friends had to go to private school as the public schools they said were pretty bad. All this is just coming from what a couple friends have told me who grew up there.