Looking for a Southern town... (low crime, houses, neighborhoods)

[WheninRoam]

Hi everyone!

We're looking to move somewhere in the South or Southeast soon, and wanted your input/recommendation on which (if any) towns or small cities you know of that are close to what we want:

Idealistic small town with closeknit neighborhoods
Picturesque houses (not cookie-cutter like CA is famous for!)
Centered around family/children
Quick drive to a larger city and/or access to shopping, restaurants
Good schools/education-minded
Not snotty/stuck up vibe
Not in tornado alley
Low crime rate
Not minority-heavy (I'm from CA, give me a break.)
Plenty things to do for kids/family
Moderate climate

Really, I'm looking for that 4th-of-July parade on Main Street kind of place. I know I have a very specific list, but I've moved twice before and know what I want now

THANKS!!!

[JMT]

Originally Posted by WheninRoam

Hi everyone!

We're looking to move somewhere in the South or Southeast soon, and wanted your input/recommendation on which (if any) towns or small cities you know of that are close to what we want:

Idealistic small town with closeknit neighborhoods
Picturesque houses (not cookie-cutter like CA is famous for!)
Centered around family/children
Quick drive to a larger city and/or access to shopping, restaurants
Good schools/education-minded
Not snotty/stuck up vibe
Not in tornado alley
Low crime rate
Not minority-heavy (I'm from CA, give me a break.)
Plenty things to do for kids/family
Moderate climate

Really, I'm looking for that 4th-of-July parade on Main Street kind of place. I know I have a very specific list, but I've moved twice before and know what I want now

THANKS!!!

Some that come to mind:

Bowling Green KY
Cookeville TN
Johnson City TN
Oxford MS (may be a little too hot to be considered "moderate" though)

[WheninRoam]

We're kind of focused on TN, so thanks for those reccs!

[JMT]

Originally Posted by WheninRoam

We're kind of focused on TN, so thanks for those reccs!

Great! You might want to wander over to the Tennessee forum and ask for some opinions there. But generally, the smaller towns in Tennessee that are noted for their good schools are, in alphabetical order:

Cookeville, 30,000 (home to Tennessee Technological University, a very non-party school)
Franklin, 55,000 (swank suburb of Nashville)
Hendersonville, 45,000 (not-quite-as-swank-but-still-swank suburb of Nashville)
Johnson City, 65,000 (home to East Tennessee State University)
Kingsport, 45,000 (home to Eastman Chemical)
Maryville, 25,000 (fast-growing suburb of Knoxville)
Oak Ridge, 27,000 (brainiac suburb of Knoxville full of nuclear engineers)
Tullahoma, 17,000 (home to a large Air Force research center)

My personal favorite is Cookeville. It's only an hour from the Nashville airport which has the cheapest air fares in TN (easily half what they are out of Knoxville or the Tri Cities). Having a mid-major university in town means it's got a lot more shopping, museums, galleries, doctors, etc., than most other towns its size.

But you can check out the individual pages here at city-data for those towns to catch some pics and stats for those places. One warning: the "tornado probability" stat is pretty much a crapshoot. But generally, the farther east you get in the state the lower the probability of tornadoes because of the higher mountains.

Have fun!

[WheninRoam]

Thanks for your help! Does Cookeville have any big drug issues? That's what made me shy away from NC originally. I know everywhere has got their something, but ya know.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by WheninRoam

Thanks for your help! Does Cookeville have any big drug issues? That's what made me shy away from NC originally. I know everywhere has got their something, but ya know.

We should probably continue this over in the Tennessee forum. But no, Cookeville doesn't have a drug problem, certainly nothing like you'd see in larger cities. Meth has been a problem in much of the Southeast, but they've really cracked down on it. Counties closer to Chattanooga seem to have more of a problem with meth than those up on the Cumberland Plateau (where Cookeville is located).