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HI JB4, thought I'd pop in as we are considering JC as well for retirement although our time frame is 10 years from now. Having done a lot of research and with 4 visits I can tell you I absolutely love Johnson City, and we are from Maryland and are very liberal although it does not control our lives. Just a great feel to the town, maybe it's the college students I'm not sure. Take a trip, you'll see what I mean.
Roe did sponsor an alternative repeal & replace plan. Objectively, I can admit that this plan is equally as bad as ACA. I'm on ACA, so I speak from experience that it is horrible. The solution is more along the lines of a proposal by Phil Bredesen.
I'll just leave it at this, intelligent people can have differing opinions. And my one hope for this area (and the country as a whole) is that we treat each other with respect.
I just want to thank everyone for chiming in on this thread! Whether I agree or not, whether I even understand the local politics to agree or not, I REALLY appreciate everyone's viewpoints, perspectives, and passion on either side of the many issues brought up here. I know we do come from San Diego, and some people would say, "Why the heck would you want to move?" It is beautiful here. I've lived in So Cal all my life. My husband is from Colorado originally, but he migrated here for work in the mid 80's. My older sisters have moved out of state, and after visiting many states in our US, we both really like the friendliness, beauty, and serenity of the smaller towns/cities of the south. CA is becoming so crowded, so expensive, that we just want a new life elsewhere. We have friends who just moved from Los Angeles to Waynesville for the same reason. We do like to go out, but we find fun wherever we go. If we want to attend a major concert, we can go get a hotel in Atlanta or Knoxville, for instance, if we need to, so I don't need EVERYTHING to exist in our "home town". We just would like to have enough "stuff" to do once in a while. The Jezebel Festival, jabogitlu, sounds like fun. Who knows, maybe we'll be there during that!
Keep the thread going, if you have more to share! I really, really appreciate everyone's efforts in giving their honest opinions! :-)
JB4plus6 - I do wish you all the best if you decide to come here. One thing I've found with this board is that anyone who posts a negative opinion gets challenged along the lines of - "you don't know what you're talking about / you must not be trying very hard / you must be the problem / who you associate with must be the problem / you didn't research enough / if you don't like it here, just leave!" to the extent that I've been accused of outright lying and making stuff up. I participate a bit on boards of cities in which I've previously lived, and I will say, IN MY OPINION, that this board comes across as more negative, less helpful and angrier than any others I've encountered. Yes, I researched, yes, I visited schools, yes, I read the boards here, yes, I am trying, and, yes, it's been rough.
Rangerred - it's great that there's a "group working on bringing a food co-op (how socialist) to downtown? The co-op would be only the second in the state." But that's not actually in existence, right? There are places where food co-ops are up and running and farmer's markets are more affordable than those here. Just Jump is a fun addition, but also the smallest trampoline park I've ever seen (and I have seen a few) that is often over-crowded and poorly staffed when it comes to birthday parties. Similarly, Wetlands Water Park and many local gymnastics gyms will seem quite small to anyone who is used to having bigger and better nearby. Plenty of towns have great bike trails, better schools, etc. Bottom line, I don't think this area offers much that can't be found elsewhere and for less money. But, again, no one wants to hear these kinds of opinions because it's seen as a personal attack.
The religious/conservative views can be an issue. My daughter, at the age of 10, was told that she was going to hell by a grown-woman handing out Jesus pamphlets at the Appalachian Fair. I'm not making this up. Attack me all you want, but keep my kids out of it and don't corner a 10 year old and ask if she's been "saved" and tell her she can't go to heaven if not. Poor kid was nearly in tears. It's one thing coming from other kids, but adults?! Not cool. Yes, this is a real thing that happened and hopefully most people don't encounter this, but please don't question my honesty.
The happiest people I know here have extended family in the Tri-cities. They are also people who have no kids or kids that are grown or in college. They have more personal ties, whereas a job transfer is what brought us here. I realize that my opinion may be VERY different than lots of people who love this place, but it is still valid and I've tried to post info that, while not always positive, might be useful to others. My family's difficulties may help others with their transition and I'm trying to give my honest opinion. But I do not need to defend myself or defend my opinion to those here who doubt my experiences. I hope everyone finds a great fit in a place that they love. I've not found that here for me and my kids. YMMV.
I don't think anyone here questions your experiences, but I think we do believe that your opinions may be colored by the fact that you are not here by your own choice. You have not been happy since you moved here for your husbands job, and in the constant comparison to the area you moved from the tri-cities falls short on every front. I am really very sorry to hear about what happened to your daughter but there are cranks everywhere, it's not exclusive to this city or region
I think people's perceptions of the area are very strongly influenced by whether they are here by choice or not. It's understandable that the harshest criticisms might come from people who feel trapped here, but it shouldn't be unexpected that others will try to point out the other side of the coin when those criticisms are made.
While I don't doubt the going to Hell story you have weird people everywhere, I would never pass judgement on an entire town based on the actions of a few.
Interesting the opening poster mentioned Colorado because on our last visit I commented that JC feels like a poor man's Boulder, CO. A mid sized college town surrounded by mountains with a bit of a young hippy feel to it. We loved seeing the owner's dog in the store when went in, the surrounding mountains that are not Rocky Mountain high but pretty damn big when compared to the Mid Atlantic. The music scene was way better than anticipated, I was worried it would have been a lot of bluegrass (not a fan) but it wasn't that way.
I have commented on this before but I was really surprised at the restaurants. I am originally from the Washington DC burbs and am used to a lot of good restaurants, I'm a big fan of ethnic spots. Knowing there woukd be limited options I was happy to find several very good ones.
JB4plus6 - I do wish you all the best if you decide to come here. One thing I've found with this board is that anyone who posts a negative opinion gets challenged along the lines of - "you don't know what you're talking about / you must not be trying very hard / you must be the problem / who you associate with must be the problem / you didn't research enough / if you don't like it here, just leave!" to the extent that I've been accused of outright lying and making stuff up. I participate a bit on boards of cities in which I've previously lived, and I will say, IN MY OPINION, that this board comes across as more negative, less helpful and angrier than any others I've encountered. Yes, I researched, yes, I visited schools, yes, I read the boards here, yes, I am trying, and, yes, it's been rough.
Rangerred - it's great that there's a "group working on bringing a food co-op (how socialist) to downtown? The co-op would be only the second in the state." But that's not actually in existence, right? There are places where food co-ops are up and running and farmer's markets are more affordable than those here. Just Jump is a fun addition, but also the smallest trampoline park I've ever seen (and I have seen a few) that is often over-crowded and poorly staffed when it comes to birthday parties. Similarly, Wetlands Water Park and many local gymnastics gyms will seem quite small to anyone who is used to having bigger and better nearby. Plenty of towns have great bike trails, better schools, etc. Bottom line, I don't think this area offers much that can't be found elsewhere and for less money. But, again, no one wants to hear these kinds of opinions because it's seen as a personal attack.
The religious/conservative views can be an issue. My daughter, at the age of 10, was told that she was going to hell by a grown-woman handing out Jesus pamphlets at the Appalachian Fair. I'm not making this up. Attack me all you want, but keep my kids out of it and don't corner a 10 year old and ask if she's been "saved" and tell her she can't go to heaven if not. Poor kid was nearly in tears. It's one thing coming from other kids, but adults?! Not cool. Yes, this is a real thing that happened and hopefully most people don't encounter this, but please don't question my honesty.
The happiest people I know here have extended family in the Tri-cities. They are also people who have no kids or kids that are grown or in college. They have more personal ties, whereas a job transfer is what brought us here. I realize that my opinion may be VERY different than lots of people who love this place, but it is still valid and I've tried to post info that, while not always positive, might be useful to others. My family's difficulties may help others with their transition and I'm trying to give my honest opinion. But I do not need to defend myself or defend my opinion to those here who doubt my experiences. I hope everyone finds a great fit in a place that they love. I've not found that here for me and my kids. YMMV.
All the best.
You came from the Phoenix area, if I remember correctly? I lived in Arizona as well for just over a year. However, we were in Sierra Vista/Ft. Huachuca area. I ADORED Arizona and our family did as well. We weren't there long enough to really put down a lot of roots, but I'm being begged by all of the kids to take a family vacation out there to visit next summer. We considered it as a retirement spot, but decided we wanted more water (lakes, rivers, closer to the ocean, etc.) than Arizona could ultimately offer. Despite really loving it, I was not a fan of Phoenix. Tucson wasn't bad, but Phoenix was always so much warmer, so rushed and just a bit too large for us. I could not have ever seen our family living there and being happy. We are not big city type people. Tucson was also just a little too large for us, despite the multitude of activities.
Where I'm going with this? We all have different needs. I honestly think you are a family that needs a big city. Even our activities that are similar to what you expect to have are "small". With that need, you have a big city attitude. You may not think you are showing it all the time, but people pick up on it. Having lived in many places, but grew up in the South, I need you to realize what people see when they hear your criticism. Smaller, rural southern areas are almost universally looked down upon by big city folk. They think we are quaint, sure, but they see us as simpleminded for not having enough "culture" or things to do. We feel like we often have to defend our way of life, prove we have intelligence and show the world we are not backwards. When you come on here and talk about how miserable you are, our first reaction is defensive. It's part of how we've had to be for so very many years. When we see you turn your nose up at what we have to offer as "small" and not acceptable, we see an uppity yankee type trying to belittle us again.
I am truly sorry your family is not acclimating very well to Eastern TN. It makes me sad that you hate it here so much, when I see my own kids thriving better than they have any place we've lived. I'm also very sorry we get so defensive with you. It's painful for us to feel looked down upon. I'm not a native here, but my roots grew quickly. I felt more at home here in Johnson City, than I did in my actual hometown where I lived almost 30 years. I am friends with many other transplants that feel the same. We even have friends that had to be transferred away to the Washington DC area and are doing as much as they can to find a way to move back here. We have the possibility of an opportunity to move to Italy in a few years. I've told my husband that I'm ok with that, if ONLY he promises that it will just be for a few years and we can come back here to fully retire.
I will try to do better to not bristle up when I see your criticisms, but understand that we will likely counter them still. I'll try to phrase them more as the other side of the coin, rather than an attack. I also ask too that you watch how you and your family interacts with locals? Can you see how little complaints you have might be causing them to get a little defensive toward you? You are turning your nose up at a thing they love and have deep attachment for.
Now as for the woman that told your daughter she was going to hell? I hope you stood up for your family toward that. If ANY adult had randomly confronted my kids at that age and made them upset, my mama-bear instincts would not have let me just walk by. It probably would have made the news, LOL. If you find that people are pushing religion on you too much, I personally recommend coming up with some inside family joke thing to start using. Talk to your kids beforehand and explain that you guys only use it when people are getting pushy about church, but use the Pastafarian religion or something else comical to try and "push" back or mention even just casually and laugh walking on by. Of course, don't let it devolve into making fun of someone for having religious views, but it can be effective. I have even done stuff like that to overly annoying evangelicals a couple of times. It's usually a quick way to shut them up. Another good line if some woman told my kid they were going to hell, would have been for me to ask my kids "Oooh, do you think they serve good cookies down there?" or "Yep - already got our rooms reserved" and just walk off.
I have no doubt your story is true. It makes me sick that someone would treat any child that way. If I had heard something like this happen I would feel an obligation as a Christian to set the nutcase straight and make sure you were no longer harassed. It's hard to explain this stuff to a 10 year old, and you shouldn't have to.
Keep in mind that there are 3 or 4 "churches" in the area that are really more cults. As an anecdote, my wife's grandmother (a believer for her entire life) was badgered in a Walmart by a couple of these people for 30 minutes. They were rude and relentless pushing a cult belief. The experience really upset her.
I'm one of the few people on the thread who is a native, and I don't see the pushy religiousness these days. Ten or fifteen years ago, I think it was a lot worse. Frankly I think a lot of people were doing better then and simply had the time and energy to be pushy. With the economy the way it is now, I think people are more concerned just trying to get through the day.
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