We are finally going to relocate to Tennessee! Yea... (Knoxville: transplants, for sale)

[foxysr]

We started to pack up and move to Sevierville back in 2012 but could not get our house sold, so we leased it for a year ( huge mistake) and spent 11 months in Branson Mo. due to family issues. We took the house back over in June 2013 and and are finally finishing with all the repairs and we had to make.

Now we are selling and leaving for good to the Smoky mountains. I was raised in the Hudson valley and parts of Sullivan county and love, love love, the mountains!

I also lived in Tennessee for a few years while hubby was in service and fell in love with the people. I tend to believe I was actually born a southerner but accidentally landed in the North!

I love everything about the south, the people, the food, the simple heartfelt ways.... I truly believe you should be hospitable and have gotten some crazy looks because I always left fresh coffee and pie for the mailman in the winter, so he could take a break from the bad weather and get warm. You know he always was kind enough to make sure my door was locked when he left.

We have been stuck in Missouri far longer than we wanted and believe me when I tell you they are NOT part of the south!
I cannot wait to get back home to the mountains and just enjoy our retirement and all the wonderful blessings that the Smoky mountains bring. ( although we do have a little business now that we love and we are moving it as well).

Each and every time I have been in Tennessee I have never, ever met anyone who was rude, crude or unwelcoming, and I LOVE talking to strangers in a store!
With all of that being said, I am Italian and if I want New York Pizza I will make my own and share it with the neighbors! If I don't want N Y pizza I will go to a restaurant and enjoy their own twist or version of pizza, and you know what? I just might like it! Currently looking for a house and will be there the end of May to spend a few days looking in person. Hope to be moved by fall!
If the house does not sell, we will take a loss if neccesary. I am willing to pay to get out of the midwest and back to the land of the living! We are both in our late sixties and want to enjoy what's left of our lives.

[weisgarber1]

Originally Posted by foxysr

We have been stuck in Missouri far longer than we wanted and believe me when I tell you they are NOT part of the south!

Actually, southern Missouri is pretty southern in culture, imho, having been there, as well as having met people from there while in the service.

[DubbleT]

Congratulations! and I'm finally going to break down and ask, what exactly is NY style pizza?
(sorry but I've always wondered how it's different from other pizza)

[hiknapster]

Knoxville has transplants, many of them from New York and New Jersey.

In Search of True New York Pizza

[foxysr]

N Y Style pizza is a very very thin crust and lots of oil on the crust before adding the sauce or toppings. Also the water is from the mountains and that makes a delicious crust. That being said I am sure the water in the smoky mountains is great also, so I can only imagine the pizza is delicious as well.

Weisgarber1 southern Missouri has changed so much in the past ten years you would be amazed! When we first landed in Whiteman AFB I thought it was beautiful, but they have blasted the hills and brought in many many strip malls in the name of making money. Even Branson now exists soley for making money, especially since the big tornado a couple of years ago took half the town out. All the big stars have left and to make up for this deficit they implimented a tourist tax of 10% which all the residents must pay each and every time they spend any money on utilities, groceries, gas, retail, restaurants anything! Consequently many people have left Branson and there are hundreds of homes for sale there. The lake of the Ozarks is suffering from the big mortgage bubble breaking and it now boasts drug dealers and illicit gambling as it's biggest commodity. When you drive past the strip you see business after business closed and boarded up. The new highway came through but a little too much a little too late. You can buy a condo there for a song. Missouri is still one of the few states which gives welfare away freely so you have a deficit in work force and believe me I know we hired people and almost went broke! The work ethics just are not there.When I first came to Missouri I thought, well it was very pretty and not bad at all, but now the people have gotten set in their ways and they do not want anything new, they would rather go hunt or fish than progress and it shows all over the state. There is nothing wrong with a laid back lifestyle but not at the expense of your children and future generations. I could tell you so many stories about the education in Missouri it would scare you. I lived in Tennessee back in the 60's and 70's and it was amazing even then. I travel extensively because I am an author and I still love Tennessee. I am a Christian and I am also patriotic, I love God and my country and I refuse to continue to live in an area that will only use those two principles to make money without believing in either one. I want to be where I will not be ridiculed for my beliefs. I will not force them on others but I sure don't want someone telling me I cannot bow my head in grace before I eat in a restaurant either.

[weisgarber1]

Originally Posted by foxysr

Even Branson now exists soley for making money, especially since the big tornado a couple of years ago took half the town out. All the big stars have left and to make up for this deficit they implimented a tourist tax of 10% which all the residents must pay each and every time they spend any money on utilities, groceries, gas, retail, restaurants anything! Consequently many people have left Branson and there are hundreds of homes for sale there. The lake of the Ozarks is suffering from the big mortgage bubble breaking and it now boasts drug dealers and illicit gambling as it's biggest commodity. When you drive past the strip you see business after business closed and boarded up. The new highway came through but a little too much a little too late. You can buy a condo there for a song.

I was in Branson once, and even then I wondered what all the hype, so to speak, was all about. It basically was/is in the middle of nowhere with no real population center close by. Apparently, "Box Car Willie" and a few others saw something in the area they could capitalize on, which they did for several years. I wasn't overly impressed with Branson, even then.

[foxysr]

We thought " them thar hills sure were purty" in Branson. That is until we ran into a DEA agent who happened to be eating at the Grand Buffet when we were and he enlightened us to Missouri being the meth capital of the WORLD, not just country. That sure explained a lot about the funny smell in so many houses we had looked at. If you ever get a chance watch the movie "Winters Bones" It is a true story about southern Missouri and this one particular family. Southern Missouri is also where the movie "Deliverence " was filmed and there are rumors that it is also based on the writers previous experience in Missouri.
I worked for the department of Mental Health and I can tell you some first hand stories about Missouri that you would just NOT believe. The Christians in southern Missouri are Jim Baker who just built another so called christian village and the wonderful Joyce Meyer ministries who managed to provide homes jobs cars and Jet planes for her entire family and then there is the faith life church who just spent millions to buy a Sarasota Florida ranch. This is what I mean when I say Missouri makes Christianity a multi million dollar industry.

[jbuck]

Originally Posted by foxysr

Each and every time I have been in Tennessee I have never, ever met anyone who was rude, crude or unwelcoming, and I LOVE talking to strangers in a store!

Hi FoxySr. I also grew up in the Hudson Valley, spent many years in South Florida before finally selling our property there (housing is recovering). We moved to Knoxville, 37938 and love it here. We agree with you - that we never have met anyone who was rude or not kind. Everyone has been nice to us every step of the way. Examples: The moving company let us keep the truck for a few extra days in Knoxville because of the snow storm the day we arrived. We needed some repairs on the new home and people called us back within an hour or two - even after business hours and at night. The people helping us set up our utilities were nothing but great. Our son goes to the same school as the son of one of the ladies at the utility and offered to introduce him so he would know someone at school. Getting a drivers license took minutes and the people who helped us were pleasant. Our realtor showed my wife EVERY property for sale in our price range in the area we were interested in. People are friendly everywhere and strike up conversation just about anywhere, especially in stores. Everyone in our neighborhood waves when they drive by. I could go on and on. But, we really love Eastern TN. It is a lot different than South Florida.

[yarddawg]

Originally Posted by foxysr

We thought " them thar hills sure were purty" in Branson. That is until we ran into a DEA agent who happened to be eating at the Grand Buffet when we were and he enlightened us to Missouri being the meth capital of the WORLD, not just country. That sure explained a lot about the funny smell in so many houses we had looked at....

Missouri does have quite the meth problem.
Meth lab incidents in Missouri in 2012: 1825, #1 in the nation.
Meth lab incidents in Tennessee in 2012: 1585, #2 in the nation.

DEA.gov / Methamphetamine Lab Incidents

[flatlander52]

"Southern Missouri is also where the movie "Deliverence " was filmed and there are rumors that it is also based on the writers previous experience in Missouri."