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Let me preface my post by saying that I realize everybody's opinion is a product of their experiences, but saying the following is "the real truth" seems a bit disingenuous.
I don't think I could disagree more with this point. I'm far from a Southerner by birth (born and raised in NM), but I have never been called a yankee, and I have never been chastised for being from another region of the country. I was called out by some friends when I pronounced Maryville phonetically (HUGE mistake ), but that was all in good fun. It seems to me that you've been meeting the wrong people, because honestly, when I moved here, the friends that I made were almost exclusively people who had lived here their entire lives. Based on everything I have seen, being Southern and being open-minded are not mutually exclusive concepts.
Additionally, while the University of Tennessee is certainly deeply rooted in the city of Knoxville, I don't think you automatically become a pariah if you didn't attend UT. My dad, who graduated from Mizzou, came to Knoxville with no connection to the university whatsoever, and now he lives and dies with the football and basketball teams just as much as his "pureblood" counterparts. Would life have been harder for him if he never became a UT fan? On Saturday afternoons in the fall, I'd say yes (), but I think people here can get along regardless of which school they pledge their allegiance to. Rooting for the Big Orange gives you an invisible bond with many thousands of others in the Knoxville area, but I really don't think outsiders are shunned.
Once again, I'm not trying to downplay your experiences, but some of the best friends my family has made in Knoxville have been the lifelong Knoxvillians. For instance, the week we moved into our house, my parents mentioned to me that our basement was a bit bare, and not very long afterwards, our next-door neighbors gave us a couch and a love seat to fill the space - a totally unprovoked, random act of kindness. If that's not open and inviting, I don't know what is! Those neighbors have since moved to another part of Knoxville, but we stay in touch to this day, over three years later.
I agree with you completely. Every single "outsider" with whom I am friends here in Knoxville absolutely loves it here, and they come from a little bit of everywhere: Maine, Minnesota, Iowa, New York, Alberta, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, California, the Philippines, Taiwan, Mexico, Madagascar, France, Italy, Russia, Togo, Liberia, and all over the South (and I've probably missed others). Without exception, none of them wants to leave.
I honestly don't understand people's complaints about the "unfriendliness" of the locals. I'm not saying that I don't believe the complaints, but I've never seen it nor have I heard about it from any of my above-mentioned friends.
I can understand complaining about the low wages, but then again the cost of living makes up for it. I paid $70k for a nicely updated home in an in-town neighborhood with precious little crime, where kids play in the streets and people leave their doors unlocked (I was gone for a month last summer and left my front door wide opened, but nothing was touched).
I've had many days where I felt blue and thought I had made a mistake. That's part of living in any new place.
Here's the thing about living in The South. The people are probably the initially friendliest people in the country and they are extremely easy to engage in a conversation. That doesn't mean you are going to be instant best friends. It could happen, but probably not. It's like that anywhere.
It also has a lot to do with chance. You move into a neighborhood and make lots of friends. You move into my neighborhood and the people are very nice but very old and tired. They really don't want to barbecue.
That happens anywhere.
I've met natives that were jerks and natives that were fabulously nice. I've met transplants that are the same.
Knoxville is just like everywhere else except you get to talk to the checkout guy or girl and the lady at the dry cleaners is super nice and people wave at you when you wave back.
Sure it's superficial but it makes the day oh, so very nice.
JMT, you once said that a couple of people in Mass. told you to go back to The South. Oh, that made me so mad. And I couldn't believe it, but I did because you said it happened. You ran into some real jerks.
It's the same thing here. I'm sure this person has not had great experiences. I've had some bad experiences, too.
JMT, I know that is hard for you to believe because you are such a fabulous Southern gentleman and have nice friends and family.
But jerks are everywhere.
I suggest that this person try meeting other people. I did, and it has made all the difference. And give people a chance to get to know you and you to know them.
Knoxville is a great place to live but sometimes we give it high expectations that it is impossible to meet.
Originally Posted by mbmouse I hate to be so blunt, but here it is: Yes, the population is majority white middle class
Having lived in Florida for the past 17 years and relocating to East TN in June....I have worked hard to raise my children to not show signs of prejudice and respect all for the Americans we are. They have witnessed it all in terms of Mixed Race Marriages and Mixed Familes. They have all kinds of Ethnic backgrounds attend their schools and have treated them no different. Color of skin did not determine my childrens friendships. Friendships have been made of plenty with color/friendships not being a factor.
My question is: Are these types of couples/familes accepted in your area?
I am sorry to be so blunt but I would like to prepare my children for what they may witness if it is different from the way they have been raised. They will treat everyone with no indifference and hope to be treated the same.
Wow. It is upsetting for me, who definitely plans a move to TN, to read so many posts about 'you're accepted here' or 'you are and always will be an outsider'. It makes you second guess your move long before it's finalized. There are too many other things to second guess - I'd rather not have to worry about if I'll be welcomed or arms-lengthed.
Instead of 'making the best of it' I plan to offer TN the best of me.
There is no second guessing for me. My family is really looking forward to moving up there. We are so excited and the people that we have spoken to have been the most helpful people I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with. I couldn't be more pleased with our decision.
I have yet to hear anyone really say anything negative about the state. Every state has its problems. Perhaps we should call those problems a matter of opinion. Anytime you have more than one person/family you have an issue of some sorts.
When we visited up there I loved the family roots that went very deep. I loved the people. I never once considered them to be uneducated. I accepted them as they were. Afterall, I wasn't passing out State Mandated tests for them to take. lol That is why I am proud to be American. We have a unique culture and we can learn so much from it. We don't have to visit China to experience Chinese Food or Sushi. We don't have to visit Mexico etc. We have it all right here. In addition, we have our own differences based on what part of the US you have lived or grew up in. Can you really get much better than that?
For someone not 100% familiar with Eastern Tennessee, it is awesome that we have this forum to learn more about the area before I move up there. However, it is what it is. It is opinions and you know what they say about "opinions", everyone has one!
I look forward to the new culture that we will experience and the lifetime of memories we will make. Is this the best decison for my family? Well, as long as we believe it will be it will! We hope to make many new friends and become a part of the community we settle in. Thanks to so many of you that has already begun and we haven't even gotten there yet!
My hat is off to all of you locals because you are the most welcome people a state has to offer. While you may be reserved to new people you still welcome them and give them the opportunity to prove that they are worthy of a friendship. That in my eyes has nothing to do with you being from Tennessee...lol...that is what I refer to as HUMAN NATURE!
Let me preface my post by saying that I realize everybody's opinion is a product of their experiences, but saying the following is "the real truth" seems a bit disingenuous.
I don't think I could disagree more with this point. I'm far from a Southerner by birth (born and raised in NM), but I have never been called a yankee, and I have never been chastised for being from another region of the country. I was called out by some friends when I pronounced Maryville phonetically (HUGE mistake ), but that was all in good fun. It seems to me that you've been meeting the wrong people, because honestly, when I moved here, the friends that I made were almost exclusively people who had lived here their entire lives. Based on everything I have seen, being Southern and being open-minded are not mutually exclusive concepts.
Additionally, while the University of Tennessee is certainly deeply rooted in the city of Knoxville, I don't think you automatically become a pariah if you didn't attend UT. My dad, who graduated from Mizzou, came to Knoxville with no connection to the university whatsoever, and now he lives and dies with the football and basketball teams just as much as his "pureblood" counterparts. Would life have been harder for him if he never became a UT fan? On Saturday afternoons in the fall, I'd say yes (), but I think people here can get along regardless of which school they pledge their allegiance to. Rooting for the Big Orange gives you an invisible bond with many thousands of others in the Knoxville area, but I really don't think outsiders are shunned.
Once again, I'm not trying to downplay your experiences, but some of the best friends my family has made in Knoxville have been the lifelong Knoxvillians. For instance, the week we moved into our house, my parents mentioned to me that our basement was a bit bare, and not very long afterwards, our next-door neighbors gave us a couch and a love seat to fill the space - a totally unprovoked, random act of kindness. If that's not open and inviting, I don't know what is! Those neighbors have since moved to another part of Knoxville, but we stay in touch to this day, over three years later.
i have to agree w/ the original post re: knoxville. in the last three years, i have listened to 15 to 20 individuals tell me how distasteful the knoxville community is w/ regard to "outsiders". this perception of the area goes beyond the university of tn and its sports programs. i grew up hearing about the university of tn...thinking it was one of the leading universities in the nation. w/in the last several years, to my dismay, i learned how little others really think of the university. literally, i have friends in several states who absolutely hate the area and the university because they say that the people are so hateful and overbearing when they discuss the region. according to them, those who live in the community, by and large, have a warpped and distorted view of where the community as a whole places in the state and nation. they see the most in the area are backward, redneck, and dull-thinking mountaineers. according to them, the area has no real diversity socially or politically---and, as they constantly point out, this is apparently shown to others as utk and its fan base visit other venues in sports competition. my friends are very educated, live in various large urban areas, and are generally high to extremely high income earners...some are old money. degrees are held in medicine, business, law, denistry, education, communication technology, etc. their degrees come from utk, u of ky, mit, u of memphis, uab, fla st u, wake forest, harvard, yale, macon rand, u of the south, u of indiana, rutgers, rice, loyola, and others. i do not necessarily agree that their are few educated people in the region; however, it seems the community could do a better job of carrying on a respectable image.
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), but that was all in good fun. It seems to me that you've been meeting the wrong people, because honestly, when I moved here, the friends that I made were almost exclusively people who had lived here their entire lives. Based on everything I have seen, being Southern and being open-minded are not mutually exclusive concepts.
