What Do You Need To See In Photos To Help With Relocation Decision Process? (Oak Ridge: homes, neighborhoods)

[LauraC]

Took some pics of Oak Ridge when I moved here to show my friends I live in suburbia. When I visited last Fall I had a tendency to take "nature type" photos and I think they got the wrong impression that Oak Ridge was rural (just a lot of trees, lakes, mountains). So, I took some photos recently to show them, we have a lot of the familiar stores/restaurants/type roads in Oak Ridge that they have in their towns, we just have prettier surrounding scenery near some of those places.

What I want to ask people who are thinking of moving to Tennessee, when you are considering a town/city to settle in, what do you need/want to see in photos to help you with the elimination process from afar?

For example, do you want to see photos of the schools? Hospitals? Stores? Recreation areas? People? Colleges? Office buildings? Neighborhood streets? Restaurants? Places of Worship? Main roads? Highways? Buildings? Town or State Parks? Malls? Festivals or other town events? Other? I figure, the tourist publications and people's vacation photos cover the pretty stuff that make you go "aaahhh" but they might not be the kind of photos that help you to eliminate prospective relocation towns to visit.

[Father John]

Downtown is nice - is it peaceful or heavy traffic?

Pictures from a bit of a distance are nice, too - do that here in Phoenix and the brown cloud is obvious...

I actually use Google Earth to get an idea of elevation, buildings, roads, trees, bodies of water, etc. It is the best way to go and it is free.

[CAtoGA]

What do I want to see in pictures....hmmm...well, you're right about the touristy stuff and peoples vacation photos. We all go ahhh over pictures of the mountains, lakes, rivers, etc. I want to see what the neighborhoods look like, the areas around the schools, the main roads, are there sidewalks and street lights in the more rural neighborhoods. How crowded are the roads, especially downtown at rush hour, are there "corporate" style buildings downtown or are the businesses in more down to earth buildings, how clean is the city kept, is there garbage on the sides of the roads and highways, are the grassy areas around the city and highways kept trimmed. I'd like to know the layout of the downtown area if possible. I know there's more that I'd like to see, but my mind just won't give them up.

[bbkaren]

When we took our trip down in May, my husband drove and I just clicked and clicked out the window. I know there are a million boring pictures (posted here), but I felt they might be useful to someone considering that particular community.

For me, the most informative pictures are the everyday ones. They're the photos that will show someone if the streets are littered, street lights, etc. If the downtown area is rundown or thriving.

Click, click, click. Driving into and through town. Through neighborhoods. Off the beaten track. On the beaten track. Interesting areas, and boring ones.

I didn't take many touristy photos since I figured that's not what would help someone decide about living in a community, ya know?

For me the most helpful are just passing through pictures. The scenes I'd encounter day in, and day out in that particular community!

[hiknapster]

bbkaren: You took GREAT photos! they showed what the area really looked like.

[Firefighterdon]

My wife & I probably don't fit the normal profile of people looking to move to TN, but then again maybe we do. We just returned from 10 days of vacationing and looking at some property and homes. We really didn't take any pictures. We're looking for something in the country and within a half hour's drive or so from grocery shopping, etc. Therefore, most all of what we saw from Jamestown to Rogersville fits the bill. The larger towns are out of the running as far as we are concerned. And forget developments.

As far as pictures of what we'd like to see, I guess I'd say some pictures of the area but mostly of the downtowns that are in the area. Traffic, etc. is a more of a concern to us that schools since we are going to be retired. Pictures that would complement the "small town" atmosphere that we are looking for would be best if that makes any sense. I know I've looked at the pictures taken by mbmouse and they are just beautiful and I think depict the entire northern part of TN as far as scenery.

[LauraC]

I was thinking that the scenic photos, while exciting me as the photographer, were not the kind of photos, relocation decision makers really needed.

Before I moved to Tenessee or visited, I wanted to know what the traffic looked like, what the parking was like, what the stores looked like, what the people (fancy-schmantzy or regular folks) looked like and what the neighborhoods looked like and while I observed all of those things when I visited, I didn't take any photos of that mundane stuff. I even took a photo of the Methodist Church (I am not a Methodist) because I thought the building was pretty set on pretty property.

Maybe, we can do better for you.

[bbkaren]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

bbkaren: You took GREAT photos! they showed what the area really looked like.

Awww, shucks! Thanks...

[jguillot]

For example, do you want to see photos of the schools? Hospitals? Stores? Recreation areas? People? Colleges? Office buildings? Neighborhood streets? Restaurants? Places of Worship? Main roads? Highways? Buildings? Town or State Parks? Malls? Festivals or other town events? Other?

Yes, all of the above. Pictures of this type will be the most help for people who are considering your area.

[harry chickpea]

Still photos don't provide as much information as video. When I visit an area, I like to have DW take video from the passenger seat while I drive the main roads. It not only shows the buildings in relation to each other, but the traffic and other bits of life that you might otherwise miss.

The other huge help is USA photomaps, a shareware program that allows you to put the terraserver images into a scrollable and zoomable topographic map and air photo series. After studying the topo maps, I've found that I can have a better sense of the land than some of the area natives.