Looking For Diversity (Memphis, Knoxville, Franklin: safe area, high school, university)

[robnmrcy]

I am a white woman married to a black man. We have bi-racial children. We are considering moving to TN in the future. Any suggestions on a small town near a big city that is diverse? Our children are small so we would like a town with reputable schools. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[yesdon]

I graduated from The University of Tennesse in Knoxville. I liked it there, however, Knoxville is a bigger city, not a real small town.
Did you move yet?

I am planning on moving to the mountains somewhere in East Tennessee, but I don't know exactly where I will land.


Don Johnson

[TNLove]

Originally Posted by robnmrcy

I am a white woman married to a black man. We have bi-racial children. We are considering moving to TN in the future. Any suggestions on a small town near a big city that is diverse? Our children are small so we would like a town with reputable schools. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

So, diversity has come to mean "anything non-White?" What exactly do you mean by "diverse?" One that is predominately Black?

Truthfully, any area in TN which has a predominantly Black population is dangerous with a lot of crime. You can live in Williamson outside of Nashville which contains Brentwood and Franklin. Both are really nice areas with great schools. With regards to Franklin, the "diverse" area of town (it's just one neighborhood) is where pizza man do not deliver after dark, (trust me I had a friend that tried to order).

If you have enough money, I would go to Franklin or Brentwood. Or Belle Meede (which is part of Nashville and VERY wealthy).

I would actually go to a school which is predominantly White, such as the ones in Brentwood or Franklin. Brentwood actually has a magnet program where students can choose to go to Martin Luther King High School in Nashville (if diversity=non-white, that's your school); however, your children are going to much more likely experience blatant racism for being bi-racial.

Anyway, I'll recommend Williamson again. It's a very safe area and very nice. The majority of the population comes from out of the school (ie: No Rednecks) so you shouldn't have any problems.

Hope this helps.

[Joe P]

Originally Posted by robnmrcy

I am a white woman married to a black man. We have bi-racial children. We are considering moving to TN in the future. Any suggestions on a small town near a big city that is diverse? Our children are small so we would like a town with reputable schools. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I think the closer to the bigger cities the better as situations such as yours are more readily accepted. I expect that you'd be welcomed in Knoxville but here in the Tri-City area you'd probably be uncomfortable, and forget about places like Mountain City or Greenville.

Joe

[NYFLTN]

TNLOVE, I think she meant a good mix of different races, black, white, yellow, brown, etc. diverse would not mean non-white, or non-black.
Anyway to find that type of info goto the Census website, that will tell you all you would want to know about the demographics of a city, town, etc.

[robnmrcy]

Can anyone tell me about Oakridge or Martin? Do these towns have a mixture of different races? If not, can you think of any small town that would be good to raise my bi-racial children?

[tokyopapa]

Anywhere around Memphis is going to be accepting of Black/White mixed-people, as about 70% of the population is of African descent. Germantown is predominantly White, but a very nice suburb of Memphis, if that is for you. I would not advise actually living IN Memphis city limits, however. It's not exactly known as one of the safest places on Earth. As far as East Tennessee, goes, you may as well forget it because you will have trouble fitting in. As Joe P inferred, the Appalchain region of Tennessee is not famous for being racially accepting.

[TNgramaw]

Hope I'm not wrong about this, but I don't think it will be as hard as you might expect. Not to find already existing diversity necessarily, but to find a place where you and your family can live peacefully and be accepted for who you are. I grew up in Roan Mountain, a tiny village in East Tennessee. We only had two black families (two branches of one family, to be exact), and I'd be glad to share with you how that went if you'd like to exchange emails. Or I can do it via postings as time & energy permit. Would also be glad to put you in touch with my 20-years-younger sister whose experiences probably are more relevant to your life situation at present.

Feel free to contact me. Have opted to allow email contact from Forum members.

In any event, God's blessings to you and your family.

[NewAdventure]

Good Luck with your move. Coming from the Tampa Bay area their is alot of diversity. It is hard to imagine that in this day and age any form of racism still exists. Racism is ignorant ~period.

[NYman11217]

The farther West in TN you go the less Stratified. I heard Preachers in Eastern TN, compare mixed marriage to a dog and a cat getting together.
Frankly, its one reason I moved back North. Sorry, give me frozen pipes and high taxes.