Looking for an area more conservative than Cookeville

[usagisan]

Originally Posted by vivelafrance

It sounds like you need to move to the western wilderness in a sparsely populated state like Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming.

Originally Posted by vivelafrance

It sounds like you need to move to the western wilderness in a sparsely populated state like Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming.

Actually I agree, I am an outdoors and have been out there several times and loved it. The problem is the wife has a severe from of Raynaud's Syndrome, hence the warmer climate. We still wanted as close to 4 seasons as we could get within her temperance zone. We thought about snowbirding but we have a desire to start another business that involves real estate, so we really would be settling in one place. All and all TN seemed like a good fit. That and she is a Sunday school teacher so the whole bible belt thing held an appeal.

And while that last comment may sound confusing the context is while we believe in individual responsibility we also believe in personal acts of charity; it is coerced charity we have an issue with and the expectations that often stem from it.

[creeksitter]

Cleveland TN is HQ of the Church of God and thus conservative in the religious sense. I have assumed in the political and economic sense as well. But they may take the Christian teaching of charity and apply it to the public sphere as well. I don't know. It's just someplace you could investigate.

we have a desire to start another business that involves real estate

I'm kind of curious - where did you find health insurance since you ran your own business?

[JMT]

Originally Posted by creeksitter

Cleveland TN is HQ of the Church of God and thus conservative in the religious sense. I have assumed in the political and economic sense as well. But they may take the Christian teaching of charity and apply it to the public sphere as well. I don't know. It's just someplace you could investigate.

Cleveland must be too progressive, too, as it gives city tax dollars to a host of non-profits and charities:

Chamber of Commerce
Boys and Girls Club
Courts Community Service
Keep America Beautiful
MainStreet Program
Fort Hill Cemetery
Public Library
Emergency Management Agency
Veterans Affairs Office
Community Services Agency
Developmental Services Agency
Tennessee Vocational Training Center
United Way
Kiwanis Flag Program

And most of these are jointly funded with Bradley County.

I really think the OP is going to have to give up on living in Tennessee since I'm willing to bet every single Tennessee county helps fund various non-profits and charities. So even if a particular city doesn't, the county most likely does.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by JMT

I really think the OP is going to have to give up on living in Tennessee since I'm willing to bet every single Tennessee county helps fund various non-profits and charities. So even if a particular city doesn't, the county most likely does.

That, or just accept the fact that a small portion of their tax dollars will support some form of non-profit or charity. To be honest, a good number of these charities and non-profits have a very local impact, and some provide services that the cities and counties would otherwise be responsible for. I believe these organizations are typically better run or more efficient than the government...so while you might not be crazy about the idea of government giving taxpayer money to private organizations, it's better than the government likely wasting more money undertaking the same tasks themselves.

I think Cookeville is a great town, and it seems that most residents that live there enjoy it. OP, you might or might not agree...but for the size town, it offers a lot.



Another thing that should be noted is that many small towns in Tennessee aren't faring that well. Especially those (not including suburbs of major cities) with under 20,000 people. Cookeville (which has over 30,000 people) is one of the strongest small(ish) towns in Tennessee, which is in no small part due to the presence of Tennessee Technological University. Another small town, Tullahoma (population of about 18,000) is doing well, too...a lot of that because of a major Air Force research installation (AEDC) and the UT Space Institute...there is an educated populace there as well. Both are conservative places. There might be more conservative small towns, but you'll find that they are very socially conservative as well. I'm guessing the main thing you are seeking is fiscal conservatism?

[usagisan]

I'm kind of curious - where did you find health insurance since you ran your own business?

I am presently in the hellhole known as Illinois, so I have Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and Prudential Dental. The two together are about 1340 a month presently and cover 3 people. Co-pays for medical are 20 visit, 20 prescriptions and 100 emergency room.

I have no complaints on the insurance except the typical ones: if you actually develop a long term care issue you can be priced out of the policy (a the risk goes up because it is not a group policy) and the lifetime cap is way too low. So in essence I really do not have insurance per sey, I have insurance only to the policy limit, which is really not adequate for long term manageable diseases.

Bu the reality is, insurance means to spread the risk and I am a risk pool of three, so there is not much risk to spread around. Hence the many advantages of group policies.