How to LIVE in Tennessee?! (Memphis, Knoxville: rental market, homes, job)

[a84c72]

We are in Michigan and this place is in a downward spiral. My husband has recently lost his job after 15 years (cutting the higher salaries, hiring the new and cheaper).

We are just sick and tired of it here and are considering relocating to TN or NC.

I PREFER Tennessee for various reasons, but am concerned about a few things. Primarily, I am concerned about the salaries I am seeing versus the cost of living! I was always under the impression that it was "cheaper" to live in Tennessee and from a PURCHASING your own home, that appears to be the case (homes are cheaper there than in Michigan), but we would have to rent at least for awhile before we become established.

And RENT I see seems to range from 900 on up to be out of the ghetto areas, be in a decent school district, and not have to commute an obnoxious distance. In Michigan, it's comparable, but the decent jobs have the wages to go along with the cost of living.

I saw a job with the State of TN that only paid $20K/year. Jobs with the State of MI start, as a whole, AT LEAST at 30K/yr so I am just beside myself. Even jobs that require degrees and X years of experience pay maybe 12-13/hr!

If housing coincided with wages, it would be understandable, so I was wondering how people live in TN on these lower wages? Am I missing something? This is a state I REALLY want to move to, but honestly, I'm a little hesitant.

I read the unemployment is VERY low (4% lower than MI and even NC!). Is it pretty easy to land a job in TN? And I do believe I read TN does offer open enrollment for school (provided the school has openings?).

Any insight on all of this would be greatly appreciated!!

[Spikett]

While TN is not a big state compared to California, it' not Delaware either. My point being that your comments about rent, etc, are going to vary by city/town, etc. So will salaries to some point - for example teachers are paid more in Nashville than in rural counties. Jobs with the state (any state it seems) are hard to get right now because of all of the budget cuts. There are private sector jobs - some good, some mediocre, some bad. It is true that the salaries are generally lower in TN and housing costs are also lower. Right now the rental market is very tight in Nashville which has driven prices up. I can' speak for other areas of the state.

[DubbleT]

Originally Posted by a84c72

And I do believe I read TN does offer open enrollment for school (provided the school has openings?).

Not sure exactly what you mean by this, but in Memphis for example there is open enrollment between schools in a district, but not across districts.
When my kids were in HS 5 yrs ago children that lived in the county district that wanted to attend any of the city district schools had to pay a fee of several hundred dollars a semester.

[Memphis1979]

I lived for 4 years in Michigan. I can tell you after living in various parts of the state, other then the detroit metro area, most places from Tennessee aren't that different, except for winter.

Fuze cost of living I've found in any state I've lived balances out one way or another.

I wouldn't move anywhere without a job first. Tennessee is a small government state, so they pay less for state government jobs. Michigan, again especially around detroit, is a big liberal area, so they pay more there.

When I move, I go in this order.

1. Job
2. Schools
3. Climate
4. What is there for me to do?

I can always pile in a car and drive for 4 he's and get to lots of things.

[Serious Conversation]

People wanting to move to TN often fail to realize that TN is still mostly a poor state with poor wages. While your taxes are likely to decrease substantially, no move is worth taking a ~50% pay cut over, like was quoted in the OP

The places outsiders most often move to are Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Nashville. Any sort of metro amenities and services are scarce outside of these areas (many people seem to not consider Memphis). The job market in TN is still very bad, and while the unemployment rate may not look as bad as other places, the economy of TN is not particularly diverse, and jobs are concentrated in certain fields. Pay is lower than most other states and you'll need to just verify for yourself if the pay vs. COL makes sense

[hiknapster]

Lasning, Michigan, where the OP lives, has an unemployment rate of 9.7. By comparison, Knox County's rate is 5.7. Those are December 2012 figures.


As others have stated, the state is pretty large and different costs of living, unemployment rates exist. As Memphis1979 said, government jobs and their pay rate can be very different compared to up north.

[Memphis1979]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Lasning, Michigan, where the OP lives, has an unemployment rate of 9.7. By comparison, Knox County's rate is 5.7. Those are December 2012 figures.


As others have stated, the state is pretty large and different costs of living, unemployment rates exist. As Memphis1979 said, government jobs and their pay rate can be very different compared to up north.

The best thing about leaving Michigan is losing the state income tax. But if you were making 30K a year up there, its likely you weren't paying anything into the state income tax much anyway.

There are several smaller cities, like Charlotte, MI that have a low cost of living compared to many cities in Tennessee. Its all about where you live. As I said previously, find a job first, that should dictate where you live in the state.

[brentwoodgirl]

Pretty much all of my neighbors are from MI or OH. We are the only Southerners on our street. When we moved in, there were 5 families from Michigan. During football season it's all MI and Ohio State flags, not one UT flag. I agree that you should definitely locate a job with a comparable salary before moving. You could look at federal jobs if you can't find a comparable state job.

[ahope1980]

What part of TN are you looking to move to and what type of jobs are you looking for? I love Nashville but the salaries are lower. It would depend on your field.

[NY Annie]

Rents around here don't even go as high as $900/mo. For a house!