Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've been to Jackson one time for business, and that was back around 1998. It looked like a pleasant place to live. I'd appreciate thoughts from people who know the area today about what its like as a place to raise a family. My wife and I are college educated professionals who tend to be very conservative. We'd be looking for a good private Christian school for our 3 kids (that goes through high school). This would be more of a lifestyle move than anything else. We had kids late in our marriage and therefore are older and more comfortable than many parents of 2nd & 3rd grade kids. We would also look for a Church of Christ with plenty of families with school-age kids. Basically, we're looking for Andy, Opie and Aunt Bea.
I have no idea about the schools, but I know there are several private Christian ones. We moved here for retirement and found just what you are looking for - conservate thinking. Sadly not all who are conservatives fall into the Mayberry category in behavior. What is in the Bible is good for throwing at others but not for walking the walk. So while you may find and like what you are looking for, it is the one aspect we are no happy with. But luckily we are not raising childen here.
We are south of Jackson, but I have made friends there through animal rescue. There's a town in Chester County, just south of Jackson - Henderson which is based around a church and college. The college determines pretty much everything that goes on there - even to keeping condoms hidden behind counters in pharmacies. It IS the 21st century everywhere else. And that sounds like just what you are looking for. The students (adults, mind you) at the college are not permitted to hold hands and worse, are referred to as "our children".
I have a friend local to me - much younger - whose high school daughters are only permitted to date with a chaperone.
Having said all that, I think Jackson is a nice place, albeit a small southern town. It isn't what we were looking for when we bought our retirement home, but it has a lot of positives. I've written quite a bit on this forum about it being a good place - for families as well as retirees. You might want to check out what I've written with a different slant, since I was specifically responding to what you are looking for and not in general.
I've been to Jackson one time for business, and that was back around 1998. It looked like a pleasant place to live. I'd appreciate thoughts from people who know the area today about what its like as a place to raise a family. My wife and I are college educated professionals who tend to be very conservative. We'd be looking for a good private Christian school for our 3 kids (that goes through high school). This would be more of a lifestyle move than anything else. We had kids late in our marriage and therefore are older and more comfortable than many parents of 2nd & 3rd grade kids. We would also look for a Church of Christ with plenty of families with school-age kids. Basically, we're looking for Andy, Opie and Aunt Bea.
Does the Jackson area fit that description today?
You can't swing a cat in rural Tennessee without hitting a conservative town with a private Christian school and a Church of Christ. So what you've described is available just about anywhere. Is there any reason in particular why you're zeroing in on Jackson? Is it because it's the only place in Tennessee you've visited?
I know there are some people who like Jackson ok, but you should know that it does not have a very good reputation for things like crime and natural beauty. But if things like that don't bother you, then Jackson is probably as good a place as any. But I wouldn't call it Mayberry by any stretch of the imagination.
---
its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
You can't swing a cat in rural Tennessee without hitting a conservative town with a private Christian school and a Church of Christ. So what you've described is available just about anywhere. Is there any reason in particular why you're zeroing in on Jackson? Is it because it's the only place in Tennessee you've visited?
I know there are some people who like Jackson ok, but you should know that it does not have a very good reputation for things like crime and natural beauty. But if things like that don't bother you, then Jackson is probably as good a place as any. But I wouldn't call it Mayberry by any stretch of the imagination.
I have not spent a lot of time in Tennessee, but I have been through Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Johnson City, Jackson and Henderson. I have now heard more than once that Jackson has more crime than you would expect for a smaller town like that. I wonder why that would be.
In any case, I'm open to suggestions if anybody can suggest a more Mayberry-like alternative to consider.
The only place in Tennessee that I would rule out at this point is Memphis. I know some of the eastern suburbs are pretty nice, but its not at all what we're looking for.
We are south of Jackson, but I have made friends there through animal rescue. There's a town in Chester County, just south of Jackson - Henderson which is based around a church and college. The college determines pretty much everything that goes on there - even to keeping condoms hidden behind counters in pharmacies. It IS the 21st century everywhere else. And that sounds like just what you are looking for. The students (adults, mind you) at the college are not permitted to hold hands and worse, are referred to as "our children".
We drove through Henderson about a month ago and saw the Freed Hardeman campus. We know a few people who went there for college. I was not super impressed with the town. At about 6,000 people (one-tenth the size of Jackson), its probably TOO small for us. BTW, I have heard that some of the full time residents are not always that nice to the college kids. Is that true?
I have not spent a lot of time in Tennessee, but I have been through Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Johnson City, Jackson and Henderson. I have now heard more than once that Jackson has more crime than you would expect for a smaller town like that. I wonder why that would be.
In any case, I'm open to suggestions if anybody can suggest a more Mayberry-like alternative to consider.
The only place in Tennessee that I would rule out at this point is Memphis. I know some of the eastern suburbs are pretty nice, but its not at all what we're looking for.
In my opinion, any town the size of Jackson isn't going to be a "Mayberry", but maybe I have a different idea of what that means than most people.
The crime in Jackson is localized, like most other places really. The really nice parts of Jackson are just as safe as anywhere else.
We drove through Henderson about a month ago and saw the Freed Hardeman campus. We know a few people who went there for college. I was not super impressed with the town. At about 6,000 people (one-tenth the size of Jackson), its probably TOO small for us. BTW, I have heard that some of the full time residents are not always that nice to the college kids. Is that true?
I am not a fan of Henderson - at all. The college has way too much influence over what happens there and it's so 18th century in its views. If I were a full-time resident of Henderson, I'd be unhappy with the amount of sway that F-H exerts on the town - it's ALL about F-H and its "children" - even to what businesses the children are permitted to patronize!
I don't agree with the high crime description for Jackson. Sure, there are areas with high crime - it IS a city and every city in the world has pockets. Would I leave my car in the driveway with the keys in it? Nope; but the places where my friends live it's safe to let kids walk to the neighbors' homes without a chaperone.
You won't find many Mayberryesque places any more. You could check into McNairy County (where we live) but you already said you think Henderson is too small. For the most part, it's still agri-based and neighbors check on you. But then, some parts are way too Mayberry for me - which it sounds like it's what you want. You could check out Guys and Michie and the outskirts of Selmer. Then again, maybe in-town is what you want and you might want to look at Adamsville and Selmer. Michie and Guys both have small "town centers" although my northeastern mind still considers them just a crossroads in the wilderness. Friends who live in those towns wouldn't live anywhere else. The big problem with McNairy County or any of the areas outside of Jackson is that you'd be driving your kids to private school in Jackson or homeschooling -- which is very common around here.
I've heard both good and bad about Three-Way - which is just to the north of Jackson but too close to I-40 for me. I haven't spent a lot of time in Hardeman County, but the county seat--Bolivar-- is a quaint little town and the people I've met, mostly in animal rescue, are quite nice and friendly.
If you think Henderson is too small, then what is your description of Mayberry?! Maybe you need to pull up some old episodes of Mayberry, RFD. It was a town of about 50 people where Opie walked BAREFOOT to the fishing hole. That can still be found but certainly not in Jackson or even in the center of Henderson, Selmer, Adamsville, or Bolivar.
We live outside the town of Bethel Springs. Small population ~800, 15 churches!, 1 policeman who works 9-5, M-F, post office, elementary school, a "general store/restaurant", town hall/fire dept/police dept/court building, and the Dollar General but it's out on the "new" highway rather than in town. A friend's LGDs escaped and were missing for 3 days. Someone saw them out near the water tower and we went to get them. Neither of the dogs had ever worn a collar so getting them back home consisted of me driving my friend's car with her sitting on the back (hatchback) and calling the dogs to follow us as I drove with my husband following behind. The neighbors came out to watch and help - shooing the 2 dogs when they tried to detour into yards and keeping them focused on following us. We came to the main street in town and several neighbors blocked off the street so we could cross over and take the only back road over to her house. THAT is Mayberry. Is it in the 21st century? Not a chance.
I have not spent a lot of time in Tennessee, but I have been through Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Johnson City, Jackson and Henderson. I have now heard more than once that Jackson has more crime than you would expect for a smaller town like that. I wonder why that would be.
In any case, I'm open to suggestions if anybody can suggest a more Mayberry-like alternative to consider.
The only place in Tennessee that I would rule out at this point is Memphis. I know some of the eastern suburbs are pretty nice, but its not at all what we're looking for.
Crime in Jackson is startling high for a small town. As a general rule, small towns don't have "dangerous" areas and "safe" areas. That's something associated with larger cities like Memphis or Nashville. One of the reasons people enjoy small towns is because of safety. Jackson is an exception. For a small town, Jackson's crime stats are awful: rape is 61% higher than the state's rate, robbery is 78% higher, assault is 76% higher, burglary is 67% higher, theft is 54% higher, and property crime is 53% higher.
If you're really concerned about living in a small town with low crime, why subject yourself to a small town where you have to be careful where you go? "Safe" neighborhoods don't exist in a vacuum, particularly in small towns where everything is nearby.
Most of the rest of the state has small towns with low crime, attractive downtowns, and lots of churches (including the Church of Christ). I'm going to recommend that you look into these Tennessee towns, listed in alphabetical order, which have less crime than Jackson, quaint downtowns, and are on the large end of the spectrum and thus more likely to have a variety of Christian schools:
Cookeville
Gallatin
Greeneville
Johnson City
Maryville
Shelbyville
Tullahoma
Winchester
---
its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
Thanks for all the informative replies. I didn't mean the Mayberyy analogy to be taken quite so literally when it comes to population size. Really, I was thinking more about the TYPE of people - wholesome, friendly, decent, etc. Coming from Houston, Texas a town of 50,000 to 60,000 people seems pretty small, but not so small you can't find decent groceries, restaurants and medical care.
Last edited by Houston parent; 08-12-2017 at 10:19 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
