What am i running from & where am i running to, points to ponder (Memphis: fit in, homeowners insurance)

[joee]

I read the post "Land decision Question - View or Acreage, NC or TN" in the tn forum this mourn and it really has some points in it that really hit home for me & my quest for that better place.

This is going to be a long 1 so i'll have to split into 2 posts i think.

Without being too redundant in my ramblings, my situation is somewhat different than most, i pulled the plug on my job long before retirement age so now i live on a fairly good reduced non social security retirement.

I got to the point that i hated my job and my life was miserable, fed up with being told what to do, when to do it, & how to do it, i just got to the point of feeling like i was being dictated by the system (your in the army now stuff).

I'm probably going to come off as seeming to be the rebel or just plain stupid, but after 20 yrs at the same job i got to thinking about life & decided pulling the plug is going to be 1 of the stupidist things i've ever done or 1 of the best moves i've ever made, but there was just 1 way i would know for sure.

I took a reduction in income but with no kids left at home i figured well i'll take the chance, so anyway back to the being dictated by the system, if you are stuck in a certain job field i just felt like i was becoming a robot, the job dictates when you go to bed, when you get up, you get x amount of income per month therefore thats going to set the stage for your standard of living which in my case not rich nor poor but the slowly dying middle class.

you look back & think am i better off now than i was 15 years ago, the answer was no, others i worked with were they better off from when they started working to their retirement, still no, so it was a never ending circle to nowere.

I know i'll never see that 100,000+ house & a lot of goodies in life now, but to me there's other things in life more important, we're only here for a short time in our lifespan and i surely don't want to spend it working day & night just so i can say look at me i have everything but yet i'm miserable, it's time to slow life down and actually take a look at everything life has to give instead of seeing all in fast forward as a blur.

I've lived in the st louis area for many moons, lived in chicago for a couple of yrs, kansas city for a yr, chicago was nice but not the place to live, kc definatly not, st louis nope, the midwest to me seems for lack of a better word screwed up.

[joee]

Now onto that certain place were i thought i wanted to start my life over again, i don't know about others but i change my mind about were i want to live more than i change clothes.

I started off wanting to be in east tennessee, then thought well southeast tn would be warmer(i hate cold), then got the idea hmmm mayby southwest virginia so i'm jumping around more than a rabbit in a carrot patch.

So now i come across a few posts that somewhat put things in perspective:

"I can promise you this, if you pick wrong between Asheville and Eastern Tennessee, you're going to know it within weeks of your move and be miserable"

"I can get to Weverville NC in about an hour and I am a bit North of J.C.
Look at the roads that connect the two. Hwy 26 from the Tri-Cities and 70 in Greeneville. 70 actually goes through Weaverville to get to Asheville as it merges with 25 just over the TN/NC boarder. Because 70 is more curvy it takes about an hour also even though it is less miles from Greeneville to Weaverville."

but this 1 really hit home:

"I agree but I think too many people choose a relocation spot based on weather, pretty scenery and cost and those really aren't the things that make you the happiest in the long run or on a daily basis.

The Florida forum (very interesting) has a long-running thread about why people are fleeing that state in droves and from some of those posts, I can tell a lot of those people are going to repeat their mistakes in North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina or Georgia because they still don't know what's important to them, they only know what they are trying to get away from, what their neighbors did and have a fairytale vision of where they're going to.

For example, yeah the mountains are beautiful, but what's that commute like to your job? Are you going to whine the whole time you're in your beautiful mountain spot about the "lack of culture," nearby chain restaurants that don't quite match the big city ones you are used to in variety or artsy-fartsyness? How about the ice going down those mountain roads in the winter in your Prius?

What are you going to do the third week of retirement after spending the last 14 days playing golf and being out in the middle of nowhere in some expensive planned, but pretty, community where outside of the gates, folks have half as much money as you and don't take too kindly to you coming in and trying to change their small town?

Are you going to whimper about "not fitting in" when you moved into a 4-1 conservative, but pretty and cheap, community because people aren't "tolerant" of your opinions about school education, social activities tied to the church and laugh at your crusade against the WalMart you don't work for and never shop at?

Did you ever stop to think if the new beautiful place accommodates you and what you are used to, it's going to turn into the same crappy expensive overcrowded crime infested, but tolerant, place you fled?"

Am i basing my decision on weather, scenery, & cost, pretty much so & not taking into consideration anything else.

So now i'm back to allmost square 1 again, how many times have others been down this same road i wonder.

Well it's time to reach down into the depths of this old sole and figure out what else am i looking for besides weather, scenery & costs, so if everyone can put up with me for a bit longer perhaps my next post will be just what i am looking for in a community & you good folks can suggest a few good places were this ol boy might jus fit in.

With wanting to relocate in either tn or va i think i'll post this in both tn and va.

[hiknapster]

I knew exactly what I was getting into when I moved to Tennessee.

I'm originally from New England, but I had never lived in a town larger than 14,000 people.

I lived in Florida for ten years, and absolutely hated it.

I love country music, I love that social activities revolve around church, I love that people look the other way and blend church and state, I love that there is not a lot of regulation around here.

I'm liberal and conservative. I'm a swing voter. That seems to be fine around here.

I'm not wild about Wal-Mart and prefer to shop at mom and pop stores, and not eat at chain restaurants, but that is getting harder to do no matter where you are in this country. I've easily dropped a couple thousand at Wal-Mart in the past couple of months, purchasing a computer, two televisions and a digital camera. What else are you going to do?

I love it here. I saw a lot of shallow folks in Florida. I picked this place for what it is. I hope that folks don't pick this place for what they can make it into.

[Brax]

I am in somewhat the same situation but caused by different factor. I was “let-go” after 17 years of service. They told me it was a financial thing. Anyway, I sit here is SE Wisconsin pondering my options. I have been out of work for more than a month, thankfully I have severance pay until the end of March. After looking for work during this time, there have been no serious job offers in my field. I decided to expand my search and it looks like I may get an offer in the next few weeks. They have two openings, one on Cookeville and the other in Madison Wisconsin. Madison is less than two hours from my home but would still require a move. I could stay here and take a huge step backward in my career. But if you don’t have the time or money to do the things that you enjoy, will I really be happy?

Right now, I am choosing Cookeville. Mainly for the lower cost of living and better weather. I have lived my entire life here and with each passing year, the winters become more unpleasant. Although I am not sure I will like the heat and humidity of summer in TN. As for the lower cost of living. I don’t plan on buying a huge house in Cookeville just because they are cheaper there. I actually would like about the same sized house and prices being what they are, this should leave me with a little left over after the move. This money will go a long way in supporting a pleasant lifestyle in Cookeville.

From what I have heard here, Cookeville is a small town with a feel of a much larger town. Many shopping and restaurant opportunities not available in those more rural areas. Golf courses and lakes nearby to make the weekends fun filled. I already know I don’t want to live in seclusion on the side of some mountain but I also don’t care for the big city.

I guess the bottom line here is that I am not running FROM something but rather TO something. In the end I hope a better life.

[Joe P]

I don't know if I was running from or to anything but here is how my move balanced out. I'll preface this by saying that I grew up in Ct, moved to Florida in 1990 at age 19, then to here in East Tn this past May. How things balanced out:

Florida Pro:
Great six figure job complete with company vehicle, great benefits, expense account, unlimited time off. Pretty much the best job ever imaginable.

Good riding weather (I have two motorcyles) mostly year 'round.

Florida con:
Seeing my niece and nephew raised in the Freak State. This one is number one for a reason.

Too many people!

Too many people from a certain state (rhymes with Moo Schmork) that tend to be, simply put, loud, obnoxious and rude.

Homeowners insurance quickly going from $250/month to $900/month

Too much congestion.

Too much crime.

Too much concrete, not enough woods.

Tennessee Pro:
Better riding roads surrounded by beautiful mountains, clean lakes and streams teeming with trout, nice people that wave even though they don't know you, a low crime pace of life which is perfect for me and a nice change from the headless chicken rush of Florida.

Tennessee Con:
Less income. This one is unfair thought because if I had moved anywhere I would make less money while I rebuild my career. I'm okay with that.

Anyway, to answer your question, I guess I was running from a life that no longer made me happy to a life that would. And it has.

Joe

[chitown68]

There are so many factors that one must consider when deciding to relocating. I would be the first to admit that I would love to live to in a warmer climate which is why I am considering several states in the South. However, I am still open to relocating in other areas of the country because factors such as a good climate, attractive topography and low housing cost are not enough to guarantee that I will be happy in my new locale. More than anything, I need to feel within my heart and soul that I truly belong there. Otherwise, I will regret the move and probably start the whole process of relocating once again.


All the research in the world can not tell a person if a place is truly right for them. The only way to really know is to visit the place or places of interest and see what type of vibe or feel is obtained from the environment. Best of luck to all of those who are planning to relocate. May you find the environment that is the right fit for you.

[joee]

Well here's my what i'm looking for in a place list, have any ideas of just were all these options may fit.

I'm open to any suggestions.

1- Need open space, don't want a neighbor close unless i'm allowed to shoot them

2- Don't want real close to a river,flooding probs

3- Need area with some upward job,housing trend, no economically depressed areas

4- Don't want in an area of won't say stereotype names but i'll just say less desirables

5- Low crime, good water, decent air

6- Decent hospital / hospitals fairly close

7- Needs to be by but not in mountains

8- No 30mph for 1/4 mile then 15mph 180 curve mountain roads

9- Place were the less snow the better, say in the area of 2 mayby 3 inches per snowfall no more than 3 times per season and then the next day or 2nd day it's gone

10- Less cold the better, daytime temps say not lower than 40s on average

11- No big cities like nashville,chattanooga,or knoxville

12- No really little towns

13- College town is usually good

14- Traffic doesn't worry me much, not much can be worse than st louis or chicago

15- Really good shopping within say 30 min drive or so

16- Need good fishing lakes/rivers fairly close say roughly within 2 hrs

17- Need to be fairly close same 2 hr time frame to the majority of trails

18- Would like to have a few decent radio stations within range, country western since thats all my radio will work on lol

19- Would like an area served by tva which most are i think

Picky aint I, i tried walt disney world but mickey & minney have that all sewed up.

[GrannyLois]

Regarding #13 - a college town. Would it need to be a public college or would a private/Christian college in that town be okay? This makes a difference in our answers.

[joee]

Originally Posted by GrannyLois

Regarding #13 - a college town. Would it need to be a public college or would a private/Christian college in that town be okay? This makes a difference in our answers.

well i was thinking more along the lines of public

[GrannyLois]

Public 4-year colleges are located in:
Johnson City, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Martin, Memphis area, Nashville area, Cookeville, and Clarksville. If I forgot some, someone please correct me.

Community colleges are located in:
Chattanooga, Cleveland, Columbia, Dyersburg, Jackson, Lynchburg, Nashville, near Blountville, Knoxville, Harriman, Memphis, Gallatin, and Morristown.

If you decide you want to see where the private colleges are, you can do a search for 'colleges in tennessee' and all the others that I haven't listed would be private colleges.