General questions about TN (affluent areas) (Memphis, Jackson: apartment, rent, crime)

[ihatecali]

Hello, I currently live in Southern California (Orange County)
and am tired of California. Illegal immigration is on the top of
my pet peeves list.

I am self employed and am looking at moving to Tennessee but
had a few questions:

1. What is the weather like in Winter and Summer?

2. Is it true that there is absolutely no state income tax?
In California, I have to pay "self employment tax". Does
such a thing exist in TN?

3. I live in a semi-affluent area in Orange County.
(pay $1460/mo in rent for my small apartment).
What is the average rent cost out there for an apartment
and what are a few "semi affluent" areas to begin my search?

I am mainly looking to be living amongst college-educated
individuals who are making fairly decent money. I am 33 years
old and single. Don't want to live near a downtown or urban
area amongst "lower income" individuals, but at the same time
I don't want to be surrounded by millionaires.

I guess the best word to describe the type of area I am looking
for is "upper middle class".


Thanks for any and all help.

Oh ya....I forgot to ask another question:

4. Are certain parts of TN. considered "dry counties" ?

I am not an alcoholic, but I do like to drink beer and wine
and hard liquor on occasions.

[JMT]

Tennessee does not tax income, although income derived from investments is taxed.

As far as semi-urban, higher-income areas in Tennessee I would check out Franklin and Hendersonville which are both outside of Nashville. You can check their pages here at city-data.com to find out a lot of cost of living stats and weather info for those towns.

Good luck!

[LauraC]

Franklin, TN was the highest ranked Tennessee (45) place on CNNmoney.com's Best 100 Places to live in 2008. In fact, it was the only place in Tennessee on their list.

Here's the reason why Franklin made the list so you can see if these things are important to you:

Best places to live 2008 - Top 100 City details: Franklin, TN - from MONEY Magazine

[Mike in TN]

I think it's Franklin or Brentwood for you.

[ihatecali]

Ok, will be looking at Franklin....I kinda sorta wanted to be located in the Western part of TN anyways. I like what I saw in that "best places to live" link.


Does it snow out there?

How long would it take to drive to Kansas City from Franklin?

How long would it take to drive from the east border of TN to the west border? Assuming one day I get bored and want to take a drive to NC or SC or any one of the surrounding states to go sightseeing...

How is the job situation? My career is in Purchasing, but I quit my job a year ago to be self employed. On the off chance I want to put the corporate noose around my neck every morning.....how many corporations/big companies are there in Franklin and/or Brentwood?

I also just started listening to/liking country music, so am liking it is close to Nashville.



Are the people (for the most part) really friendly? Another reason I hate california (hence my screen name) is because generally speaking, a lot of people out here have this "stone look" on their face when you meet them in public. They don't seem as friendly as other parts of the country I have visited. Over the years this has become an issue for me.

I realize there are jerks wherever you go in life, but I somehow seem to believe that there are more jerks out here in cali than anywhere else.

I was born/raised here btw...

[ihatecali]

Another question....

Aside from flying out to Franklin and driving around, how can I determine what the quality of life is out there? Lots of stuff to do etc?

[TheShadow]

Most of the answers to your questions are available on previous threads in this forum. You can use the search feature. Also for things like temperature averages and such, you can easily google these things.

"Quality of life" is entirely subjective. You would have to define what you mean by that. To me quality of life might be proximity to a golf course, to someone else it means dog parks, or libraries, or the symphony, or fancy restaurants.

There are lots of ways to investigate a place without flying there. You can e-mail the Chamber of Commerce and ask for a relocation packet. You could order a phone book from the phone company, you can google maps of the area or go to the library and find travel books about the area. If you're serious about moving to an area, you're going to have to do some legwork to find out about the area. Everyone's wants/needs are different, so don't expect someone else's opinion to be super helpful. And, yes, eventually you will need to fly there and check it out. It would be really foolhardy to move to an area without visiting it a few times at different times of year, and spend a few weeks at least to really try it on for size. It will save a lot of pain and money later, if you find out now that it is or isn't what you expected.

[DubbleT]

Originally Posted by ihatecali

Ok, will be looking at Franklin....I kinda sorta wanted to be located in the Western part of TN anyways. I like what I saw in that "best places to live" link.

Franklin is middle Tennessee. If you are wanting an affluent city in west TN you might want to look at Germantown, outside of Memphis. Lots of info on the Memphis forum.

Originally Posted by ihatecali

How long would it take to drive from the east border of TN to the west border? Assuming one day I get bored and want to take a drive to NC or SC or any one of the surrounding states to go sightseeing...

I just did a similar trip. From Memphis to Kingsport TN is about eight hours, if you stay close to the speed limit. Nashville is roughly three hours closer to the eastern border of Tennessee than Memphis is.

[Capt. Dan]

You may want to research Jackson Tennessee also. It is halfway between Memphis and Nashville. It has a booming economy and is becoming home to alot of distribution and medical companys. We earn above average incomes here and enjoy a good quality of life. We have some of the same issues as other towns ie, crime and drugs. But alot less of these than metro Memphis or Nashville. We have mild winters and hot summers. If a person likes to hop in the car and find out whats out there [like I do] then you cant beat this area. From Jackson it is:
45 minutes to Kentucky
90 minutes to Arkansas
90 minutes to Missouri
90 minutes to Mississippi
Good luck whatever you decide. I too left California and came to Tennessee. i was born here and always knew i would retire here. it is so much more affordable here than in San Luis Obispo where i spent my career. You will find that your $$ goes alot farther here, allowing you to actually enjoy life rather than struggling from paycheck to paycheck.
Good luck!

[Jon F Moss]

addressing #3 - you can move into my garage and I'll charge you $50 less - vahtta bargain!!!!