Attention Floridian transplants! (school, living in, cost of)

[flfox111]

I was interest in the tri city are, Is there where it snows the most in TN. I also heard about the meth and the ilegals that it was very common in the tri city area is this so?
CAT

We just moved to Bristol TN from Clearwater FL. There's also Kingsport and JC. I've not been to JC yet, but didn't like the "feel" of Kingsport. As for Bristol we just fell in love with the small town life. Bristol is Unique, when getting "stats" add in the info from Bristol VA. Between the "two" cities you have alot to offer. Shopping and decent dining at exit 7. Theres always something going on at the Raceway during the summer, Plus the Rythem and Roots Fest brings over 50,000 to Bristol in the late Summer. The Scools get good grades (city schools are beter funded) I have yet to notice a drug problem but I don't run with that kind of crowd. Everyone's really nice, We've only been here a few months and I've made several good friends. There's not much ethnic diversity. But everyone seems to get along really well. Eastern TN tried to seperate itself during the civil war and join the Union. So attitude is much easier going. As for jobs you have Eastman in Kingsp. Excide in BR, and Snapon in E-ton. I really like it and there are alot of Flidian transplants here.(we're orig from indiana).

[galena]

All of the people migrating to Florida ruined it. I've lived in FL for over 50 years, and I remember as a young teen taking my younger sisters on the bus to downtown Miami to go Christmas shopping. By the time I left Miami in 1998, I would only go to downtown with my windows closed and my doors locked. Too many people--both northerners and foreigners--migrated to Miami and ruined it. As children, we played in the neighborhood with instructions to be home by dinner. My sister wouldn't let my nephew go outside unless she was watching him.

You all realize, don't you, that NC, TN, GA, KY, etc. will turn into another FL if the people keep going to your beautiful states. FL was beautiful when I was young; now it's one housing development after another. I heard a term in NC that made me laugh: halfbacks. The halfbacks are the ones the North Carolinians dislike the most. They're the northerners that moved to FL to escape the cold, found FL too hot, and moved halfway back.

I'm just a plain old snowbird, not a halfback. I was also raised by 2 parents from the south. We were taught "Ma'am" and "Sir" from the time we could understand the concept of "respect your elders." I remember how shocked I was the first time I encountered rudeness in the north. Now, the rudeness has spread to FL because there are so many northerners and so many people in general.

There is one simple "equation" that explains FL's problems: More people = more problems (crime, traffic, expenses, etc.). The northerners and midwesterners came to my small town in Central FL and doubled the prices of houses. I kid you not. My mom bought a brand new house (3/2/2 car) for $68k in 1993. That same house will sell for at least 2 times that today. Now, all of us retirees and working class people can't afford FL any longer. Therefore, we're all leaving and invading your nice state. How long will your nice towns of Cookeville and Crossville stay pleasant and be a good place to live? Of course, your realtors are doing the same as our realtors did in FL; they're upping the asking prices to make as much money as they can. Will your children be able to afford a house in your hometown in another 10 or 20 years? I'm sorry this is going to happen to your nice state, but we can't stand FL any longer. If it's any consolation, I'll never say, "We did it this way in FL."

[Rcm58]

I can understand some of the complaints about Florida but moving to Tennessee because of drugs in Fla is a mistake. Tennessee is the largest drug state there is in the US. Tennessee, West Virginia and Kentucky combined produce almost 100 percent of the entire US's domestic Marijuana crop. A report issued by the feds in 2005 states that Tennessee is supplying the entire southeast US with its meth plus the perscription drug use is more than any other state in the country...much more, The FDA announced that Tennessee consumes more perscription drugs than the most populated state plus 1/2 of another state. Alot of the perscription drugs end up on the street.
Tennessee has more drugs on the street than Florida, California or NY and we have no wheres near the population. We just had a officer that I knew personally shot this week making the rounds and found a meth lab in a camper on the VA side.

[goodbyehollywood]

Originally Posted by Rcm58

I can understand some of the complaints about Florida but moving to Tennessee because of drugs in Fla is a mistake. Tennessee is the largest drug state there is in the US. Tennessee, West Virginia and Kentucky combined produce almost 100 percent of the entire US's domestic Marijuana crop. A report issued by the feds in 2005 states that Tennessee is supplying the entire southeast US with its meth plus the perscription drug use is more than any other state in the country...much more, The FDA announced that Tennessee consumes more perscription drugs than the most populated state plus 1/2 of another state. Alot of the perscription drugs end up on the street.
Tennessee has more drugs on the street than Florida, California or NY and we have no wheres near the population. We just had a officer that I knew personally shot this week making the rounds and found a meth lab in a camper on the VA side.

If you're going to make such dire pronouncements, could you please provide a link? Because, otherwise, you don't have a lot of credibility.

If you think a state as small as TN has more drugs than CA--which is larger than some countries--you might want to consider your sources.

[Ridgerunner]

I left the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area in 1990, having moved there from Virginia in '87. My main dissatisfaction was due to the rude people I encountered every day which made that area seem like an extension of New York City. Florida has undergone a lot of change since then and the central and southwest areas of the state no longer appeal to me as they once did. My job often takes me to Florida and I've noticed that much of the region between Jacksonville and Tallahassee has changed very little. It remains sparsely populated and property isn't all that expensive. I'm surprised that retirees are not flocking to North Florida.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by goodbyehollywood

If you're going to make such dire pronouncements, could you please provide a link? Because, otherwise, you don't have a lot of credibility.

If you think a state as small as TN has more drugs than CA--which is larger than some countries--you might want to consider your sources.

I think the ranking is probably based on a percentage of drug arrests to people living in the state but I could be wrong.

[Country_Girl68]

Wow, I knew this post would definitely get a lot of responses.
I have been here in Central Florida for 31 years we moved down here from Ohio when I was 8. Growing up here was ok I guess, though I will say now that I am a parent I have been ready to leave here for the longest time. All of my family lives here except for my brother, my father passed away 10 years ago and to be honest I need to take my family where I feel they will enjoy life and the schools will benifit them. The school systems down here are terrible, everyone complains about one thing or another, it's just ridiculous to even live here anymore and survive, the drivers need to go back to driving school and there are just TOO many rude and nasty people here. My husband has his own painting company here and he has had no work coming in for about 4 months now, we definately can't live like this down here. I want my children to be able to enjoy their childhood in an environment where the quality of live is so much better than here. I want to be able to be with my family in the mountains, snow and whatever else nature happens to throw our way and not have to worry about nosy neighbors and we can just enjoy each other and be comfortable and I don't have to worry too much about pedophiles trying to grab my children. We currently have our home on the market and hopefully it will sell, that's all we're waiting on so we can get out of here.

[RobertNFla]

To reiterate what others have said, the bottom line for me is that Florida has become too expensive (taxes, insurance, etc.) and too crowded. I cannot wait to move to TN -- the land of low taxes (no state income tax) and fresh mountain air!

[SuzieQFL]

Originally Posted by RobertNFla

To reiterate what others have said, the bottom line for me is that Florida has become too expensive (taxes, insurance, etc.) and too crowded. I cannot wait to move to TN -- the land of low taxes (no state income tax) and fresh mountain air!

I'm sure you know that Florida doesn't have a state income tax either. Fresh mountain air, we certainly don't have either!

[WOWAddict]

I personally love my time up there in TN. But it is not a Utopia. Jobs are hard to come by, but that will probably will change as more people move in.