If you had to choose the best place (not Memphis/Nashville)... (Knoxville: to rent, find a job)

[english_teacher]

If you absolutely had to choose the very best two (or three) places to live and work in TN, which would they be? The factors which must be present in the chosen area are:
The presence of at least two school districts, and at least some high-achieving schools;
Retirees are not the majority;
Whites are not the minority;
There is a synagaogue or three;
A zoo, museums, and theatre are within reach (driving up to three hours);

I live in Houston and just can't take it anymore and need to escape. It's either somewhere in TN or near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. TN is just so pretty but can a teacher find a job there and a safe place to live? I need help deciding!

[AppalachianAngler]

Well, if you are not in Memphis or Nashville, finding multiple synagogues may be a problem. Not to state the obvious, but none of the TN cities are even close to the size of Houston. However, each big 3 cities in East TN have at least 1 synagogue in each city I believe.

Knoxville, Chattanooga, or Johnson City would probably be your best bets. Johnson City has a lot of live bluegrass music. It is around 1.5 hours from JC to Knoxville which has all of which you want. Knoxville traffic can be bad, but I guarantee it is nowhere near as bad as Houston traffic. Johnson City will be the safest by far and the schools are excellent there. Although, West Knoxville has some great schools as well, but Knoxville has more crime. If I were you, I would go with one of those two. Just depends on how big you want. Knoxville is signifcantly bigger than Johnson City. Both give some excellent mountain views and access to some great outdoor activities.

Knoxville ~180,000
Johnson City ~58,000

[english_teacher]

Those are exactly the two cities I was thinking would be great: Knoxville or Johnson City! I will check out Chattanooga as well. Excellent advice, thank you.

I just re-read my thread and just wanted to make sure everyone knew that in Houston, Whites make up only 30% of the population. I don't want to live in a place where students shout "White people suck" at the teachers anymore. That may have more to do with illegal immigration than ethinic diversity though.

[AppalachianAngler]

Well, I think you would love Johnson City in that case. I can't remember the exact stats, but whites make up around 90% of the population in JC. Knoxville has less than that, but they are still without a doubt the majority, especially in West Knoxville. But, I would think Johnson City would have less job openings, due to only a few schools being in the area.

I don't know as much about Chattanooga, so I can't say much about it. I'm sure someone here has more information on their experience(s) there.

Also, if you are in JC or Knoxville, you are very close to Asheville, NC (1 hour from JC, a little over that from Knoxville) which is full of culture. Probably the most culture filled city in the Southeast with plenty of theatre, art, live music, etc.

Good luck!

[hiknapster]

Well, I ignored your post at first. The statement about whites made me decide that you weren't worth a response.

Okay. I guess you are just stressed out.

I live in East Tennessee-Knoxville, actually-and you will not experience that kind of hatred by blacks or hispanics here, so I guess it is a non-issue.

So... the place you described? Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Stellar schools, great cultural activities, a strong Jewish community. I have read that it has the highest concentration of PhDs in the country.

Now, whether they have openings in their school system, I am not really sure, but I would concentrate my research efforts on this area.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

So... the place you described? Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Stellar schools, great cultural activities, a strong Jewish community. I have read that it has the highest concentration of PhDs in the country.

Now, whether they have openings in their school system, I am not really sure, but I would concentrate my research efforts on this area.

Hmmm, Oak Ridge is within spitting distance of Knoxville but I'm not sure if a person who is used to living in a city of more than 2 million (Houston) would be happy in a town of about 28,000.

Oak Ridge has the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge. There is info here:

http://techno-info.com/jcor/

It looks like adjacent Knoxville has 3 synagogues (checked on WhitePages.com).

The Oak Ridge School District is rated the second best in the entire southeastern United States so if you have school aged children, this would be a good place for them.

The State of Tennessee posts teaching positions on its website and there isn't much there so I'm thinking you might have a hard time finding work in a TN public school or it might just be the wrong time of year to look for a teaching job:

http://www.k-12.state.tn.us/teachtn/ (broken link)

KnoxCareers.com has teaching positions in the Knoxville area if you want to look beyond public schools.

This website lists Tennessee teaching jobs throughout the state:

http://www.schoolspring.com/find/ten..._tennessee.cfm

Oak Ridge does have this though:

Oak Ridge has an orchestra, symphony, children's show choir, community band, chorus, ballet, playhouse, junior playhouse. Every Saturday night in July and August, there are outdoor concerts. The orchestra also does a special holiday concert with the chorus. The Oak Ridge Community Playhouse is the longest continuously running theater in the Southeast. The American Museum of Science and Energy opened in 1949. They have an art center and a civic center, as well. And of course, adjacent Knoxville (in the range of 175,000) has more (like zoos, theaters, and IJAMS) and bigger.

I understand Oak Ridge has higher property taxes than other parts of TN but have no details.

[english_teacher]

I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Thank you all for taking the time to help me find a wonderful place to grow my son. The Knoxville area it is! We will drive out tomorrow and look around for a few days. Your kindness and thoughtful responses have helped tremendously. My resume is now posted on the websites LauraC recommended, my application for a teaching license was sent yesterday, and surely some HR school district person will want to hire this fab teacher with a Masters in Education, (no PhD.--would I even be allowed to rent in Oak Ridge?!)
If this forum is any indication, Tennessee is going to be a safe place filled with highly caring and motivated people. Thanks for helping make a good decision.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by english_teacher

I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Thank you all for taking the time to help me find a wonderful place to grow my son. The Knoxville area it is! We will drive out tomorrow and look around for a few days. Your kindness and thoughtful responses have helped tremendously. My resume is now posted on the websites LauraC recommended, my application for a teaching license was sent yesterday, and surely some HR school district person will want to hire this fab teacher with a Masters in Education, (no PhD.--would I even be allowed to rent in Oak Ridge?!)
If this forum is any indication, Tennessee is going to be a safe place filled with highly caring and motivated people. Thanks for helping make a good decision.

I have a dear friend I went to grad school with. She was the most liberal person I knew (and in a liberal arts grad school, that's saying a lot). She started teaching in Memphis city schools, and holy cow that made her into one of the most racist people I knew. She hated herself for it, but she couldn't help it. The "system" almost encourages racism in many of our bigger cities. She now teaches at an "inner city" (or as inner city as Knoxville gets) school in Knoxville and LOVES it.

One thing: don't be discouraged if you can't get on at Oak Ridge city schools right away. Because their schools are so good and their teachers are paid so well (for around here), there are a LOT of teachers who apply there. Many end up teaching in Knox County or Anderson County (Oak Ridge is in Anderson County and borders Knox County, literally) until they can get a position in Oak Ridge.

Good luck with the move! I sure hope you find what you're looking for up here.

[hiknapster]

Yes. My daughter goes to Knox County schools. We love it!

I am so impressed with the plan that you formulated and that you put it into immediate action. You must be a great teacher!

Surroundings can definitely change your personality. After living in Florida for 10 years, I was a miserable, defensive person, something that I am not.

Ask people on this forum, I've only recently begun to mellow out!

[TennesseeRebel]

Originally Posted by english_teacher

If you absolutely had to choose the very best two (or three) places to live and work in TN, which would they be? The factors which must be present in the chosen area are:
The presence of at least two school districts, and at least some high-achieving schools;
Retirees are not the majority;
Whites are not the minority;
There is a synagaogue or three;
A zoo, museums, and theatre are within reach (driving up to three hours);

I live in Houston and just can't take it anymore and need to escape. It's either somewhere in TN or near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. TN is just so pretty but can a teacher find a job there and a safe place to live? I need help deciding!

Come to Jackson, located about 1/2 way between Memphis & Nashville, you would be welcomed here. I don't know about the availability of synagaogues but your family would be welcomed.