Moving to Tennessee, locals please help out

[Paranoid]

I am interested in living in the mountains out in TN. I had some questions about narrowing my search down one political one not.

The first question is about water quality. Are there some areas with sweet water wells? My current house has very hard water and it is a nightmare I would prefer not to repeat elsewhere. My grandma has water right out of the well that puts any storebought to shame. It is just so good when I am there I dont even consider drinking anything else.

Other question is I am looking for a place that is moderate in their religious practices. I am agnostic and although I am comfortable around christians I do not want any areas that are ultra rabid religious. What places should I avoid?


thanks guys.

[Snowdancer]

A while back I asked some similar questions. Here's the link to the answers I got. Just for clarity, I'm not a Christian either so that may help understand some of the replies.

Knoxville/Chattanoga TN-what's it like?

[TnAndy]

If you mean by "sweetwater", water that comes out of sandstone rather than limestone, then I don't know of any around here that are like that......any drilled well here runs thru limestone and thus is "hard" water.

That said, there are folks on springs that come out of sandstone and the water is very soft......me for instance........and the water is excellent.

As to religious practices, there are a lot of churches around here......a guy once told me in the next country over ever third man was a preacher...ahahahahaaa......but personally, I've never had any problem with religions except for having to run a few of the more rabid variety off my place when they came with literature to give me. I don't feel it's a day to day issue personally......occassionally I get invited to come to someone's church, and I take it with the good intent and fellowship I think was extended, and politely decline or move on to a different subject........nobody has ever tried to cram anything down my throat if that's what you're worried about.

And my position on church is most of the folks that go REALLY need to be there.....ahahahahahaaaa.....my religious beliefs are my own and I don't feel the need to band into some organized variety, which from what I see, generally consists of showoff and politics. It wouldn't matter to me WHERE I lived.....if anybody else has a problem with that, it's THEIR problem.

Of all the things I might worry about in picking a new place, religion would rank pretty low.

[Paranoid]

Andy, I would think the same.

However I was getting word that in some of these small towns unless you fit in basically jobs were next to impossible etc.

So although I dont know if that were true and have never had any experience with anything like that, I wanted to research it before dropping money

Hell some counties are dry for religious reasons. Although I can see the benefits of that, the reason behind it speaks of a disparity in the power between church and state that gets me nervous

[Paranoid]

and thank you for the bit about sandstone and limestone, i didnt know that.

[tnborn]

I have never heard of "sweet water". However, certain areas do have sulphur water but that can be fixed by adding a chlorine purifier.TN has plenty of limestone so the water is hard. Also, we have plenty of caves and karsts becasue of all the limstone formations.BTW the only sweet water I have heard of is a name of a small town.
Water quality in middle tn on the highland rim is excellent. Actually several bottle water companies come out of the springs of tn.

As far as small communities, they don't like people coming in and belittling the locals about how stupid, ignorant they are. If you avoid saying, "where I come from we did it this way..." Some will tell you to go back home where you moved from.Don't try to change small towns. It isn't going to happen.

Jehovaha witness do visit frequently(if you are easy to find). I used to live in a subdivision and got regular visits.We moved so we have had no visits.People are distant until they get to know you and your family.Relax,enjoy the tn beauty. As far as pushing relgious people, I have not seen any.People will invite you to go to their church. Just another part of southern hospitality. BTW welcome to tn.
tnborn

[TnAndy]

Originally Posted by Paranoid

Andy, I would think the same.

However I was getting word that in some of these small towns unless you fit in basically jobs were next to impossible etc.

So although I dont know if that were true and have never had any experience with anything like that, I wanted to research it before dropping money

Hell some counties are dry for religious reasons. Although I can see the benefits of that, the reason behind it speaks of a disparity in the power between church and state that gets me nervous

Nah.....that's just "small townitis".....that same small county I told you about the "every 3rd guy is a preacher" deal is a tight nit deal like that......if you weren't BORN there, you ain't "in"......I mean the obits in the local paper read "Harvey Walbanger, 98, lived in Unicoi county for 97 years.....he was not a native" or "Joe Smith, aged 77, was born in Unicoi county and lived the last 52 years in Detroit, Mich, where he died yesterday"...... The names are fictious, but the obits are real, trust me. My wife has worked in the school system over there for the last 25 years.....and for the first 4-5, the QUESTION after anyone found out she "was not a native" was HOW did you get a job here ? ahahahahahahaaa........she'd usually tell 'em "wrong place at the wrong time".....ahahahaaaaa

As to counties being "dry"......two factors working there.....religion and politics. Neither the preachers nor the bootleggers (and the local cops they support ) want alcohol legal.....hard to say which is more zealous in their arguments.....ahahahaaaaa

On the wells, most ALL the southeast US has limestone bedrock.....the ancient inland sea deal ( limestone from ancient seashells ).....not to say you couldn't find a well in sandstone or some type of ignesous rock, but everything I know of drilled around here hit's limestone. You just need to look for a good spring. That was one of the factors that influenced us to buy the place we have......it's a gravity fed deal to boot.

[tnborn]

Originally Posted by TnAndy

Nah.....that's just "small townitis".....that same small county I told you about the "every 3rd guy is a preacher" deal is a tight nit deal like that......if you weren't BORN there, you ain't "in"......I mean the obits in the local paper read "Harvey Walbanger, 98, lived in Unicoi county for 97 years.....he was not a native" or "Joe Smith, aged 77, was born in Unicoi county and lived the last 52 years in Detroit, Mich, where he died yesterday"...... The names are fictious, but the obits are real, trust me. My wife has worked in the school system over there for the last 25 years.....and for the first 4-5, the QUESTION after anyone found out she "was not a native" was HOW did you get a job here ? ahahahahahahaaa........she'd usually tell 'em "wrong place at the wrong time".....ahahahaaaaa

As to counties being "dry"......two factors working there.....religion and politics. Neither the preachers nor the bootleggers (and the local cops they support ) want alcohol legal.....hard to say which is more zealous in their arguments.....ahahahaaaaa

On the wells, most ALL the southeast US has limestone bedrock.....the ancient inland sea deal ( limestone from ancient seashells ).....not to say you couldn't find a well in sandstone or some type of ignesous rock, but everything I know of drilled around here hit's limestone. You just need to look for a good spring. That was one of the factors that influenced us to buy the place we have......it's a gravity fed deal to boot.

Sounds like you have nothing good to say about tn. So, why did you move here?? You could always move back where you came from, right?
tnborn

[Paranoid]

Originally Posted by tnborn

As far as small communities, they don't like people coming in and belittling the locals about how stupid, ignorant they are. If you avoid saying, "where I come from we did it this way..." Some will tell you to go back home where you moved from.Don't try to change small towns. It isn't going to happen.

...

Sounds like you have nothing good to say about tn. So, why did you move here?? You could always move back where you came from, right?
tnborn

tnborn, thanks! Wherever I go I tell the locals they are yokels and dont know spit. I try to let everyone know just how stupid they are when I try to make friends just so they know their place.

speaking of which can you please tell me where you live? I'd like to avoid people like you, thanks!

[tnborn]

Originally Posted by Paranoid

tnborn, thanks! Wherever I go I tell the locals they are yokels and dont know spit. I try to let everyone know just how stupid they are when I try to make friends just so they know their place.

speaking of which can you please tell me where you live? I'd like to avoid people like you, thanks!

Whatever, you asked for advice from people who live here. I was just trying to help.
tnborn

[Paranoid]

Originally Posted by tnborn

Whatever, you asked for advice from people who live here. I was just trying to help.
tnborn

no you came off as exactly the type of person all of us are trying to avoid when we post questions about moving to rural communities.

sure we may not have been born in the area we'd like to move to. lucky you. but apparently we share many of the same philosophies in life if we are here, out of a billion other websites talking together. yet you dont see that. you see some ignorant city slicker whos goal in life is to move to your town, turn it into a ghetto and take your guns and make your son listen to punk rock and do drugs.. ok got a bit carried away there, but anyway...

do you honestly think people on this website would be so horrible? does Andy strike you as so incompetant that he couldn't find another place to live if he didn't like where he is? but he wasn't born there was he.

I guess that is the difference.

When you need to sift thru a haystack to find a needle of dissension maybe you should look for another argument instead.

[tnborn]

Originally Posted by Paranoid

no you came off as exactly the type of person all of us are trying to avoid when we post questions about moving to rural communities.

sure we may not have been born in the area we'd like to move to. lucky you. but apparently we share many of the same philosophies in life if we are here, out of a billion other websites talking together. yet you dont see that. you see some ignorant city slicker whos goal in life is to move to your town, turn it into a ghetto and take your guns and make your son listen to punk rock and do drugs.. ok got a bit carried away there, but anyway...

do you honestly think people on this website would be so horrible? does Andy strike you as so incompetant that he couldn't find another place to live if he didn't like where he is? but he wasn't born there was he.

I guess that is the difference.

When you need to sift thru a haystack to find a needle of dissension maybe you should look for another argument instead.

ROFL
I have been on the receiving end of people out of state telling me how stupid and ignorant locals in tn are. I have almost been ran over by them in the lake.Not cool swimming and have a large boat wide open coming in your direction. propellers and people are not a good mix. BTW I was not in the middle of the lacke. I was in a sleu.People here are friendly and don't care to help someone. Attitudes toward the locals are important in building friendships. This was the point that I was trying to post earlier.Small communities are bad for small town politics. BTW I did post welcome to tn but I guess you were just wanting to fight.
tnborn

[Little Quacker in OR]

Hmmmm(weighing in, primly sitting with skirt pulled down and feet tucked under chair with an angelic expression on my face...LOL)...This is what I think and I live in a small town, moved here from Las Vegas in '92.

It sounds to me like you need to get your serious priorities straight. It's smart of you not to jump in without due thought but make a list of REALLY important things to you. What do you like to do in your spare time? Any hobbies? Any things you love? Do you want an area you can go hunting or fishing? What do you like? Cars? Auto shows? I am gathering here that you are single?

I would decide on an area I really liked the looks of, that provided what I would need to keep me happy. Everyone is very different. I need a very rural area, a source of year-round water(lake or river), lots of wild life and green, green, green. Enough land to have a nice fenced place for my dogs and ducks, and NO real close neighbors! But, my hubby is completely different. He doesn't mind having people close by and all he required were good roads and a reasonably close barbershop chorus and good medical facilities.! LOL

So, check into the standard of living in any area you are thinking about. Is there a good chance you can make a living at what you do best? Are you willing to take a fairly low paying job for the benefits of living in a small town if that becomes necessary? Do you want to live in town or out further?

When we were making our lists before we decided on where we were going to live nothing was on either his or mine about religion! And I had a long list too! LOL

I am not a believer in any kind of "higher power" much less an invisible guy up in the sky who must be out playing golf when bad things happen, but I have no problems with people who need that type of crutch. All of my closest neighbors are seriously religious, many different ones(7th Day adventist, Catholic, Lutherens, Mormon). I consider them all good friends and love them a lot, but their beliefs have never conflicted with our friendship. When I lost my hubby, these were the first people to come and help me until family could arrive and it was the same when I lost my dog. The sweet little lady across the river came over when I lost my dog Howdy and she helped me dig his grave. They are the best....but I never thought for a second of converting to anything and have never been pressured to do so by any of them.

On the other hand I am right there if any of them need help for anything. Stock gets out..I'm there to help get them back in. Need help to care for stock if they have to go somewhere? I offer up my services to help and do it a lot. Need a skunk trapped and removed or any other wildlife..they call me. They in turn send their kids over to help mow my 2 1/2 acres and help me clean house.There is NO conflict. I"m teaching one of the daughters to sew, she helps me clean house an file books .

I think you make your own impressions on people and it's up to you to keep a friendly face and a ready smile and a willingness to help others if needed, and I believe they will reciprocate in kind.

I will add here that when we were checking out places once we decided on this town, that we drove up every canyon surrounding it, along with visiting other little valleys close by. The canyons that we went up where we passed places that had guys on the front porches eyeing people with no shirts on but revolvers strapped to their hips..we passed up and made a mental note not to buy in that area. Also kept a close eye on how different houses were maintained. IF it looked trashy, we didn't consider it.

Don't invent a boogy man when there isn't any.

Good luck and do enjoy yourself..that's what changing locations is all about. Oh yeah, I lied about sitting here with the skirt and all...I only wear jeans. LOL For dress up I add a blazer.

LQ

[GoatsRus]

Paranoid - You will absolutely love TN. We started coming up here over 13 years ago and decided to move from Florida ( too many non-english speaking people, and plain toooo many people) and haven't missed Tampa once!
We live in middle TN in a small town. The folks are great, always eager to help, but you will find that if you didn't grow up there, you have to do some home work. Our local paper will mention things like the "blue building downtown" or the "ol red dog saloon". The blue building downtown isn't really blue and the saloon, well, it's been demolished for over 30 years, but they still use it as a landmark. Most people don't know street names, but they can tell you where Hazel Parker's grandmother lives and that's where you need to turn LOL ! We spent numerous years over in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area in a rental cabin we had built. The area has become so touristy, and the traffic nearly impossible, but we did have the best tasting water from a well! The winters are mild and you have four distinct seasons. We are never bothered by the church crowd, but as someone mentioned, they and the cops and county commissioner do put the squeeze on some projects that are up for vote. The church crowd thought when we went from a dry county to being wet a few years ago that we'd have bars popping up all over town and to date, we haven't had one establishment that I call a "bar" actually open . some of the restaurants did start serving liquor, but my attitude is "if you don't like it, you don't have to drink!" The only problem with small towns are lack of jobs or jobs that will pay you a decent wage - if you plan on working outside of the home. Decide on what you need to survive (mine was access to a close Walmart supercenter) and then look around and talk to the locals - they're usually happy to help out.

[TnAndy]

Originally Posted by tnborn

Sounds like you have nothing good to say about tn. So, why did you move here?? You could always move back where you came from, right?
tnborn

Oh, I've got PLENTY good to say about Tennessee....and where did you pick up that I'm not FROM Tennessee ?

Paranoid asked two questions, and I answered them.....he didn't ask for a list of everything great about Tennessee ( and there is PLENTY )

I said some things about a particular small county attitude....which by the way, I suspect you'd also find in a WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER PLACES.....but I just find really funny......strike too close to home Tnborn ?

When I bought the place we have now, I apparently ruffled some feathers of a neighbor, who told me the same crapola...."We'uns waz her first....why don't you move back over to Johnson City?"......and I laughed at him too.....and said the Cherokees no doubt said the same thing when you white guys moved in, and the Woodland Indians no doubt said the same thing when the Cherokee took over......and so on.

It's a really pathetic argument fellow.......

[TnMtngirl]

One person who moved here was overheard saying :this would be a good place to live if it werent for the locals.They want to live in the country but want us country folks to move away.
we have excellent water here in e,tn beer is sold in our county,if you know the right people you can even buy m$$$$$$$E

[marvella]

i agree there's good people here. and one of our bigger problems IS people who come here from outside and try to tell us how to do things.

but i've found that two things help us get along here. (even tho i have been here 31 years, i'm STILL not a local. LOL!! my kids are tho, as they were born at a granny midwife's way back in the mountains, to me and their very local daddy. so i like to joke that i am now related to half the county!)

anyway, 2 simple rules...

1. mind your own business.
2. do unto others.

follow those two things and you'll get along fine.

tnmtngirl... yep, mind your p's and q's and you can get more than friendship.:-)

Originally Posted by TnMtngirl

One person who moved here was overheard saying :this would be a good place to live if it werent for the locals.They want to live in the country but want us country folks to move away.
we have excellent water here in e,tn beer is sold in our county,if you know the right people you can even buy m$$$$$$$E

[tnborn]

Originally Posted by TnAndy

Oh, I've got PLENTY good to say about Tennessee....and where did you pick up that I'm not FROM Tennessee ?

Paranoid asked two questions, and I answered them.....he didn't ask for a list of everything great about Tennessee ( and there is PLENTY )

I said some things about a particular small county attitude....which by the way, I suspect you'd also find in a WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER PLACES.....but I just find really funny......strike too close to home Tnborn ?

When I bought the place we have now, I apparently ruffled some feathers of a neighbor, who told me the same crapola...."We'uns waz her first....why don't you move back over to Johnson City?"......and I laughed at him too.....and said the Cherokees no doubt said the same thing when you white guys moved in, and the Woodland Indians no doubt said the same thing when the Cherokee took over......and so on.

It's a really pathetic argument fellow.......

GRIN who is the fellow you are refering to?? Anyway, I had that happen to me. I moved from one county to another. Just because I wasn't born and reared in that county, I was considered an outsiderLOL I lived there for 1 1/2 years before I was accepted into the community.LOLAnyway, you are an argumentive type person aren't you. Paranoid is also .

Where did I pick up that you weren't from tn, by your posts.LOL Tell him nothing but good things about tn...wait don't.Then, we can keep tn to ourselves.ROFL

Anyway, you need to relax more and not get so wrapped up in what people posts. Gheesh,if I didn't like living here I would move. I am not singling you out. I am just trying to make a point.If I move to ohio, I would expect the locals to tell me to go back where I came from if I talked negatively to the locals.What we have here is a lack of communication.
tnborn

[TnAndy]

wait don't.Then, we can keep tn to ourselves.ROFL


Actually, that IS my policy for the most part....ahahahaaa.....My wife has business meetings around the country and I travel some with her to them......and what occurs to me after going someplace like the Sewer by the Potomac ( Washington, DC ) or Atlanta, or such, is that if they EVER figure out how good we've got it here, we are in deep trouble, cause they are gonna over run us.

And, my fellow Tennessean....I'm not argumentative.....but I do speak what's left of my mind. <grin>

[Paranoid]

sorry guys, too late, i am moving with my immediate family. 4 households of us are soon to be there.

was originally looking at the chatanooga/cleveland area, but not I am looking at the mountain range to the west there. I want elevation and 4 distinct seasons. the smokies will give me that but since they are so popular i will pay a premium. If i find a nice place west of chatanooga but still 2500ft+ I think I may find perfection at a reasonable pricetag.