Help finding new city (Memphis, Knoxville: crime, homes, job market)

[Geneyus]

We're interested in moving to a different city in TN where crime and race isn't the daily discussion on the news. I'm a lifelong Memphian, and it's getting much worse here.

Tell me where this exists:

• Large enough area for plenty of jobs within a commutable distance (I've worked in a few fields).
• Access to decent healthcare, trauma center.
• Pretty regular kid/family activities: zoo, festival, parade, aquarium, whatever.
• I'd say we're suburbanites. We want to see neighbors on walks.
• Must have a Target for spouse to survive.
• Pretty good crime rate. We aren't naive, and we watch our surroundings, but we shouldn't worry about getting robbed going to the grocery store.
• Good schools, K-12.
• Reliable internet for working at home (not satellite internet).
• Not Nashville metro.

Help!

[grampaTom]

If it isn't too far east for you I would suggest Maryville/Alcoa or Oak Ridge or Cleveland.

[Geneyus]

Originally Posted by grampaTom

If it isn't too far east for you I would suggest Maryville/Alcoa or Oak Ridge or Cleveland.

Thanks, I'll research these. I know someone who just moved to Knoxville area, and I've been to Chattanooga before. Beautiful areas. Oak Ridge has had quite a few jobs I was interested in over the years. There's just so many cities to choose from.

[JoeJunior]

I lived in Memphis 18 years and I know exactly what you're talking about. We saw the light and left in 1992 moving to Williamson County.

I worked all over the state and am familiar with just about every city and county. I would suggest you look at either Cookeville or Johnson City/Jonesborough.

Cookeville is 80 miles east of Nashville on I-40 and it has culture with Tennessee Tech University. They have the regional hospital and decent shopping. The region has two magnificent lakes within 30 minutes, and a bunch of waterfalls and natural rivers.

Johnson City is at the other end of the state--just south of Virginia. They have East Tennessee State University and a big medical school. The East Tennessee people are so different from what you're used to be around, and they're quick to laugh and they're often storytellers. It's a great place to live with mountains so close.

It's just a shame that Middle Tennessee has gotten so expensive to live in. Franklin and Williamson County home median prices are about $1 million. And Nashville's home prices are probably 2x what they should be. There are many, many great cities in this state.

[jabogitlu]

I grew up in/around the Tri-Cities, lived in Knoxville, then Memphis before exiting the state. Truthfully the rest of the state is not very similar to Memphis in terms of people's personalities, customs and just everyday living.

I'd personally suggest starting with the Tri-Cities and Chattanooga. I hated living in Knoxville and found it to be a giant, meandering strip mall of a city, but your mileage may definitely vary.

The biggest issue with the Tri-Cities is that the healthcare is subpar and is run by a monopoly. Second biggest issue is lack of an economic base relative to other TN cities. Third biggest issue is lack of a great airport, although you can get flights from TRI to ATL, CLT or BNA at relatively good prices. One big plus to Northeast Tennessee is that you're much closer to the mid-Atlantic and Atlantic seaboard areas, so driving to places like Charlotte, DC, Pittsburgh, or even NYC are generally do-able, at least much easier than setting off from Memphis or Nashville.

One other thought, since lots of us on here are probably familiar with the Memphis metro, maybe throw out 2-3 neighborhoods, suburban cities or other similar geographic locations that you enjoy in Memphis? Could help us connect the dots to other places in the state.

[jjbradleynyc]

I think either suburban Chattanooga or suburban Knoxville are your best bets. Both offer super nice suburbs, safety, and proximity to thriving and growing downtowns--even if they are a lot smaller than downtown Memphis.

I've enjoyed watching Memphis and its changes and development for years and have only visited there several times--never lived there. I grew up in the tri-cities region, and Memphis was always a city I rooted for (and still do) and follow its new developments closely.

It does seem like COVID really stalled a lot of the momentum Memphis had with a lot of its development in the downtown and midtown parts of the city. It still has some that are moving along well, but a lot have stalled out. The poorer regions of inner Memphis were set back even more after COVID.

Crime seems to be ticking up again, sadly, too. And the recent national spotlight with the horrible death of that young man by the Memphis cops, did the city image absolutely zero good--and truthfully probably harmed its image further.

I can understand why you'd want to look for a new city.

[Igor Blevin]

Some cities to check out. They are varied, so you have to do your own research or ask specific questions here. I am new to Tennessee but there are a couple of people that pop into this forum who are really good at answering very specific questions if you are patient enough to wait for them to eventually pop into the thread.

East Tennessee
Farragut (housing expensive)
West Knoxville
Maryville
Oak Ridge
Powell
Cookeville


Really East Tennessee
Johnson City

[LauraC]

Do you need public transportation?

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by Geneyus

We're interested in moving to a different city in TN where crime and race isn't the daily discussion on the news. I'm a lifelong Memphian, and it's getting much worse here.

Tell me where this exists:

• Large enough area for plenty of jobs within a commutable distance (I've worked in a few fields).
• Access to decent healthcare, trauma center.
• Pretty regular kid/family activities: zoo, festival, parade, aquarium, whatever.
• I'd say we're suburbanites. We want to see neighbors on walks.
• Must have a Target for spouse to survive.
• Pretty good crime rate. We aren't naive, and we watch our surroundings, but we shouldn't worry about getting robbed going to the grocery store.
• Good schools, K-12.
• Reliable internet for working at home (not satellite internet).
• Not Nashville metro.

Help!

I agree with jabogitlu on virtually all his points, but here are a few other things to consider.

The Tri-Cities has historically had a very weak professional job market with low wages. Knoxville has a much broader and deeper job market, especially for higher end or professional jobs. The Tri-Cities has few large employers - professional jobs are basically with the regional health system, Eastman Chemical, and the typical smattering of local government, education, and some regional banks that you can find about anywhere.

I'm a remote IT worker, and now work for a county government in North Carolina. I'm a former employee of the regional health system. The government pays around 30% higher wages at the same job grade for IT workers below director level than the regional health system here. I've also contracted for Eastman, but that was a decade ago, and have no idea what they pay now.

The healthcare comments jabogitlu made are absolutely true. As a former employee, and having had an ex-girlfriend that was often in the local healthcare facilities as a patient, the place is completely dysfunctional. I see new, and worsening, stories regarding patient care on my social media almost every day. All hospitals in a geographic area the size of NJ, are run by this one organization - there are some other physician groups and outpatient surgery centers, but anything inpatient is monopolized. I have already transitioned all my healthcare, except one non-Ballad provider, to Asheville-area facilities. Quality seems to be consistently declining.

Each city in the Tri-Cities has a Target. Given what all you mentioned, I think Johnson City is the one possible fit.

There are plenty of walking areas, but it's going to be hard to find a traditional neighborhood where you'll see people walking and actually knowing their numbers. There are some parts of Johnson City that have this feel - mostly on the south side, which is more urban. The north side is more suburban, with newer homes, and some neighborhoods do have sidewalks and such for walking.

There is Brights Zoo - a small zoo in Limestone. Nothing much else regarding the kids activities you mentioned - you're traveling for that.

Johnson City has good city schools and good internet, as long as it's through Brightridge.

[Coney]

Another vote for Cookeville or Knoxville