Things to know about Tennessee

[Guest UberDuper]

I'm moving to TN the first or second week of June. I grew up in CA and moved to AZ about 7 years ago. I've never had to deal with daily driving in snow or the kind or weather you guys get and who knows what else.

So clue me in. What should I expect and what do I need to know when I get there?

[Garufa]

What part of TN are you moving to?

We get as much snow as AZ.

[Guest UberDuper]

Nashville area.

[Murgatroy]

It might snow once a year and stick. The rest of the other three snows a year don't lay.

We have two seasons here, hot and cold.

Other than that, just come out and observe. Keep your opinions to yourself until you understand why we do things the way we do. We move at a different pace out here.

I am not trying to be harsh, but I am a little gunshy (pardon the pun) with California folks. I have yet to meet one that can keep their mouth shut. No offense. My family was stationed there when I was a kid. I never really took to it. My sister must have though, she moved back and has been there for almost twenty years.

Other than that, if you have intentions of staying long term, realize it becomes a bit addictive and you might not want to leave, that and East Tennessee is the better part of the state.

[NRA]

welcome, get use to a slower pace and you should like it here.

[Guest UberDuper]

I was under the impression that it snowed for about 2 months out of the year out there.

It really is the pace that I'm after. Never been a fan of CA and took the first exit that was offered to me. My employer at the time opened an office in Phoenix and asked for volunteers to relocate. Unfortunately AZ kinda blows too. Bought a house at a bad time and found myself in an untenable position. Decided it was time to make a big change so off to TN we go.

[CLC]

Welcome to Tennessee! I was born here but I have moved around a lot and Tennessee is the most beautiful place in the world! The people are blunt but us woman try to sugar coat everything! I live in Knoxville and if you ever get to East Tennessee , you have to go to the Cades Cove! I think you will like it here , just don't listen to stories about snakes and black panthers! The men on this forum get riled over both topics! As for guns, we love our weapons and carry (almost)everywhere! Let us know what you think of our Tennessee !

[Caster]

Well, as far as the weather.....if you want the weather to change here in TN, close your eyes count to 100 and most of the time it's doing something different. Tn weather changes like a woman's mind.

[Oh Shoot]

Nashville area.

Half the city folks are from other states anyway.

- OS

[Guest UberDuper]

I'm a computer nerd. I work from home right now but that wont always be the case so I gotta be within driving distance of work.

[Erik88]

1welcome! I think you will really enjoy yourself here!

[Guest BEARMAN]

Welcome to the great state of Tennessee. If you get the urge to honk your horn...don't. It goes over like a turd in the punch bowl here.

If you can't understand our southern drawl; then don't be afraid to ask what we said, we really don't mind translating that for you...you'll learn it in time.

And yes, we do move at a MUCH slower pace than the rest of the country...you will too after a while, and you'll love it.

Also, remember to respect our women-folk...they can whip and out-shoot most of the men in the state!

Forget about the myth of alot of snow here...what you need to worry about here are the black panthers and poisonous snakes.

[quietguy]

Welcome.

I have lived in the Nashville area nearly all my life. This year may have been the worst winter in 30 years, and there were only about 3 or 4 days you wouldn't want to drive (mostly because of the other people on the road). Generally, we get 3 or 4 weeks of harsh cold winter (days below freezing), 3 or 4 weeks of intense summer heat (days above 95), and the rest of the year falls in between. It can get really hot, and really cold, but it doesn't generally stick around long. Humidity can be brutal at times. Allergies can also be a huge concern.

I have been a lot of places, but have yet to find anywhere I would rather be. Costa Rica and Ireland come the closest, but just can't measure up.

Edited April 18, 2011 by quietguy

[gregintenn]

You should know about humidity! In Arizona, you can walk all day in 110 degree weather and still have on a dry shirt. When it's 80 degrees here, you'll think you are in hell. Clothes will be wet like you just jumped in the river. Also, you'll learn about allergies. If you can cope with these two things, you'll likely love it here.

[Grunt67]

Welcome to Tennessee! I was born here but I have moved around a lot and Tennessee is the most beautiful place in the world! The people are blunt but us woman try to sugar coat everything! I live in Knoxville and if you ever get to East Tennessee , you have to go to the Cades Cove! I think you will like it here , just don't listen to stories about snakes and black panthers! The men on this forum get riled over both topics! As for guns, we love our weapons and carry (almost)everywhere! Let us know what you think of our Tennessee !

+1 on Cades Cove. My favorite place on the planet.

LOL, snakes are everywhere. Black panthers....don't hold your breath.

[Jonnin]

I'm moving to TN the first or second week of June. I grew up in CA and moved to AZ about 7 years ago. I've never had to deal with daily driving in snow or the kind or weather you guys get and who knows what else.

So clue me in. What should I expect and what do I need to know when I get there?

How are your allergys? TN has a LOT of plants & trees and general pollen... It does not snow much as other said but we do get a 1/2 inch or so of pollen between rains this time of year. (That was a joke, its not 1/2 inch of course but for real you can scoop up a good sized handful off your car).

This year we have had a lot of strong storms, so be ready to drive in severe rain from time to time (maybe once in 2 months but it happens enough to be prepared for it).

Mostly the summer is going to be horrid humidity, where it gets 90-100 degrees and you sweat but it will not evaporate. Its rather miserable in the summer. Fall and spring are absolutely amazing. Winter is very, very mild, rarely gets below zero and can still be 50-60 degrees at christmas some years, other times its 20-30, so each year is very different. Maybe you looked at this past year -- we had a LOT of snow -- but most years a real snow is quite rare. I can probably count on my fingers the number of snows that were deep enough to matter in the last 30 years, and 2 of them were last year!

Nashville is big enough to have aggravating traffic, but depending on what citys you were in before you might think its small and easy to deal with. The worst thing about our mid sized citys is that if one moron has a bad car accident on a major road, half the city will get backed up -- there just are not enough lanes and alternatives to handle the flow if one of the big routes is shut down. That is in general; its been some years since I was in major nashville traffic but at a guess its about the same.

You will want to educate yourself a bit about tornados if you are not up on them. Not super common, but they do touch down from time to time.

The only other thing is to forget anything you think you know about the south if the source was the internet, TV, movies, or the like. Just totally clear your mind of all that. Yes, we have poor folks that live in a trailer out in the woods. Somehow the left coast would have you believe that this is worse than having poor folks that live in a dumpster in a big city and makes fun of us for it. I don't understand that part, but anyway, best if you forget all that stuff before you get here =)

[Guest db99wj]

Oh, and don't come to Memphis, there are thugs and murderers on every street corner, no area is good, the whole city is full of criminals, dead bodies in the ditches, corrupt politicians, etc. If you come here to see Elvis, or go on Beale Street, see the Grizzlies play, or the Redbirds Triple A baseball club, or anywhere else, be prepared to be robbed, rapped and murdered before you leave.

Ok, it is no where close to that, just a typical U.S. city with a diverse population.

Oh, and welcome, you will love it here!

[Jonnin]

rapped and murdered before you leave.

Almost anything I wanted to say here is probably too RACY for the forum, but there is definately a really bad joke in here somewhere due to this f-slip.

[Links2k]

Ok, it is no where close to that, just a typical U.S. city with a diverse population.

Oh, and welcome, you will love it here!

+1 Key word being "diverse". I think that the entire state is a great place to live. Tennessee offers something for everyone.

WELCOME!

[1gewehr]

You will get a pay increase due to lower taxes. Cost of living is less than CA or AZ as well. Compared to CA or AZ, you will need to get used to the lush vegetation. The ground actually retains water, and so the trees are taller and fuller, grass is everywhere, as well as lots of flowering plants. All that pollen blowing around in the Spring leads to allergy issues if you are prone to having them.

You've got some adjusting to do. If you put on your turn signal, people will let you change lanes without fighting about it. On a two-lane road, don't get aggravated about the fellow up ahead trying to turn left in heavy traffic. Someone will let him do it. Learn to hold the door open for women. If you are not already in the habit, get used to saying 'please' and 'thank you'. Tennessee is pretty big on individual rights. Neighbors help neighbors, we do not depend on government. Tennessee may not be perfect, but most of us believe that it's about as close as anyone's been!

Welcome, and I look forward to seeing you at the range!

[monkeylizard]

I've lived all around the world and choose to make Nashville my home. I've lived in Tucson before and am familiar with Phoenix. The main differences will be in the following areas:

Weather

We get all 4 seasons.

+1 to the humidity. 110 in the desert is hot, even if it is dry. 85 here with 90% humidity is just as taxing on your system.

Snow won't be a problem for you. Just telecommute those 2-5 days each year where there's snow/ice on the roads. But you have to participate in the Kroger run. Kroger is a grocery store here (or to real sotherners, it's Krogers even though there's no S in the name). When the forecast says anything at all about snow, you have to go buy milk and bread, even if you don't need any. It's state law.

Driving

In Nashville, we use our Interstates. A lot. Phoenix and Tucson use a nice grid system where you can use surface streets more. Nashville is basically laid out like a wagon wheel that someone beat with a sledgehammer. Our hills prevent a real grid system outside of the downtown area. Some streets change names for no apparent reason. Old Hickory Blvd (known locally as OHB) is actually made up of about 3 or more different roads that sort of connect together if you can drive through a lake. So you and I can both be on OHB, but on opposite sides of town.

We have lots of hills. Not the little steep ones like the foothills that take your stomach when you drive them. Bigger than that. Mostly it just means that you can't see more than a mile down the road to see what traffic's doing up ahead. Commuting here is easier than Phoenix. We're much lower on the gridlock scale.

Be sure to let us know when you make the move. We can use that as a good reason to get a TGO meet

going at a local range.

Edited April 18, 2011 by monkeylizard

[LagerHead]

Forget about the myth of alot of snow here...what you need to worry about here are the black panthers and poisonous snakes.

Oh, and don't come to Memphis, there are thugs and murderers on every street corner, no area is good, the whole city is full of criminals, dead bodies in the ditches, corrupt politicians, etc. If you come here to see Elvis, or go on Beale Street, see the Grizzlies play, or the Redbirds Triple A baseball club, or anywhere else, be prepared to be robbed, rapped and murdered before you leave.

Both of these had me laughing out loud. Well played gentlemen.

On the allergy front, if you start getting killed by allergies go see the folks at the Vanderbilt ASAP clinic. They saved me. I can't say enough about them. I suffered for 17 years and they had me fixed up in a week. Literally. Everything else has pretty much been covered except where to shop for guns. Guns & Leather. That is all.

[Spook]

As someone said earlier, don't get uptight when the light turns green and there isn't immediate movement. Count... 1...2...3... they'll get goin'. People here do things for folks and don't ask for anything in return. Learn to like sweet iced tea. I've lived all over the world and been all over the U.S. Middle Tennessee is perhaps one of the best places on earth to be, all things considered. Hope you enjoy living here.

[Guest BEARMAN]

"Sir, and Ma'am" to the Elder's; will go a loooooong way to the fitting in process, as well.

Something most transplant's haven't quite figgered out yet.

[gregintenn]

We Tennesseans are pretty good people, but sometimes don't warm up too fast to 'out of towners". There is a couple from Texas who plan to build on the farm that adjoins my property in the back. The first thing they wanted to know was if I'd give them a right of way to run a power line through my property from front to back. Not a good way to hit things off. I have another import neighbor who wants to run a water line through my yard. I try to be a nice guy, but I didn't sell this property to these folks. These are things you should check into before purchasing property. Also, some areas here flood! After a heavy rain would be a great time to ride around and look for property to buy.