So You're Moving to Tennessee?

 

Above:  Fifty-nine year old me.. my how the years have flown.   Now I'm old and Nanny to four grandkids.  I'm older, but I'm still crazy.  😁

So You're Moving to Tennessee? 

by Dana Koogler 

Friday Jan. 18, 2024

   I moved to East Tennessee twenty-two years ago.  I have not regretted the decision one bit.

It was one of the best things I've done with my life.   Within the past four or five years I've watched my new home state become one of the fastest growing in the nation.   I am not certain what is driving it, but I've got a few ideas. Regardless of the cause it continues.  

   Property values now are up so high if I tried to move to this area now I could not afford it!

I decided to write a piece of advice for those seeking to move here or those newly relocated.  

   First of all, Welcome to Tennessee!  

 Second of all I will share my own story including what I did right, what I did wrong, and what I'd do differently.  I will try to give succinct advice for those considering a move to our area. 

East Tennessee in particular, but Tennessee in general.  

    

My Own Story

     It isn't something I'm proud of, but I try to be truthful.  The primary reason for our move was that living next door to in laws is not a good idea especially when they are disapproving.  Our marriage was on the rocks after sixteen years of that.  We needed a geographic fix. We moved to East Tennessee because it was similar to where we came from.  It was a wise decision.

First Steps --Create a Plan of Action and Do  It

     Here are the things we did  right if you are planning on moving.

• Go find a job first or check out work from home or transfer options 
• Go find a good real estate agent for buying in your prospective state and in your own area to sell your house.
• Go find a house

Next be sure to ask the right questions of your realtor and area residents if you can talk to someone who will answer you honestly. Social media connections today are extremely helpful for finding answers.

• Find a good school district if you have kids before you buy a home
• Ask the right questions about the school-- teen pregnancy rates?  Drug related problems?
• Academic record? Sports and extracurriculars? 
• School violence problems? Shootings, fights, bomb threats? Bus system related problems? 

Be sure to check on Elementary, middle and high schools as to their performance. I can think of at least one school zone where the elementary and middle are great, but they feed into an abysmal high school.

Check out private school options in your area including home schooling and home school/co-ops.

We have a little bit of everything in our area now.

•   Check out your area crime rate before you buy a house. One of our area subdivisions  started off nice, but ended up having several drive by shootings within six months. 
• Find out about your area hospital-- what is its reputation for medical care? It is solvent?
• Find a good primary care doctor and sign a release to have your medical records transferred.
• Find a good dentist who has a plan for emergencies available to you.
• Transfer your drivers license , tags and insurance within 30 days of relocating
• Find out if any nursing, realtor, cosmetology or other licensure is reciprocal in your new state or if you have to apply for new licensure? Do it at least sixty days in advance of your move.
• Find a truly reputable insurance agent for your vehicle insurance and home insurance ahead of time.   Stay away from nepotism... don't let your realtor hook you up with their family members businesses. 
• Find good cell phone provider if you have to pick a new one. Check on internet and tv services.
• Find a good moving company and a drop off terminal in your new area.
• Be sure to turn off your utilities in your old home and pay off any bills.
• Find out about utility costs and connections in your new area and make arrangements ahead of time.  Your realtor can help with this.
• Register to vote in your new area within 30 days and familiarize yourself with area issues, leaders and politics. 

Above: Our house as it was a couple years after moving in. When we bought this house the shutters were painted a hideous blue-gray. It has wooden porch railing which we later replaced with resin that never has to be painted and never rots. We're all about low maintenance.

Secondary Plans of Action 

  Familiarize yourself with the area you are considering moving to.  Doing this today is easier than ever.

Again, social media and cell phones and the internet make it a breeze these days.  Back when we moved here I did not even have a cell phone. I think we still had dial up internet! 

   Here are some concerns you'll want to check out way ahead of time.

• Is the area where I'm relocating racially integrated? 
• What are the area values like? Are they similar to mine? By this I mean does the area you're moving to have similar political views and religious views to your own?   If you aren't religious you still need to check on this because even non religious types have some moral code. Someone from the Buckle of the Bible Belt doesn't want to relocate to a shockingly different culture where Christianity is discriminated against.  Just an example. If you are LGBTQ you don't want to move to some Podunk town where you'll be shunned or you won't find people who you can be your true self and have a happy life.  
• Find out the prevailing school of thought of your area prior to moving. By this I mean there can be beliefs and feelings you won't think of and probably won't like.  An example: We have a county in our state where the work ethic is very poor, poverty is a real problem and is generational.  The children's goals believe it or not are to grow up and "draw a check". No one with any sense wants to move into an area especially to raise a family where the kids grow up looking for welfare and disability checks! -- Sorry to the residents of that county, but if the shoe fits feel free to wear it. 
• Deeply engrained traditions-- people in our area moved to the foothills out of the Great Smoky Mountains.  Teen pregnancy was high and some of it stemmed from that former culture.  There was a group of teen girls who had a pregnancy pact!  All agreeing to try to get pregnant.  Yeah. No fooling.  It passed, but our area high school used to have the 3rd highest teen pregnancy rate in the state.  
• Find you a good area church to attend.  Hop around a little and try out several before you move your membership. 
• Find reliable child care through area residents, check out daycare centers, or try Care.com 
• Cooperate with other area residents and parents to come up with a plan for early outs from school
• Cooperate with other parents on car pooling if necessary. My kids rode the bus some and I took them to school some. It was only a couple years and Crystal could drive. 
• Consider what it will be like moving to a touristy area-- increased traffic, long waits in line, crowded restaurants, etc. 
• Find out from area residents or utilize social media to find out areas near you that are considered to be of ill repute or unsafe and avoid them.  Example: stay away from low head dams such as Peery's Mill. They are killing machines.  Additionally it has the reputation of being a druggie/drunkard hang out.  I was warned by a coworker thankfully. She turned out to be correct.  I go there only to put in a canoe and that is it. 
• Learn area gun laws and abide by them. 

Above: Our pass through fire place and mantel on the kitchen side at Christmas. 

Above:  Kenny on the banks of Little River fishing in Townsend. 

Above:  Our home church for the past seventeen years. We were members of East Maryville Baptist church for the first four. It was not a real good fit at the time.  We needed a smaller, more country church. 

Above: I was the only woman in my area who owned and used a clothes line outside.  I no longer bother with one, but I did for the first seven or eight years of living here. 

Above: Ellejoy and Chilhowee Mountain just about half mile from my house. We moved to Blount Beach and live there still. 

Above: The old swimming hole near my house in Little River in Summer. 

Above: View across our lawn in Summer through Walland Gap 

Above:  The Sisters viewed from E. Lamar Alexander Highway

Third Stage-- Learn to Love It

   It is natural when you move to an area to go through stages as to how you feel about your new circumstances.  You may grieve the loss of your old home and leaving it behind.  I did because it was where I brought my babies home from the hospital and began raising them.  I missed the HOUSE and lawn and parts of it.  Not the problems. I missed my former co workers and my old job.  Kenny did as well.   We loved our new house. We liked our new jobs.  We liked our new area a lot.   It was a true adjustment.  I worked in the nursing field in an area where the local drug dealer would come in to be sewn up after a stabbing, but I was not afraid of him nor did I dislike him.  I knew I was safe and he wouldn't hurt me.  I knew everybody in town as did Kenny.  I couldn't go to the grocery store without running into lots of people who would stop to talk. I liked that.  I missed that sometimes.   

   We went through a period of second guessing ourselves. Did we make a big mistake moving?

 Should we move back?  We even went as far as to call our old employers to ask if we moved back would our old jobs still be there?  We found out they missed us too and yes, we could move back if we wanted to.  Thankfully those feelings passed.  We stuck around and became stronger, better people and professionals for it.  I was scared out of my mind working in Baptist Hospital in town where I worked for a week or more under police protection because a homicidal maniac had killed his own mother, tried to kill his dad, and wanted to finish killing his dad and ME.   I had lived a very sheltered life in Virginia.

Some of my co workers ,one in particular helped educate me.  I had a co -worker who was openly gay. He knew I was Madam Naivete and tried to protect me from myself and my own curiosity and foolishness.  He told me places to avoid. He got me a parking pass. He helped me be more aware of my surroundings in the parking garage since another nurse.. who looked A LOT like me had gotten jumped in the garage.      Most people today would not have these problems because they're more savvy than I was.   

• Make friends of your neighbors or at least allies when possible. Help one another.
• REALLY get to know your kids friends and the friends PARENTS and families.  Don't delude yourself into thinking you know them the way I did.  If a person lives in poverty or sketch find out why.  They may not just be poor.. they may truly be a bad person and bad family.
• Have your kids friends over to your house first.. don't let them go there first.  Really meet and know their parents and what kind of supervision they provide.
• Accept your new area for what it is and try to redeem all about it that is worth keeping. Try to let the not so great things slide when you can.  
• Don't complain about your new area.  Decide if you want to be right or if you want to be happy.
• Don't try to remake your new area in your own image or the image of where you left. Remember-- there is a REASON you moved away and not everything about it was hunky dory or you might not have left. 
• Remember what was wrong about your old location and avoid doing anything that heads the new location in the wrong direction. Don't vote for dumb stuff that will potentially bring about catastrophic change.  

What can I  Do to Learn to Love It?  

  What can be done to help you learn to love your new area?  That isn't hard at all.

Start by trying new things.  Find out about your area and avail yourself of a little bit of everything... even stuff you don't think you'll like.   Force yourself to get out of your comfort zone.   

• Go to a Vols Football Game
• Go to a Tennessee Titans Game
• Try a Lady Vols Basketball Game
• Go see the Knoxville Ice Bears play hockey
• Go try out hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains or Cherokee National Forest 
• Try kayaking area rivers and lakes
• Get a gym membership-- it may help you make friends.
• Bike area roads or paths
• Join the area hiking clubs and go with them on hikes. It is a great way to make friends.
• Find out about and attend area festivals
• Try taking art classes
• Go Rock climbing indoors or outdoors
• Learn about what is available in  your area in the way of shopping and dining.
• Try out area amusements like Dollywood, Splash Country, Soaky Mountain, Sevier Air Trampoline Park.
• Go take a drive on the Foothills Parkway or Natchez Trace if you moved to West TN. 
• Climb up Look Rock Tower for the view
• Go swim in area lakes and rivers and area pools. 
• Learn to backpack or try it out at least. Rent gear if you need to from REI. 
• Reconsider your new location's relation to other states and the beach! You may find you've positioned yourself much better. We go to Florida now like its nothing. We go to Western NC with regularity. 

Find out about your new state's unique history, culture, and get the feel of it. 

I did not care for Knoxville when I first moved to the area, but now I surely do. I love everything about being a Tennessean.   No looking back now.  

 

 Lastly-- Try to project yourself positively into the future in your new area. 

I really couldn't imagine having grandkids here, but it has been great.  I couldn't imagine really getting to know people here and growing to have a big extended family in this new state, but it happened just the same. I wouldn't change it. 

above: The view in Autumn from Foothills Parkway near my new home

Above: Look Rock Tower not far from my current home

Above: Uncle Roy's place by Little River at a family gathering for July 4th.  Uncle Roy was one of the first friends I made upon moving. 

Above:  My son-in-law Adam and my first grandson Michael.  He is wrapped in "Dissy" his blanket. He named himself Momote and his pacifier Dopsy. (pronounced like floppsy)

Above:  I have no windows in my bedroom, but I have a big set of doors. I love the view and my home. 

above: Me in a hollow tree out hiking with a girlfriend

Above: I learned to backpack.. self taught and I learned to enjoy it.  My tent at Goshen Prong

Above: My kids learned to swim in Little River and toughed up. They had  only been in the ocean or pools prior to moving to Tennessee except for the occasional lake trip.  Above it The Townsend Wye where we go swimming and tubing. 

Above: The greenbelt in Townsend where we walk and bike 

Above: Ye Olde Steak House-- a Knoxville standard and wonderful, unique dining experience we tried and grew to love.  

My Future Plans

     Lord willing, I will live out the rest of my life as a Tennessean.  I have no plans to move elsewhere. We both love it here. We all love it here.    We may end up having to move somewhere and build a house with no steps that is all one level some day. That is okay. We'll know when the time is right. It will be a prayed over decision as we always do.   My plans for my life are not good. God's plans for my life and future never fail.   I don't know what I want or how to be happy, but if I allow Him.. the Maker, to lead me I am always 100% alright with it.  

   I hope to travel with Kenny more as he retires in a few years.  I look forward to doing things with my best friend and the love of my life.  It isn't lost on me how blessed we are to have stuck together for thirty-nine years.   God is great erry single day!