Coming up on two years in Tennessee

[Bopper]

March 2 of 2023 marks two years from our relocation to Tennessee. I have no regrets about this move, but I have to admit I have some homesickness toward California. I was born and raised in SoCal and have only lived in LA, Riverside, and SD counties.

Don't get me wrong Tennessee is great. The culture of personal freedom, the costs associated with living here, the natural beauty, and the ease of dealing with the state/local government (taxes, dmv, etc) have been the main draw for me. However, there is just something about the west.

I'm sure I'll get used to it here but I wonder if it will ever feel like home. I live in a great community with a much slower pace. Our community feels like a resort but is surrounded by small farms. The people are great and almost everyone in our community is an ex-pat from somewhere. I was also fortunate to bring my job with me to TN and have a great relative income with greatly reduced expenses and taxation.

I'm going back home for a week on business in early Feb, and back again in July-August for an extended vacation. I can't wait to visit friends and family and get out on the blue water. I wonder if any of the other ex-pats have had similar feelings about leaving California.

[ABR]

Complete opposite feeling for us.

I can’t imagine any situation for returning to CA.

We are home.

[Bopper]

Originally Posted by ABR

Complete opposite feeling for us.

I can’t imagine any situation for returning to CA.

We are home.

Just curious. How old are you and how much of your life was spent in CA?

[unclerandy]

Just moved to Bella Vista AR this past August. I know the feeling you mention but for me I think its convenience/familiarity and of course family and friends. Having said that I don't miss the traffic, crime, graffiti, trash, population density, and 114 degree summers. Yes its more humid than CA but its not Florida! Winter yes but very mild and a minor inconvenience on occasion. The nature, beauty and peace I feel living here is amazing. I don't really have any desire to even visit CA except to see family.

[oddball]

Originally Posted by Bopper

I have no regrets about this move, but I have to admit I have some homesickness toward California....

...I wonder if any of the other ex-pats have had similar feelings about leaving California.

Moved to Texas a little over 5 years ago. I have lived in CA all my life, I'll be 62 in a couple of months. My wife has spent 45 years in CA, having grown up in HI as a child.

When we made our final Uhaul drive to TX, we whooped and hollered and high-fived when we crossed the border into AZ

We both were miserable in CA for the last 10 years of living there. We do not miss CA one bit, my wife will never go back, even though we left some friends and family there. I just retired a few months ago, and one of the reasons is that I loathed visiting CA on business trips, now that has stopped, thank God.

We have both discussed the possibility of going back, and the only way is for funerals. A number of our long time CA friends "unfriended" us anyways because of our support for Trump.

We are both Texans now, and we have a love affair with the state that still endures more than 5 years later. Texans here absolutely love their state, they have TX wallhangings, memorabilia, and trinkets in their homes, so do we. People hang the TX flag, we wear TX themed T-shirts. And I have never seen this behavior in CA.

[Bopper]

I'll be 65 next month and still plan on working for a few more years. My work takes me to some real crapholes occasionally. I'm going to CA next week and Houston a couple weeks after that. It's undeniable how much Texans love their state. It was on my short list too. Tennessee people are kind of the same, orange everywhere, TN flags everywhere, a few confederate flags too here and there.

I hate what CA has become and that forced me to move. I'd likely return if the state ever came back to its senses.

[jrw1911]

Four years now in Tennessee. My only complaint is the cold in Jan and FEB. I try to get away a couple of weeks during those months. This truly is Music City. There are so many music venues I can't even keep tract of them all. Seems like EVERY band has a stop in Nashville.My whole family moved here so I have no reason to go back to CA unless its for business.

[Tikka3x]

Those of you living in Tennessee, are you mostly central, western or Eastern? I'm looking to relocate and wondered how west Tennessee is compared to the rest of the state.

[SoCalDep]

I moved my family to East Tennessee and I am going back and forth until I “retire” later this year. We’re just outside Knoxville and I’m in love with it!

Someone from the Nashville area can correct me, but I believe the west part of the state is central time, can still get tornados, has a bit more humidity, VERY nice suburban areas of Nashville and you certainly have the music scene.

East TN (at least Knoxville) very rarely has tornados, is Eastern time zone, maybe gets colder but not positive on that, and being next to the Smokies is cool for me because I’m way more mountain than I am beach. There’s that whole UT football thing too… GO VOLS!

I know some people in the Nashville area and they absolutely love it - so I’m not trying to knock it but to throw out considerations.

[Bopper]

I live in Middle TN between Smithville and Sparta. The photo in my avatar is from my street taken last October. It's a beautiful place with tons of water.

I'm no expert but I think western TN - Memphis area is a lot more humid and has a lot more crime. I've heard that Germantown has some nice areas.

Sparta is the last city before you get into Eastern Time Zone. We get some humidity in July and August but it's doable.

Tornadoes are no joke. The year before we moved here a serious one come through the area. An ex-california CG'r that is here got hit pretty hard by it.

My daughter lives in Maryville, which is near Knoxville. The climate is definitely better there. We'll likely move there once I retire. For now, I have to be in the Central Time Zone for my job. As a full-time remote, I have to live in one of the timezones I cover.

Nashville is a pretty decent-sized city. You get all that comes with that both good and bad... Franklin and Brentwood are pretty upscale and remind me of Irvine.

[coronaman]

Been six years for me and I do not miss Socal at all. Born and raised there with the last 35 years in Corona.

I am 30 miles east of Nashville but I mainly go there when friends or family come to visit. 15 acres of land with a creek in it that flows into the Cumberland river.
I'm 64 and have one year left until I retire. Being here allows me to travel to a lot of places that are only an hour to hour and a half flying time.

[ABR]

Originally Posted by Bopper

Just curious. How old are you and how much of your life was spent in CA?

You and I are pretty much the same age.

Born and raised in CA. Put 4 kids through school in the Bay Area all college grads.

I’ve seen the state go to sheet.

[Bopper]

Originally Posted by coronaman

Been six years for me and I do not miss Socal at all. Born and raised there with the last 35 years in Corona.

I am 30 miles east of Nashville but I mainly go there when friends or family come to visit. 15 acres of land with a creek in it that flows into the Cumberland river.
I'm 64 and have one year left until I retire. Being here allows me to travel to a lot of places that are only an hour to hour and a half flying time.

I just picked up a smoker from a guy in the Spring Creek - Dry Branch area not far from you. Really beautiful country there.

[bigbossman]

Originally Posted by Bopper

March 2 of 2023 marks two years from our relocation to Tennessee. I have no regrets about this move, but I have to admit I have some homesickness toward California. I was born and raised in SoCal and have only lived in LA, Riverside, and SD counties.

I am 66 years old. I was born in Encino, grew up in The Valley, and lived as an adult in the S.F. Bay Area. I moved out of CA about 4 years ago, to Idaho. The CA I knew, grew up in, and loved is long gone and is never coming back. I moved, was CHASED OUT by high taxes, traffic, overcrowding, crime, homelessness, and an oppressive government.... just off the top of my head.

I miss the CA of old, and I miss the familiar and fascinating geology - Death Valley, the Sierra crest, favorite fishing lakes and streams, and hard won hunting spots. But you know what? They were all being overrun anyway, and I'm finding new stuff here.

I don't really like going back to CA, it makes me sad to see what's been done to it.

[Dougbert66]

I'm 56. Born and raised in South Carolina. After seeing the beauty of the west I got the urge and moved to Chico for my first job out of grad school in 1992. Loved it. After a couple of years I got sucked into Silicon Valley (I'm an engineer). Hated the traffic and the suburban sprawl. Bought 37 acres and a crappy house in the Santa Cruz mountains in 1999. Happy again. Remodeled and added on with the intent to retire there eventually.

But things in CA continued to "progress." My area, once mostly inhabited by people who were self-sufficient and independent-minded (and knew how to run a chainsaw), was slowly overrun by morons. After the 2016 election the atmosphere at work and in our neighborhood became unbearably toxic with woke/neo-racist zombies. We started thinking about exit plans around 2018 with east TN at the top of the list. The Covid debacle and riots left me feeling like we'd waited too long.

My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's mid 2020 which kicked our butts into gear and set our destination to South Carolina. We made the move in 2021. I'd spent 29+ years in CA and seen it go from a mostly beautiful place with huge potential to a festering sh**hole run by authoritarian goons enabled by brainwashed zealots.

I had to return after a month to retrieve the last of our possessions and make final preparations to sell our place. I dreaded it. Crossing back into CA felt like being smothered. Masks everywhere, jerky drivers, etc. Getting back out was a huge relief. I have no desire to return despite missing my private redwood forest, Yosemite, Sequoia, Lassen, and the PCH. It's sad, but having re-experienced actual LIBERTY, I will never give it up again.

[Bopper]

So I head back out to SoCal (LA/OC/SD) next week for business.

I'm going to cover a fair amount of turf. Flying into LAX, the first night in Solana Beach, the next few nights are in Anaheim, and the final night is back up by LAX.

It will be interesting to see how I feel after this trip. The previous trips back home have been good but I really noticed a difference between there and here in TN. All that said, I'm a firm believer that feelings follow and never lead. So while I may be a little homesick (feeling), the reasons I got out of Dodge are all still valid (facts), and I'm committed to my relocation to a free state.

[Reno-Kid]

I gotta say California was great back in the 60s, 70s and 80s, up to mid 90s. I did not understand why people were leaving in early and mid 90s, and it took me around 2010 to see it was time to move. Fortunately, Covid made it possible to move out. I do visit Santa Clara County every other month for business but I am sure glad not to be living in CA any more. North Nevada is great. Sadly NV is also sinking into the California mentality.

[BAJ475]

Originally Posted by Dougbert66

I'm 56. Born and raised in South Carolina. After seeing the beauty of the west I got the urge and moved to Chico for my first job out of grad school in 1992. Loved it. After a couple of years I got sucked into Silicon Valley (I'm an engineer). Hated the traffic and the suburban sprawl. Bought 37 acres and a crappy house in the Santa Cruz mountains in 1999. Happy again. Remodeled and added on with the intent to retire there eventually.

But things in CA continued to "progress." My area, once mostly inhabited by people who were self-sufficient and independent-minded (and knew how to run a chainsaw), was slowly overrun by morons. After the 2016 election the atmosphere at work and in our neighborhood became unbearably toxic with woke/neo-racist zombies. We started thinking about exit plans around 2018 with east TN at the top of the list. The Covid debacle and riots left me feeling like we'd waited too long.

My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's mid 2020 which kicked our butts into gear and set our destination to South Carolina. We made the move in 2021. I'd spent 29+ years in CA and seen it go from a mostly beautiful place with huge potential to a festering sh**hole run by authoritarian goons enabled by brainwashed zealots.

I had to return after a month to retrieve the last of our possessions and make final preparations to sell our place. I dreaded it. Crossing back into CA felt like being smothered. Masks everywhere, jerky drivers, etc. Getting back out was a huge relief. I have no desire to return despite missing my private redwood forest, Yosemite, Sequoia, Lassen, and the PCH. It's sad, but having re-experienced actual LIBERTY, I will never give it up again.

Also loved Chico. I graduated from Chico State in 1972 and returned to LA. Moved back to Chico in 1978. We left Chico in 2019 for Idaho. Like you, no way would I ever give up the liberty I now enjoy.

[jigenax]

I'm a SoCal native, born and raised. Lived in LA until I was 49 then moved to NorCal due to a work promotion. I stayed there for another 6 years before taking early retirement due to health issues. In the past, I also spent some time in Texas, Florida and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan.

I moved to Reno, NV in Dec 2021 as a temporary stay until I found my next house. During the past 14 months as a free American, I can definitely say my life and health have improved. Less stress, lower cost of living, etc.

Will I go back to CA? Only for short visits since I still have some family there. Most of my friends have already moved out of CA and the ones left are planning to leave as soon as they can.

Do I miss CA? Not really. I'm more of a mountains and forests kind of guy so beaches and oceans are a "been there, done that" thing. I don't like crowded places anymore so going to big cities are only for medical services that can't be done locally. As for amusement parks, that a big nope. I used to work at Magic Mountain and Universal Studios and frankly, all amusement parks have lost their allure. Once you see behind the curtain... As for my favorite eateries, sadly they all went belly up and closed their doors for good.

Bottom line, I'm happier not living in CA and don't miss it at all.

[Garand Hunter]

I am 79, will be 80 in July. We got here in Tennessee oct 2021 and bought a house cash in Kodak, Sevier County. I like it here, except for the dork arse drivers, Cali has nothing on the drivers here! About march of last year 2022 the crew-three daughters and two son in laws and the grand younguns all came over and said " we want to go/move back to Cali and we want you/me to come with us, my wife included....NO ! I said NO ! So far we are all still here, but daughter # 2 is leaving about the 15th of this month. I tell them what is still happening there and I don't know jack by their estimation of the " old man " and I remind them I can still whup you, 52, 46 years old. I don't like to admit it, but yes I am retired now. Life goes on, IN TENNESSEE.

Psalm 1

[highpower]

I left Commiefornia back in 2014 after living there for 62 years (I am now 71) and moved to Nevada. I have absolutely NEVER regretted my move. Unfortunately, Commiefornia dumbocraps started infesting the Reno area (they are like cockroaches) and started turning it into Commiefornia lite, which prompted me to start looking elsewhere to settle down.

After several trips across the country looking for the right place, I moved to Tennessee I absolutely love it here. I refuse to go back to Commiefornia under any circumstances.

I just bought a new place, 5.5 acres with a 3/2 house, large workshop and a pond with bass in it for $200K located just outside of the Shiloh National Battlefield. Property taxes are about $500 a year and gas is currently $2.95 a gallon.

Every once in a while when I visit my son in Reno, I stand on the border and pee on Commiefornia.

[echo1]

I'm kinda stuck here with 2 properties that used to be worth almost $1M on $300K investment. I like Idaho and spend a lot of time there, work seasonally in Pingree and my son lives in Rathdrum. Been here my whole 71 years and it's crashed and burned hard. I'm lucky that I've got low overhead and I'm a cheap SOB, it's the only way we're hanging on. PAX

[ACfixer]

Bopper, I am almost 61. I spent nearly my entire life in SoCal, I cannot imagine going back. I've been back twice to take care of a couple things and it seems worse each time. Big Bear Lake has turned into a woke shi*thole, so many great memories there, but it sucks now.

No regrets here. A visit takes care of the homesickness, and reaffirms my choice. But I wish you the best, maybe you need to go hang out in Riverside county for a week and see what you think.

[Bopper]

I got back from a week in LA/OC/SD. It was good confirmation on the decision to move to TN. Crazy traffic, Homeless & crazies everywhere. Still going back this summer to spend extended time with my kid, friends, and to fish.

[ACfixer]

Originally Posted by Bopper

I got back from a week in LA/OC/SD. It was good confirmation on the decision to move to TN. Crazy traffic, Homeless & crazies everywhere. Still going back this summer to spend extended time with my kid, friends, and to fish.

See that's just it, we can go back to visit... Get to see some friends and also get confirmation. It isn't perfect here, but it's better in nearly every way.

[Bopper]

Originally Posted by ACfixer

See that's just it, we can go back to visit... Get to see some friends and also get confirmation. It isn't perfect here, but it's better in nearly every way.

Totally agree it's better. I just spent the past week in Houston. The people were great and Houston was better than SoCal in nearly every way. Texas (Granbury) was on my shortlist but I still think Middle TN was the right choice.

[oddball]

Originally Posted by Bopper

Totally agree it's better. I just spent the past week in Houston. The people were great and Houston was better than SoCal in nearly every way.

And as a resident living near Ft Worth, I avoid going to Houston (and Austin). Which shows you how f*cked up Los Angeles truly is. My sister still lives in SoCal, my parents are buried there, and I still have zero plans on ever visiting.

[Tallship]

Just found this thread. I am 71 and was born and raised in Los Angeles (SFV) and moved to San Diego in 76. Lived there until I escaped last year to East Tennessee just southwest of Knoxville, and would never consider going back unless for a short visit. We love it here and the people are amazingly friendly.

And BTW Garand Hunter- you don't know bad drivers until you've lived in a 55 and older community. Only downside about living here.

[ACfixer]

Originally Posted by Tallship

I escaped last year to East Tennessee just southwest of Knoxville...

Oh, are you in Mervull?

[bigbossman]

Originally Posted by Tallship

Just found this thread. I am 71 and was born and raised in Los Angeles (SFV).....

You're just ahead of me. I'm 66, born in Encino, grew up in Sepulveda, went to Monroe, left The Valley in 1981.

[borderguy]

East TN was on my short list of places to retire as I have family in Alcoa, Maryville and Knoxville. It's a beautiful area.
Had some great times fishing, driving to Makers Mark in KY and the Dragon's Tail.
I ended up retiring to SW ID and enjoy the solitude of a semi-rural area.

[Tallship]

Originally Posted by ACfixer

Oh, are you in Mervull?

No, not in Murvull, we're in Tellico Village, hence the thing about old fart drivers.

[Tallship]

Originally Posted by bigbossman

You're just ahead of me. I'm 66, born in Encino, grew up in Sepulveda, went to Monroe, left The Valley in 1981.

Sorta neighbors, I grew up in Van Nuys and went to Van Nuys high, LAVC and UCLA.

[ACfixer]

Originally Posted by Tallship

No, not in Murvull, we're in Tellico Village, hence the thing about old fart drivers.

Ahhh!

[RipTownTech]

I’m 54, wife 50. 3 kids (13, 18, 31) and 4 grandkids. Oldest is grown and has her own family. Son-in-law has an offer to relocate to the Gallatin area with his job (welder), they have decided to take the opportunity. I have been talking about getting out of Cali for going on 10 years and now and my wife and youngest daughter are starting to be OK with the idea. We are going to check out Nashville and the surrounding area in April and some properties in Gallatin and Hendersonville, as well as a trade school for my 18 year old (graduating HS in May). Money isn’t everything I know but a big motivation for me is 0 state income tax and the two counties I am looking at have property tax rates half of what I currently pay.

I am lucky that I have always been a remote worker (even pre COVID) and can work from anywhere. My wife and I have each other so we are happy no matter where we are, when together every place is home. My biggest concern is my 13-year-old daughter. She enters HS next year and is very integrated into the school community (student council, leadership club, sports etc.). I don’t know anything about the public schools in the area we are looking at. Does anyone have any experience with the public schools in that area that can share? I’m not so concerned about test scores per se, kids perform at a level that their parents expect. I am more interested in hearing about what the school community is like and opportunities for kids to make the most of their high school years.