Thinking of moving to Tennessee (Nashville)

[mfh]

Okay y'all (hehe).

Not to sound like a downer, but I'm kind of miserable. I've grown up in California and as much as I like it, I'm looking for a change of pace for a couple of years. I've spent the last 10 years in SD, LA, and SF. Big city life has got me down.

The draw of inexpensive (relatvely) living, good bbq, friendly people, and driving my NSX in twisty woodland roads is very, very appealing.

A friend of mine and I are thinking of moving to the Nashville area. A couple of questions:

1) I'm asian (ethnically chinese) and my friend is jewish. We are not fobs or israeli and do not speak with accents, and are 100% california kids. I know this may be a stereotype, but as minorities it's an honest concern - What kind of racial resistance are we going to meet in the southeast? I'm not just talking about blatant racism, but really subtle stuff too. We'll both be 24 if/when we move.

2) Is Jack Daniels cheaper there? LOL

Thanks for any input,
Mike

 

[Fuquay NSX]

Ahh... a touchy subject racism. I'll take s shot. (trying to NOT sound like a jerk)

The south suffers from stereotypes just like many other places around the world. The biggest one is racism. Yes, there is a long history and I don't care to debate that now.

As for being asian in the south, probably not a concern. There are so few asians in the south you probably see more predudice in calli than you would ever experience here. People might see you as a novelty and be more apt to strike up a conversation with you simply because you are different. Preconceptions would be minimal,albeit you might see them as quaint of folksy. After about 5 minutes most people would likely accept you for who you are.

As for your gal being Jewish, again, if you were someplace up north, people might judge, but again its not something that is seen a whole lot in the south. If you are not up in people's faces about it, they will not have a problem with your particular religion of choice. People in the south are a whole lot more into the whole church thing than you will find anywhere else, but don't let that scare you. Its more of a social aspect of life here than it is about religion per-se. Most communites revolve around church related activities, but they don't really care what flavor you might subscribe to. (Well that old biddy might, but most folks don't like her anyway)

I have lived many places in the south; Charlotte, Knoxville, Atlanta, Augusta, Raleigh, just to name a few and they are all similar, but each has its own quality. I found Tennessee to be about the friendliest place to live in all my travels. If you are living in a metroploitan place like Nashville, then it will probably not be an issue of any kind what color your skin is or what your beliefs may be. So many people have moved to the south over the last 20 years that it has become a melting pot of cultures. Most folks have issues with Yankees, but you wouldn't really fall into that category. ;o)

A few places in the south have strong asian communities. Atlanta has seen a large influx of immigrants from southeast asia and there is a distinct area of town where the cambodians, viatnamese, etc tend to congtregate. Augusta also has a, to use a potentially offensive term, "china town" where railroad immagrants once settled back in the mid-1800's when they were building the canals and railroads, but that is becomeing a thing of the past as people are losing ther distinct identity there.

As for Nashville, I would imagine it is very similar to Raleigh (where I live). Both areas have seen significant growth in the last 25 years and are centers of business and industry due to the influx of new money. You would probably be a bit pressed to find people who are actually from 'there' and people in Raleigh consider me a local because I grew up in Charlotte (3 hour drive away).

Well to sum up, your concerns are probably unfounded. There are so many new people in the south that the old stereo types really don't apply. Most of the people here are from somewhere else and are trying to build new relationships since they have been stripped of the ones they have become accostomed to in their previous place of residance. Yes, it can be a bit lonely at first, but as long as you take into account that most everyone else here is pretty much in the same boat, its real easy to make friends. I suppose the biggest thing would be that initial culture shock. Get past that and it'll be fine.

Oh yea, learn to like college football.

 

[EIFFEL]

Vanderbilt university has large asian population and affluent too. Nashville has seen plenty of asians. No worries. Remember, you order Sweet Tea in the south. LOL.

 

[wilsonp]

No, you order Unsweet Tea in the South - sweet tea is what you get when you order Tea!

Vanderbilt university has large asian population and affluent too. Nashville has seen plenty of asians. No worries. Remember, you order Sweet Tea in the south. LOL.

 

[MJK]

Nashville is one of my favorite towns in the Southeast, and you are going to LOVE the cost of real estate and the "traffic".

You will miss cali winters and the ocean, but that is about it.