Are there any teachers from TN, NWA, or TX Teacher who can help me narrow down my relocation choices?

[DubbleT]

Pop on over to the TN forum and ask some of your TN specific questions there. I know we have at least one educator on the forum (JMT) and he's lived in a few different areas of TN over the years so he may be able to give you some pretty good insight, as well as other posters who can help you with questions about COL etc. For instance TN does have one of the highest sales tax rates in the country, as well as taxing food (at a lower rate), but tag renewal is dirt cheap in all but a few places, as well as low property tax rates in many areas. Overall tax burden places TN places TN as #48, with #1 being the MOST expensive, so tax wise it's a good place to be. Of course that also translates into the fact that we don't offer as many social services as states with a heavier tax burden, something you may or may not need to factor into your decision.

ETA earthquakes, yes much of TN lies on fault lines, two distinct areas. Memphis area is part of the New Madrid fault which also runs through parts of Arkansas. I lived there for nearly thirty years and only once felt anything, mostly it felt like the sort of heavy shaking that occurs if you live near a train track. Here in east TN I know the fault line is active but most are generally so small they can only be measured by instruments, they aren't much of a concern in day to day living.

[texas_nightowl]

Originally Posted by nmnita

In Texas it was nothing to have 100 plus days with nights in the 80 plus.

This. I do not miss this at all.


We had a half acre lot, fenced, and trying to find the motivation to weed eat in that heat was a real struggle.


As for walking the dog during the summer...even if you waited until literally right at sunset, it was still 92 degrees outside with really hot pavement. We've only had our first summer here in NWA and by sunset, the temperature does start dropping here more quickly than Texas.

[Jen.matthews78]

Thanks, all!...I've re-posted in both the education and TN forums as well. I should probably put it into TX while I'm thinking about it. I'll keep checking back through all of them for any additional nuggets.