Recommended by Ricochet Members Created with Sketch. The Great Conservative Migration of 2021, Part 2

 

We’ve gone and done it. In The Great Conservative Migration of 2021, I set out Mrs Rodin’s declaration that we had to move from California. So we set out exploring and weighing where we might go to be free (or at least free-er) from the progressive claw. As a result of the post, @asquared shared his experience with me of moving from Illinois to East Tennessee. Turns out @oldbuckeye also lives in the neighborhood and was encouraging us to move to East Tennessee. There were many attractions for a move there for me: a Judeo-Christian ethic, conservatism, friendliness, lower costs, no state tax, etc. In addition, I had family in the region that offered some ‘fail-safe’ support for this next phase of life notwithstanding my general planning for independence and self-care. Mrs. Rodin’s family — never large to begin with — had shrunk over the years to give little prospect of support in that direction.

So we planned our visit and contacted a realtor in East Tennessee that @asquared recommended. She is a terrific lady. We initially had a plan for visiting East Tennessee in December, but after meeting with a local realtor to discuss selling our house, the decision was made to fly to East Tennessee before the end of October. That the local realtor was pressing for an immediate listing was not surprising but resistible, except for the potential for coming turmoil after the election. We thought about it, considered the home selling data locally, and decided to make a trip to East Tennessee to confirm our commitment both to move and that East Tennessee was a candidate location. The trip confirmed both very well.

And so we looked and found a replacement home. Now we are committed. Yes, technically, there are conditions on the sale(s) yet to be fulfilled. And there could be reasons why the current arrangements do not work out precisely as currently planned. But the key step is done: Emotionally we are seeing ourselves actually living somewhere — a particular place — that is not where we have lived for the past 34 years. We see ourselves surviving, and thriving somewhere else. We have a reason to meet the next set of challenges in relocating. We have an expectation that we can reset the progressive ratchet that affects our lives to a free-er point than that which persists in California.

As we flew to East Tennessee just a few days ago I told Mrs Rodin that there was a certain inevitability about the move. We got married in December and she moved initially to my then-home in New Mexico, just after our honeymoon and Christmas with her California family. When, as I had promised her before we got married, we moved to California 34 years ago it was also December. Now it will be December again. The new year promises a new beginning for an old couple. Closing an old book and cracking the back on a new one.

The sun rises in the East. And that is where we are going.

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  1. Saint Augustine Member

    Nice post.

    • #1
    • October 31, 2020, at 4:29 AM PDT
    • 3 likes
    • This comment has been edited.
  2. Rodin Member
    Rodin

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):

    Judo-Christian ethic?

    (Maybe I’ll edit that out of this comment after you have a chance to see it!)

    Nice post.

    Thanks for the catch. Corrected. But these days we may need some judo in our christian ethic.

    • #2
    • October 31, 2020, at 4:37 AM PDT
    • 15 likes
  3. Kozak Member
    Kozak Joined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member

    Think about coming to NC.

    We could use reinforcements.

    • #3
    • October 31, 2020, at 4:38 AM PDT
    • 8 likes
  4. Rodin Member
    Rodin

    Kozak (View Comment):

    Think about coming to NC.

    We could use reinforcements.

    Yes, you could. One reason we are settling in East Tennessee is that my NC cousins encouraged us to choose East Tennessee if freedom was our goal.

    • #4
    • October 31, 2020, at 4:48 AM PDT
    • 6 likes
  5. Randy Webster Member

    @concretevol and I are also located in east Tennessee. Welcome to Big Orange Country.

    • #5
    • October 31, 2020, at 4:53 AM PDT
    • 13 likes
  6. EODmom Coolidge

    Hurray! Well done @rodin. We love east TN. TN was on our short list when we left Silicon Valley 11 years ago. EODDad was recruited to a great tech job in MA first tho and we ended up living on the Seacoast of NH and loving the stone walls and sugar maples. We really like Knoxville tho and the surrounding and all the way down to Chattanooga. 3 pretty seasons, great food, nice people. NO INCOME TAX (except interest and dividends, but not pensions.) NO DEATH TAX. Good food. Nice people. A FUN hockey team – the Predators are very big in Nashville. It is all the way across the state but you can have a nice team with a nice goalie (although I don’t know how long Pekka Renne will keep,playing) – if pro sports becomes sport again. Just decent air transportation, but who knows how that’s going to play out next couple – it seems very few non-stops and long haul routes for quite awhile and Knoxville has a nice, unfussy airport. 

    As to a Big Move: expect a surprise and you may hate both realtors by the end of escrow, but all will be forgotten 48 hours after the cash is in your account and both transactions are recorded. And you know 2 people when you get there. You’re set. 

    Well done! 

    • #6
    • October 31, 2020, at 4:56 AM PDT
    • 6 likes
  7. Blondie Thatcher

    Rodin (View Comment):

    Kozak (View Comment):

    Think about coming to NC.

    We could use reinforcements.

    Yes, you could. One reason we are settling in East Tennessee is that my NC cousins encouraged us to choose East Tennessee if freedom was our goal.

    I will second @kozak, but also understand your decision. Welcome to the east coast, anyway. 

    Funny, my husband and I were just talking relocation last night. Nothing as drastic as yours. Just within the state. 

    • #7
    • October 31, 2020, at 5:00 AM PDT
    • 2 likes
  8. Randy Webster Member

    There’s also the fact that east Tennessee is what keeps Tennessee red.

    • #8
    • October 31, 2020, at 5:00 AM PDT
    • 7 likes
  9. Dr. Bastiat Member

    I practiced for 20 years in Elizabethton, TN. Wonderful place. 

    • #9
    • October 31, 2020, at 5:15 AM PDT
    • 10 likes
  10. Randy Webster Member

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    I practiced for 20 years in Elizabethton, TN. Wonderful place.

    I remodeled the KFC there.

    • #10
    • October 31, 2020, at 5:38 AM PDT
    • 11 likes
  11. Arahant Member

    May the Lord smile upon your transactions and journeys. Tell us how you like it when you get there.

    • #11
    • October 31, 2020, at 5:49 AM PDT
    • 5 likes
  12. The Reticulator Member

    Arahant (View Comment):

    May the Lord smile upon your transactions and journeys. Tell us how you like it when you get there.

    Maybe we should establish some secret codes that he can use if the natives take him hostage. It would be a way of letting us know whether he’s being forced to say what he’s saying.

    • #12
    • October 31, 2020, at 5:54 AM PDT
    • 4 likes
  13. Arahant Member

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    May the Lord smile upon your transactions and journeys. Tell us how you like it when you get there.

    Maybe we should establish some secret codes that he can use if the natives take him hostage. It would be a way of letting us know whether he’s being forced to say what he’s saying.

    Right. Okay, Rodin, if you’re taken hostage, all you need to write is, “Lefties are great people,” and we’ll know and send in reinforcements.

    • #13
    • October 31, 2020, at 5:59 AM PDT
    • 5 likes
  14. OldPhil Coolidge

    Good luck!

    • #14
    • October 31, 2020, at 6:02 AM PDT
    • 1 like
  15. Buckpasser Member
    Buckpasser Joined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member

    Good luck! We’re temporarily homeless. Sold our house in California and am attempting to buy in Florida.

    • #15
    • October 31, 2020, at 6:08 AM PDT
    • 6 likes
  16. Old Buckeye Inactive

    Looking forward to welcoming @Rodin and his family to the area. A Rico meetup can’t be far behind given the proximity of some of us.

    We’ve also moved house twice in December. Once was to northern Ohio 4 days before Christmas. The driveway was piled high with snow, but the woman who turned out to be our best neighbor came over with her snowblower and dug us out. I can promise with nearly 100% assurance that you won’t be needing a snowblower here, Rodin. 

    • #16
    • October 31, 2020, at 6:34 AM PDT
    • 6 likes
  17. Lois Lane Coolidge

    I can’t imagine living in California. I felt oppressed living in Texas. Guess where we moved? Yep. You guessed it. East Tennessee. :) Right before I read your post, I wrote about life here, which is (mostly) better, though I’ve determined you can’t completely escape the crazy.

    • #17
    • October 31, 2020, at 6:35 AM PDT
    • 4 likes
  18. Blondie Thatcher

    Old Buckeye (View Comment):

    Looking forward to welcoming @Rodin and his family to the area. A Rico meetup can’t be far behind given the proximity of some of us.

    I agree about a meetup. It can encompass North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina folks, too. 

     

    • #18
    • October 31, 2020, at 6:53 AM PDT
    • 5 likes
  19. AUMom Member
    AUMom Joined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member

    Blondie (View Comment):

    Old Buckeye (View Comment):

    Looking forward to welcoming @Rodin and his family to the area. A Rico meetup can’t be far behind given the proximity of some of us.

    I agree about a meetup. It can encompass North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina folks, too.

     

    I would love to. 

    • #19
    • October 31, 2020, at 7:05 AM PDT
    • 6 likes
  20. Stad Coolidge

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    @concretevol and I are also located in east Tennessee. Welcome to Big Orange Country.

    And we’re not far from there (Aiken, SC). I used to drive to Oak Ridge quite a bit, and we have friends in Tullahoma. As I’ve said before, if I moved to Tennessee, I’d probably move in or around the Chattanooga area . . .

    • #20
    • October 31, 2020, at 7:35 AM PDT
    • 4 likes
  21. Stad Coolidge

    Kozak (View Comment):

    Think about coming to NC.

    We could use reinforcements.

    Depend on where. I grew up in Raleigh, and moved back after I got out of the Navy. We moved to SC in 1988 and haven’t looked back. I still have a lot of friends in and around Raleigh, and go there periodically.

    • #21
    • October 31, 2020, at 7:37 AM PDT
    • 3 likes
  22. Stad Coolidge

    AUMom (View Comment):

    Blondie (View Comment):

    Old Buckeye (View Comment):

    Looking forward to welcoming @Rodin and his family to the area. A Rico meetup can’t be far behind given the proximity of some of us.

    I agree about a meetup. It can encompass North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina folks, too.

     

    I would love to.

    Count us in!

    • #22
    • October 31, 2020, at 7:38 AM PDT
    • 4 likes
  23. Randy Webster Member

    Lois Lane (View Comment):

    I can’t imagine living in California. I felt oppressed living in Texas. Guess where we moved? Yep. You guessed it. East Tennessee. :) Right before I read your post, I wrote about life here, which is (mostly) better, though I’ve determined you can’t completely escape the crazy.

    I thought you were only here temporarily.

    • #23
    • October 31, 2020, at 11:44 AM PDT
    • 1 like
  24. kedavis Member

    I’m glad you made the decision, and are happy with it. As mentioned previously, my own recent relocation was driven more by time. I found pretty much the one place I was likely to EVER find, anywhere in the country, with the space I’d always wanted, and that I could afford. Fortunately I’d been hearing from brokers for a couple years who wanted to buy my place in Phoenix, so I called them (for a change!) and things moved pretty quickly.

    I actually didn’t have time – and in any event, couldn’t afford – to visit first, or get an appraisal or anything else. The first time I even saw the place, was when I pulled up in one of the three big U-Haul trucks full of my stuff.

    Fortunately the people I bought it from, had things in good repair already. And I never actually met them, as it turned out. They had to get back to near-Vegas for medical reasons, before I got here.

    And I never personally met the realtor/escrow/title people at this end, either. When I went to their office to pick up the paperwork and keys, nobody was there. I called the guy who ran the place, who said that his wife runs the office if he goes out, but she was out for lunch at that time. The office door was unlocked, and the paperwork and keys were on the desk.

    Aren’t small towns great??? :-)

    I voted on Monday, 2 blocks away. Post Office is 3 blocks away. True Value Hardware is next to the Post Office. And a nice Family Dollar store, including groceries (everything but fresh meat and produce) is about 5 blocks.

    • #24
    • October 31, 2020, at 12:24 PM PDT
    • 7 likes
    • This comment has been edited.
  25. Dr. Bastiat Member

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    I practiced for 20 years in Elizabethton, TN. Wonderful place.

    I remodeled the KFC there.

    Very cool! It came out great! It needed a redo. Used to take the kids there for special occasions.

    • #25
    • October 31, 2020, at 12:29 PM PDT
    • 3 likes
  26. Randy Webster Member

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    I practiced for 20 years in Elizabethton, TN. Wonderful place.

    I remodeled the KFC there.

    Very cool! It came out great! It needed a redo. Used to take the kids there for special occasions.

    It’s probably been remodeled again since I did it. That was 20 years ago.

    • #26
    • October 31, 2020, at 12:41 PM PDT
    • 4 likes
  27. RushBabe49 Thatcher

    Good for you! I can speak with firsthand knowledge about how fun Ricochet meetups are. Instant friends! No worries about being alone in a new place. 
    We just don’t do “hot and humid” so we won’t be joining you on the east coast. 

    • #27
    • October 31, 2020, at 12:50 PM PDT
    • 2 likes
  28. kedavis Member

    RushBabe49 (View Comment):

    Good for you! I can speak with firsthand knowledge about how fun Ricochet meetups are. Instant friends! No worries about being alone in a new place.
    We just don’t do “hot and humid” so we won’t be joining you on the east coast.

    The 2700 sq ft brick place in my small town is still available. :-) Only $85k.

    • #28
    • October 31, 2020, at 1:04 PM PDT
    • 3 likes
  29. Chuck Thatcher

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    @concretevol and I are also located in east Tennessee. Welcome to Big Orange Country.

    It was very difficult for this Aggie to rewire so that TU is no longer Texas University.

    But I’m glad Rodin escaped with his life and his sanity.

    • #29
    • October 31, 2020, at 1:18 PM PDT
    • 2 likes
  30. kedavis Member

    Chuck (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    @concretevol and I are also located in east Tennessee. Welcome to Big Orange Country.

    It was very difficult for this Aggie to rewire so that TU is no longer Texas University.

    But I’m glad Rodin escaped with his life and his sanity.

    Yes, at some point PRC real estate prices are bound to crater again.

    Phoenix might not be too far behind on that, but I got out back in August.

    • #30
    • October 31, 2020, at 1:21 PM PDT
    • 3 likes
    • This comment has been edited.