hey all. im looking for some insite. I have been thinking alot relocating to TN, Lexington TN to be exact. Im just tired of Chicago and all the bs here. Well my question is thia, how does the utility bill look out there. I found a decent townhouse in Lexington with 2 bedrooms near the lake for 475 a mo and im not sure how the utilities look. Also if anyone has any ideas about how Lexington is as far as type of people and such (like if its a crappy town and whatnot) please let me know. im doing this since ill be alot closer to my son, so there is a real reason for this. thanks guys/gals for all ur insite!
Lexington is a decent place. I have never lived there, but have drove through a couple of times and stopped for gas/food. I have NO idea what utilities are for that place, but I live about 120 miles east and I only pay about 30 a month for water, 150ish for electricity, and about 80 for internet... 60mb/s ftw... lol. 475 a month is a real good deal IMO near a lake. Might be real cheap livin, but in style.
425 a month for rent? wow! dont come to cali then because 425 a month would get you laughed at ! lol
Tn is cheap on utilities compared to many places thanks to TVA. Depending on the time of year and your comfort level, electricity from $60-200 a month, and $25-30 for water. Pretty mild weather too. There is not a lot in that area. I just drove by there last month. Are you looking to work in Jackson?
2004 Cavalier. Razzi. (Sold)
1998 Corvette. Some mods.
1992 Typhoon. Lots of mods.
1994 Civic VX 44MPG
wow thanks for the responds so fast. Napa has a few spots open right now in Lexington, Alamo Tn and Dyersberg Tn and lexington is the closest to where my son lives. So work in Lexington is where i would be working. i know its cheaper then chicago and simple and thats why i really want to. Im tired of the over priced crap here in chicago. Thanks all for the headsup. Anything else i may want to know. This is a huge decision and i want to make sure its a right move. I know its gonna be a huge culture shock. But im not too worried. Plus ill be making ok money so it should be ok lol. thanks again guys!
Yeah i should.he able to do that. The funny part is I really want to since im fed up with illinois and all there taxes and stupid ass fees lol. ill be heading out that way in March to take a look around and see how it is. Plus i still need to look at the townhouse in person and see the people and neighborhood and such. Ya know, to make sure they accept outsiders lol. It is lookibg better day by day tho so idk. It scares me alot since this is a huge decision to make. I like city living but i hate the costz that go along with it. I mean, illinois state income tax is going up triple now, and that was kinda the last straw. So pretty much its now or never. Plus i dint want to live in Chicago and pay crazy rent prices for a crappy place and then struggle on top of that to make ends meet and hate it. Granted i know ill more then likely be very bored lol but i can deal with that. Thanks Again all!!! I do appreciate the help. And who knows, maybe if i do move down there we can a meet in Lexington at my place
Rob wrote:Tn is cheap on utilities compared to many places thanks to TVA. Depending on the time of year and your comfort level, electricity from $60-200 a month, and $25-30 for water. Pretty mild weather too. There is not a lot in that area. I just drove by there last month. Are you looking to work in Jackson?
Hey man, what is the TVA?? Can you elaborate on that a bit better. Plus im not sure on what kind of assistance is out there. Obviously im going from makeing 40+ a year to under 30, so im not sure if there is something I can do for assistance. Im not looking for foor stamps or anything like that, but like, if you get behind on a bill (gas, electric, etc) since one month it maybe low but not expect a HUGE bill the next. I know here in Chicago, there is a program for people that put them on budgets for gas and electric. Is there anything out there like that?? Thanks man. What part of TN you from?? I ask because my ex wife and son like in Sparta. Thanks again man. I really appreciate the help.
I have not looked into getting any help, but I am sure we have stuff like financial aid and etc...
Hmmm, ok. Im gonna be taking a trip out there in march, too look around and see the town itself. I just dont want it to be some run down hole in the wall and such. A decent town will be fine, but not like the west side of Chicago (crappy houses, and just looks all around beat down) OH!! I almost forgot, what kind of weather do you see out there. Anything major and dangerous I should know about. I kow the occasional tornado comes through, but anything else I should worry myself about hahaha. Thanks guy. I know alot of questions, but again, im trying to have the most information I can before I even attempt to go look at the town.
Tennessee Valley Authority. Basically, they make cheaper electricity than other parts of the country.
"The Tennessee Valley Authority, a corporation owned by the U.S. government, provides electricity for 9 million people in parts of seven southeastern states at prices below the national average. TVA, which receives no taxpayer money and makes no profits, also provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists utilities and state and local governments with economic development. "
I think local power companies have "averaging" they can do where they charge you more money during months you don't use as much power to help offset the costs when you do use more. There may be other programs, but I have never used them, so I am not aware of how they may work. In TN, you really would have no problem living on $25k a year as long as it is just you and maybe a spouse. You are looking at under $6k a year in your housing you posted above. Utilities are cheap here. As long as you don't have a bunch of school loans or car loans, you should be fine.
2004 Cavalier. Razzi. (Sold)
1998 Corvette. Some mods.
1992 Typhoon. Lots of mods.
1994 Civic VX 44MPG
Rob, thanks alot for the info. I have school loans that im working on at the moment. My ex still have a car payment, but thats gonna be paid off in June so no worries, and other then the few bills I still have im not too worried. But thanks. I should be able to look into that. I really appreciate the help here. Im tellin ya, when I get down there, remind me to buy u a beer sir!
As for weather, the main worry you will have will be the very occasional Tornado. Will see spouts of rain/sun, mainly dry and hot during the summer and winter that varies from just cold to down right cold a snowy, but nothing like Chicago.
Off the top of my head, I can't really think of anything thats in Lexington, but you are close to Jackson which is a pretty good sized city and home to Union University. Plus, your fairly close to Memphis and not too far away from Nashville.
I honestly never worried about tornadoes. Last "real" one in my area happened April of 1998. (Nashville Area) I know Lexington has a Wal-Mart Super Center lol. Memphis and Nashville both have Pull-A-Parts if your ever needing cheap j-body stuff. It will be a huge change from Chicago. It might just be me, but most people here seem to be a lot nicer. I might of just had bad experiences the two times I stayed in Chicago...Idunno. I will say that people up there seem to drive better than anyone from down here... You WILL run into a decent amount of morons on the road... That's a fact everywhere, but it's a higher percentage of moron drivers here it seems.
Keep in mind TN doesn't have a state income tax so you can probably take a $2500-3000 pay cut and not even notice it. Yearly license plate tags are $24 a year no matter the car, car insurance isn't bad either. TN has cheap electricity because all of the nuclear and water power. I really miss the Chattanooga area, TN is close to a LOT of states.
FstCavZ24 wrote:Keep in mind TN doesn't have a state income tax so you can probably take a $2500-3000 pay cut and not even notice it. Yearly license plate tags are $24 a year no matter the car, car insurance isn't bad either. TN has cheap electricity because all of the nuclear and water power. I really miss the Chattanooga area, TN is close to a LOT of states.
I'm not quite sure you number for license plate tags is accurate, unless you are specifying a certain area. I definitely pay more than $24 for a one year tag.
Tornadoes aren't "bad" in the area, but they really are the only thing to "worry" about in the area.
The tag price depends on the county. Many counties have a wheel tax. So tags here can range from 24-75 dollars or so. Also, Hamilton, Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson Counties have emissions testing. I am with everyone else, weather isn't too bad. Life style will not be what you are used to. People are more "laid back". I really haven't really seen great drivers anywhere I have ever gone. I would definitely visit the area. You may feel more comfortable in a bigger town like Jackson. I personally like small towns. If I can find one with a couple of good restaurants a grocery store and no traffic lights, I am home.
2004 Cavalier. Razzi. (Sold)
1998 Corvette. Some mods.
1992 Typhoon. Lots of mods.
1994 Civic VX 44MPG
This thread has really brought out the TN people. I didn't realize there were this many jbody people around here.
Wow, thanks guys for all the great information. Yeah im not too worried about the weather, just trying to see if there was anything I should be worried about lol. Im hopeing if all goes well, ill be adding another Jbody to the area
so we will see. Im still on the fence. I know the life out there is alot slower then the city, and more laid back. I actually am just tired of the city life and wanna go somewhere it will be a little more easy. Im not worried about emission tests, and 75 to renew plates at the worse, wont be a issue since here in Chicago, or Illinois for that matter, is 99. Not to mention the damn 78 City Sticker that you have to buy in order to park your car on the street if you live in the city. So trust me, its not a problem. Things are looking good for this so far. And I really want to make this move. Plus I think its more along the lines of a "I wanna prove to myself I can do it" more then anything else. Alot of people I work with and my family think I wont do it, since im use to the city life. But after a while it does get very old very fast. Granted, I know ill be bored alot of the time, but it will be ok since I have a 360
and as long as I have internet im a happy man hahaha. Either way tho, Again, I really appreciate all your help. And If I decide to do this, maybe we can have a bash in Lexington, or at least a meet. I have put together a couple here in Chicago so im sure I can put one together if/when I move out there. Thanks again guys!!!!
