I have been presented with a great opportunity to move to Tennessee (south of Nashville by about 30 mins). My kid would be starting high school next fall so it seems like if we want to try this it has to be with this opportunity. I would love to hear from anyone with any knowledge of life in Williamson County.
Moving a 14 year old is really difficult. Also they would lose the chance to be an in-state applicant for UCs. Do you have family or a support system near that location?
I’d urge you to think long and hard about making this move. As someone who has spent several years in the Deep South for a great job opportunity, I’d say that for both you and, critically, your teenager, the sense of cultural alienation can be soul crushing. It’s hard to explain if you haven’t experienced it, and hard to experience it fully before moving (ie by just visiting), but for me it always felt like being stuck in some proto-fascist Eastern European country where the culture is so specific, so rigid and so homogenic in mind-boggling ways, and the values espoused so radically unlike my own (as one local put it to me somewhat sarcastically—God, Guns, and Football—in that order), that, specially during the Trump years it dawned on me that jobs are not what makes you happy in life. So glad we’re out of there. Recommend you think this through very long and hard before taking the plunge. A double move is messy and costly….
We are from TN. I don't know what your politics are. In our liberal bubble of the Bay Area, sometimes we feel that we're Right-of-Center. However, we know that in TN, we are considered way out there on the left. Brentwood, TN votes about 30 - 35% Democrat. In comparison, the Alameda county votes about 30% Republican. Are you a practicing Christian and do you love professional and college football? If not, it will not be easy. Life in TN revolves around church and football. Brentwood is also a wealthy area, which has a different flavor of conservatism. Youth tends to be more liberal even in TN, and you will likely encounter folks who exhibit Southern hospitality and welcome you while others who resent CA transplants who are driving up prices in TN. Racism is real in the south. I feel that TN has come a long way in terms of race relations and overt racism isn't common anymore, but racial bias exists. Covid protocols are virtually non-existent in TN at this point. If you wear a mask, people assume that you have active Covid and are currently transmissible, because otherwise, there's no need to wear a mask. There are liberal pockets in and near Nashville, but this is a small minority. Sports and music are pretty big, so if your child is a talented athlete and/or musician, your child may have an easier time integrating into the new school. Once in a while we wonder if we want to move back to TN to be closer to family and pay less tax (no state income tax), and the answer is "no" every single time, even though we'll be able to afford a big house in a nice area in/near Nashville. We are vegetarians, don't like sports, are atheists, and we hate hunting and are a bi-racial family. We don't fit in in TN. TN is a very beautiful state. So green. People are people and there are many loving and wonderful people in TN as there are everywhere else. There are a lot of fishing and boating opportunities as well as all kinds of sports. But summer is extremely humid and hot. It is not ideal for jogging or walking in certain seasons. Also, people don't walk as much as they do in CA. Many neighborhoods don't have sidewalks. I recommend that you think long and hard about what you love about the Bay Area and also your child's personality. High school can be a great time for a change or a terrible time. If the child is very resistant to the move, it'll make the transition that much more difficult for the child and for all of you.
Thanks to all on the replies. I did not take the job and am staying put:)!