What is the Most Underrated City in TN?

[Justiceham]

Memphis and Chattanooga are the most underrated cities in the state.

[Justiceham]

I believe Cookeville had potential to be big, but I think the city is more focused on offering small town charm and a clean, safe environment. Being a college town, it will receive things that other cities its size won't. It's location is also ideal at attracting business between Knoxville and Nashville.

[Justiceham]

I see that Jackson has received the most votes. What makes it so underrated?

[miami1855]

I think Clarksville is underrated because they do not have high resolution pictures of the city on Channel 4's weather maps.

Murfreesboro does, why not Clarksville?

[Rural King]

I see that Jackson has received the most votes. What makes it so underrated?

[Justiceham]

I think due to the fact its growth rate, economic development, and other positive attributes are often overlooked outside of West Tennessee in comparision to peer cities like Clarksville and Murfreesboro. I think the same holds true for Cleveland which garners little notice outside of Southeast TN.

Jackson does get mentioned quite a bit in conjuction with Memphis for its high metropolitan crime rate - which is the 13th worst in the nation according to a recent analysis (Memphis being #1). However despite that one very negative attribute -which is really confined to certian areas around the urban core and really in not indicative of most of the city- Jackson continues to prosper and grow at a very healthy pace with no signs of stopping anytime soon. Actually things seem to be picking up pace in Jackson with lots of big projects coming together on the northside of town and with downtown seeing a lot of new investment and business activity.

[Rural King]

^Use the search function and look for Jackson in the Memphis forum and you will find a multitude of Jackson threads. I think there are 4 or 5 on the front page currently. Jackson threads tend to get views but few comments, as I think most forumers who post are active primarily in Memphis. Kyle and I are probably the most familiar with the city of Jackson being that we are from outside the Memphis metro and Jackson serves as our nearest city.

To answer your questions:

Commercially the city is growing in leaps and bounds. The Columns and Vann Drive areas are continuously adding new retail, dining, and service operations, while a new mall is being built out by Pringles Park. The Pringles Park area on the Northeast side of town is primed to become another hot growth spot with in addition to the mall a new sports complex being recently built and several more commercial areas in the works. The Highland Avenue and Campbell Street area also appears primed for some major redevelopment here in the near future.

Residential growth continues at a healthy pace despite the national downturn. Jackson north of Oil Wells drive towards both Humboldt and Milan is developing very quickly with northern Madison County becoming built up and several areas targeted currently targeted for annexation. Residential growth on the Southside of the city and county has also started to grow. Jackson basically as a true suburban community (some might argue a bedroom community) now in the form of Medina which is just across the Gibson County line. I call it a suburb because it is made up almost entirely of new housing built to lure families who want to send their children to the Medina School District, live outside the city, but be within a 10-15 minute commute to downtown Jackson.

Jackson has recently been doing very well in industrial recruitment with US-Farthane, Toyota-Bodine, and several other operations coming to town and with ARJ, Black and Decker, and other firms expanding operations. This has been offset with some layoffs, but that’s the natural progression of things unfortunately. Jackson already has a pretty extensive manufacturing base to be proud of and it continues to grow, as does its commercial and service sectors.

In regards to road construction Mayor Gist is talking about looking into a new by-pass around the city to alleviate the worsening traffic situation, or looking into upgrading the existing US 45 by-pass by making it completely access controlled.

Last but not least downtown is seeing momentum build in its revitalization that until recently been just large government related projects. The downtown is going to wired and provided WiFi for free by a local service provider, a cookie shop/bakery is coming downtown, a subway recently opened, the New Southern Hotel apartment building has been restored and re-opened, a couple of lofts are in the works -which is a new development for downtown-, and a new commercial/retail project is underway as part of a new multi-deck parking structure for downtown. I know that does not sound like a whole lot, but considering downtown has been lagging behind and was damaged severely by a tornado a few years ago the recent slow but steady pick-up in its revitalization is a very positive development considering where it is coming from.

In short the city is growing at a very healthy rate with lots of commercial and residential growth being aided by decent industrial growth. It’s not a big city at just 62,000, with just shy of 100,000 in Madison County, so things have to be put in perspective. It is also in West Tennessee which is the slowest growing of the Grand Divisions, thus does not have the geographic benefits that being located in the currently more desired Middle or East Tennessee Divisions can provide.

Jackson has had to pull its own weight and has to fight very hard to be successful in an overall environment that is tilted against it when put up in comparison to other cities within the state which have much better conditions to foster growth. I think this premise might be the strongest for why Jackson is the most under-rated city.

I did not vote in this poll and have stated in this thread that I do not view this city as the most under-rated on the list, but I was asked to make the argument.

[Justiceham]

Thanks Rural, I knew some stuff was going on. Y'all were being too quiet.

[miami1855]

I think Jackson has some great potential.

The one thing that holds Clarksville back in the minds of others is the stigma of a "military town." Everyone sees Clarksville as some heavily blue collar, crime ridden city full of GI's, gangs and the like. And we do have over 30,000 soldiers within the Ft. Campbell area. And most all military families are good hardworking people. When you live around here, you become friends with many of them. But, sadly, military posts bring a stigma with them.

And businesses, both retail and industrial, avoid Clarksville because of this stigma associated with it....upscale retail especially. However, we have a strong, young base of people who are willing to spend the dollars. I just passed the Avenue shops in Murfreesboro on the day of their opening. Something like that would never come here. Why? I have no idea other than the reasons stated above.

We're not all pawn shops, tattoo parlors and used car dealers. And that's why I think Clarksville will always be underrated.

[Rural King]

^ On paper Clarksville appears to be geographically and growth wise a location that both industry, retail, and service industries would be seeking out a prime location for their operations. Its far enough outside a fast growing urban center (Nashville) to be its own entity and avoid some of the inflationary pressures that the other ring cities and counties face, but still large enough and seeing enough growth to be an attractive.

I think its only a matter of time before all the positive factors going for Clarksville really start to pay off. I agree that it is really under-rated among the cities in Tennessee, esp. for it being the state's 5th largest city, a fact that few folks I think realize. I bet most folks would guess Murfreesboro.

[flith]

I think Jackson has some great potential.

The one thing that holds Clarksville back in the minds of others is the stigma of a "military town." Everyone sees Clarksville as some heavily blue collar, crime ridden city full of GI's, gangs and the like. And we do have over 30,000 soldiers within the Ft. Campbell area. And most all military families are good hardworking people. When you live around here, you become friends with many of them. But, sadly, military posts bring a stigma with them.

And businesses, both retail and industrial, avoid Clarksville because of this stigma associated with it....upscale retail especially. However, we have a strong, young base of people who are willing to spend the dollars. I just passed the Avenue shops in Murfreesboro on the day of their opening. Something like that would never come here. Why? I have no idea other than the reasons stated above.

We're not all pawn shops, tattoo parlors and used car dealers. And that's why I think Clarksville will always be underrated.

[troyboytn]

MORRISTOWN! Sitting in the foothills of the Smokeys and between two beautiful lakes, it is the jewel of the Lakeway area. It is the center of the two county Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area with a very diverse population base of 132,000. It consistantly ranks 6-7th in the state in industrial jobs and a great school system and quality of living. It is the commercial center of the area with a large mall and many different shopping centers and of course the unique downtown area with overhead sidewalks giving access to the downtown buildings second story. It is truly a progressive and thriving (small) city which definately fits this forums description.

[miami1855]

After the recent report ranking Clarksville as the 10th fastest growing MSA in the country, I would have to again place my vote for us. Clarksville is consistently placed behind Franklin, Murfreesboro and, most recently Hendersonville/Gallatin in importance by the mid-state media.

We are a thriving city that has grown without "piggybacking" onto Nashville's shoulders. In that, I see us as highly underrated.