ReeferMac

One of the greatest lessons ever taught to me was to think for myself. -K

You get out East at all I will take it. - K

Try Simethicone!

LOL!!! One of the few things I miss about living up North.

Welcome. You are one special lady. He is a lucky guy. Ditto on the range date idea, and getting your permits together. My wife and I did. Make that your gift. Best advice I got about picking out a gun was to go to one of the nicer/larger local gun stores with a range (NOT Academy, Dicks, Bass Pro, etc.), and try every damned one in the case they will let you. Eventually one or some will stand out and you will know which one to buy. Getting the wrong one is an expensive mistake. - K

I like going into Buds to fondle all the exotic and expensive rifles I would otherwise never get to see up close!

The boys over at Vol Market #3 are former Marines, always open carry, on the edge of a rough part of town.... Nary a problem with the locals, and they cash checks (aka - lots cash in the register). Funny how that works?

Ggorgeous, GLWS.

Please report back here how it goes. Always been curious.... - K

If it's possible, consider renting a place for a year before buying a home, to see if you really like an area (easier than moving!) When we were looking to move down here, we visited several times, and even put an offer in on one place (never worked out). Glad it didn't, as we ended up on the other side of town. We have now purchased land and are building a house, but 45 minutes away from where we first started shopping. Now that we've been here 3 years, I'm glad it worked out the way it did.

LOL@ Different planet. It's funny, takes a while to get used to everyone waving, and the first few times someone chat's you up at the grocery store will be unsettling. It is a nice change of pace, though. Learned to slow down and take it easy real quick. The left-lane drivers will make you nuts, however. We looked at Southern Blount county area (near Maryville), gorgeous views, still some good land available 'cheap'. Oak Ridge is more urbanized and older, so it's a different environment than the surrounding towns. If you make a trip down again give a shout and we'll get lunch! I actually found a fair pizza place in Oak Ridge w/ a former NY'er behind the counter. Little Nicky's got a decent NYC style pie. - K

Well hello there Knifemaker, where 'bouts in Yankee'dom you hailing from? Originally from Buffalo/Rochester area myself, moved down here 3 years ago. It's been great! We're living a little outside Knox, west side on Watt's Bar lake, but I commute to town for work, it's not too bad. Give me a shout if you have any questions. Would HIGHLY recommend visiting this area to get to know the area's, the suburbs are all a little different, each with it's own charm, and it would suck to relocate 800 miles, only to wish you'd bought on the other side of town. - Kevin

I have one of the Ruger American .22's, great little bolt gun. If I'm on my game, I can hit 9 out of 10 at 100 yds on the steel range at the club.