My hometown in Virginia is very much like this. Paradise turned sh*thole because of interlopers and outsiders. I completely hear you. I feel bad for BOTH of us. I come from what was once a sleepy Civil War town that I no longer recognize AT ALL. It's just a TRASH heap.
Anj | Vancouver, WA | Report Abuse

Just wait Jeri. Texas, as you know it, is changing and not for the good. Chances are you’re probably not from TX with that viewpoint. Unfortunately, TX has bit the apple of growth like TN. It all SOUNDS promising at first... job growth! New houses! Increased property values! More shopping, restaurants and gentrification of old areas! Then in time you’ll feel the frustration that this person is feeling.... a once peaceful and serene place turns into out of control growth with horrible traffic, over building of retail and houses. Eventually comes unaffordable housing that’s crammed onto postage stamp sized lots, higher taxes, and higher cost of living for ALL! You my dear are very naive and lack compassion for those who have a right to miss the life they once knew in a place they love with the people they care about and then are ridiculed for their faith and values by rude new people (yes outsiders!) who think locals should change to their ways of thinking. So, to the New Yorker, PLEEEEASE take your narrow-minded and disrespectful view for people of faith, your arrogant and too high opinion of yourself, and your lack of respect for the people of Franklin, and places like Franklin, and go back to NY. You and ones like you are the problem with growth, especially in the south and midwest. You come to these areas because of all it has to offer… the opposite of what you left! And then want to criticize the people who laid the foundation by voting in people who cultivated the very things that attracted you and others like you to MOVE TO THESE PLACES!!! And then you want to change it into the FAILED place you left, which is never for the best, and you want them to bend to your ways. Unfortunately I’ve seen the ill effects of growth too many times in many different places. I saw it in Bethesda, MD that was once a lovely small 1-story town in the 60' and 70's and then blow up in the 80’s & 90’s, then when I moved over the Potomac River to northern to VA, then west to Loudoun VA (fastest growing county in the nation), and now in DFW. It all starts with politicians who THINK growth is a good idea until their cities and towns become over inundated with people, usually libs from the northeast and CA, escaping their overgrown areas that had out of control tax and spend policies and then these people vote in leaders who promote the same mess they left until the new area becomes ... unaffordable and overcrowded! Southerners and Midwesterners, if you love where you live then fight for it BEFORE they start talking growth and fight to put in leaders who value slow, smart growth instead of fast and furious. I would argue that any growth will eventually turn into fast growth like Loudoun, VA experienced, and other areas, because of GREED. Let's all keep making excuses as to why we must bit the apple of growth and ruin what’s left of the south and midwest and turn them into the northeast & Cali! - Overcrowded, overpriced, overtaxed metro areas that seep into outlaying areas eventually making it unaffordable and leaving its people in search of the next promise land. Wake up America! "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got Till it's gone They paved paradise and put up a parking lot"
cee cee | Keller, TX | Report Abuse

Outsiders! REALLY.?? What planet are you from? People have the right to live wherever they want. No one should be born, raised & die and have only lived in one town. You need to move and experience life & people.
Jeri | Dripping Springs, TX | Report Abuse

People can move anywhere they want. You better get used to change, or leave.
Jake | Collierville, TN | Report Abuse

You don't own Franklin.
Sally | Franklin, TN | Report Abuse

Very selfish outlook, that an entire town(section of land in the U.S.) is yours and yours alone, only if you happened to have been born here, which is like an inheritance outlook, like royalty, not at all the outlook of the true original American dream. The fact is, towns expand everywhere. 70,000 is not a big number, if you say that the droves started coming in the 80's. I moved her from Orange County, CA and I lived there for 22 years. Guess what I witnessed over there during that time period?? Gigantic growth. Yes, even Orange County. No, it was not always a huge metropolis. And I lived for about 8 years in the city of Irvine, that was when I moved there back in 1997, like the feel of a small, yet very planned and manicured, small town. It was absolutely adorable and peaceful. It is now a metropolis. Guess why? Things change. Growth happens everywhere. Maybe not EVERYWHERE. Because some places do stay the same size. But those places are usually just places where no one wants change at all and most residents who want change end up leaving. But this town obviously embraces change and growth, due to the evidence of it growing! That's actually a really good thing. yes, the city does have to accommodate this growth with new roads, etc. That's a given and it's a very productive healthy aspect. The world will continue to grow and change and if we all work together responsibly, it can still be a wonderful place even with the new people and new businesses. I am originally from Louisiana and the area I'm from completely busted it's seams after the hurricane Katrina and many many people all of a sudden needed a new home. This is just life. Well, the town that once was the perfect, not too big, not too small town... became a huge bustling town with lots of traffic. But that's life! And they are working at accommodating these changes. Do you have any children?? Because they will grow up, move out the house and need a place to live! Will they be welcome in this town, filling up a new home or taking up space on the road? Will they be welcome in another town they choose to live in? I would hope so. Please think about what you are saying. You are asking that things never change. That is not ever going to be possible. I'm sorry that you are missing the once very small and undiscovered town that you have spent your youth in. I can imagine that you miss it greatly. People miss their babies too, when they grow up. But it's a fact of life.
Tiffany | Franklin, TN | Report Abuse