What's expected when outsiders move in

Much has changed over the years since my dad fled the impoverished mountains of Southeast Kentucky, along with a generation of disillusioned Appalachians who crossed the Mason-Dixon searching for work. The promise of industrial jobs offering higher standards of living lured tens of thousands away to Cincinnati, Chicago, and Detroit.

More people participated in that mass-exodus than any other migration of Americans in our Nation’s history. The path north from Appalachia was dubbed “The Hillbilly Highway.” When my dad landed in the Chicagoland area he and many others were not welcomed with open arms. Slurs, altercations, and alienation left them feeling unwelcomed, to say the least.

It’s funny how life often comes full circle. Now that our region is on the radar of people who once rejected hillbillies with the same hateful vitriol as any form of racism our Nation has known, we are presently their prime destination.

Here in Tennessee, Nashville isn’t the only area being inundated, every week there are multiple families moving into the Tri Cities from California, Illinois, New York, and other such places. They are attracted to our lower-priced real estate, absence of a State income Tax, and other great incentives. My wife and I moved our four sons here nearly 20 years ago for many of the same reasons -- this is a great place to raise children.

Change is hard & intimidating, especially unsolicited change -- the problem today is, as we are being flooded with outsiders moving in, many here are worried about their politics/liberal values. Worst yet, we wearily wonder, how will their presence influence change here in our area?


Our region is known for being suspicious of outsiders, and rightly so. Read, if you haven't already, Harry Caudhill’s 1960’s, “Night comes to the Cumberlands.” The book vividly describes in painful detail how the Appalachian region has historically been depleted, taken advantage of, and plundered by outsiders.

I’m confident the influx and steady flow of people moving in will not slow down. In fact I expect what we’re experiencing to increase as word continues to get out. The new casino opening up, large tracts of land on the market, steady employment here, not to mention how beautiful the mountains are around here all lead us to ask: How should we respond to this massive arrival of new people/what’s really required of us now more than ever?

We have an opportunity to share our slower pace of life (Yes, as an expatriated northerner I can now say ours, it only took about 5 years to feel enculturated and at “home” here). We can influence these latest outsiders with some of the traditions we are known for here, like family values and strong church ties. We can and should take advantage of these opportunities to share the Good news of Jesus and help change lives -- after all these people came here to escape lifestyles and locations they didn’t like.

Our real challenge today? To practice Biblical Hospitality. We now have unprecedented opportunities to love new neighbors like never before -- here’s a helpful passage worth reflecting on for all of us, “8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace” (I Pet 4:8-10)