NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — There's a topic many are talking about around town; a lot of people have new neighbors from California. Realtors say there are several reasons so many are coming here from 2,000 miles away.
You know you've hit on something that works when you've grown to nearly 230,000 followers on YouTube.
"I teach how to design graphics for T-shirts," said Charley Pangus, surrounded by lights and microphones where he records his videos for YouTube.
Pangus even has a plaque on the wall from YouTube — a congrats for the audience he's built.
"You have to constantly create videos to keep up, but I love it," he smiled.
One of his videos bringing in the views marks a break from his usual design content.
"I just moved from California to Tennessee, and I'm trying to gather my thoughts," said Pangus in a video from last year.
"This is an interesting place," he said. "Why don't we give it a shot?"
For Pangus, the reasons to move include the music culture, the sights to see, and the home price difference between here and California.
"We had a two-bedroom apartment, and they wanted to renew it at almost $2,500," Pangus said. "We were just like, 'we can't do this.'"
Even with mortgage prices rising here, Pangus said the prices still sound a lot better to him than what he's used to.
"Probably 40-50% of the calls coming in and the clients I work with are from California," said realtor with eXp Realty Rachael Hadidsez.
Hadidsaz often addresses the Californians moving to Middle Tennessee on her TN Homes by Rachael YouTube page.
She said most of them cite Tennessee's more conservative politics as to why they're moving here, including issues of personal freedom including mask mandates during the pandemic.
Hadidsaz said she also hears from Californians like Pangus making the move for affordability reasons.
"Our property taxes a really reasonable," she said. "Our sales tax is really reasonable."
Realtor Emily Learned of Village Real Estate agreed that clients have most often cited more conservative politics as the top reason for moving to Tennessee from California. She said clients have also voiced concerns about fires in and around their neighborhood in California. Learned said some have also relocated for their job because the company liked the lower taxes in Tennessee. She said word of mouth has also gotten many Californians to visit and convinced them to move here.
"We moved here, and we're really happy here," said Pangus.
A doormat outside his house read, "Home Sweet Home."
