u/BradfordGalt

Long story short, I really really need to practice conversational Chinese, but I have precious few irl opportunities.

I have extremely mixed feelings about AI platforms, and try to avoid them in any context. Is there an easy-to-use, affordable app/service that uses real-life interactions with other human users? If so, what would you recommend? Part of my hesitation to use a real-life interface is just the awkwardness that might arise. It seems like AI would remove that obstacle.

If I absolutely had to resort to an AI conversation bot, what would you recommend? Are there any that specialize in Mandarin?

Thanks

I'm curious on the perspective of long-time residents.

I grew up in Oliver Springs, just on the other side of the ridgeline. Went to college at UTK, so Oak Ridge was always at the center of my orbit for the first 25 years of my life. Moved to Texas in 2001.

The last time I was up that way was in 2016, when my dad died. I'll be honest: I was shocked at how run-down everything seemed. The roads were in disrepair, businesses were closed, and everything just seemed...icky.

Now, San Antonio is no peach, mind you. We have our problems, so it's not like I'm comparing Oak Ridge to some glimmering urban paradise.

But I'm curious to know, for those of you who are 40+ years old and have lived in OR a long time, have you also observed this kind of change? Is there a kind of decay happening around the Knox/OR area?