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I guess it depends on your definition of "mountains" but Knoxville and Chattanooga are much closer to mountains than you suggested. In fact, Chattanooga is surrounded by mountains. Literally. Maybe you were referring to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park? Anyway, within a half hour of downtown Chattanooga you can be hanggliding or kayaking in the "Grand Canyon of Tennessee."
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Originally Posted by Mutiny77
The mountains actually begin in northern Greenville County and you can easily be within the actual midst of them in an hour or so.
From Greenville, within an hour you can be at 3,000 feet....within 2 hours you can be at 6,684 feet.
Thanks all! It's just so hard to get the exact information when looking online. I was more finding people saying which city was closest vs. furthest away. It does seem like most places give distance to Smokies without really saying that when giving distance to the mountains. Really coming from Orlando a foothill will be like a mountain in comparison! So all three cities are really 30min.-1 hour from the mountains.
Yes, I lived in the Greenville area and was quite surprised by the downtown, but outside of that my interest dropped off fast. Not to be rude, but all 3 of these cities together do not equal Orlando in terms of things to do.
Thanks, but I'm not really looking for a comparison to Orlando since what I want is a change from Orlando! As I've posted before, I am looking to get out of Orlando and things to do is less of a factor. As far as the 3 cities having less to do than Orlando...That's to be expected when moving from a city with over 2 million people to a place that is 1/4-1/3 the population.
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Originally Posted by Mutiny77
Pretty sure everyone knows that since these metros are like a third or a fourth the size of Orlando, but obviously that's not really a factor for the OP since he/she is looking to leave Orlando. However, the trade-off is that all three offer different things to do due to their geographical location in the foothills/mountains, so it's kind of an apples-to-oranges comparison.
Downtown Greenville is very nice. It has revitalized its downtown with new streetscapes. It's very pleasing to the eye. Much of the I-385 area is very nice. Some of the areas alongside I-85 on the south side of Greenville leave a lot to be desired, but most of this area is not the best that the region has to offer.
Cuturally, Greenville is very conservative, with a high percentage of actively religious people, which is a good thing, in my opinion. Several Christian universities are in the area. There is enough shopping for one to enjoy. The mountains are only about twenty minutes away. Greenville is practically on the backdoor step to the mountains. Temperatures are fairly comparable to what you'd find in Atlanta or Charlotte.
Chattanooga:
Downtown Chattanooga was revitalized about fifteen years ago. Numerous attractions can be found downtown, such as the Tennessee Aquarium and the Southern Belle Riverboat. The Chattanooga area is also home to other attractions such as those found on Lookout Mountain. This includes the Incline Railroad, Ruby Falls, and Rock City.
Cuturally, the Chattanooga area is fairly conservative, but a little less so than Greenville. It is also religious, but a little less so than Greenville. The area's weather is slightly cooler than Greenville, but only by a few degrees, if that. Mountains are within a couple hours drive or less, but large ridges and Plateaus, which appear like mountains, such as Lookout Mountain, are in the immediate vicinity. The Chattanooga area's terrain appears very rugged in some parts.
Knoxville:
Knoxville is actually smaller than Greenville-Spartanburg, but given that Greenville and Spartanburg are two urban areas, not one contiguous urban area, it actually looks and feels smaller than Knoxville. Of the three, Knoxville looks and feels like a medium-sized city. It tends to have the greatest urban-suburban imprint on the landscape.
Culturally, the area is fairly conservative, despite being home to a large university, UT. It is comparable to Chattanooga in terms of the percentage of religious people. Downtown Knoxville is more office-business oriented than the other two, but it's less-touristy than Chattanooga. The Smoky Mountains are about forty-five minutes away, if that. Mountains surround the region to the north and east/southeast. Knoxville is colder than the other two, say perhaps five degrees, and it does receive a little more snow than the other two, but it's not vastly different climate-wise.
That helps alot to explain it to me. I have lived in Orlando for a total of 4 years over the course of 13 years. My parents have been here the whole 13 years, so I've also visited throughout the whole time. I actually have very rarely gone to areas like Lake Eola and Winter Park's downtown area in that time. Those areas are great and a fun day, but just not my scene for regular hanging out. I've read alot about Asheville and got to know someone very well that is from there and went back. From what I've read and what she told me I think it would be somewhere I'd like to visit occasionally, but not my scene for place to live. Greenville does seem to have a big Pro to me that is it much closer to cities to visit than the other cities I am comparing. I also think I would much rather be closer to Charlotte and Asheville in Greenville than Atlanta, Birmingham, and Nashville in Chattanooga. I can't wait until I get to actually visit to see how I feel then. It will be very interesting if what cities I think I will like best changes.
With Greenville, you're also close to Atlanta. Only 2 hours or so to the suburbs of Atlanta.
And your point?? Same from Chattanooga. Atlanta not far behind.......Chattanooga has so much more of an amazing entrance from I-75 from Atlanta, much more than Greenville, Chatt looks like a huge griddy city in the valley when you are going over Missionary Ridge.
That's not I-75, that's I-24, but I get your point.
Thanks all! It's just so hard to get the exact information when looking online. I was more finding people saying which city was closest vs. furthest away. It does seem like most places give distance to Smokies without really saying that when giving distance to the mountains. Really coming from Orlando a foothill will be like a mountain in comparison! So all three cities are really 30min.-1 hour from the mountains.
I'm being honest with you. Greenville is easily the closest to the mountains. From Greenville, Sassafras Mountain and the Blue Ridge are only about thirty minutes away, if that. That's in South Carolina.
With Chattanooga, you are surrounded by ridges and plateaus, part of the Appalachian mountain Plateau and ridge and valley systems, but they aren't the actual mountains, though they do look like it at times. From Chattanooga, you have to head northeast on I-75 and follow backroads from either Cleveland or Athens, TN, eastward toward areas near Copperhill TN, or southeastward into Georgia to get to the mountains east of Chatsworth, GA, near Fort Mountain State Park. Either that, or you can take I-75 south to Dalton, then go east toward Fort Mountain. Either way, you're looking at likely an hour to get to the true mountains. Then again, however, some of the plateaus and ridges look like actual mountains, and some are very high near the Chattanooga area. Most people think they're actual mountains and not plateaus and ridges.
With Knoxville, you can either head east on I-40 for about forty minutes to get to the mountains. You can head north on I-75 and get to some smaller mountains just below the Kentucky border. This can be done in about thirty minutes or so. the other option is to take backroads to the Smokies, which, given the popularity of the place, can take up to an hour and a half on some weekends, but usually about forty five minutes. You're about fifty minutes to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
If it's access you want to mountains, and in a quick time frame, then Greenville is it. If you want access to mountains and large cities, Greenville is it. If you want national parks, Knoxville is it. If you want an area with proximity to large cities, revitalized downtowns, and access to mountains, then Greenville is it. If you want access to large cities, revitalized downtowns, overall more aesthetically pleasing region, but with only "mountain-like" mountains and a little longer drive to the true mountains, then Chattanooga is it. If you want a larger city feel, then Knoxville is it.
That said, of the three metros, Chattanooga probably has the largest poor area of any of the three. It has a bit of poorer areas in close proximity to downtown, but it's not too far to find really nice areas, particularly near Lookout Mountain, on the other side of the Tennessee river, over the ridge or near the east side of Chattanooga and Hamilton Mill area.
I'm being honest with you. Greenville is easily the closest to the mountains. From Greenville, Sassafras Mountain and the Blue Ridge are only about thirty minutes away, if that. That's in South Carolina.
With Chattanooga, you are surrounded by ridges and plateaus, part of the Appalachian mountain Plateau and ridge and valley systems, but they aren't the actual mountains, though they do look like it at times. From Chattanooga, you have to head northeast on I-75 and follow backroads from either Cleveland or Athens, TN, eastward toward areas near Copperhill TN, or southeastward into Georgia to get to the mountains east of Chatsworth, GA, near Fort Mountain State Park. Either that, or you can take I-75 south to Dalton, then go east toward Fort Mountain. Either way, you're looking at likely an hour to get to the true mountains. Then again, however, some of the plateaus and ridges look like actual mountains, and some are very high near the Chattanooga area. Most people think they're actual mountains and not plateaus and ridges.
With Knoxville, you can either head east on I-40 for about forty minutes to get to the mountains. You can head north on I-75 and get to some smaller mountains just below the Kentucky border. This can be done in about thirty minutes or so. the other option is to take backroads to the Smokies, which, given the popularity of the place, can take up to an hour and a half on some weekends, but usually about forty five minutes. You're about fifty minutes to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
If it's access you want to mountains, and in a quick time frame, then Greenville is it. If you want access to mountains and large cities, Greenville is it. If you want national parks, Knoxville is it. If you want an area with proximity to large cities, revitalized downtowns, and access to mountains, then Greenville is it. If you want access to large cities, revitalized downtowns, overall more aesthetically pleasing region, but with only "mountain-like" mountains and a little longer drive to the true mountains, then Chattanooga is it. If you want a larger city feel, then Knoxville is it.
That said, of the three metros, Chattanooga probably has the largest poor area of any of the three. It has a bit of poorer areas in close proximity to downtown, but it's not too far to find really nice areas, particularly near Lookout Mountain, on the other side of the Tennessee river, over the ridge or near the east side of Chattanooga and Hamilton Mill area.
I'm thinking that Chattanooga had historically a heavy manufacturing economy and was economically divided between the very rich and the poor. Does that still affect the culture today? Knoxville had a lot of distribution/warehousing and more of a middle class. In recent history Knoxville has been very much influenced by UT and ORNL and thus has been more open to newcomers.
But the rich in Chattanooga were/are very rich and there was a concerted effort to improve the town starting 15-20 years ago. So a lot of in migration due to these amenities. I'm wondering - do the transplants feel fully integrated into the social structure?
Knoxville has only seen noticable improvement in the last 5-10 years. But it has been a huge step.
In my opinion 30 years Knoxville had a much better quality of life compared to Chattanooga, then Chatt leaped forward, now Knoxville is catching up. They are close enough that it comes down to personal taste to make a decision.
I don't know much about Greenville except they have an awesome creek and waterfall right in the middle of downtown. I am jealous (see screen name).
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Very accurate.
